a colorado family

I am based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma but every once in awhile I get to take photos in magical places. Magical places like Colorado for instance. I did a little family shoot for my very beautiful friend and her family in the mountains. I could do a shoot there everyday and twice on Sundays and never grow tired of it. Everything about this evening was just perfect. (Except for the bout of altitude sickness that followed the shoot.)

I love this girl!!!

It was only fitting to do a few shots of family music time as this is such a normal part of their everyday life. You can check out their incredible and inspiring music here.

I became a follower of Jesus and met my husband all because of this friendship. I kind of owe her big! ;)

I love you my friends! Thank you so much for letting me capture your precious family.

jeremy & katie : engagement

I am just so very delighted to share Jeremy and Katie's engagement photos with you. We had so much fun out in the country shooting these. Their love for each other and their love for life is so evident from the second that you meet them. They come from the most amazing family and I am so very honored that I will get to photograph their wedding in Dallas early next year.

Congratulations you two love birds! Thank you so much for choosing me to capture your amazing love story.

They are always smiling, always laughing and just enjoying each other.

Tally and shorty. ;)

Oh Katie girl, you are just a beauty inside and out! Thanks Loren from Vintage Comb for Katie's fabulous hair and makeup.

Family portrait.

We decided to do a little coffee date as a part of their shoot. I love how these images turned out.

Stop being so adorable!

Diamonds and coffee.....What more could a girl need?

fall boudoir

Fall just makes me swoon. It has always been my favorite time of year. Everything about it inspires me to the depths of my soul. The cool crisp autumn air, the changing colors, the food, the clothing.....I could go on and on.

I had a creative itch to do a new kind of session. Thus, I made the very last minute decision to offer an outdoor fall boudoir special. The session will take place on private land out in the country.

Spaces are limited and this amazing fall season only lasts for a very short time. So, jump on it ladies! I think this would make the perfect Christmas gift for your hubby. It is sure to be a gift that he will always remember.

eric & ashley : the wedding

Eeeeeek! I am so excited to share Eric and Ashley's wedding with you. They are hands down the sweetest, most adorable and thoughtful couples that I know. I count it an absolute honor to have been their chosen photographer. They have been planning their wedding for quite some time and it has been so fun getting to them both through the whole process. Eric and I run into one another now and then at weddings because he works for DJ Connections. If you are planning a wedding and want the best DJ around, Eric is your man. ;)

Jessie and I met up with the girls at the Hard Rock Hotel for some getting ready fun. This group of gals had us smiling all day long. Such beautiful friendships all coming together to celebrate their girl Ashley.

Ashley's father is Indian and so, they did an Indian inspired wedding. Jewel tones, henna and amazing food were some of the beautiful touches.

Oh Ashley girl, you could not be more radiantly gorgeous!

The happiest groom EVERRRRRRR!

What every girl wants from her man when he sees her on their wedding day: tears and smiles.

Ashley has the most adorable younger siblings. They were so excited to be a special part of the day. Here they are delivering an "Up" inspired gift to Eric.

Ashley made him an Adventure Book! So stinkin sweet!

Eric got Ashley a beautiful necklace with their wedding date coordinates on it.

I know that these next two photos are so similar but I couldn't decide which one I liked the best.

One of my favorite bridal party pics.

Henna art is so amazingly beautiful!

Bride goddess!

This couple is so thoughtful and were handing out gifts to their loved ones and friends left and right (including me and Jessie.) This little handmade flower girl gift blows me away with her cuteness! She even has henna art on her hands!

Every little boy with a tux needs batman cufflinks.

Their was a henna artist at the reception for guests to take part in the beautiful tradition.

A sure sign that you are attending a wedding where the groom is a DJ is if the dance floor is dominated by men.

Big brothers are the best dance partners. 

grant & bethany : the wedding

Grant and Bethany had a beautiful and elegant September wedding in downtown Tulsa Oklahoma. The preparations and the reception took place at the gorgeous Mayo Hotel.

Shannon Schroeder did a fabulous job on the makeup artistry.

Bethany just beemed all day long. She is seriously so beautiful from the inside out.

Every girl needs a pair of gold sparkley heels. ;)

The French Bouquet did a fabulous job on the flowers. So refined and elegant.

The first look was so special. Bethany and Grant really wrestled with weather or not to do this and I am so happy that they decided to do it. It was the sweetest moment and it also gave us time in the sunlight to do outdoor photos before the ceremony.

They did traditional vows for the ceremony but wrote their own to share with one another during the first look.

One of my favorite shots from the day.

I am a sucker for yummy light!

The ballroom at the the Mayo + florals from The French Bouquet = Exquisite!

If my son ever gets this much taller than me, I will cry! ;) I am also sure to cry when I dance with him at his wedding.

My friends always tease me about my facial expressions. I don't realize but I quite frequently wear my thoughts on my face. This photo cracks me up. I have the "what are those guys doing?!?!" look on my face.

Congratulations Grant and Bethany, you were so amazing to work with. We wish you all of the happiness in this world!

girls trip : phone pics

Miss P and I have been in Colorado this week on a girls trip/photoshoot trip. It was her very first airplane ride and she did awesome. It has been a very special time of just the two of us getting to bond one on one. She is my easy going child so, by default it is easy for her to get kind of overlooked. It was so sweet to be able to just focus on her this week.

We fly home today and we miss our boys like crazy. It is going to be a happy reunion. :)

I know this is blurry but I treasure this photo because girlfriend never falls asleep in my arms. This hasn't happened since she was two months old. I am praying she does it again on the plane today.

I think we know what baby girl wants from Nana and Poppy for her birthday. (hint....hint...)

We ended our trip with a photoshoot in the mountains for our dear friends. It was nothing short of a spiritual experience. Colorado takes my breath away.

star wars party

My firstborn turned four last month. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that but there's no turning back now. It is bittersweet because I love watching him grow into the amazing boy that he is but I also miss him being a baby.

This year he requested that we have a star wars birthday party at our house. I instantly knew that I wanted to do photo invitations.

Keegan and I collaborated on some party favor ideas and we came up with making felt masks for everyone. This was such a fun and easy project. I just sketched out the masks on paper and cut out patterns for the felt. A little hot glue and elastic and the masks were ready. When I say easy, I do not mean that it was not time consuming. ;)

We made copies of the mask patterns for the kids to color on.

Star wars legos abound in our household now.

For the majority of the party it was storming outside. As soon as it cleared up we sent the multitude of children outside of our tiny jam packed house for a light saber war.

That awesome lady on the left is my second shooter extraordinarre Jessie. Oh and this party was in August in the middle of the triple digit weather plague. Thus the brown grass.

phillip & kady : the wedding

Wedding season is still in full swing for me so, you have lots of pretty weddings to look forward to on the blog.

Mr. and Mrs. P, thank you so very much for having us shoot your day. It truly was a joy. You made us feel so welcome, like we had been friends forever. I just cherish couples like you and I wish you more love than you know what to do with. It is so evident that you are each other's best friend. I can tell you from experience that going through life's ups and downs with your best friend by your side is a priceless gift. Congratulations on a stunning wedding and a beautiful marriage.

Kady and Phillip had an amazing wedding at Tarp Chapel in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The ladies got ready at Columns Mansion which was absolutely gorgeous.

This photo makes me want to put on a pretty robe and drink a mimosa.

Kady wore this ankle bracelet that was from her Mom's wedding. I love when things from parents or grandparents are passed down or borrowed on special days like this.

Can you say "Knockout!?!?!"

I am in love with the next two bridal shots. The first one is Jessie's shot and the second one is mine. I think Kady looks so regal and glamorous.

The French Bouquet did the beautiful flowers.

Kady is a stunner and looked drop dead gorgeous! Makeup done by Ashlee Bivins, and hair done by Whitney Fugate from Ihloff Salon.

Phillip and Kady decided to not see each other before the ceremony. Phillip's face just lit up as soon as he saw his gorgeous bride.

No surprise that the emotion in the ceremony made me tear up.

Stop being so hot together you two!

The reception decor was soft, feminine and romantic.

The first dance. This makes my heart happy!

Teach me how to dougie, tea teach me how to dougie.

I heart dance faces. ;)

joy

Freedom and joy.

I am so thankful for the children in my life that remind me how truly accessible both of these things are.

This is a photo of two of my friend's children just enjoying summer. As they should be.

I have had a bit of a challenging year on a lot of levels. But in the midst of the challenges there has been deep joy. There has been a lot of learning and growing on my part as well.

Like most women I know, I tend to take on too much. Then I crash and burn. This past Spring was that kind of season for me. Way too much and then......breakdown.

I had some very important goals this summer after trudging through the spring. Usually my goals are business related or some sort of productivity related. This summer the Lord was teaching me to just let go and enjoy. One of my goals was less time at my computer thus, I virtually disappeared from social media and this blog. I wanted to spend more time looking into the eyes of my children, reconnecting with my husband and creating just for the fun of it. The more I did these things, I could feel life coming back to my heart.

Less is more.

I still have a lot of learning and growing to do but this summer has been nothing short of amazing. I am so thankful that I have so many loved ones in my life that always remind me of what really matters.

a family complete

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.                -Psalm 100:4-5

It is with a heart so full of joy that I share this post with you all today. I had the honor and privilege of photographing the arrival of our dear friends coming home from China with their beautiful new daughter. I am sure that you all already know their adoption story but if not you can read about it here.

Chris and Ashley, we are so very happy for you and your family. Our hearts are bursting and we cannot wait to walk through life with all seven of you. ;)

Two very big smiles full of excitement for Little One to finally come home.

Friendship is a wonderful thing. My son had been praying daily for little one to come home from China. He couldn't wait to get to the airport to give his friend a hug on the day of his sister's arrival. 

Signs were made and friends of all ages were there to welcome them home. Thinking back I wish that I would have asked all of the people that were there to get into one group photo. But apparently, I was too emotional and excited to use my brain. Trust me when I tell you that there were a LOT of friends and family there full of a LOT of love for the Campbells.

It appeared as if a plane way down the hall was de-boarding.

They've been spotted! This is one excited Aunt.

I wish that my camera would have captured the sound of Firecracker's squeals of delight.

Oh happy day!

I absolutely love this photo. Pay close attention to the bottom right corner.

Also notice the security guard pointing his hand, about to try and stop Firecracker.

Thankfully, he must have decided that she wasn't going to cause too much trouble.

There was a ton of joy, clapping, hugging and crying going on. It was a lot for Little One to take in. Poor thing had just traveled across the world on no sleep. It was no surprise to anyone that her Daddy was holding her as close as he could trying to protect her and make sure she was okay.

At last!

If you are a blog reader of Under the Sycamore and do not know Ashley in "real life", you probably think that she is the most amazing person. You would be absolutely right. Hands down one of the most inspiring women I know. It is plain to see that she comes from a long line of amazing family. This gentle gesture by her grandfather just makes my heart melt. 

A multitude of incredible friendships surround this family. (You are next girlfriend!)

Someone missed her big brother.

And her Mama.

Little One finding comfort in her hands.

Protective Daddy stepping away from the crowd to calm her down. So sweet.

And then a little kiss on the foot from her big sister.

The girls!

The whole family TOGETHER at last! Seven......a family complete.