Avia Photography

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Columbia, Missouri, United States
Warning, the following ramblings are those of a sometimes sidetracked photographer avoiding accomplishing tasks on her list. All we ask is that if you use one of our photos from here or elsewise, you kindly give us credit. = )

Sunday, May 8, 2011

.:eckles hall is a great place to meet your soulmate:.

The new structure and order that has been creeping up in my life has brought less stress, more exercise, better food, earlier bedtimes, and, well, hopefully more blogs! Guess we will have to see!

Justin and Lauren met at Eckles Hall one fateful day. What *is* Eckles Hall and where is it, you ask? Great question. It's on the southeast corner of Mizzou's campus. Some may know it better for what it houses: Buck's ice cream! Lauren and Justin met in the lobby there. She noticed he was pretty cute and... well... he noticed that she had big hands. Somehow, though, the two began to talk and figured out that they were indeed a match made in heaven.

Lauren and Justin originally planned to wed in May on a date we had already booked. The searched around for locations but were having difficulty deciding on a spot that made everyone happy that was actually available that day. Then they found out that Eckles Hall was available for an entire Saturday late in April and they decided to change their date! Thankfully, they didn't give up on us or we would have never met these two cool cats! It wasn't until dead of winter that we signed the deal but Lauren and Justin were great sports and decided that snowy pictures would be a blast. We learned that Lauren's clothing palette is pretty consistent and rarely includes red, (which somehow crept into her wardrobe for the shoot that day). We learned that Justin has a large soft spot for his babies (otherwise known to women as 'cars') and that he is a genius when it comes to baseball (Lauren told us this, not Justin, who merely blushed and looked away when she revealed his secret). We also got to see Lauren's passion for history and inspiring young minds (she's a history teacher by trade, and from what we've seen, I expect an awesome one at that!). The two of them together really are absolutely wonderfully perfect.


(We may or may not have "borrowed" the sombrero from the larger snowman for this shot. He deserved it. You could barely see the little one he was hogging the limelight from! However, for those of you that are beginning to worry, we did put it back.)




No snowy engagement shoot is completely without a spontaneous dance party.


(See the red that stealthily creeped in? Gotta keep your eyes peeled.)


As usual, the forecast for the day of Lauren & Justin's wedding called for rain. And, as usual, I told Brian that, despite the clear warnings from weather.com and weather underground (Brian's favorite site), it would absolutely not rain when they were supposed to have their ceremony (which was scheduled to be outside). You see, we've had snow and we've had rain but it has never interfered with a wedding we've photographed, to date. And, seriously, we've done a LOT of weddings (Brian just mentioned to me yesterday that he thought it was so funny that we were wedding photographers as he had only attended a whopping total of three prior to jumping in alongside me). The outside weddings have all gone on as planned, sure it rained up until 10 minutes prior or started drizzling after everyone had been dismissed and the ceremony was over, but still the show was always dry! We've even had a few move their ceremonies inside for fear though we tried to explain our history of rain-less ceremonies. Lauren and Justin's wedding was no exception. The expected forecast magically began to clear up on their beautiful Saturday, which meant they went ahead with their dream outdoor ceremony. Which, I might add, was absolutely beautiful.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love outdoor weddings? I am such a sucker for natural light in general (which is probably why I get a little sad that our office where I spend all of my time is in the most sunless room in our apartment). But I especially love natural light for our photography. Brian and I were privileged enough to get to start the day shooting for the James T Scott celebration on their big day (which Lauren, being the awesome history teacher that she is, wholeheartedly supported since it was history in the making, if you're curious about the event, you can read an article about the event here). Since we started a little later in the timeline than usual, we didn't get a whole lot of "getting ready" shots like we usually do. We have some of Lauren and her girls in and upstairs classroom putting on their finishing touches and a few of the guys outside just hanging out. Guess which photos were better? You guessed it, the ones outdoors! Really, truly, natural light is so hard to beat. It fills in our wrinkles, it makes our skin glow, and it makes photos come out crisp and clear.

Case in point, Brian totally kicked my butt in photos in the getting ready portion of the day when he was with the guys:

Lauren looks gorgeous, despite my being light-challenged.


But seriously, folks, look at the beauty of the outdoors! Even though the ladies are clearly better looking (sorry, guys), the outdoor light just does wonders!


Too bad stripping down to your skivvies outdoors in public view is a faux paux. Well, on second thought, I think I rather enjoy that social more. However, if we could just get rooms with walls of windows for getting ready portions, we would be in photographer heaven!



Lauren's dress was G-ORGEOUS. She saw it online and knew it was the one before she even tried it on. The vintage-style lace and delicate beading was just breathtaking...


Lauren, being the amazing woman she is, gave her "almost husband" (her adorable words, not mine) some pretty stupendous gifts that day. Besides gummy bears (which apparently are a weak spot of Justin's), she got him an amazing pocketwatch with a photo of his father as a child so he can keep his father with him always.


Have we mentioned how much we LOVE first looks. No, seriously. We adore them. We may even possibly be infatuated with them. It's just that we cannot tell you how how much stress a first look and the subsequent photos that come from it relieves. The bridal party is happier. The parents are happier. The little kids in the ceremony are happier. The families are happier. The bride and groom are happier. The coordinator is happier. The guests are most definitely happier. *We* are happier. Seriously absolutely everyone is happier and less stressed. Seriously. No, really, seriously. And, oftentimes, the special moment that the couple shares at their first look cannot even begin to compare to anything else we get to photograph throughout the rest of the day. Raw, unadulterated emotion. K. I'll get off my soapbox now, but, no, seriously. After nearly 50 weddings we can honestly say that, without a doubt, our biggest recommendation would be to do all of the photos before the wedding. K. For realsies, NOW I'm done.



Don't you just look at photos like these and wish that Lauren was your best friend because she's just so cool? I know I do.


Daddy-O (Whose hair apparently turned gray 6 months after Lauren was born. No joke. A kid'll do that to ya!)




I LOVE gray or khaki suits. Bah! They just look so smart! And the groomsmen get to keep them!


The little heart with their initials, J + L, was used in a few things throughout the day. What a great detail!


Ministers can and do make mistakes and it always serves to make the mood lighter. Lauren may or may not have been instructed to promise that she'd always be a good husband to her new wife. No worries, though, they caught it. They weren't pronounced husband and husband (which would have been slightly awkward seeings as how Lauren is a chick).




Because we had all of the mandatory photos done prior to the wedding, we had a few minutes to slip away while the guests were munching on appetizers to get a few more of Lauren & Justin as the sun was beginning to set. Ah, I love first looks!




"I call this my Blue Steele."


"What do I do with my hands, Mallory?" "Exactly that Lauren. Exactly that!"




Eckles Hall, where soulmates meet.


They adorned the tables with burlap fabric, mason jars, and little chalkboard place settings.


LOVE it!


See the J+L on the burlap sack favor? They put candies and kisses inside. Who could do better?








See anyone you recognize? This spicy newlywed couple was married in February and we were lucky enough to be there with them! Stay tuned (if I'm still on top of blogging) for their trash-the-dress session later this month. Let's just say if everything goes as planned we're gonna have some super stellar stuff!


Congratulations, you two!


Because Lauren is such a great sport, it's only fair, I guess, that you see a photo of me in all of my glory. Mid-sentence. Squinting. Still looking elegant and lady like and oh-so-beautiful, right?

Love and peace and burlap! -Mallory (& Brian, who is currently watching the NBA playoffs in the room next door).

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