Dayton Weddings | Echo by Design | Wedding + Portrait Photography

..JT & Kelly Part I | We Said I Do..

For a really large part of my young adult life, sports were my thing. I have always been the active type and although I still don’t know how I participated in track for 8 years loathing running, I did! Although I was more naturally talented in track, my true love was volleyball. Every June through March I ate, slept, breathed volleyball. (And yes I owned the t-shirt that said so.) Not only did I participate in my school program, my parents put me on a traveling team as well. Which is how Kelly and I met. After hundreds of practices, thousands of miles of driving, and hitting virtually all four corners of the state of O-H-I-O, (That was for JT) our families became great friends. It’s where I spent my weekend in Fostoria at times, my father’s cowboy hat became a staple of our get-togethers, and fourth of July’s jet skiing on the river became a short tradition before we all went to college. Needless to say, I was honored to share Kelly’s special day with JT and their families both as a professional and a guest!

I arrived at the quaint inn shortly before Kelly and her ladies, but was surely ecstatic to be with them when they pulled up. All of the girls looked uber fabulous getting out of the cars, and I couldn’t wait to get inside to photograph all of the goodies that were awaiting me. The hustle and bustle began and Jaylene and I captured all of the sweet little details that were provided. (I can tell you that having a place like this for all of your girls to get ready in, sure beats just about anything else.) Kelly was all smiles and I could NOT even wait to see her in her dress, she was such a stunning bride already. When the time came the gown slipped up and buttoned in place perfectly silohetting her gorgeous figure. I knew JT’s draw was going to hit the floor when he saw her.

We wrapped up with the girls and headed across town to get ready for the ceremony to begin. The beautiful cobblestone church was glorious, despite the fact that it was not air conditioned. Most of the boys were standing in front of fans, attempting to stay cool. I met up with JT and he equally looked handsome in his tux. Slightly nervous I knew one of the best moments in his life was about to take place! He opened the gift from his wife to be and added them to his attire. Five minutes to go and it was all going to start.

The pews were filled, the fans were on full blast, and the harpist strummed us all into a cooler place. I could hear the ladies whispering in the back as the guys came out to the front of the church. All of the girls made it down the aisle and the doors closed, preparing JT for his gift wrapped in white. The music crescendoed and the doors came swinging open to reveal Kelly and her father Brad. Tears welled up in her eyes as she made her descent down the long aisle towards her husband-to-be. How happy they both were! The wedding went off in perfect fashion, and more than they could have imagined. Starting off with one by Jaylene…

Loved Jaylene’s gift opening pics…

Also by Jaylene…

Kelly & JT I hope you had an amazing honeymoon, welcome home! Check back next week for Part II on their wedding day (hoping that I’m not in labor yet!) Enjoy!

..QUAINT INN..

love, echo

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echoes of love

..Lukas Nicholas | Oh Baby..

Just last week I shared the ..Birth Story.. of this little guy, and for many it brought tears. It was so great capturing moments that are so important to our family, and when I look back on those images, I well up every time! The emotions that happen within those first few moments of a new life are emotions that are caught in a bottle forever. That is why I CANNOT wait for my sister Nicole to capture those for me when my little bundle arrives. They are feelings I will be sure to never forget!

Since I caught those images, we had yet to see little Luke again. So a couple of weekends ago, while I was home for a wedding and my last baby shower, we were able to scoot up to Toledo to see him again. He already looked so different, and it had only been 8 days! We walked in the door and were greeted by his big brothers, Nanook and Kodiak…his big furry brothers! Luke was cuddled up on his daddy’s chest and was slightly awake. It was almost feeding time. Uncle Brad had the honors, and I loved seeing him hold his first nephew! After his belly was content we started his session, and boy was he such a cooperative little munchkin! His smiles were enough to make us all melt…I think his Momma might lock him up for awhile if he is anything like his Dad!

Nick served our country in the Air Force and wanted to have his son take a picture with his combat boots. Luke was a little too big to be put inside, but I still love how it turned out!

I LOOOVVEEE first time parents and I can’t wait for these pictures myself. The joy just radiates from them both!

Nick and Laura, I have been so deeply honored to capture this new little life of our family! We love Luke so much and we can’t wait to see the young man that you mold him to be. I am excited to see our ‘twins’ and ‘partners in crime’ grow up together! Here is to the next 18 years of our life and many, many more with our children!

..NEW NEPHEW..

love, (aunt) echo (and uncle brad)

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..37 Weeks | Talking Business..

If your new or haven’t been to my blog yet, you wouldn’t know the happy news that my husband and I are expecting our first child. If you have been bouncing around here for awhile, you know a lot about these last 37 weeks of my life. The crazy part is that today marks full term pregnancy for me, and in my doctor’s words, “There is no turning back now!” This marker has opened an insane amount of emotions…happy, excited, nervous, sad it’s coming to an end, and a ‘little’ dash of fear. However, all in all I am ecstatic to meet our unborn baby, to hold him or her in my arms for hours on end…regardless of how many hours of sleep I get, and to proclaim that I’m a Mom from the nearest rooftop…aka facebook! I guess that is what social media gives you these days…the baby hasn’t been officially been born until announced on facebook…c’mon you know what I’m talking about!

Amongst the jokes, in all realness…life is going to get a little hectic for me for awhile! I didn’t plan on having our first baby smack dab in the middle of wedding season, but thankfully I have had nothing but the best support from all of my clients and any incoming inquiries! So in these next coming weeks leading up to the birth of our child, I promise to get you everything as quickly as possible, respond to as many emails as my fingers can type, and to still give you the best customer service any client or future client could hope for!

So as an announcement, know that this baby can now come at any time! Please understand that when that does happen, I will be taking a normal 6 week maternity leave to give Brad and I the bonding time that we need with our new bundle. Thank you so much for your incoming support and I will do my best to keep everyone updated on my progress in the coming weeks…so keep checking in here or on facebook! In the meantime, enjoy the little sneak peek from our ‘babymoon’ out in Wyoming. This momma bear and her cubs were definitely a sight to see…

If you have any questions regarding my maternity leave, please do not hesitate to send me an email or give me a shout! If I have time before baby comes, I will be sure to share more from our Wyoming trip…clients you come first 🙂

..FULL TERM..

love, echo

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..Baby B | Oh Baby..

Brad and I had just gotten over the shock that a home test revealed we were pregnant. Our parents knew, our grandparents knew, and our siblings knew. It seemed like the excitement was finally starting to settle in, as Brad and I were adjusting to the fact that we would have a newborn within 8 months. In finding out I knew that the time was coming where we would share with friends our exciting news! We wanted to be certain that it was really happening. Shortly after New Year’s day we found out it was real and the doctor’s appointment had confirmed that indeed a seed of life was nestled within me. We couldn’t wait to share with everyone!

Being the fact that Patrick and Jessica happened to be my very first Echo by Design bride and groom AND amazing friends, I decided to write them an email letting them know of our news. I explained that I wanted them to find out from me personally and not ‘through the grapevine‘ so to speak. These days facebook falls into that category! So not expecting much back besides a congratulatory email, a few hours later the phone on the desk started to ring. It was Jessica calling from work, and I was so excited to hear her voice. On the other end of the line she blurted out a huge congratulations and went on about how excited she was for us. Then she said. “Guess what???” And here I was thinking she would have something minor to say…nope! “I’m pregnant too.” “AHHHHH…what!,” as I began freaking out over the phone. As if I wasn’t just excited enough that Brad and I were expecting, Patrick and Jessica were too! We both could barely believe it, not to mention only about 5 days apart. She told me I had to keep my lips sealed because they hadn’t told anyone except parents yet. Gosh, how hard those secrets are! She said she had to get back to work as she whispered in the phone and slipped out of the empty conference room and said goodbye. I laid there in awe and my heart was racing for them.

Rewind to about 4 months ago. I had interviewed several new mommy-to-be’s and had asked the question about finding out the gender of our babies. Although Jessica would have loved to know, Patrick didn’t want to. Just after their scheduled 20 week ultrasound, Jessica was celebrating her birthday. As Patrick couldn’t decide what the best gift to get her was, he wrote in her card and gave it to her a couple of days early. Jessica was confused and as she opened the card, read the words and welled up in tears. Patrick had wrote, “The best birthday present I could give you is to know what we are having.” All unknown to me, Jessica texted me that they had decided to find out! “ANNNNDDD…,” the suspense is ALWAYS there! The phone call came in and Jessica and Pat revealed that they were going to be having….a little GIRL! Sooo much love and happiness for them.

So here we are just a little over 3ish weeks out and I was able to meet up with my first official couple needing a maternity session!

And just in case she doesn’t know just quite yet…Daddy is making her a Notre Dame fan!

I am so ecstatic for the both of you and I can not wait to meet your little bundle. It’s crazy to think we have been on this ride together and that shortly we both are going to be new parents! Brad and I wish you all the best and have been so honored by your love and support in return!

..I’M PREGNANT TOO..

love, echo

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..Baby Sauber Arrives | Oh Baby..

The last thing any newly pregnant woman only about four weeks away from giving birth wants to hear is a labor story of 30 hours! However, when it involves the birth of a new being into our family I couldn’t have cared less how long it took… It all started on Tuesday July 5th, Baby Sauber still hadn’t made it into the world yet and there were many anxious awaiters. At 8 p.m. that evening Laura was suppose to be induced, except when she was checking into the hospital labor pains began on their own. We received the phone call of her labor starting and Brad and I were so excited we could barely fall asleep, thinking Baby would be here in the morning or afternoon.

Up and excited to hear about Laura’s progress proved that babies come exactly when they want. They induced Laura at 11 p.m. and then broke her water in the morning around 7 a.m. the following day. Brad and I had already decided to each take half a day so that we could be with our family as the new baby was being presented! We left a little after one arriving in Toledo just about 3 p.m., and as we were walking into the hospital we got a text. Each of us looked at each other and mentioned, “Perfect Timing?” After opening the text we could have been all too hopeful! Laura had only made it to 4 cm and had such a long way to go. So we settled into the hospital waiting room and watched the clock tick by. Four o’clock came, five, and then six. We finally received word at 6:30 that she was making progress, but slow and steady only at 6 cm. Back to the drawing board, it was Laura’s call…keep going or give in and take the C-Section? She was already pushing 24 hours of labor. Laura chose in good faith that the baby would come when it was suppose to. Full steam ahead for her. At 8:30 after checking again we heard she was up to 7 cm. Grandparents in the waiting room along with brother and sis-in-law we all started thinking of all the scenarios that could be taking place. Was a C-Section going to be necessary? Was the baby going to make it out before midnight? And for Brad, was he going to have a new niece or nephew on his birthday? At 11:30 Laura rejoicingly made it to 9 cm! Nick allowed each of us to go in and see her for just a short bit, he wanted us to give her some strength and encouragement for the remainder of her night. What a blessing for her. We walked into the room and she looked amazing, as if nothing had even phased her to that point!

Our time was up and we hit the waiting room again. A late night snack run to McDonalds kept our stomachs at bay as we continued to watch the clock on the wall. At midnight we all wished Brad a Happy Birthday! By 1 a.m. we were all growing weary, I was pacing the hallway reading my own book about what to expect during this whole process of birth. I surely was trying to avoid in my head what she was going through, knowing that in just a short time it would be my turn. Grandparents were watching TV and hitting up the coffee machine just trying to stay awake. At 2:30 we FINALLY received a text from the new father stating, “It is……..!” What a teaser and yet such a relief as panic had started to set in! Nick finally came into the waiting room with a huge smile and stated, “Do you want to go see what IT is?” AHHH, we were all screaming on the inside. As each of us hurried to grab our belongings and follow the father who had such a proud walk in his step. We all rushed into the room to meet a new baby boy! Lukas Nicholas made his way into the world at 1:49 a.m. on July 7th weighing in at 8lbs 2oz., he was beautiful in every way and each of us were fighting back joyful tears! What an amazing time and when Nick hugged me, “Your next,” he said! Then came the tears! My camera was on and ready to go and for about the shortest half hour known to man, I captured the love that surrounded our new nephew! As much as we would have loved to stay longer, Brad and I got to hold baby Luke and then headed out of the hospital for a 2.5 hour drive home to Dayton.

Congratulations to Nick and Laura on baby Luke! I can’t wait to show you the images I was just able to take this last weekend from his newborn session! SOOO Much love for this little boy!

..I’M NEXT..

love, echo

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echoes of love