Had a great start to my wedding season yesterday! This is the second wedding I’ve had at Bridgewood, and they do such a great job there! We could not have asked for better weather yesterday either! It was just one of those really perfect days. Congratulations to Nick and Jessica, you guys are really perfect together.
It is with the happiest heart that I get to introduce you to Josie!! I did Rachael’s maternity photos a couple weeks ago, and now I got to photograph their little peanut! Cannot wait to watch their little Rockstar grow up. With parents like she’s got, she’s bound for great things!
Growing up my dad always had these incredibly organized photo albums; organized by dates, what events written down on the inside of the album. And you could never take a photo out without him noticing. And I still love going to my parents and looking at those albums! And it makes me sad to know that as technology progresses, less of those photo albums are being made. Being a photographer myself, I’m just as guilty as anyone else taking photos on my iPhone because taking out my camera is just “too much of a hassel”. As I was posting a picture that I absolutely loved of Nona smiling on Instragram the other day, I realized that 10 years from now, I most likely won’t be using Instagram, and this photo will be gone. Or worse! What if my phone were to break and I lost all my pictures of her!? Devastating! So as our daughters two month mark approached, I made a promise to myself that I won’t put myself in that position. Having photos of our children, ESPECIALLY at this young age, is so incredibly important. They change so much every day, and just looking back at newborn photos of Nona, I can barely remember her being that small. Do yourself a favor make sure that you’re taking actual photographs of your little ones!
Another one of my all time favorite venues that I’ve worked at is the Paine Art Center in Oshkosh! Jenny and Gary had such a beautiful fall wedding! Their wedding just went so smoothly and everyone I had the pleasure of working with that day was so amazing! Not only was the ceremony site awesome, but they had their reception at The Outer Edge in Appleton, which was also an incredible venue! Would highly recommend both! And for any brides in the Appleton area, Jenny is an awesome hair stylist at Salon Aura if you’re looking for a place to get your hair done for your big day (or any other day for that matter!).
I had the great pleasure of photographing one of our great friends, Rachael, and her beautiful baby belly! I was so excited to hear that she was going to be getting henna done, something that I’ve always thought is so beautiful. She had her design done by Joy with Joyful Henna Designs, who I did get the chance to meet on her way out, and she is such a nice woman! Not only is henna design appealing to the eye, but the idea behind it is also so incredible. Women in India and Morocco would apply the henna in their third trimester of pregnancy to protect their child from any evil spirits and bless the mother. The protective images used are to watch over them during their journey into the world! Pretty amazing! Such a great idea for any future mamas!
Over the years I’ve been extremely fortunate to have some amazing brides, and Dani was definitely one of them! Not only are Dani and James such a dynamite couple, but their wedding was one of the most beautiful and relaxed weddings I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of! For any couples getting married in the Appleton area, I would highly recommend the Warch Campus Center at Lawrence University! It is such an amazing facility; open floor plan, over looking the water, beautiful light and amazing staff! It’s so refreshing to have such a fun group of people to work with! The party went late into the night, with so much great conversation and dancing to be shared by everyone. Nights like those are what make me love my job so much!
Having a daughter has made me love doing newborn sessions more than ever before! There is nothing more beautiful than a new baby, and I had the pleasure of photographing a very good friends baby, Jase this week. We even got to capture a smile out of him too!
Born just a few weeks after our Nona, Jase came into this world to a wonderful family. A couple that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know over the last year or so. I packed up the car and brought Nona and all of our newborn portrait props along to my friends home in Menasha. We took a while to visit and let Jase get comfortable with all of the new stuff around him. I always like working at peoples homes. A studio is often too foreign for a newborn as well as new parents.
After joking about how the two of our children might grow up and get married someday, Jase began to settle down and we were able to snap some photos. What a wonderful time I had working with the family and photographing their new bundle of joy. Sincerely one incredible day. Welcome to the world, Jase and congratulations Mackenzie and Justin!
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Melissa Alderton Photography 
