love in the air ~ Special Today

How cute are David & Kim in that last entry?
[ALMOST as cute as they are today...
you should see them with their kids!]

Looks like it's sort of feast or famine here on The Silver Lining.
Kim and I had the same idea: Post to the Blog -- we've got great couples to introduce you to!!

We've been busy (happily, HAPPILY busy) AND
Paul and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary this week to boot.

FYI upon reflecting on Kim's entry: To our knowledge, there's not a SINGLE picture of Paul & I during our dating years + engagement...looking back at that time, (meaning the pre-mortgage, pre-children-years)... well that season of life is truly fleeting. Case in point: we spent our anniversary evening coaching a t-ball game (in which the Dragons, yes 5 & 6-year-olds! had a DOUBLE PLAY!!) before rushing over to the middle school pot-luck.]

But I digress...

The bottom line: soak up these moments.
Good times are ahead, but it's a different kind of good.
Relish the here & now.

Like:

~Sarah Carter & Tyler Nivens
currently planning their December wedding.





~ Molly Blanton & Adam Brown, to be wed this Fall on Osage National Golf Course (bring on that fall follage!)


~ Sarah Courtney & Nick Haberberger, whose wedding I'm soooo excited to document in September.

Extra special thanks to the Rocheport General Store for letting us get all the great angles around their fabulous copper counter while Nick & Sarah slurped down their rootbeer floats.

It's an amazing space!

Oh, and see (below) the visual evidence of Special Today.....love that! LOVE being able to do this for a living. SilverBox Clients are THE BEST. We're so honored to document this time in your lives. (B/C afterall, you might be coaching t-ball before you know it :D)


~ love & happiness,
amy enderle

PS click the couple's names in the above entry to see a quick slideshow of each shoot highlights set to music. These shows were created at Annika's request who helped out with the Adam & Molly session and the Sarah & Nick session, too -- AND, who becomes an auntie for the first time today.Thinking of you, Annika!! ~ ae

getting to know you

Once in a while, a bride asks me or Amy whether she really ought to have an engagement session. We say, with much conviction, "Yes!"

David and I have ONE picture of ourselves during our dating years. That picture is precious to me: it represents an entire "era" in our relationship and evokes a wagonload of wonderful memories. And heck, we look so darn young!

Soon after my brother-in-law Geoffrey made this picture, he offered us this advice (newly engaged, we were deciding when to schedule our wedding): "Being engaged is a once-in-a-life, special time in your relationship. Why rush it?!"

Amy and I offer similar advice to couples: "Being engaged is a once-in-a-life, special time in your relationship. Why not document it?!"

As documentary wedding photographers, we also have our own motives. Getting to know a couple better through photographing them BEFORE the wedding day, helps them feel all the more comfortable with a camera ON the wedding day. And the more we know a couple, the better we are able to capture the moments and moods that make each couple unique.

So three cheers for engagement sessions! And three cheers for these couples who were a delight to photograph and whose weddings are in the planning stages:

Megan & Ben ~ about to be married June 1 at Stephens' Firestone Baars Chapel:Adrienne & Ryan ~ getting married on June 23 in Marshall, Missouri (with a reception at the Saline County Fairgrounds, which sounds just GRAND!):Kim & Matt, who just bought a house (CONGRATS!) and are marrying on September 15 at Our Lady of Lourdes:Stephanie & Nick ~ marrying November 3 in Hermann (and by the way, Nick planted each of these grapevines himself, a labor of love!)
~kim

a baby Bird

We're home...
not yet unpacked, but home.

Can't wait to show (and further experiment with) all we learned.
BUT, in the meantime, Kim and I both have a number of images from recent sessions that we love but have yet to share...
so be warned SilverLining watchers, lots of new entries & updates coming your way.
FURTHER WARNING: The next few entries are likely to be image-heavy & text-short, so if what you like about the blog is new pictures without having to scroll through so much rambling narrative, then you are absolutely in luck.

My guess as to why we'll be a bit less wordy in the near future.
Well kids, it's Memorial Day Weekend:
Swimming pools open, outdoor grilling begins and
HOORAY! ~ the official kick-off of Wedding Season.
Our FAVORITE time of year.

Let's start off with Mike & Tracy.
Tracy has one my most favorite (ever!) laughs.
See how she sort of smiles from the tip of her head to the tips of her fingers:
And below are Tracy & Mike TOGETHER. (Michael is equally fabulous & kind & loving & positive & fun, but, perhaps a bit....um, with a laugh that's slightly softer?)



Now take a look at them TODAY:




What follows: more favorites of Mike & Tracy (Wrenn) Crowe AND the little baby bird nearly ready to say goodbye to the nest. There's a little wager going on as to delivery date...and drats, I didn't win this one, but what fun!!

sidenote: We keep hearing that when we post images we should identify them with a copyright mark. OK, so we could just put that circled-C on top of the images, but come one, where's the fun in that?

In this post you'll see border & signature options galore....we're trying to figure out our SilverBox border look. Any thoughts or suggestions are always welcome & appreciated.



Think happy-&-easy-baby-delivery thoughts for Trace & Mike
& check back soon.

Time to unpack :D
~amy enderle

Happiness....in any kind of light

What a joy it was to spend a late afternoon with Tracey & Ben.

On the phone Tracey suggested we start our shooting session at Ben's work "and then we'd like to pack a picnic ~ we eat outside. That's us. It's what we do."

No way could I have dreamed up more beautiful environments, or more pleasant people with whom to share them.


And oh, the LIGHT!!
This time of day is called "God's light" for a reason. Wow.


Confession: It's the laughter I REALLY love, but whew, that light takes a close second.
Sometimes though, try as we might, the Golden Hour just doesn't make it's way into the day.

Kim & I have committed ourselves this season to "creating" the ambiance of great light, even those times when great light (or dramatic light, or flattering light, or heck, even interesting light) is nowhere to be "found".

Sure, with Tracey & Ben, we walked and the sun twinkled. But clearly, that's not always the case. Achieving Great Light is our new SilverBox artistic pursuit. As I type this we're packing our bags...heading off to Indianapolis to shoot beside and learn from a real lighting master. Zack Arias (who's flying in from Atlanta) is a guru of great lighting...and now, instead of just drooling over his amazing images, we're going to get the chance to learn from him first hand.

We can hardly wait!

And would be soooo remiss if we didn't thank our AMAZING HUSBANDS for handling so much while we're away. OK, AND my mom. She is coming to town to fill in...complete with making a Caterpillar Cake for the school carnival. Now that's a mother's love!

all of which reminds me just how lucky I am.
~ Clients I love to photograph (and heck, feel lucky to even know!!) AND
~ a great family who's love & support make it possible for me spend the time it takes to discover what makes the couples we photograph sparkle (in any kind of light.)

Life is good.

Click here to see more Tracey & Ben and to happily step back in time with this song. Can you name that tune?? OH, and watch all the way to the end. The DAY BEFORE this shoot, Tracey & Ben bought their FIRST HOUSE. Can't imagine ending the photo session at a more meaningful place:


Love it. Love it. Love it!

~ amy