photography fills me up. brings me joy. your wedding + my camera = happy me.

casual. candid. real. these are words I often use to describe my style of photography, capturing things naturally, as they happen, documenting your wedding day in a quiet, unobtrusive way. that's the heart of my work.

this blog is where you'll see sneak peeks and slideshows from all of my latest weddings and photo sessions. to get a little glimpse into my family life and see some of my personal pictures and projects, visit bykrista.com.

What am I doing right now?

    kelle + chris engagement | louisville

    July 23, 2010 – 2:34 pm

    louisville engagement photographer
    A couple weeks ago, I visited my bestest friend Kelle at her home in Louisville, KY. It was a wonderful weekend. So great to spend time with her and her fiancé Chris, hang out, see their city and talk about their upcoming wedding. They are flying to Aruba for their nuptials (wish I could fly there right along with them) and then will have a big reception at Locust Grove in Louisville in October. Can’t wait!

    We took a few engagement pictures while I was there. Here are a few of my favorites:
    louisville wedding photographer
    louisville photographer
    louisville engagement photography
    louisville wedding photography
    louisville photography
    wedding photographer
    Love you guys! Can’t wait for October! :)

    By kristajean | Posted in engagements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

    happy independence day!

    July 2, 2010 – 10:49 am

    Jake and I recently watched the HBO series “John Adams” and we loved it. We highly recommend it. I thought I would share this clip from the series of the voting and reading of the Declaration of Independence.

    THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE from the series “John Adams”:

    So proud to be an American!!! Happy 4th! “God save our American states!” :)

    By kristajean | Posted in Uncategorized | no comments         No Comments | Add a Comment

    sara + darrell | wedding slideshow

    May 28, 2010 – 12:09 am

    It was so hard to narrow down pictures for Sara + Darrell’s slideshow. There were so many great moments throughout the day. Here are some more of my favorites.

    best viewed with high speed internet connection

    Enjoy!

    By kristajean | Posted in slideshows, weddings | Tagged , | no comments         No Comments | Add a Comment

    sara + darrell | weddings

    May 18, 2010 – 7:51 pm


    Friday was a beautiful day for a wedding. Lindsey and I hung out with the bride at her mom’s house while she got ready and spent some quality time with her mom and her four best girlfriends. It was fun watching the girls play games together and talk and laugh. Such a great group of girls. It was fun to see their familiar faces as well since they were all in Kelli + Dan’s wedding, which I photographed a few years ago. Sara + Darrell chose to see each other before the wedding, which was so sweet. They exchanged gifts and lots of hugs and kisses. Then we were able to get the majority of the posed pictures done ahead of time so they could relax and enjoy themselves after their unique ceremony. I think this is the first ceremony I’ve been to where the bride was given away by six people – her mom, her dad, her stepdad, her uncle and her two brothers. It was very sweet. After vows and rings, the couple planted a tree alongside others they had planted over the years they’ve been together. Their recessional was fun with the guests setting off poppers with streamers in them as they walked back the aisle. Then they took off in the back of a monster truck and headed to their reception, where we all enjoyed a delicious meal before they danced the night away with their family and friends.

    It was a fun wedding to be a part of. Here are some of my favorites from their day. Enjoy!


    Sara + her mom. Love her mom’s face in the photo on the right. Such a proud mom!










    Sara accidentally said the next line of her vows before the officiant told her to because she’d practiced them so much. Everyone got a laugh out of that. So cute.
















    Congratulations, Sara + Darrell! Have a fabulous Hawaiian honeymoon!

    Officiant: Donna Moses 269.344.6311
    DJ/Videography: Party in a Box – these guys are a riot and put on a great party! I highly recommend them. :)

    By kristajean | Posted in weddings | Tagged , | 2 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

    lisa and brian | wedding slideshow

    March 29, 2010 – 8:08 pm

    Enjoy some highlights from Lisa and Brian’s Traverse City wedding!

    By kristajean | Posted in slideshows, weddings | Tagged , | no comments         No Comments | Add a Comment

    brian + lisa | weddings

    March 16, 2010 – 1:30 pm


    I had the wonderful privilege of shooting the wedding of my cousin Brian on March 6th in Traverse City. It was an absolutely beautiful day and so great to be surrounded by family. I spent the afternoon with the girls getting Lisa ready and I loved being around them. Lisa has such wonderful friends and I could immediately tell that they all share a special bond. From the ceremony, which brought tears to my eyes more than once, through the reception at the Top of the Park (in the Park Place Hotel), with its gorgeous view of the sunset over the bay, the day flew right by before we knew it. I’ve said this before, but I love photographing family weddings. Some photographers will shy away from working with family, but I feel like God has given me this talent and I want to share that gift with the ones I love. It was a very special day! And now I have another wonderful cousin!

    Here’s a little sneak peek from the wedding. Many more pictures coming in a highlights slideshow. Coming soon! :)




    Beautiful girls! Not just on the outside!












    As you can tell, the cake cutting got a little messy. More pictures of that coming in the slideshow. ;)

    Congratulations, Brian & Lisa! SO very happy for you! And welcome to the family, Lisa!

    By kristajean | Posted in weddings | Tagged , , , , , | 2 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

    congratulations lisa + brian

    March 8, 2010 – 9:26 pm


    Had a wonderful time in Traverse City this past weekend for my cousin Brian’s wedding! Lisa is such a happy addition to our family. :) Sneak peek coming soon!

    By kristajean | Posted in weddings | Tagged , , , , , | 1 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

    baby jackson | slideshow

    January 11, 2010 – 1:25 pm

    Click the image below to enjoy some more favorites of Jackson and his mom + dad. :)

    best viewed with high speed internet connection

    By kristajean | Posted in babies & children, slideshows | Tagged , , , | 1 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

    christmas village wedding

    January 4, 2010 – 1:55 pm


    Even at my parents house on Christmas day, there was a wedding for me to photograph. ;) This was the scene in my Mom’s Christmas village she has set up in her bay window. Although, this is the first “giant” wedding I’ve photographed. The bride and groom would have to bend down and crawl to get inside those tiny church doors.

    I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Happy to be starting 2010 and can’t wait to see what it holds!

    By kristajean | Posted in personal | no comments         No Comments | Add a Comment

    baby jackson | hastings mi baby photographer

    December 30, 2009 – 4:27 pm


    I’ve been waiting in anticipation for Janna + Dan’s sweet little guy to be born so I could celebrate the wonderful addition to their family with some pictures! I photographed their engagement and wedding and I love that I get to keep in touch with my wedding couples and document their lives as they become a sweet little family.

    Here are some of my favorites. Didn’t I say he was a sweetie? So adorable.


    so tiny! I love the tri-fold frame in the corner displaying lots of pictures from their engagement and wedding. so fun to see that!

    oh my goodness, I love that little smile!

    Love this one of father & son. His face is so funny in the shot on the right. He didn’t much care for us stripping him down to his birthday suit. ;)

    Isn’t his nursery adorable?

    peek a boo!


    The best little Christmas gift ever!

    Slideshow with more favorites coming next week!

    By kristajean | Posted in babies & children, families | Tagged , , , , , | 4 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment
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