At first Chenda and Joel seem to be an unusual pairing. Chenda is a recent immigrant from Cambodia, to hear her story is to hear an example of amazing courage and heart. Joel is a former offensive lineman from rural northeast Missouri he’s one of those people you know has never had a trouble making a friend the instant you talk with him. She’s tiny. He’s a big guy.

But what was instantly clear was their strong sense of faith.

Boy, are these two a pair! We were lucky that Joel and Chenda wanted so much of what my studio does. This meant we were going to do a couple of different photography sessions in the year leading up to the wedding. That also meant I was going to be getting to know this couple and Joel’s parents doing all this beautiful photography. What a treat!

It’s been said that we often seek a partner in life that is like our parent… sometimes we recognize that choice, other time it is done unconsciously. What became clearer and clearer to me is how alike Chenda is with Joel’s mom Judith. The two women are both task masters, strong willed and leaders. The love and acceptance Joel’s family has lauded on Chenda is inspiring because nearly all of Chenda’s family is in Cambodia where emigration rules are very strict. They took her in with such complete love, that Chenda was calling Judith “mom.”

The thing about faith and love that I hope I never stop being amazed by is its ability to inspire us to see the world in a new way and to make us humble enough to forget our boundaries and see all of life’s incredible possibilities. Enjoy!

Chris Cummins

chief photographic artist - Glow Imagery

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These two lovebirds, Kelsey and Ross, held their ceremony at Roeland Park United Methodist Church last month. This is a small church nestled in a neighborhood near Roe Avenue. We really loved the sanctuary and it’s volumes of gorgeous light.

There are a few churches in Kansas City that can get a little carried away with their rules and restrictions they place on the couple and the photographer but this church’s salt of the earth style suited the couple their photographer, perfectly!

A lot of couples that will tell us their photography is very important to them, but in truth it often isn’t. That’s o.k. We don’t begrudge anyone for wanting the nice, long international honeymoon, or have 500 guests attend their reception. It’s all about YOUR priorities. For Kelsey and Ross, the most important thing about their wedding was photography.

I could tell these two and their wedding were going to be fun. I can’t tell you why… there’s just a certain feeling you get when you are working on the preparations with a couple that lets you know if they are a “party couple” or a “celebration couple.” Does that make sense? Sure enough, the couple held their reception at The Knights of Columbus in Shawnee.

I think I may have saw a battle of the bands there about 24 years ago, but that is a different story. Although I didn’t wear any… there was lots of spandex and hair spray there that night. I was a denim guy.

Enjoy the photographs!

Chris

The father of the bride has delivered his daughter to her future husband and steps away. We love this moment at every wedding, every single time.

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Sometimes you just don’t want to stop working with some people. This is so true of Kim and Todd. This pair has their book smarts being doctors and all. Todd works on the human kind and Kim is a veterinarian. This pair are University of Missouri grads, so it wasn’t hard at all for us to feel at home with them. They are super people. You can’t help but smile watching these two in one another’s arms.

Sometimes I feel for parents during all this wedding planning business. It’s not easy on them either. This is particularly true if you have three daughters who all decide to get married in a period of nine months! This was the case for Teresa and Greg, the parents of the bride.

It’s important to note that even though I have been photographing weddings for 11 years now, I am happy to say I still find ways to do it better and offer our clients something better. What did I learn from Kim and Todd’s wedding? During the getting ready portions of the wedding, Kim and her mom were battling with an uncooperative zipper on her dress. The ensuing trouble shooting was no major emergency (I felt it looked fine without any repairs) but with some quick thinking Teresa found the solution.

It was in the middle of this low-grade emergency the idea dawned on me that as many weddings as I participate in, that brides should be able to benefit from that experience beyond just photography should the need arise. A few days after this wedding, my wife and I headed to Target and loaded up on an emergency wedding day kit and packed all the items into a tackle box. For each wedding going forward we will have this tackle box loaded in our car ready to assist in the even of a bridal emergency.

We know you have thousands of choices among Kansas City photographers, but how many of photographers are going to come to your wedding with a wedding day disaster response kit? Not many.

I think there should be a blog post about that kit… hmmmm.

Anyway, Drumm Farm was a beautiful spread for Todd and Kim. Kate Rohan, a long-time friend of ours from her days at Hillcrest Country Club is the event coordinator at Drumm Farm these days. We love working with her!

Enjoy the photographs!

The father of the bride has delivered his daughter to her future husband and steps away. We love this moment at every wedding, every single time.

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We just completed the first draft of Diane and Jon’s wedding album. Their wedding was April 16 and it was terrific!

We’ve all heard the horror stories about friends and family having to wait months and months, sometimes even years to see their wedding albums. Our photography studio is not one of those! Glow Imagery will have your first draft of your volume ready for viewing within two weeks of your wedding day. We are one of the only studios in Kansas City to offer such fast turnaround of wedding volumes.

Enjoy!

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I just updated a draft of a really fun wedding from last month. This couple was Alisha and Chris. I’ve become pretty good friends with Alisha’s family after covering her sister’s wedding in 2007. At one point during that wedding, I remember Alisha, the maid of honor, turning to me and saying, “you’re my photographer for my day!”  Chris did his job and popped the question last year.  The couple has been an item since their high school days and made it through all of life’s transitions that happen in our late teens and early 20’s. Great work you two! Congratulations!!!

One of the great benefits of doing what I love is seeing how easily people develop a sense of loyalty and attachment to my service. People who love what they do perform better and are almost always more fun to work with. In photography, fun is so important to creativity and creating images that are a priceless statement of your love and affections!

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