Christen + Chase

What a beautiful day these two had! In the midst of an incredibly wet and dreary fall season, Christen & Chase’s day landed on a gorgeous, partly sunny, 50-degree day where all the trees’ leaves were rich fall hues and perfect for photos. But among the most beautiful of colors: Christen’s bouquet that was so beautiful, she even teared up at first sight of it!

Christen opted not only for a First Look with Chase, but we worked one out with her Dad, Ken, as well! He then assisted her to her First Look with her groom. The beauty of Christen & Chase’s first look was the perfection that is having a second shooter. You’ll see an angle from Sarah, my assistant for the day, and Christen is in the background and then you’ll see Christen from my angle. It’s such a joy to give my clients so many images from all spots of an event so they don’t miss a moment! What was even sweeter though? Christen & Chase both teared up and wiped their eyes at the same time! Take a look:

We moved into portraits of just the two of them while the bridal party gathered and the trees and weather continued to be wonderful for us:

From the moment I met Chase’s sister and her darling twins, I knew there was a special story there. Chase’s sister had some severe health issues this past spring and we are lucky to have her still with us. Today was a true celebration for Christen & Chase, yes, for the start of their lives together, but also that their family remained together too. And are their Ring Bearer and Flower Girl not the cutest!?! (Also, their dog, Axel, joined the party too! Complete with bow tie-collar!)

Their ceremony had so many special moments tied in to express exactly who they are. Christen had both of her parents give her away while she wore her mother’s veil and they had all four of their parents surround them for the opening prayer to their ceremony. So sweet!!

After their ceremony, we jetted downtown to capture some Party Bus photos of their wedding party with their significant others. We started at the Women of Achievement Bridge (which Christen really appreciated) and then hit the open commons area by the Civic Center.

Their reception was probably the best dancing photos I’ve captured in quite some time. During Christen & Chase’s first dance, Chase’s nephew wanted in on the fun. So the three of them had a lovely dance together. :) Their friends are awesome dancers and the floor was never void of fun, laughter and smooth moves!

We grabbed some sunset photos at the perfect time. As we were wrapping up our five minute jaunt outside, we watched the sun settle behind a set of clouds and the glow was gone. It couldn’t have been timed more perfectly. Their time at Country Lane Lodge (from getting ready to Reception) was breathtakingly beautiful and I’m so proud of what we were able to capture for them, the venue and the vendors that worked their big day!

Christen & Chase (& family): I am so thankful to have met you all and thank you for welcoming me into your families for this special day! I SO appreciate your trust in my skill set and abilities and I hope these photo meet and exceed your expectations! I wish you nothing but the best that Life has to offer and I love how Ken worded it in his toast to you both: Let’s live and love others so that we make Heaven more crowded.

Blessings to you both and your families! You are amazing people!
Carrie

PS You can view their wedding gallery HERE.

Vendors of Note:
Wedding Coordinator: Mostly Becky

Ceremony Venue: Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines

Getting Ready & Reception Venue: Country Lane Lodge

Florals: The English Rose

DJ: A Special Event DJ

Party Bus: Wedding Lux Limo

Rentals: Elegant Affairs

Cupcakes: Scratch Cupcakery, West Des Moines

Shuttle Service to and from Hotel & Reception: Majestic Shuttle Service

Photography: Carrie Krupke Photography, LLC

Nick : Class of 2019

It is impossible to turn members of the Class of 2019 away. Especially this fellow. Nick has been one of my staunchist (is that a word?) supporters ever since attending the middle school band camp I recruited him to when he was done with 6th grade. Honestly, I think I gained a fan in him because I conducted a piece that I allowed the french horn players to go "bell up", meaning blast full throttle (with good quality tone of course) and angle their bells up for it to be even louder. Nothing more majestic to me than that. I attended a conference last spring where the keynote speaker talked about just how important the Band is to humanity and one of his references was Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. Do you really think the walls would've come tumbling down if they'd been playing violins? 

But I digress. I've now photographed the whole group that Nick started hanging out with in the band room before school every morning (Jaden, Ana, Allie, Gina) and I'm so saddened that my time with these young lives is nearing an end! 

Check out Nick's socks! This image below is his: "I'm ready for a gig" image: 

On the way to our last location, we paused here to give him a wide shot of downtown Des Moines:

While I'm a little jealous that the band department now has to share Nick because he's decided to not only join choir and (gasp!) auditioned into show choir, I'm super excited that Mr. Krupke gets to experience Nick's leadership prowess. Nick can gather/organize his peers unlike few before him. His Pied Piper-ness rivals Mr. Krupke's in all honesty and I'm so glad the choir department gets a dose of what we've now dubbed the Serck Smirk:

Outside of music and leadership roles in school, Nick has competed in 4-wheeling since he was 6 years old. His mom, Ricci, brought the license plate from his 4-wheeler and this reminded me of why I love senior sessions: I get to learn about new hobbies and activities every. single. time! 

Nick, 

Oh how I will miss seeing your smiling, confidence-inducing grin during Band Camp rehearsals! Knowing I had at least one enthusiastic supporter in the ensemble gave me energy and empowerment to keep going on more occasions than I can count. Come for one last hurrah next summer and I promise, I'll give you a "bells up" opportunity, even if the music doesn't officially call for it. And always, always, with quality tone. ;) You are going to take the world by storm and I can't wait to hear the wide-reach of your influence. 

You are awesome, 

Mrs. Krupke

PS You can view more of our time together HERE. 

Jenna : Class of 2019

What an adventure we had for Jenna's session! In our first location, we had no short of FOUR emergency vehicles with their sirens racing past and we could barely hear each other talk! lol! I absolutely loved every outfit Jenna had for our time together-what a fun fashionista!

At our second location, a marriage proposal happened a few yards away from us and then even more excitement ensued when the couple announced to their parents that they were expecting as well! Poor Jenna was posing like a rock star-you would never know that we were surrounded by crowds of people and she took it all in great stride. I knew when she contacted me that I would absolutely LOVE working with her and she and her mom, Julie, definitely didn't disappoint! 

I was so thankful that we had planned for her last location to be away from the crowds and in the middle of nowhere-a sunflower field with no one else around. If Jenna could pose and work with me as well as she did in the past locations, I knew we'd get amazing shots now that we were both in our comfort zones. The only thing that worried us was the weather-the skies were teasing us with rain as we drove to our field and then, the sun blessed us with the best glowy light as it made its final descent. We were ecstatic to be given such a reward for our efforts: 

Because the sun was about to be done for the day, we did a quick outfit change to show off Jenna's non-academic pursuits throughout her high school career. As we were finishing this series off, the sun gave us a spectacular last showing and we had to go back into her blue dress to take advantage. Oh silly sun, how you tease! To switch things up, I got up on Julie's beloved Honda Pilot's roof and got Jenna from a different angle altogether. What fun!!

Jenna + Julie: It was so wonderful working with both of you to make this shoot happen! Thank you so much for having me be a small part of Jenna's senior year. It's my pleasure and my privilege that I deeply appreciate! Jenna-I know that no matter what you choose to do beyond high school, you're going to do an outstanding job of it. We're here rootin' for you!

Blessings on your senior year!

Carrie

PS You can view the rest of our time together HERE. 

Gracie : Class of 2019

I am so glad to have met Gracie! She was the fortunate winner of the session that I donated to Norwalk's After Prom. What a fun and spunky spirit Gracie has! She requested mainly urban and architecture, so we started our time where my previous session had finished-at the river walk with a great view of downtown: 

With an outfit change and a slight change of scenery...

I always try to go somewhere new or do something different, so we went through the parking structure nearest The Travelers sign and coincidentally, Gracie said that she and her friends sometimes hang out up here too:

Gracie: Thank you so much for spending time with me-I'm glad you won the session! Congratulations on your senior year and I hope you enjoy the time you have remaining in Norwalk's hallways!
Blessings, 

Carrie

PS You can view more of our time together HERE. 

Elaine + Nick

I still remember when Carson fit into a small gift-wrapped present under the Christmas tree and now he'll be a percussionist in 5th grade this fall! Through very strategic scheduling, we got this session squeaked in before we officially wrap things up for the school year with Carrie Krupke Photography and I'm so glad we did! The weather cooperated, Brecker and Carson were their awesome ninja-selves and we knocked this one out as a mini session: 

We got a few quick of just Nick and Elaine before the boys realized they were missing out and wanted in on the photo-bombing action: 

Nick + Elaine: Thank you so much for working within the confines of my tight schedule to make this shoot happen! It's been an honor watching Carson and Brecker grow up in front of my camera and a pleasure working alongside both of you in Norwalk! 

Blessings, 

Carrie
PS You can view more of our time together HERE.