One time Mandy’s older sisters dug this huge hole in their back yard – by hand with shovels – lined it with a tarp and filled it with the garden hose. And yes, we swam in that ‘pool’ too. Before long it resembled more of a mud hole rather than a pool though so the appeal to swim in the homemade pool wasn’t as enticing as it once was.

Mandy’s parents must have felt sorry for us because they eventually bought one of those above ground pools for us to swim in. In hindsight, perhaps they were trying to save their backyard from another attack from the shovel. We turned into proverbial fish that summer and often would swim well into the dark of the night before our parents forced our wrinkly waterlogged bodies out of the water.

Mandy is married to Brian now and as happy as can be. We may not jump ditches with Ryan any more nor swim until the moon is the only source of light, but we still have a great time when we get together these days.

Until next time,
~Shay

Utah family photographer | Utah couple photographer | Ogden family photographer

Speaking of family portraits, you may have wondered if I fell off the face of the earth after my last post said I would only be gone a week. True I was only gone a week, but upon my return all the catching up to do and now in full swing of the fall season, my blog posting vacation was extended past my actual vacation. So to remedy that, here’s a very small sneak peek of a session I had recently. I love, love this picture by the way. If you have a member of the family that’s of the furry persuasion…. and I don’t mean Uncle Frank — hehe (ok, that was a lame joke) well by all means bring your furry family member to your session with you! I want to capture your whole family!

Oh, and also speaking of the new blog, check out the size of the honkin’ huge beautiful images! I think I’m in love. Already.

Until next time,
~Shay

Utah family photographer | Utah family and pet photographer | Utah family photography tips

Of course I was super honored they asked me to document their special day. They did things the simple route by forgoing all the craziness that weddings can sometimes be and instead chose to unite forever in the coziness of just each other’s company. Pure perfection if you ask my opinion.

The ceremony was performed at the Stein Erickson Lodge, located in Park City, Utah, by the lovely Karen Nielsen. She did a beautiful job and her words were so perfect she had the two of them in tears. I must admit the ceremony was so touching I got a little teary eyed myself. I’d recommend her to anyone looking for an officiant; you can see her website here.

I love how the Stein Erickson Lodge logo is in the background of this one.

and look at the way Brad looks at Taunya….*sigh*…..you can easily see how much he adores her

the kiss:

and the glowing Mrs. Perry:

I didn’t mention before that all these beautiful wedding arrangements were made by Brad. On their cake he had them inscribe Lu, Mu, Nu, Wu Forever which is their special code they text to each other throughout the day. It means Love You, Miss You, Need You, Want You.

Other details:

Taunya is a lover of skulls. Look at her cute tatoo and Brad’s cuff links and watch. I think I’m in love.

If you’d like to see more, feel free to watch the slideshow by clicking here.

Rawr. Look at how amazing Tauyna looks.

Love is beautiful and as you can see from the sneak peek below, the love was abundant. Thanks for such a wonderful time Brad and Taunya. I’m looking forward to meeting all your boys later this summer.

~until next time