I met Ashley that morning, and after knowing her for about an hour here was my “guess the dress” prediction: a form fitting strapless mermaid, very classic silk taffeta with a sweetheart neckline. There have only been a few times that I was THAT close on my guess so I’m so glad I said it out loud to Ashley before seeing it, or she never would have believed me! After I strangely nailed that Ashley’s MOH said, “Wow, OK, guess mine.” I then, according to her, described exactly a photo that she had just sent to her sister (who was standing right behind me). THE CROWD WENT WIIIIILD!*  Thennnnn, Ashley’s sister asked me to guess hers (she’s a newlywed) and I said, “ohhh, I don’t knowwwww….” and proceeded to bomb it. Soooo… 2 outta 3 ain’t bad!

Full disclosure: I only play “guess the dress” when I’m confident in my prediction. Hence why my success rate is so high.

*no one went wild, I’m lying.

Kent’s dad Bill helping him with his cufflinks.

I’m not gonna lie, fluorescent light is not my favorite lighting scenario but somehow Ashley still looked beautiful under it. WHAAAAA??!?! Let me tell you, RARELY does anyone look beautiful under fluorescent lights!

Meanwhile…

There’s an art form to taking a mirror photo without being in it!

SUCH a good looking duo!

Kent, watching his bride walk down the aisle. In my experience, when you think back to your wedding day yeeeeacrs down the road, walking down the aisle is the first thing that comes to mind. This is why I always tell brides to take it as slowly as possible because you’ll want to soak up every millisecond!

Ashley had alllll the heart eyes!

You have such a genuine smile.

MARRRRRIEDDDD!!!!

Image specs: Canon 5D Mark IV •  f/9  •  1/500  •  ISO 800

AYKM with the fitting of this dress?! Holy wowwww! Ashley, you are such a babe!

A reminder: while I tend to show more of the creative portraits on this blog; I always shoot traditional wedding photos too. In general I tend to shoot a few more traditional photos on a wedding day than on an engagement session. My hope is that your wedding images will stand the test of time.

Ashley with her dad Larry. He makes me laugh that loud obnoxious laugh that I try OH SO HARD to contain. Damn you Larry!

I loved this momma/son relationship! Bill and Maureen (Kent’s parents) have three daughters and one son and they sure do love their kids wholeheartedly.

The Doo Band never disappoints! And I mean that; NEVERRRR!

Hi again Larry!

Kent with his parents.

Thank you two for including us in such a fun-filled day! It was truly an honor to witness your marriage.

Much love friends!

Bobbi

My husband told me late last night that it was National Black Dog Day and that he was surprised I didn’t post about it. AYKM??!! IF I HAD KNOWN, I WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY POSTED ABOUT IT!

My big ol’ buddy, my sunshine butt, my MeePeeMee, my love bug, and at one time in my life… my everything. I’m crying. Ugh. I’m going to attempt to make this short and sweet because I’m just not in the mood to cry.

MurphyMoMoMoMo, you were my first true love. You will always and forever be my favorite dog. No other dog can compete. You are not only a good boy, you are the very best boy.

I canNOT believe you are 11.5 years old. You seem to be the dog who never slows down, who never ages, who can still do all of the things he’s always done.  Let it be known, I will never be ready to not have you in my life. Eff, I’m a mess; stopping with that talk immediately!

It seems that I’ve not taken many photos of him throughout the years with my big camera; I promise to be better about that. Also today seems like the appropriate day to talk about how difficult it is to photograph a black dog… which is one of the reasons black dogs have a holiday all to themselves; they are the least adopted pups in dog shelters mostly because they are hard to take photos of.

I’ve also noticed I have quite a few photography clients with black dogs who hire me to photograph them with their beloved pups (two in the last month!). It may be a niche? Maybe it’s because people have seen photos of my MurphyMo? It’s likely just a fluke but even if so, I’m thanking Murphy regardless.

These were taken at my old home in Indianapolis soon after he came into my life nearly seven years ago to the day (October, 2012).

I used to always say that MurphyMo got me through the most difficult times of my last five years and Ruth got me happy again; she came into the picture three years after Murphy did in November 2015. She’s not his favorite friend but she definitely keeps him young!

….I mean, it’s only natural! (I took these goofy wedding photos for the launch of my new website back in 2016)

Your ability to adapt and roll with all of the changes that you’ve been through in your life never ceases to amaze me. On top of that, you are SO amazing with the kids! When I ask them (which I often do because I’m weird), “who’s your favorite dog this week?” Their answer is almost always, “Murphy.” Welllll…. Andrew (the oldest) usually says it’s Murphy’s best friend Jackie Bower (photos of her at the end). But I think you get the idea.

I’m incredibly disappointed in myself that I don’t have ONE big camera photo of you taken with the kids. Mark my words, we are GOING to make that happen!

Those brown eyes?! I can’t. I JUST CAN’T!

iPhone pics

Like I said earlier, I’ve not been great about taking photos of my love bug with the big camera but I AM great at taking quickie pics with my iPhone. I HAD to include a few photos of him with his best friend Jackie Bower (she’s the white dog who was a Ghostbuster; top row, second from the right).

MurphyMo, thank you for letting me be your momma and for teaching me what unconditional love looks like.

Happy National Dog Day Big Buddy! Also, quick question… do you have big plans today?

Love,

Yo Momma

Ohhhhhh how I adore Katie’s freckles!

Elliot is from Australia and just moved to the United States recently. His family all flew in for the occasion. Below, his brother and dad are helping him with his suit.

Elliot had been working for months on writing Katie a book of their story. He had originally planned to have it professionally binded; but you know… moving 10,000 miles across the Pacific took a bit of his time and energy leading up to their wedding. I’d never seen a gift like this before and I’ve gotta tell you, it may be my favorite ever. That was the moment I knew I would love Elliot (and I hadn’t even met him yet!).

Katie’s brother and nephew.

First look. These two had already married in Australia in 2018. They wanted to hold another wedding in Katie’s hometown so she could celebrate with her family stateside. She wore the same dress both times. The only difference was the addition of the veil.

These two have such genuine smiles all of the time!

GUYS! It was RECORD LEVEL HEAT that day! We’re talking 103° heat index. WHAAAAA??!?! Needless to say all of these portraits, both bride/groom and wedding party were taken in record timing!

I actually started my professional photography career in Ft Wayne. In 2005, two years after I married my then husband Mike; we moved across the state from Terre Haute, Indiana and into his parents’ basement in Ft Wayne. We moved there because I was hating my current life as a graphic designer and knew I needed change.  He was a private pilot at the nearby local airport while I built my photography business (Bobbi Studio) from the basement.  We only lived there for 6 months before my business had become successful enough to move out and to a small apartment on the south side of Indianapolis (and changed this biz name to Photography by Bobbi) while Mike started working for the Greenwood Airport as a private pilot instructor.

Allllll of that to say that I’ll never forget the first fancy wedding I ever booked was at The Embassy in downtown Ft Wayne. It was then I knew that I had made it in the world of wedding photography.

See that window on the right in the photo above? We had the cutest audience as we shot these!

Riiiight before walking down the aisle with dad.

Announcing…!

Last time I shot here, this little rooftop courtyard was non-existent.

Have I mentioned how much I love Katie’s freckles? Because I do. Though, I may be partial.

I think this was an Aussie thing? As soon as whatever song was playing started, all of the Australian men rushed to the dance floor and dropped their pants. The American men were all, “um, when in Rome…” and joined in.

behind the scenes

Bobbi Brides! I shot Rachel’s wedding 11 years ago. ELEVEN YEARS AGO?! Wow. WOW!

Much love friends,

Bobbi