Kansas City wedding photographer | boudoir photographer | family & newborn photographer » Darbi G. Hebrank is Kansas City portrait, boudoir and wedding photographer located in the Kansas City area ( including Lee

Laughter. Jokes. Fun. Those are what Caitlin & Cody’s wedding was about. From the minute I arrived at Benjamin Ranch in South Kansas City, I knew that Ali and I were in for a treat. The venue was so rustic and raw, a real working ranch. And Caitlin & Cody’s wedding party had us giggling from the get go. From bridesmaids who were eager to wear their “poop”-kickers (no cussing on the blog!! 😉 and chase the chickens, to groomsmen who weren’t afraid to drop to the ground and pull out some football glory-day stunts…this group was in it for memory-making!

Caitlin herself is a photographer (she just got back from a stint in Africa…she went down there for the sole purpose to take pics…and pics she did take! Lions, sunset, the safari scenes. So jealous!!!) Cody manages gas and oil companies. Their love story goes way back. Like…to 1998. CAitlin was 8 and Cody was 10. They were in a horseshow together and Cody, the ever-gentleman, allowed Caitlin to go before him. She never forgot that. She even told her parents that night that she was going to marry that boy.

And she was right. A decade and a half later, Caitlin’s wish came true. The weather was perfect, the flowers were fresh and gorgeous, and this bride was rarin’ to go with her lace boots!

Check out some pics…and some of my notes along the way!

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Cody & Caitlin…thank you so much for having Ali and I there on your beautiful day! Your family and friends adore the both of you, clearly…and I have a feeling you have a ranch-load of laughter ahead of you as you start this chapter together. And I am so excited to see you again in a few weeks for our Extreme Bridal session!~!!! xo

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  • Darbi's Mom - What a FUN wedding! Beautiful pictures! Bride and groom look so in love! Great job Darbi!ReplyCancel

I can’t believe I’ve never blogged this! I mean, gosh…it’s only been 3 months since I shot this sweet lil’ thing! ha And she’s one of the most important new human beings in my life.

Meet Stella. She’s my 2nd niece. Last fall, my family found out that my brother, Troy, and his wife, Wendy, were expecting a baby in June. Elated and excited we all were! The lil’ pickle (as my brother and sis-in-law call her) was even more excited. So excited that she decided to come into the world when no one was expecting it. She was born on April 5. Eleven weeks early. She weighed in at 3 lbs, 4 oz.

Being born early has its own set of challenges. Troy and Wendy proved to be trooper parents from the get-go. Their courage, their optimism, their steadfast commitment to their precious early gift was admirable. And Stella was truly a born fighter. And an eater. In no time she was off her breathing tubes, and home from the NICU at a speed that impressed even the nurses.

I wasn’t surprised though. She had amazing hospital care, two loving parents, and gobs of support and love from all of us. I got to meet her when she wast three weeks old. She already looked so much bigger than the photos that Troy and Wendy had been sending. And I was smitten. These first few pics are of her in the NICU in late April.

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And then 3 months after she graced us with her tiny presence, I did a photo shoot in Troy & Wendy’s home. Stella was so alert, not sleepy at all, so we had some fun with her wide-eyed expressions. 🙂

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And last weekend, I was home in Omaha. I snapped these three pics on my cell phone, so excuse the quality. 😉 She is much loved by her cousins Cailin and Weston. Weston can even say her name…and Troy says it sounds like the way ET would say it: Stelll-a. Isn’t she delightful! ?? Omahababyphotographer2-001so yep. As you can imagine, my mom and dad are incredibly happy and sappy grandparents!!!Omahababyphotographer2-002

Troy & Wendy–belated though this post may be…. I am so happy that your growing family is one small body closer to complete. She fits in so well with your two fur babies. 😉 I can’t wait to watch her grow up…and soon, she’ll be climbing all over Weston, while Cailin pulls on both of their hands in her never-ending maternal way. 😉 Love to you all! xo

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  • Jennifer Yaple - I love watching the progression – she’s growing so fast and it’s obvious how much she’s loved by all! So precious 😉ReplyCancel

Turquoise and red…my favorite colors. (Gee, can you tell? haha) Those colors stood out at this wedding, though it wasn’t exactly the color palette the bride chose. The red is obvious. Megan chose it, which immediately put a traditional, classic and romantic touch on her & Matt’s wedding day. But let’s talk about turquoise for a second. Hands down, my favorite color EVER. And would you believe me if I told you that Megan has turquoise eyes!? SEriously. All natural. No contacts. And the photos of her below in simple window light were not processed to bring out her eyes. They were merely treated as I treat all my portraits. And KAPOW! Breathtaking.

Ok, so moving on so I don’t sound creepy and obsessive over my bride’s eyes. 😉 Let’s revisit a few things that made this wedding stand out.

Oops. I lied. I’m going to sound a bit creepy again. I have mentioned before that I always end up thinking my clients look like someone famous…or two someones. Like a mix between two people. Well, with Matt & Megan, this was no different. Matt totally reminded me of a thinner, blonder version of Bradley Cooper. (and it doesn’t help that there wedding occurred during my ALIAS addiction on Netflix.) And then Megan…at first I thought a bit of Reese Witherspoon, but the more I was around her, I started seeding more and more of Kirsten Dunst (before she went all weird!). Do you see it???

So anyway…their day revolved around the Eldridge Hotel in Lawrence. Talk about an impressive hotel! The room where the ladies got ready was large, great lighting and modern furniture. Score. they also held their ceremony AND reception there. Lovely venue!!! And the staff was so polite and helpful!

I got to once again work with my fave ladies at HITCHED Events here in Kansas City. They are such amazing florists and wedding planners!

The DJ was another fave of mine…Richard of ALL EARS. 

The ceremony was positively moving. Susan Hoskins and Stephanie Pifer-Stone were the officiants and they read aloud to the guests answers to questions that Megan and Matt had been asked. The responses were so sweet, so real. And hilarious. That Matt, he’s a funny guy! One of the reasons he said he loved Megan was that she was a “stone-cold fox.” This of course resulted in “whoops” and uproarious laughter. And maybe a playful swat from his wife-to-be. (And I later learned, they had no idea their responses were going to be shared. So there might have been a bit of blushing on Matt’s part, too!!) When couples put themselves into the ceremony, making it about them and their love, there are guarantees of tears and heartful sighs. I loved witnessing all the expressions these two made as they clearly are best friends and more.

The bridal party was so gracious, gorgeous and such good sports! Ali and I had a great time with them. The ring bearer and flower girl were a team of adorableness.

At the reception, it was by far one of the most tenacious cake-cutting experiences I’ve ever documented. It was all in good fun of course, but I was laughing so hard I could hardly snap the photos. (But I managed to laugh from behind the lens as you’ll see the series below!) Regardless of the amount of frosting that was all over, these two were in amazing spirits after a short clean up. WAy to entertain, M&M!

And lastly, one side note… their steak dinner was by far…literally, no exaggeration, THE best meal I have ever eaten at a wedding. It was cooked perfectly, tasted absolutely delectable and Ali and I joked we felt like we were on a fancy date. SUCH a treat. Thank you so much, M&M for including us in such an amazing meal (catered by The Eldridge Hotel.)

So I’ll cease my reminiscing here so you can take a look-see at at Kirsten & Bradley. I mean… Megan & MAtt. 😉 I hope you enjoy!!! And expect to see them again on the blog soon because I did a post-wedding I STILL DO session with them since we were unable to get their engagement session in before their wedding. xo

 

p.s. Megan, you ARE a gorgeous crier. 😉

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  • Megan Reed - LOVE!!!! I nearly cried looking at all the pictures! You did an amazing job at capturing our day! You are the BEST!!!ReplyCancel

  • Ashley Poston - AWESOME pics! They capture the day beautifully. Such great memories!! GORGEOUS bride!!! 🙂 Megan and Matt are such a lovely couple!ReplyCancel

  • Jennifer Nuttle - Breathtaking…what a treasure these are and will be for many years to come!ReplyCancel

  • Aunt Astrid - Truly beautiful wedding of a happy couple in love surrounded by their friends and loved ones. Makes me even more sad that I was unable to attend. So glad I got to see these lovely photos. May you always be as happy as you were on your wedding day.ReplyCancel

  • Georgiann - Looks like it was an amazing day!! Wish I could have been there with you all, but I’m thrilled to see your stunning photos. Matt and Megan, your happiness is very evident~you are both glowing! And Matt, your Mom and Dad look wonderful too! Best wishes always!ReplyCancel

Hold up. You’re about to engaged in a delightful experience… including succumbing to involuntary sighs and smiles. That’s because Derek, who turned 1 recently, is C.U.T.E. and a half. His mom, Kari, works with my husband. She wanted to do this session as a surprise for her husband, Mike, because Mike is one the many brave individuals whose service to the country interferes with his desire to be at home with his family. He is currently in the middle of a deployment in Afghanistan. As you can imagine, he was so excited to see these photos of his son and his lovely wife. And I was all too honored to be able to capture them!

Mike, thank you soooo much for your service to this country! I will keep you in my thoughts and hope that the rest of your time overseas goes quickly and safely. And Kari, I thank you too because you have to endure a lot in order for Mike to be so courageous. You are a wonderful mother, and I admire you for your strength, resolve and commitment to get you through until your husband can be home where he belongs!

Enjoy this summery session…

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  • Darbi's Mom - Oh my gosh, Derek is ADORABLE! Love all these pictures. Darbi, you did a beautiful job. Daddy has to be so thrilled to see these!ReplyCancel

  • Deb Peterson - What a great job on the pics. We love them all ( Kari, Derek, and Mike ) What a wonderful surprise for Mike! Kari is such a good mom and wife. Proud of them all.ReplyCancel

I want to warn all… I am so not in the writing groove today, but I really really really want to share these pics with Lauren & Preston because I am in love with so many of them. So my apologies if I am not as eloquent as usual. Not that I’m very eloquent to begin with, but anyway…

Lauren & Preston are high school sweethearts (their love story is told in their engagement session post, if you want to read it!!) so being there to witness and document the day they took their long relationship to the next level was truly emotional. I am friends with Lauren’s sister, and their family is no stranger to me. I’ve grown quite fond of all three sisters, as well as their parents and significant others! It was so exciting to be with them to celebrate such an occasion.

I am sure when L & P chose their wedding date, they were envisioning a day of blue sky, a slight breeze with that hint of chilliness that feels good in the sun, but maybe slightly cold in the shade. But what they got was a day that felt like the dead of summer. 101 degrees in mid September!! No clouds. Not a whole lot of wind. And TONS of sweat.

Luckily, sweat doesn’t show much in photos…and instead, everyone looked like they were totally comfy in the high temps. Such great sports!!!

I think I have posted too many photos from this wedding. Somehow, the hottest weddings for me have yielded countless amazing memories. And after seeing these pics, tell me if you’d guess that Lauren has admitted time and again that weddings and planning just aren’t her cup of tea. Her family pulled together for the event and it turned out to be so much fun, so beautiful and such a personal experience.

So please enjoy the images and my notes along the way!!

Peeper Ranch provided a great backdrop, complete with gorgeous horses who bayed and neighed from their stalls. One horse shared a name with Lauren’s younger sister (Emily!!) and proved to be one with attitude. 😉 She scared us all a few times with her banging around in the stable. She’s pictured below.

Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-001To be honest, these are two pics… though if they were one, that’d be awesome. 😉Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-003Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-004Lauren’s mom made the bouquets. Pictured on the right is the tiny lil’ dress that Lauren’s niece, Reese, got to wear. Unfortunately, we didn’t get many pics of her in the dress as she got sick and had to go home. Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-005Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-006Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-007Here’s REESE!!! SQUEEZE!Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-008So there might be way more prep pics than usual for the ladies. This is because I was in love with the getting-ready room. A simple room, with a great source of natural light. We turned off the lights overhead and I just loved it! I wish all prep rooms were as accommodating for good photography. haha

 

Also, her dress takes the wedding cake for my fave dress of the year (so far at least!) I just loved it. Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-009Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-010Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-011Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-012Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-013Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-014Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-015One of the CHILLEST groom party I’ve ever been around. So mellow at this point of the day! haha
Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-016does she not look like a cover girl? She look sooooo womanly, in the best way possible. But she’s younger than me!!!! STUNNER AND A HALF.
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A fave image of the day, for the sake of it being totally unplanned and innocent.

Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-019Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-020Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-021TWIN RING-BEARERS? Are you kidding me?? Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-022Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-023Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-024during the ceremony, the officiant read aloud letters each had written in the past (they’ve always written each other love notes over the years.) After he was finished, I couldn’t tell if people’s faces were covered in sweat or tears! I may or may not have shed several myself! 😉

Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-025Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-026Just breathe…. and then kiss!Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-027

Lovely ladies on both sides. So good looking!!!Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-028Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-029Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-030On the right, that is Lauren, her two sisters, and her mom. How beautiful are they??? They all look like one another, yet different. Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-031Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-032Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-033Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-034Handsome lil’ devils!!!Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-035Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-036Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-037and Preston, one of the BEST smiles I’ve ever seen on a guy. Seriously. Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-038And now I introduce a series of pics that I’d like to call: HOLY GOOD GOSH!! THEY ARE TOO BEAUTIFUL TOGETHER!Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-039(Lauren’s only request for wedding pics was that she get some with yummy golden light. Lauren, I think we’ve nailed it! 😉 )Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-040Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-041Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-042Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-043Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-044Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-045Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-046And the reception… lots of lil’ handmade touches by Lauren and her family helpers. Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-047Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-048Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-049This was funny…Emily & Jaime gave Preston and lauren lil’ gifts that would come in handy during their marriage. My fave was a sleep mask to remind PReston whom he’s dealing with when he wakes up. 😉

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Preston read a poem that literally had all us romantics crying all over again. Lauren, you’re so lucky to have landed a MAN who is SWEET. SIGH. Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-051Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-052Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-053Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-054I highly enjoyed the selection of music the DJ (Dave Smith w/ Music 4 Memories) played, and the fact that he handed out sunglasses for guests to don while they danced the night away!!Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-055Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-056Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-057Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-058Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-059Lauren-preston-KansasCity-weddingphotographer-060

 

Lauren & Preston, thank you once again!!! You might have sweat a lot on your wedding day, but you also loved a lot too. Everyone felt it and you might say that weddings aren’t your thing, but that’s okay…because you only need this one. And it was PERFECT!!!! xo

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  • Lauren - I cannot get over how much I’m in love with these pictures! I literally have done nothing all morning but look at them. We most definitely got my yummy light, and the getting-ready pictures are amazing! That lighting was perfect. Thank you, Darbi!!ReplyCancel

  • Darbi's Mom - Yummy is all I have to say! These pictures are beautiful, but then they always are when Darbi G. Photography shoots them. Beautiful bride, beautiful everything!ReplyCancel

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