Allison Marie Photography Blog by Allison Roen, Des Moines area wedding photographer

Nick & Megan were married on June 26th at St Augustin Church downtown Des Moines. Their ceremony was gorgeous, and there were so many sweet moments throughout the day. You’ll see that after the ceremony, Megan requested that we go to Saylorville Lake for some photos with the bridal party, because that’s where she and Nick met. They have one of the most unique stories; they met on the back of a boat! They had mutual friends, and a group of them went boating last summer. Nick & Megan were in the back, and they got pulled over by the Lake DNR because they were going too fast! I had no idea it was possible to get pulled over on a boat!! They had a bunch of time while the driver was talking with the DNR, and it was during that time that Nick asked Megan out! So, Megan’s friend left with a speeding ticket and Megan left with a date! What a fun story!

Megan’s flowers were gorgeous! I love the simplicity of a bouquet made of all roses:

This was one of my favorite moments. After Megan got in her gown, her mom looked at her with wonder and tears in her eyes. Such an emotional time for a mom when her sweet daughter puts on a wedding gown! Nick & Megan have the sweetest grandmas ever!  And next, the epic adventure of the day. We got to Saylorville Lake, only to discover the park was closed. At the time, this made no sense to us – why would the park be closed on a Saturday? This did not stop the ambitious bride!! She jumped out of the limo and told her bridal party they were going to walk down to the dock! It was well over 90 degrees, and I bet it was at least a mile of a walk…while the women were all in dresses and heels! We finally got down to the water, to realize the park is closed because of flooding…no dock in sight! So, we got a few fun shots and then made the trek back up to the limo! Phew, what an adventure! Nothing stopped this bride from getting the photos she wanted!
Their cake was one of the most unique I’ve seen. It’s neat that each of the tiers had a different decorative design:

Congratulations, Nick & Megan!!

Happy Birthday, Maria & Patricia! I met these lovely ladies at Valley Church, and had the privilege of being in a Bible study with them this past spring. Their families are from Kenya, and it has been so fun learning about their culture and getting to know their beautiful accents! They both share a birthday, so we got together last week to celebrate their birthday by doing a mini photo shoot. They are so beautiful!

Who knew a green dumpster could make such a vibrant backdrop?! Oh, the hours I’ve spent laughing with these two! They are FULL of life and energy! I love how these next photos portray their personalities so well:
Stunning. 

Have you ever met someone for the first time and instantly knew you’d be lifelong friends? A couple weeks ago, I got an email from Megan, who had been following my blog, and asked if we could get together. She has a passion for photography and art, and is working to get her photography business up and running. It was SO fun to meet her, as we seem to have so much in common! Megan has in-CRED-ible artistic talent, from interior design, painting, sewing, photography…you name it, she’ll create it! =)

One thing I wish I would’ve had was someone to come alongside me and teach me all about photography and running a business…I was able to learn by doing tons of research, but one-on-one connection would’ve helped me learn so much faster. When Megan and I planned to do a shoot together on Saturday, I was thrilled! I discovered that I have a HUGE passion for teaching someone what I know about photography…I was totally “in my element”, if ya know what I mean! Megan just purchased her Nikon D300s, and hopefully I was able to de-mystify how to use some of the controls and buttons for her.

Here are photos I took of Megan to have for her website. This woman simply exudes beauty!

favorite! talk about flawless skin that every girl dreams of having! I had to include a little of Megan’s spunk! =)
Even though there is a couple taking a walk in the background of this one, I really like this shot of Megan! Favorites! Most delicious light! Ok ok, favorite #3!

Megan, I am so excited for your journey is this world of photography! You are loaded with talent, girl!