Back at the beginning of this year, this adorable couple reached out to us about shooting their wedding in Illinois. We were so excited to hear from them and even more excited to shoot our first wedding in the state of Illinois. We are looking forward to their springtime wedding next year - and we are excited to share their on-farm engagement session that we shot at Justin's family's place.

These red, white, and roan (mix of red and white) cows are Shorthorns. This is the breed of cattle that I (Cat) grew up showing. Therefore they are the best breed of cattle ever. Ok... I might be biased. But aren't they just beautiful? A tidbit of trivia: Luke and I met at a Shorthorn cattle show many years ago. I met Emily when she was just a little girl showing Shorthorn cattle herself. She's grown up now, but I still picture her as a little blonde haired cowgirl with her sweet (and headstrong) heifer named Dora Lee. Yes, I remember her name. I have a great memory.

Emily and Justin both love showing cattle and wanted to incorporate their special animals into their engagement shoot. How much fun we had with them on their farm!

This is their adorable puppy Mallory. I want this dog.

Emily and Justin - we had a great time with you and we are so thankful that you're bringing us back to Illinois for your wedding in March! We can't wait.

Country chic at it's finest!

We had the pleasure of spending the day with a very special set of families to celebrate Jillian and Cole's marriage. We've been so excited about this wedding for almost a whole year. Jillian and her mom kept us updated while they planned this event, sharing with us colors, fabric swatches, and family history, and how it was going to be incorporated into the day.

The day arrived and it surely was beautiful. How about this church?

The ring bearer carried this very {very} old family bible down the aisle.

The garter had charms and special photos on it; each one meant something to Jillian.

And here she is... the beautiful bride! We had our film camera with us that day, and a roll of black and white film loaded. We only took a few pictures on film, and here is our favorite. Jillian, you are lovely!

A quiet moment with dad right before walking down the aisle.

The reception was full of amazing rustic and shabby chic details. Not a detail was left out!

Are they happy, or what?

Right around sunset, we went outside with the couple for a few more portraits. We couldn't resist snapping a photo of Jillian's lovely bouquet, wrapped in burlap and lace, with the setting sun behind her.

Jillian and Cole, you have blessed us so much by allowing us to be a part of your wedding day. We're so happy for the love you two share and the sure-to-be happily ever after that you two will live together. Best wishes for a long and happy life together!

View more photos of Jillian and Cole's wedding day, and sign their virtual guestbook.

A few weeks ago, we met up with an amazing creative team and shot the Southern Jewlz Fall 2012 fashion line. We absolutely love and look forward to any opportunity we get to collaborate with this group of talented individuals. This is the third major editorial shoot we've done for Southern Jewlz and we are so excited to share these images with you.

It's been really fun to watch the fashions of Southern Jewlz evolve, even in the short year that we've been photographing them. Lots of people know about Southern Jewlz, but what you might not know is that the owner, Randa Yezak, started this now-thriving business in her own college living room. Here we are, years later, and Southern Jewlz is a household name (at least in our area of Texas it is) and the once-living-room-bound business now has a boutique in College Station and an online storefront as well. Not to mention the 25,000+ Facebook fans.

While I originally met Randa mainly because she went to college with Luke, as time has gone on, I feel like we're in this together. We both started our businesses around the same time and there have been countless phone calls and e-mails bouncing ideas back and forth, and sharing both the happy times and the growing pains of entrepreneurship.

So, without further adieu, we are excited to share the Southern Jewlz Fall 2012 Lookbook. We couldn't be more proud to be the photographer for this exciting shoot! Thank you Randa, and we can't wait to work with you again for the Spring line!