A Wedding in South Dakota

This was a fun wedding for my husband & I. We flew into Sioux Falls on Friday. Both Brandt & I were excited about travelling to South Dakota. Sioux Falls revolves around the cascades of the Big Sioux River and was created by glacial ice over 14,000 years ago...who knew?

Friday night we attended the rehearal dinner at the bride's sister's farm out in the country, where over 100 friends and family members drank beer and enjoyed some local barbecue.

Christopher is from Wellsville, NY and met Brenda (a native of Sioux Falls) at St. Bonaventure College. So, naturally the wedding took place in her hometown.
Everyone involved in this wedding came from all corners of the country. We have a New York groom, South Dakota bride, a wedding party from Colorado and a photographer from Kentucky!

We went to Sioux Falls Park for some portraits after the ceremony. The falls are gorgeous and made a breathtaking backdrop for the photos.

Hope you enjoy them!

I loved Brenda's dress. This was my favorite detail. What you can't see is her bridesmaid is blowing on the feathers!



I love this shot of her. She's so tall and elegant!


Check out this church! Gorgeous.

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Canadian Country Singer Heidi Raye

This was a really fun (but cold) photo shoot. I shot Heidi Raye's photos in my old Nashville studio last winter. We got some studio shots and then drove a couple blocks downtown to get some vintage-inspired images.

The camera loves Heidi, and it was really fun playing frogger on Broadway! Ha! Ha!

We dodged traffic in the rain to get some of our favorite images.

Good luck Heidi with your music career and I hope to hear you on the radio soon!

Studio Manager, Jen Kopecky

Here she is everyone, the brave soul that runs my studio, Jennifer Lafferty Kopecky. :) I grew up with Jen and Sondra; they're more than best friends, they're my sisters! Jen was born and raised in eastern KY. She has an extensive background in business management and has managed several small businesses in Kentucky and Ohio. Jen oversees all our scheduling, ordering, pricing, phones, photoshop and edit work. Basically, she does everything but take the pictures! She's my superwoman and she keeps me sane...somewhat!I am so appreciative for all she does. You rock and I luv u more than dark chocolate!Contact Jen for an appointment or to schedule a consultation.

Singer/Songwriter Wade Hayes

I shot Wade Hayes' photos in Nashville, Tennessee at Judge Beans BBQ restaurant. Wade has had several top 20 hits and a couple of #1 songs, including "Old Enough To Know Better" and "I'm Still Dancing With You." Wade also is a CMA and ACM nominee for the Horizon and New Artist awards.
I got to know Wade while shooting photos on the road with Texas singer/songwriter Trent Willmon. So, Wade calls me up wanting some new promo shots and we thought Judge Beans BBQ on 12th ave would be a funky place to get some shots.

Jessica & Jordan

I met the groom-to-be while shooting a wedding in '08. He was the wedding singer at a beautiful wedding up on Raven Rock golf course. Ironically a year later his fiance, Jessica, was looking for a wedding photographer and he suggested she call me.

The story of how they met and fell in love is so serendipitous! Jessica is a physical therapist at PMC. Jordan had gotten word from a couple of friends (on separate occasions) about this beautiful blonde who worked at the hospital he just had to meet. So a few days go by and Jordan is driving to Lexington for work. He gets a phone call from an unrecognizable number. He answers. It was an old family friend he hadn't seen or heard from in years. She was calling to ask Jordan about his love life. When he told her it was non-existent she began to tell him how he needed to meet this girl. She would be perfect for him. She goes to church, has a great job, and not only is she gorgeous but she's just as sweet as she is pretty.

Jordan interrupted the lady and said, "Her name's not Jessica is it?" Amazingly it was!

This was the third person (unbeknown to Jessica) that had told Jordan about this great girl. So, he gets her phone number and calls her. They go out on their first date and right away they both knew it was something special. Soon after they fell madly in love and Jordan asked her to marry him. Jessica said yes of course and they set the date for an October wedding.

I can tell you, from my experience with the two of them that they 110% are crazy for one another.

I look forward to shooting their wedding this fall and being a part of their special day.

Jackson & Wade

This photo shoot was extra special to me. My mother-in-law helped me steal my nephews away for a couple hours to shoot their pics for a Mother's Day gift for Kelli, my sister-in-law.

As you can see Wade & Jackson had a blast. They were very comfortable in front of the camera and actually put on a show for us! I know I'm a lil' biased but they are beautiful, handsome, funny and entertaining! Even though I've only been in the family for a few months I've come to love Jackson and Wade so much!

Kristi & Kyle

Kristi & Kyle

I travelled to White Pine, Tennessee to shoot the wedding of Kristi Johnson and Kyle Barnes. I can honestly say this was the most romantic setting for a wedding I've ever seen. Kristi arrived in on a horse a carriage while the Celine Dion song "Brand New Day" played. Just before the song began you could hear the "click clock" of the horse's shoes on the paved road that lay between a beautiful row of trees. It was truly a fairytale moment. I even teared up!!
The vows took place in a clearing of beautiful fall trees surrounded by over 200 of their closest friends and family members. In the middle of the ceremony the bride turns around and waves "hello" at the guests. Everyone laughed hysterically. She was so happy you could see her delightment all over her face.
The reception was just around the bend by Douglas Lake, where everyone celebrated until well after sunset. Their first dance was to a song called Someone Like You by Van Morrison but it was slightly interruped by a complete dance off, a full-on performance by the bride and groom to decades worth of dance music such as You Can't Touch This, Baby Got Back, The Brady Bunch, Michael Jackson and romantically ended w/ Someone Like You. It was great. Tears rolled down my face as I tried to capture their moves in between laughing my butt off!
Congratulations Kristi & Kyle. It was an honor to shoot your wedding. You two have a love that will last a lifetime and then some! And thank you for booking me to be your wedding photographer. It TRULY CHANGED MY LIFE...that's where I met my husband and best friend, Kevin Brandt Johnson!

Amber & Adam

Here's the story of Amber & Adam, as told to us by our bride to be...

We were both attending Pikeville College. Adam was busy with baseball and I was busy with practicing for The Nutcracker. We were also both taking Biology 101. One day I was in the dance studio and one of the dance teachers, Michelle Rowe, asked if I knew Adam Collins. I told her I knew of him, but I didn't know him personally. She said she new him and she thought we would be perfect for each other. She begged me to just say a simple hello to Adam. I told her I couldn't do that! So, she said, "Well, tell him that Michelle says hello!" I figured there was no harm in that. Well, several days passed by and I couldn't get up the nerve to tell him in person, so I messaged him on Facebook! He said that he got so nervous and excited just seeing the messsage. Well, the next day we were dissecting pigs in Biology class. We had always sat on opposite ends of the room, but on this day my seat was taken and the only seat left was beside Mr. Right! I know it is kind of gross, but I guess you can say we started falling for each other during that week of dissection! About a week later, after talking and messaging, we had our first date at my apartment with some friends where we watched Elf. Since then we have been through some tough times, but God had a plan all along. We are so thankful and blessed that God placed us together!

About Rhi

About Rhiannon Hedrick-SukedanaHello! My name is Rhiannon Hedrick Sukedana and I too grew up in Eastern Kentucky. I graduated from Prestonsburg with Deana in 1997 and went to Morehead State University. While at MSU, I studied Music and Psychology where I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2002. This is the time in my life where photography and traveling became a hobby and a passion. Towards the end of my studies at MSU, I got the chance to travel to the Caribbean and fell in love with culture! From then on out, Eastern Kentucky was something that had to wait as I had to get out there and travel. After completing University, I decided to take a walk on the wild side and work traveling with a major cruise line where I became even more inspired with photography and photographing diverse people, lots of color, architecture, culture, and events. This was a huge moment in my life because all these years I was afraid of change. I packed my bags and off I went to Boston where my life changed forever.I have photographed all throughout the US in places like Key West, Miami, Charleston SC, Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, Lexington, Memphis, New Orleans, and all over Hawaii to name just a few. Also, I have photographed in at least 30 different countries in Asia, South America, and North America-heavily throughout Central America, Caribbean and Indonesia. While working on board a ship in Hawaii, I met my husband, Wayan Sukedana, from Bali, Indonesia. This man is so amazing and there is no one in this entire world like him! We traveled everywhere together and sought out some wild and amazing things! Traveling to Bali for the first time was so exciting and I absorbed everything from the sights, sounds, the riches of the lands, the poorest of poverty, and fell in love with their culture and the ways of the Balinese. Many people from his village have never had their picture taken ever until I came! Thanks to me, almost everyone there has a portrait. I donated one of my digital cameras to them to capture moments like weddings, ceremonies, and everyday moments.My true passion with photography is finding natural moments and making them into art. I love photographing people and capturing them in their element. I love shooting at Sporting Events, Weddings, and Portraits. I truly believe that everyone has something about them that is unique and specifies who they are... I love bringing that out in with my camera. I am so excited and honored to have the opportunity to work along with Deana!!!!

About Deana

Well hello there and welcome to our blog! My name is Deana Williams Johnson. I was born and raised in eastern Kentucky. I graduated photography school in 2003 from Nashville State Technical Institute. I love beautiful lighting, thanks to my friend and mentor, Skip Jackson. Skip is the backbone of the photo program at Nashville State. He teaches digital and lighting. That man could light a golf ball so beautifully that you'd want to marry it!! He does actually have a great shot of a golf ball that is really gorgeous. LOLI recently married the LOVE of my life, Brandt Johnson. We have a home studio in Pikeville, KY.I travel all around the country shooting portraits and weddings. You can see me in '09 in New York, South Dakota, New Orleans, Nashville and all over KY.If I were to try to explain my shooting style I say: quirky, casual, relaxed, modern, sassy, and ever changing.A photo session with me is sooo comfortable. I've never met a stranger. I'll talk your head off and you won't feel a bit camera shy.I don't limit my sessions to minutes or x-amount of frames. I shoot your session until we are both satisfied with the end results. Sometimes I'll take 1 1/2 to two hours to achieve this and sometimes we can get it in 30 minutes. I'm open to new ideas and techniques and I'm big on not having your portraits look like anyone elses. I love uniqueness and having a client's images reflect their personality.I love love love photographing animals and I actually have my own Hallmark greeting cards. My designs and greetings were chosen among 7,000 entries to be published and printed in Hallmark, and other retail stores across the globe! So if you have a fur baby, bring it on over and lets get some photos of you and your waggy tailed friend.BIG NEWS!!!!!!!! Just found out last week one of my dog photos will be on another Hallmark card!!! Look for it this summer on a Thank You card!!!!Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!Deana Johnson