I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a really big extended family, and I love it so much! My mom came from a family with six kids, and I have a ton of cousins! We all grew up together — sleepovers, road trips, VBS, holiday parties, summer BBQ’s. Now that we’re adults, we’re more spread out now, in Illinois, Missouri, and Florida (hi Trish, wish we all lived by you!!)… but we’re still close, even with all the craziness that life brings!

SO, a few of my dear cousins have some pretty significant things happening in their lives — Alyssa and Galen are expecting their first baby, and Stacia (Alyssa’s sister) is getting married to Max! We all got together a few weekends ago to celebrate with a baby shower + bridal shower, and then we squeezed in time for some photos afterwards! I’ll show you Stacia and Max next week, but first, Alyssa and Galen and their soon-to-be-born little girl, Liorah!

I can’t tell you how much Alyssa and Galen mean to Marty and I. They have so much wisdom and kindess, and they just overflow with love (if you’ve met them, you know what I mean!). They have challenged us in so many ways, and their influence has really helped to shape our faith in God and who He is. They live in St. Louis, they’re teachers who are making a huge difference in they school they work at, and they are going to be incredible parents!

For my photographer friends: this was my first time out with my Canon 50mm 1.2, and I barely took it off my camera! COME ON, what a pretty lens! (Some people use funny words to describe it, like “creamy” and “buttery,” and it just makes me laugh, but I get it. It’s sharp and fast and gorgeous.) The light was fading fast, and we had to shoot QUICK (like, really quick), but I was just so happy to be able to shoot wide open the whole time, and Alyssa and Galen were the best and just went with it!

We shot these at Graue Mill in Oak Brook, and Alyssa wore a beautiful white dress, and then a really cute hat, and I was just so happy to be able to capture all of the love happening between this new family of three.

(ALSO!! Galen and Alyssa are extremely talented musicians! And they both recently released albums! Check out their music HERE!: https://www.galenandalyssarea.com/ or www.facebook.com/galenandalyssarea )