Am I the worst blogger ever? YES. I am so sorry this is so delayed.. I had a huge event going on this past weekend, and it required a lot more of my time than I expected it to, so my blog unfortunately went neglected for a few days.. Major apologies to all of you who checked the blog expecting to see posts that didn’t show up. I am a bad, bad blogger :(

That said, here is the long awaited second half to Darbi & Neil’s awesome Nebraska destination wedding!

A few details from the ceremony location…

And everyone’s favorite.. The ring!

After the ceremony, we headed to a “Little Mexico” area near Bellvue for some fun wedding party shots

Then it was off to the Livestock Exchange Building for the wedding reception!

A few of my favorite reception details. Have I mentioned that photographers throw the best weddings?

A few photos from the first dance…

Darbi and her dad, one of the coolest, funniest, most outrageous dads I have ever met!

My favorite part of this wedding was the toasts at the wedding reception. The toasts ranged from emotional to funny to earmuff-worthy, courtesy of Darbi and Neil’s very entertaining families and wedding party. I loved the toasts so much I had to do a collage of the images Lara and I took.

After the normal garter and bouquet toss, Darbi and Neil added a special twist.. They had the girl who caught the bouquet (Wendy) put on the garter, and had the guy who caught the garter pull it off…. with his teeth! Note Wendy’s boyfriend standing in the background, keeping a close eye on the situation ;)

Finally it was time to DANCE!

Neil’s groomsman and fellow bandmate Mike Quinn (who also performed Darbi’s song at the ceremony) sang a song for Darbi and Neil that he wrote himself.

Darbi with her two loves.. Neil and, of course, her Canon 5D.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, so finally the lovebirds had to say their goodbyes and head off to JAMAICA!

One last photo of Darbi and Neil outside the Livestock Exchange Building in Omaha

Darbi and Neil, thanks again for letting me be a part of your wedding day and flying me all the way to Nebraska to be there. I’m so glad you got to come visit me in Dallas this past weekend! Hopefully I will see you again soon in October! ;)

I am so excited to finally be blogging Darbi and Neil’s Nebraska destination wedding. There’s only one problem.. Lara and I took so many cool photos, I can’t possibly fit it into one blog post! So I am splitting them up into two posts, today and Thursday (with an extremely long Humpdate in between).

Darbi, a wedding photographer from Missouri, and I have known each other for awhile through an online wedding photography community. I also was familiar with Neil, although I didn’t know it until the wedding day. Neil was the drummer for one of my favorite bands ever, The Juliana Theory. I have been listening to his music for years and didn’t even know it! He has now moved on to a band called Confident Years (Check out their song She’s The Killer, it’s awesome!). I should have known that these two fun, artistic souls would have the most creative wedding ever. The details were amazing (photographers plan the BEST weddings, we have seen it all!), the guests were all really cool people, and the whole weddings was just a fun, laid back, unique celebration of Darbi and Neil’s love. It was also great to get to shoot the wedding with another talented photographer, Darbi and I’s mutual friend Omaha wedding photographer Lara Adkins. Thanks so much Lara for helping me out!

Check out some of my favorite images from the preparation and ceremony:

Darbi’s bridesmaid taking notes from the hairstylist on how to correctly position Darbi’s veil

Darbi, her mom, her sister, and Lara checking out one of Lara’s amazing shots!

Makeup time on the couch!

Darbi warned me she had a poofy dress, but I had no clue just how poofy it truly was until the wedding day.
I love how it just swallows her body in these two shots!

Darbi brought these cute pink umbrellas just in case of rain.  Thankfully the whole day was sunny and perfect, but we had to get a few cute photos with them!

Aren’t Darbi’s bridesmaids so hot?  Give me a break!  It made my job way too easy.
I adore this shot of the girls walking, it looks like they belong on a magazine spread!

We got these two photos of Darbi in a small room in the back of the chapel as she was waiting quietly to walk down the aisle with her father.  I love how peaceful and happy she looks.

Meanwhile, here is why grooms and groomsmen should never be left alone with a room full of old costumes:

Neil taking a quick moment alone to write a note to his soon-to-be wife.

Relaxing before the ceremony, tucked away in a closet so he won’t run accidentally catch a glimpse of Darbi.

The quintessential cool groomsmen shot

So, there may or may not have been a cool rented trolley sitting in front of the church.. And it may or may not have ACTUALLY been for the wedding scheduled just before Darbi and Neil’s.. And we may or may not have hijacked it for a few photos while the other ceremony was taking place.  It’s hard to say.  :)

Any clue what Neil and his ushers are spelling out?  Here’s a hint.. That first letter is supposed to be an N.  ;)

Inside the cute, oooooold chapel (it’s a state landmark!)

A few details from the ceremony…

Despite having their minister cancel on them the morning of the wedding, Darbi and Neil’s ceremony was hands down the most entertaining ceremony I have ever seen.  From the  ringbearer beating his drum and shouting “The bride is coming!” after a trip down, back up, and then back down the aisle, the adorable flowergirl setting down one petal at a time, then returning back down the aisle to pick up each petal one at a time, Darbi and Neil’s hilarious vows (my favorite line: “I love you like a snail loves the sidewalk”), the wax sand candles that requires a little empty-ketchup-bottle-esque smacking to empty out, the groomsmen’s synchronized dancing, and the extremely entertaining replacement minister, I laughed and cried virtually the entire ceremony.  My favorite moment was when Neil’s bandmate and his wife surprised Neil with a song Darbi had secretly written.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

Mr. and Mrs. Hebrank!  Woohoo!!

The best photos are yet to come – Thursday I will show you some of the AAAAWESOME details Darbi created for the wedding, the cool wedding party shots we got in Little Mexico, and of course, the reception!  In the meantime, leave me a message and tell me how awesome Darbi and Neil are!  :)

I love, love love love, LOVE, loooooooooooooooooooooove, L O V E, love Day After sessions.

I cannot express enough how much I love them. Not only is it a chance to spend some quality time with your new spouse, it’s also an opportunity to get some of the most amazing, incredible images that your friends will oooooh and ahhhhhh over for the rest of your life.

Darbi, being an amazing wedding photographer herself, knows the value of a Day After session, so when I traveled to Omaha for her wedding a few weeks ago, it was pretty much a given that Darbi, Neil, and I would be setting out into the Nebraska wilderness for some cool shots of the newly minted husband and wife.

Check out these images…

The next two photos might be my favorite photos I have EVER taken!

Aren’t these two INCREDIBLE?? Don’t you wish you had photos like this with the man/woman you love?? I sure do. I love these so much I want to print them out and hang them up all over my house and pretend like I am in them. Everyone deserves to look and feel this beautiful – and to have photographic proof!

If you’re getting married any time soon, or even if you already are married, ask me about doing a Day After session. Typically they are done the morning or afternoon after the wedding, but they can be done any time. I even had one couple schedule a session in between their morning ceremony and evening reception. We can also do a destination session, and fly out to a location that means something to you – New York, Napa Valley, New Orleans, Paris, Venice, you name it. If you have an exotic vacation planned this year or next year and want to get some gorgeous photos of you and your love while you’re there, let me know and we’ll see what we can do! :)

Okay, enough gushing about Day After sessions.. What can I say, I really really really love doing them. :) If you want to see more of Darbi & Neil, the lovely Lara Adkins has some of her shots on her blog, as well. Tomorrow I have some aaawwweeeesome news for Humpdates, and I’ll have Darbi & Neil’s wedding photos, too. You don’t want to miss the photos (and stories) from this wedding. There’s so much to show I may have to split it up over two days!