Katie McDonald Photography

Margo | Maternity

Katie — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:32:18 +0000

You may remember Margo from her trash the dress session last year! She was a gorgeous bride and now she’s an even more gorgeous Mommy-to-be!!! When we scheduled her session we thought that we had plenty of time before there would be any hint at labor….we were wrong! A few days before our session it became pretty clear that she would be having her baby early! I was a little paranoid that she’d go into labor during our session…but I realized it’d be okay since her hubby is a doctor and all! We had nearly perfect weather and it was a great session! I had a wonderful time with Margo and Ryan and I can’t wait to come over and photograph their adorable baby boy!!! Here are some of my favs from the session….Enjoy!

Their eldest daughter Zoe wanted in on the photo shoot!!! She's going to be a great big sister!

Isn't the baby's room adorable???

Even though she said she felt huge, I think Margo had the perfect baby bump!!!

Margo's such a fierce, fashionable mamma!!!

Erica and Vince | Wedding

Katie — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:08:39 +0000

Erica was the quintessential traditional bride: she wore a long, beautiful mantilla veil, had a rosary wrapped into the stems of her red rose bouquet and her dress had the sweetest little embellished cap sleeves. Vince was the quintessential traditional groom: he showed up on time, looked cute and tried to remain calm in the pseudo chaos that is an elaborate wedding! : ) Erica
and Vince are just made for each other! I have never seen a couple that evens each other out the way they do, they have something very special and it was evident not just on wedding day…but though their entire wedding planning experience. They’re just soooo good together!!! They had a very traditional wedding with some very untraditional bits at the reception: they served ice cream instead of cake!!! And not just any ice cream…since they’re such huge baseball fans (baseball was sort of the underlying theme of the day) they had little Cubs and Cardinals helmets as dishes for the make your own sundae bar! To say it was a hit would be a grave understatement, people LOVED it!!! Their guests also loved the live band, amazing food and reat décor! Erica and Vince hit their wedding right out of the park…baseball pun totally intended. : ) Here are some of my favs from their St Louis wedding….enjoy!!!

I love flower girls! It seems that they are always in awe of the bride...like she's a real life Disney princess!

Soooooo pretty!!!! I just loved her flowers and rosary!!

Erica and Vince didn't want to see each other before the ceremony, so we found a corner and let them have a moment together, but with no visuals!

Erica and Vince served as Eucharistic Ministers, which I thought was very unique and special!

LOVE this one!!!

They had a great first dance!!

Erica shared a very special, very emotional dance with her father!

Erica surprised Vince with a very special reception boutonniere…it was literally made out of a baseball! Coolest thing I’ve ever seen!

Ice cream and baseball rivalry...love it!!!

Even though the wedding was in St Louis, someone bribed the band leader to play 'Go Cubs Go' for Vince!!!

This kid not only taught us how 'to Dougie' but he taught a full on Master's level course in it!!!

Emily and Mitch | Wedding

Katie — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:34:32 +0000

Have you ever met someone and you’re instantaneously bff’s? Well that’s how I felt with Emily and Mitch….and their families and bridal party!!! It was like I was at a friend’s wedding where I just also happened to be the photographer….it was amazing! I started with them at Emily’s hotel for hair and make-up and stayed with them until nearly the end of the reception….oh did I mention that we also rode around in an awesome trolley and stopped for a drink at the Clipper in Ankeny? Ummmm, yeah…and the ‘totally awesome and super fun wedding award’ goes to….drum roll please, EMILY AND MITCH!!!!!! Their wedding was what all weddings try to be: the ideal mix of elegance and fun! Here are just a few of my gazillion favs from their wedding…. Enjoy!!!!!!

Reception: The Pinnacle Club

Flowers and Décor: The Perfect Wedding

Transportation: Des Moines Trolley Company

DJ: Select Entertainment

Videographer: Harding Videography

I LOVED the look on Emily's sister's face when she saw Emily in her dress! It was like a squeal within a smile!

The boys found some pre-wedding time to shoot some hoops!

Emily gave her Dad a very special gift before the ceremony.

His reaction was priceless. So sweet!

Emily and Mitch's first meeting!!!

So Lance Harding the videographer plays this game where he counts down from 5 and has the bridal party run around and act crazy....this was my favorite of the series!

Love this one!!!

My favs!!!

The bridal party brought it in for a huddle before their big entrance!!!

We used this image for their Thank-You's!!!

I'm not exactly sure what was going on here....but I'm pretty sure it was awesome!

Ciara and Ken | Engagement

Katie — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:02:17 +0000

Planning a wedding a is hard. Planning a wedding when you live 1000 miles away is what some would call next to impossible, but Ciara and Ken aren’t only doing it…they’re doing it well! We met for their engagement session on one of like 3 weekends they’d be in town before their wedding this summer. Now had they been a normal, in town couple I probably would have suggested we cancel their session for the day we had it scheduled. The weather was a mess: it was freezing, there were 30mph wind gusts….just dreadful picture weather!!! But we made it work and I’m so glad we did! Ciara and Ken were such troopers and we got some really great shots despite Mother Nature’s bad attitude! Here are a few of my favs from their engagement session….enjoy!

Ciara's dad created these awesome wooden cut outs for the engagement session!!

Aren't they cute?????

Love this one!!!!!

Tammy and Kevin | Wedding

Katie — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:01:56 +0000

I’ve known Tammy forever….since before there was a Katie McDonald Photography….actually, even since before I was Katie McDonald!!! So when she called and said “I’m getting married, I wanna hire you to come to Orlando and be my photographer!” I couldn’t book my flight fast enough! It was such an honor to be asked by a friend to be involved in their wedding, I really was delighted…..and a weekend in sunny Orlando didn’t hurt either!!! Tammy and Kevin’s wedding was wonderful, their venue had some amazing locations for us to shoot in and best of all how much they love each other came through in every shot!!! I’m just so happy that Tammy has found her forever in Kevin! Here are some of my favs from their wedding….enjoy!!!!

I just LOVED this interaction between Tammy and Kevin after the ceremony!!! SO SWEET!!!

Do not adjust your computer screens Iowans....yes, those are palm trees!

They had one of the more excited reception entrances I've seen....you could tell they were ready to party!

They decided to do their 1st dance as soon as they walked in to ensure their guests didn't miss it! So smart!!

Love this one!!!

Their tables each had a Disney character theme....cute right?

After this wedding, I think all brides should have feathers in their flowers....I just adore this idea!!

Tammy and kevin got married in Orlando...right outside Disney World...get it?

The hotel had such great decor that we snuck out of the reception to do some pics all around!

I love when I catch parent's dancing at the reception!!! So sweet!!!

How cute are they?!?!?!?

One of my last shots of the night...and one of my favs!!!

Bergamo Family | Family Session

Katie — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:36:46 +0000

When I think about my future life…with kids and such, I hope it looks half asawesome as the Bergamo family!!!!! They are totally amazing fun parents who are so obviously still in love with each other. Combine that with a rambunctious, free spirited son and a little blonde, sassy-pants aughter and what you have (other than your hands full) is one of the coolest families I’ve had the pleasure to work with! I had THE BEST time with them at Raccoon River Park! I really hope that I get to do their family pics again next year….I cannot wait to see how these kids grow up!!! Here are some of my many favs from their session….enjoy!!!!

How adorable is this family?????

I hope these kids never grow out of the 'best friends' stage!!!

Can you tell they are Iowa fans???

I LOVE this one!!!

Awwww....a little Mom and Dad time!!!

Paige and Kalvin | Family Session

Katie — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:54:59 +0000

Paige and Kalvin were not some of my wedding clients…they were pseudo-newlyweds referred to me to do some family shots. Turns out they didn’t really have any images of them other than their wedding pics….and it’s probably weird to use your wedding pictures as every Christmas card photo until you have kids! So we met at Water Works Park to shoot some images of them in clothes more suited for holiday greetings! Now I hope that all of my wedding clients end up just like Paige and Kalvin! They’ve been married a little over a year but they still have that ‘just married’ glow! They are adorable together and seem to have adjusted just perfectly to married life. Plus they have an awesome four-legged adopted fur-baby….and I’m a sucker for other ~~weirdos~~ amazing people that treat their dogs like human children! After Water Works we headed downtown for some more pics and wardrobe changes. Here are a few of my favorite images from their cute little family….enjoy!

I mean is that not the cutest family you've ever seen????

love this one!!!

I’m back!!!!

Katie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:42:40 +0000

I just wanted to post a little note this afternoon to let you all know that…… I’m back! It’s been a super busy couple months for me, both personally and professionally!!! I hate that my blog that I love so much got neglected during this time. Well little blog, feel neglected no more! I will be posting more frequently and all my clients from late fall and winter will finally, FINALLY get to see their blog posts! To let you know just a little about what I’ve been doing, here’s a pic of what will become my new office!!! Yup…I’m moving up in the world. I’m thrilled to have a real office (yes, it’s a real office even though it’s in my basement….if my husband is going to let me paint an accent wall ‘Katie McDonald Photography’ hot pink…it’s a real office)! Oh couch and coffee table….I’ll miss you, but don’t worry we will see each other every Tuesday night for Glee!

Katie and Josh | Engagement

Katie — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:39:08 +0000

I get blessed with the absolute coolest clients! Now, this is either because I’m super cool myself and coolness attracts coolness….or, because the powers that be think that by sending me super cool clients I might learn something, thus upping my cool quotient. My guess is it’s the latter and that Katie and Josh were sent to me because specifically because they are so, super, super cool. I mean they got engaged in Vegas which I think is about the coolest thing ever! And they only wanted to shoot downtown which meant that I got to go to some of my favorite urban locations! Plus Katie wore these amazing leopard heels that she bought in Vegas….beyond cool. I had the best time with Katie and Josh and I cannot wait to see how unbelievably cool their wedding will be!!! Here are a few of my many, many favs from their session….enjoy!

I love this couple!!!!

one of my favs!!!!

crazy awesome shoes right?!?!?!?!?!

how adorable are they together????

we went to some sketchy areas during our session and we found this...I think it's an omen of a very fun reception and a long happy marriage! : )

such.a.cool.couple!

Samantha and Adam | Engagement

Katie — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:08:54 +0000

Samantha and Adam are planning a wedding that, frankly I’m super excited about! They are going to get married at the Capitol which I think is sooooo special and fantastic!!! They are a really in love and super fun couple and that was so evident during their engagement session! We started at Water Works Park for some “family” pictures with their awesome pup Buckley and then went downtown to shoot some more urban inspired shots with Adam in his uniform. And if their best man (who acted as dog wrangler, groom entertainer and Samantha’s personal stylist) is any indication….the wedding party is going to be a blast! I am just thrilled to be working with them! Here are some of my favs from their session…..Enjoy!

Such a cute family!!

Buckley is a very handsome boy!!!

LOVE this one!!!

I think this one is my fav!!!

I love when we find an open garage!!!