St. Louis wedding photographer Nicole Welch

After re-scheduling several times, mostly due to the crazy weather in St. Louis, we were FINALLY able to shoot Ileana and Jim’s engagement session. Ileana had contacted me many months ago to shoot their engagement pictures. Unfortunately, I don’t get to shoot the wedding. They’re both in the Air Force out at Scott Air Force Base, but they’re getting married back in their WARM homestate of Georgia. Lucky them.

It was still a little cool and rainy during our session, but these two still were up for anything I suggested! And even though I usually prefer to shoot with some good sunlight, I ended up really liking the moody, urban feel of this shoot. We spent some time down at the Arch grounds, on some railroad tracks out by the graffiti wall, and then we headed out to Washington Ave. (My favorite urban place to shoot engagement pictures in St. Louis!)

I should also add that on this day, as is typical of me, I lost my cell  phone. I’m ALWAYS losing my phone. I’ve purchased all kinds of contraptions, holders, clips, etc, but I’m always losing my beloved Blackberry. And let me tell you, I am LOST without that thing. Somehow, when we were shooting at the Arch grounds, it fell out of my pocket. Probably while I was lying on the wet grass trying to get the entire Arch in the shot with my wide-angle lens. Well, I didn’t notice it until the shoot was over. And it was dark. Brilliant, Nikki. So yeah, I had to head back to the Arch grounds to look in the wet grass for my poor phone. You see, even though it’s only a $50 fee to  place a claim on it (oh yes, I have insurance on that bad boy), I’ve lost/broken SO many BBs during the past year and a half. I’ve lost count. But I’m sure my husband hasn’t. That’s sort of a little thing between us. He hates how I treat it. And lose it. And break it. I just can’t help it. I’m BUSY. There’s SO much going on, and my phones just take a beating every day. (That’s my excuse anyway.) So I went back through the grass by myself and found it. In the dark, and I have no idea how. I just knew there was no way was I going to go home with another phone problem. So that’s my crazy Nikki story of the day. And if you ever call me, and I don’t call you back, rest assured I’ve probably dropped the thing in a glass of water, dropped it down 3 flights of stairs, or it may be in the grass under the Arch. You just never know.

And….on to the pictures!

The end!