There are some families I photograph, and there are some families who feel like part of the story of my own life. The CKP Legacy Families are some of my very favorite.
I met Brad in college, where we became dear friends. For about three years, Brad, his roommate Matt, and I were basically the three amigos of the music education department. We spent a lot of life together during those college years, and those friendships became some of the friendships I still treasure today. So when Brad married Megan in 2019, I was honored to photograph their wedding.
And then I got to watch them build a family.
I watched them build the life they wanted, navigate Brad’s teaching career, welcome their kids, and make decisions about where they wanted to put down roots. When a teaching opportunity took them to an Iowa town more than two hours away, I hugged Megan goodbye and whispered in her ear, “I know you’ll be back in Des Moines soon.”
Thankfully, it was only a two-year stint.
Brad recently accepted a teaching position at a growing Christian school in the Des Moines metro, and just like that, they were back. And let me tell you—seeing Brad come around the corner at the World Food Prize with Lizzie in tow, followed by Megan and Jack, was SO good. There was this moment when my whole body just seemed to exhale.
These were long-standing friends. Familiar. Known. Deeply loved. And I get to serve them with my camera. What a gift!
There is another layer to my friendship with Megan that makes our hugs a little different, too. We’re both members of a club neither of us ever wanted to join: the “our dads have passed away” club.
There is an empathy that comes with sharing that kind of loss. Sometimes you don’t need to say much. There is just a richness to the hug—a little extra understanding, a little extra comfort, because you know something about the other person’s grief that doesn’t need to be explained.
And then there are these two little people growing up in the middle of all of it.
We kept this session simple with a mini session at the World Food Prize. Jack kicked into gear right when we needed him to, and while Lizzie’s favorite word at the moment seems to be “no,” we managed to sneak in some pretty sweet moments with the men in her life.
These aren’t the kinds of sessions that need to be complicated. Sometimes it’s enough to gather people you love, find a beautiful corner of Des Moines, and document what life looks like right now. Because this is what I mean when I say I love becoming a family’s photographer. It isn’t just about taking pictures once a year.
It’s about getting to photograph the wedding, then the babies, then the growing kids, then the next chapter. It’s about watching friends become parents and watching families build lives in places that feel like home. And sometimes, it’s about getting to welcome them home!!
Brad and Megan, I’m so glad you’re back. Welcome home, friends!
Enjoy this little peek into the life you’re building now that you’re back in Des Moines. And thank you, as always, for letting me be the one behind the camera.
