Leslie and James

I think it's the first time I've photographed the wedding of a suspected murderer.

OK, not so much a murderer as an actress! Leslie works for a local murder-mystery company and tours as far afield as Chicago to put on shows at which guests have to guess who the real murderer is. I remember being at one of these evenings a long time ago and being totally hopeless at even spotting the clues, never mind guessing who the culprit is. But I do remember it as a lot of fun and a great deal of hard work for the actors involved.

Leslie and James's wedding was outdoors at Quail Ridge Park near Wentzville and, again, the forecast was for rain and thundershowers that threatened to derail our couple's plans. But, like so many other weddings this year, the rain finished early despite grey skies and some early-day lightening.

Many couples want sunny skies for their wedding day and who can blame them. But experienced photographers prefer overcast conditions because there are no harsh shadows to deal with -- the clouds act like a very large studio softbox and give nice soft light. So for the outdoor ceremony, we got the nice overcast skies. The sun kindly stayed behind the clouds till it was all over and we all went back to the lodge for the reception.

Some of Leslie's young relatives have a band, called Bad Luck and Trouble (the name they're using for now), that alternated with the DJ. Despite being so young, they made some pretty good music including a rocking rendition of the Hokey Pokey! And it made for some pretty good performance photography, which is another kind of shooting I like to do.

Leslie and James were off on their honeymoon for the week after the wedding and should be back by now to see their sneak photo preview. I'm hoping to see one of their murder-mystery performances sometime in the future -- just to see if my client is a murderess or not!

Seriously, thanks for inviting us to your wedding guys and best wishes for a happy future together!