My wedding season is officially over! This is always such a bittersweet time. On one hand, I'm super excited to have time to breathe, but I'm going to miss attending a beautiful celebration every weekend...well I'll mainly miss the cake, but my couples are pretty great as well. In all seriousness, Samantha and Daniel had such a gorgeous wedding day at The Home Place at Valley View in Camden, Missouri. This Home Place at Valley View wedding was the perfect way to end my season. I had the chance to hang out with these two, their awesome families, and smoke bombs!

Smoke bomb exits are becoming my new favorite thing. Ever since I put together a styled shoot last year featuring smoke bombs, I've had several clients request them. Within the last few months, I've been combining sparklers and smoke bombs to make the most epic exit ever. As long as no one involved has breathing issues, the results are always flawless.

The day started with getting ready at The Home Place at Valley View. The bridal suite is absolutely perfect for all the classic getting ready shots. Samantha had nine bridesmaids. Yes nine! The room was a little crowded, but it was so obvious how much fun this group had together.

After taking our pre-ceremony portraits, we went to their home church in Orrick, Missouri for a beautiful ceremony followed by a gorgeous sunset session at The Home Place at Valley View. After the ceremony ended, we had about 30 minutes to get back to the venue, take wedding party pictures, and give these two an epic sunset session. We moved fast, but still were able to capture so many iconic moments.

The night ended with the group dancing to Copperhead Road. Samantha mentioned to me how important this song is to her friends group, so the DJ made sure everyone hit the dance floor to perform the choreographed dance. It was so fun to watch everyone get so into this dance!

To Samantha and Daniel, thank you so much for allowing me to be part of your gorgeous day! I loved getting to know you two and watch your love on this most special of days! Here's your full preview! More to come shortly!

Venue: The Home Place at Valley View

Florist: A Floral Affair (Spencer Tuma)

Cake: Amycakes Bakery

DJ: DJ Connection

Hair: Studio 101

Makeup: Studio A Salon KC

Catering: Nadler's Catering

Gown: Normans Bridal Shoppe

Photography: eGolden Moments

- Hear from the bride -

Share your inspiration and the atmosphere you're creating for your wedding:

My inspiration has been a combination of rustic/vintage/classic, but shooting for more of a classy rustic feel than a redneck rustic feel. I want people to feel pampered, but at the same time feel comfortable and enjoy themselves. I expect to see people in formal wear as much as people in jeans (and I'm perfectly fine with that).

Share how (or why) you chose your wedding venue(s):

The church is the same church my fiance grew up in, and the same church his parents and grandparents were married in, so it was an easy choice and has a lot of meaning to the family. The reception venue we chose partly because of the location (close to where we live), but also because it fit the feel of the wedding we both envisioned. It is owned by a great couple who have been wonderful to work with, and my fiance knew their family a bit, so it was also an easy decision.

What is your most valuable piece of advice you can share with future couples planning their wedding?

Create a new email strictly for wedding purposes. I didn't, but my friend did, and now I wish I had. It would be easier to keep everything organized, and to deter spam mail that comes along with requesting quotes from vendors and registering for bridal expos, etc. Also, for anyone not hiring a wedding planner (I planned everything myself, and so far don't regret it one bit!), purchase The Knot planning guide from Amazon - it has everything you need to get started! I am very organized and detail-oriented (and maybe a bit of a control freak), but I enjoy planning events and knew I wanted to be able to be in charge of making this wedding my dream come true.

What was your favorite part of the planning process?

Checking things off my list in the planning guide (basically accomplishing all the tasks in general and seeing the event come together).