Tara & Drury | Engagement

Drury & Tara are engaged!!

Tara and I grew up together at church attending a million DNOW's and camps together, and she always spoke of this Drury guy. After highschool, we split ways and went to different schools and experienced different adventures. We didn't speak as often, so when she called recently to tell me she was engaged, I was so excited! I asked his name, and when I heard it was Drury, I was thrilled. "Drury.. like THE Drury??!" It is THE Drury. Yay!

Drury is a fireman and a farmer on his family's land. So we grabbed the firetruck and took it straight to the cotton fields. :) Why not? Tara is in nursing school at WT in Canyon, and is loving it. These two get married in July, so stay tuned for bridal and wedding photos! Congrats you two!

Kaufman Family

Family shoots are always too short, especially with kiddos. I feel like I never have enough time to get to know them and their unique personalities. A few days before this shoot, Cayce (Mom) emailed me some candid photos of each of her kids, briefly describing their personalities.

Cydnie (11) is a West Texas princess..sweet, but is a tough athlete and hunter. Nicolas (8) looks sweet, but has a wild streak. Cecily (2) is a total princess and mildly mischievous.

Knowing these things, I had so much fun trying to peg their different characteristics. Cydnie was the peacemaker.. the protector of Cecily and an encourager to Nick. Nicolas was the clever one.. the adventurous leader. Who followed him? Cecily. :) I connected with Cecliy. I am the baby with one older brother, and I remember growing up thinking, "MY BROTHER IS THE COOLEST!!". So of course, I HAD to do everything Michael did. He was my idol. If he played legos, I played with him. If he played basketball in our driveway until bedtime, I was there with him (until he wore me out or I got hurt). If he wanted to play "war" in the backyard, I was the "nurse" for wounded soldier(s). Everything Michael did, Betsy did. Everything Nicolas did, Cecily did. I loved it. So now that YOU know this family a little bit, here they are. The Kaufman's:



Favorite.





Yes. We HAD to do some silly faces.





hahah. I had to blog this one. Mom's words right before this shot? "Cecily, listen to Miss Betsy." Sooo, Cecily was obedient. ;)



The girls!

Scout | A New Life

I've been sitting here with blank space to type for way too long, but I can't even begin to put into words how incredible this experience was. I met Katrina when she was pregnant, so I've never known Katrina and her baby separate from each other. When Katrina asked if I would be interested in photographing in the delivery room, I almost called her crazy. I had NEVER heard of it. She sent me a link to a video and halfway through the slideshow, I was crying. It was tastefully done and an experience one would never want to forget. Kat checked with Matt (husband) and they were on board to officially ask me. It was an immediate yes from my end. I prayed (seriously) that I would not get nauseous or faint during the delivery.

My mom (a nurse, i might add) used to watch ER religiously back in the day when ER was a show about hospital drama and not who-slept-with-who drama. Ya know, George Clooney days. I would sit next to her and literally gag at scenes involving blood or any kind of pain. Bleh. When I came to my mom completely excited at this opportunity to shoot this event, my mom got bug-eyed. She pointed directly in my face sternly and her words exactly: "BETSY LACKEY! IF YOU FAINT AND MAKE THEM PAY ATTENTION TO YOU..." (Moms always leave threats open-ended for dramatic effect.. just so you can IMAGINE the last half of the sentence. That is the torcher.)

So... I prayed harder. ;)

I was always on call, just waiting for a phonecall from Matt & Katrina, telling me it was "time". I changed my ringtone from Ryan Adams to "Alarm", FULL BLAST on the iPhone (many of you iPhone owners are cringing at the thought of that sound right now).

"Babies come when they want to Betsy." (Mom's words again) They sure do, and on October 12, 2010, Katrina called me. My heart started pounding 90mph as soon as I heard her voice. I hung up, shaking. I was so excited for a friend and even more excited to experience it with her (kind of.. lol). I cried all the way to the hospital. I'm a complete sap, I know, but I didn't know what else to do with the ALL the different emotions inside me. It was just a physical way of expressing myself because I couldn't portray it any other way. (You can make fun of me.. go ahead.)

The process flew by. He answers prayers. I didn't even get queasy once. :)

After a few hours at the hospital, new life laid on a scale. 7 pounds. 9 ounces. She was so small.. every feature crafted by her Creator, every finger and toe designed and constructed with care. I stopped photographing for about 30 seconds and just stared in awe. She was an absolute miracle. She was life, and LIFE is an absolute miracle.

Watch a miracle: (Loading is worth the wait. ;) Promise.)

Song: First Breath After Coma by Explosions in the Sky

Matt, Katrina, and Rowyn: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I got teary-eyed just typing this, remembering how wonderful that day was. What an honor to capture this for you. I love all three of you so much. God has blessed you with such a beautiful girl. Woo! TEAM BALLENTINE!! ..oh.. & Katrina? She's not going to college in a month.. I promise. ;)

Brad & Kelsey | Engagement

Brad & Kelsey are so silly. I love it. I've collected quite the caboodle of silly couples. (Probably because I use words like 'caboodle') Brad is silly. Kelsey is fab. Silliness divided by two times Kelsey equals square root of Fabulous plus Brad over two.

My point: Silliness & Fabulousness = Brad & Kelsey. (Don't do that math.. haha)


Anywayyyyyy, these two lovebirds met while working in the ER together at a hospital in Dallas. They were referred to me by Katrina of Ballentine Studios who was on maternity leave at the time. Katrina suggested a location with huge trees forming an allay and gave Kelsey directions. None of us had been to this location, so we simply followed the directions. We drove. And drove.. and drove.. and drove some more, ALL thinking, "Hmm.. I hope we're not lost & I hope they don't mind driving all the way out here." By the time we reached our destination, we were instantly satisfied. This road was gorgeous. Though MILES outside of Lubbock, it was perfect. :) Okeedoke. Sorry for exhausting you with that intro. Here they are, the fabusilly (yes, i just made that up) Brad & Kelsey:

Ammons Wedding | Andrew & Dru

DETAILS DETAILS DETAILS! Dru & I first met up for coffee and "wedding talk" early this summer. I left wishing the wedding was the next day; I was immediately excited to photograph this wedding. I looked forward to it allllllllll summer and couldn't wait until the day rolled around. Why? Because Dru is a "detail queen". She is in the Department of Design college at Texas Tech with an Apparel Design and Manufacturing degree, and I knew... KNEW after chatting that afternoon that this would be a KILLER wedding.

It was.

Andrew and Dru were married at a little church in Idalou, Tx. :) I put the address into my iPhone for the rehearsal, and it led me to an open field of nothing with this on my map (Yes, I took a screenshot. I knew this moment was blog-worthy):



Yup. Zero feet until my destination and I would be there. hah.. grr. I tried calling a few people, knowing that the middle of the field was not First Methodist Church. I drove around Idalou for a little while, hoping it would just appear in front of me. The population of Idalou is a little over 2,000 people so you'd think I'd just accidentally run into it, without driving in and out of Idalou a few times, but no. What saved me? A tiny sign that said "Turn at the Dairy Queen for Idalou United Methodist Church." YES! I finally found the quaint little chapel, right in the middle of a neighborhood. The small town feel was perfect for this small wedding.

The reception was held at The Watson Building in Lubbock. I had never shot a reception there, and I LOVED it, so if you are a bride, a soon-to-be-bride, a "helper" of a bride, consider this location for your reception. It was beautiful with high ceilings, romantic low light, and 2nd floor seating. Elegant, but cozy.

Dru, being interested in fashion, did a mentor session with Shan Renee (whom I call the master of light) to see what fashion photography is like. Shan called me to model (haha), and Dru just happened to be Shan's mentee. I hadn't seen Dru in probably years. It was so great to see and interact with her in that time that we had. Dru knows 98375 photographers which is a great thing when you're looking for a wedding photographer, but can also be a tough decision. There is SO much talent out there. She decided to involve herself in different photographer's art which I think is a great idea. Andrew and Dru had their engagements taken by Davy Knapp and bridals by Lauren Clark. To have different photographers' art at different times of your life can be such a neat idea.

The proposal story? Too cute to type.. It involves the grocery store and an empty fridge. Andrew did a killer job with the surprise factor, so please read up on their story here.

Okay, without further ado, meet Andrew & Dru. Yes, their names are similar. :) I feel like I'm just saying Andrew's name twice when I say their names. ;) Enjoy!



Umm.. this dress was fantastic. Couldn't stop photographing it..




Favorite. :)



Was I spoiled with a GORGEOUS bride or what???



This watch is Dru's late grandmother's watch. Her aunt clasped it on her left wrist while trying her best to hold back tears. (I definitely didn't hold back MY tears) I love the fact that, though not physically present, Dru's grandmother was absolutely a part of her wedding day.



Yes. These are hot pink Betsey Johnson stilettos.. and yes, they rock.






MODEL WEDDING PARTY!




Dru started saying Andrew's vows. They were eager eager to be married. :)



I love me some hands.



Favorite part of the day? The rings. I'm ALL about the yellow diamond and goodness! These rings were p.e.r.f.e.c.t.






Let the dancing begin.. :)



Momma Debusk is a sweetheart. I think I hugged her about 6 or 7 times on wedding day. ha..







Thanks to Alexandra Nanny for second shooting with me and producing some beautiful images for Mr. and Mrs. Ammons. :) Here are a couple of my favorites from her perspective:




Andrew & Dru, thank you for booking with me and dealing with my over-excitement about details. ;) Both of your families are so precious and it was so wonderful to spend this special day with you and them. Hope your "secret-location" honeymoon was fantastic. May you have a bright and exciting marriage!