Eli's Photography Blog

Nancy + Micah – Arkansas Engagement Portraits

This engagement session was so much fun! Nancy’s parents have land outside of Cabot, Arkansas. The setting for this engagement session was very unique, because Nancy’s grandfather hand planted each of the pine trees that  you see. Eli and I love when we can shoot engagement sessions in environments that are personal to the couple. We could have photographed these two all day, they are so photogenic. Nancy and Micah are such a sweet couple and we can’t wait for their wedding in July! Be sure to leave them some love!!
- Leslie





I thought her ring was gorgeous! Micah did a great job!







The sunset that night was incredible and we just couldn’t pass up shooting with some lights. I love the way they turned out!

Chris + Nancy – Newport Beach, California Wedding

Eli and I planned a trip to the West Coast for some sight seeing, networking, and learning at WPPI ( convention in Vegas for Wedding and Portrait Photographers) We knew we were going to have our friends Chris and Nancy accompany us on this journey. What we didn’t know, was that these two were planning a surprise wedding for friends and family. They knew they wanted something beachy and what better place to do it than Southern California in Newport Beach. We had to keep it on the down low, which was a little tough at times, but we made it happen. Chris and Nancy are awesome wedding photographers themselves, and we felt so honored that they asked us to be the ones to document their special day! What a compliment! They got married at Little Corona Beach and it was breathtaking! Shelby Nolan of Green Leaf Designs created the most beautiful bouquet and boutonniere for Chris and Nancy. If you ever need flowers for your wedding/event, be sure to check her out- she is wonderful!! Green Leaf Designs is located in Huntington Beach, California. It was a perfect wedding all around, I don’t think we could have asked for better weather that day. Chris and Nancy are a beautiful couple and we wish them many years of happiness together. Cheers to the happy couple!
- Leslie

Sweet Love Bakery – Little Rock, AR

Kelli Marks is the owner and lead baker for Sweet Love, one of the newest and fastest growing bakeries here in Central Arkansas. I was so impressed with Kelli’s wonderful personality, how she runs her bake shop, and her crazy good baking skills, that I wanted to dedicate a blog to Sweet Love and share some photos with you guys. If you are bride-to-be in Arkansas and you are looking for a really unique, beautiful, or classic wedding cake, check out Sweet Love.

It’s pretty easy to see that Kelli loves her job. Making people happy baking sweet goodies.

I was super excited when I heard that Sweet Love was opening up a storefront on Cantrell. It’s wonderful to have another really great bakery  in Little Rock for brides to create custom wedding cakes. You can also sit down inside and enjoy a fun little cupcake date.



I may have just had a couple of these cookies when I was shooting the bakery, and yes, they’re even better than they look.

This is the Sweet Love mascot, “Wisk”. Make sure you say hi when you stop in.






With so many unique and creative ideas for wedding cakes, I’m really glad to know Kelli and can’t wait to see what she has in store for the 2012 wedding season.

Sweet Love is located at 8210 Cantrell Road in the Cantrell Heights shopping center. http://sweetlovebakes.com/

Ashley + Alfredo – Riverside California Wedding Teaser

I know it’s been a while since my last blog post. Between shooting weddings, traveling to shoot weddings, engagements, family sessions, spending time with my family, editing, delivering albums and prints to brides, I’ve let some blogs slip past me. 2011 was a really great year. Leslie and I are super blessed to have such wonderful clients and to be a part of so many lovely weddings. We’re already looking forward to 2012. We’re flying back to Little Rock right now from Los Angeles as I’m writing this blog. I just couldn’t wait to show off a few images from Ashley and Alfredo’s wedding in Riverside, California. These are just a few of my favorites. Stay tuned for more images from their Southern California wedding. Enjoy!

Haley Heath – Arkansas Bridal Portraits

Saturday was Chris and Haley’s big day! I had such a great time at their wedding and I cannot wait to share some images. In the meantime enjoy a few of my favorite photos from Haley’s Bridal Portrait session that we shot a couple weeks earlier. Also I want to give a big thanks to Arkansas’s daily wedding blog, The Wedding Post, for featuring Haley’s Bridals on their blog yesterday and for constantly bring wonderful content to all of our Arkansas brides.

Lara + Alan – Arkansas Engagement Photos

Yesterday I met up with Lara and Alan at the Arkansas River Trail near The Big Dam Bridge in North Little Rock. I brought a camera and a couple bicycles, they brought the love. Aren’t they just awesome together? I cannot wait for their wedding in October!
Here’s a quick teaser of a few of my favorite images we got yesterday. Enjoy!

Jason + Marissa – Southern California Wedding Part 1

Last Saturday was my birthday, I turned 25 and spent the day in Southern California photographing a gorgeous wedding. I’m so thankful and blessed to have been a part of Marissa and Jason’s wedding day. I can’t imagine doing anything else better on my birthday than photographing two people in love, in the beautiful rolling hills of the California wine country of Temecula. Because this wedding was bigger than most, I not only had my wonderful wife assisting me, but I also had the awesome help of my good friend and native California photographer Daniel Cruz.  I met Daniel at WPPI this year and connected with him through The Becker’s [b]School. If your a wedding photographer and you haven’t heard of the [b] School, you need to check it out! This is just a quick teaser from the wedding, part one if you like. I will have lots more photos to share from their wedding soon. I just wanted to give everyone a quick peak first. Congrats Jason + Marissa! Enjoy!

This was taken from the greens of the Temecula Creek Country Club. Unbelievably beautiful views.

This flower girl was a 10 on the cute scale and future radiant bride.


Look at how happy they are! Aren’t they just awesome?

The ceremony and reception were both outdoors, in a valley of rolling hills and lanterns hanging from overgrown trees. The Dance floor was laid beside a 130 year old Stone House.

It’s not California wine country without a little wine.

Such a beautiful bride.


These guys rock! So happy!

One of my favorite images from the day.

There are so many more I can’t wait to share with you guys! Stay tuned for part 2…

Tuesdays with Eli – Laguna Beach, CA

Okay, so I know that I’ve missed a few Tuesdays with Eli’s, but I’m trying to get back on track and I’ve got some catching up to do. Here’s a couple of my favorite photos from Leslie and I’s “Epic West Coast Road Trip” we took back in February. Laguna Beach is probably one of our favorite places to visit. We loved it here. The beaches here are amazing, the weather is fantastic (even in February), and the whole town in filled with art and creatives. Definitely a location I wouldn’t mind working in… Let me know if any of you Arkansas Brides want to plan a destination wedding and need a photographer who knows the area, haha. Enjoy!

Just an old couple that I saw walking the beach together. I thought it was cool the way they walking in unison. I hope this is what Leslie and I will someday resemble.


Just us, doing our thing.




I love this woman.

Leslie snapped this photo of some kid running on the beach. There was actually a playground right across the beach, what a cool area for a kid!


This is probably one of my favorite images. Not sure why, but I love this frame. From the looks of it, you may think that Laguna is retirement community, but there were lots of young professionals there. I guess this beach was just favored by the older crowd, haha.

Cara Cox – Arkansas Bridal Portraits Marlsgate

These are a few of my favorites from Cara’s Bridal Portraits that we shot at Marlsgate Plantation. Stay tuned for more photos from her beautiful rain filled wedding day! Enjoy!

Sarah + Chris – Teaser Arkansas Wedding Photography

With the storm clouds rolling in and umbrellas in hand, Sarah and Chris were more than ready to risk getting rain on and trudging through an open muddy field. Sarah was ready to do what it takes to get the great shots, and from my experiences, the reward is always greater than the risk. Don’t they look great! More to come, here’s a quick teaser from their wedding day in Altus, AR. Enjoy!