"I'm going to make everything around me beautiful -
that will be my life."
-Elsie de Wolfe
SEE THE
FAVORITES
emily mitton
I'm a believer in a kind of love that grows stronger over time and seven years in, I feel that way more than ever.
I was born in Tennessee and raised in South Dakota, running barefoot on our acreage, walking the gravel roads at sunset, riding horses, building forts in the cotton woods and loving that feeling of dirt in my hands and the sun on my shoulders. A love for hard work, a strong sense of ambition and a thriving appreciation for the purpose of beauty started there...
It's important to remember where we come from, but even more so to appreciate where we are in the present. You know how when you find an old picture from years ago you realize with fresh eyes how special everything was in that moment? Did you see it in the present, too?
Maybe that's why I love my job so much. Photographs have sharpened my senses and trained my eye to look for and soak in the beauty of the now while it's still happening; while it's fragile in the cast of our ability to receive, shape and appreciate it for all that it is. If I can seal this season in a time capsule of beautiful photographs for you to remember and look back on with tears in your eyes, then I'll count it a success, because around here, we believe love is worth waiting for, worth fighting for and worth celebrating.
But I'm not going to lie, I got a special one.
Pictures have a way of giving perspective.
Images by Rebekah Emily and Melissa Blythe
FAVORITES
SEE MORE
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I do like to cook, but really I just love me some good food! Tell me you can relate?! I'm always trying new recipes but rarely can turn down a night out on the town.
BEACHING
Moving to the East Coast has been a dream of ours for years, so you'll find us out here living the salt life, taking the ferries, watching for sea turtles and exploring local islands every chance we get.
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BOUTIQUES
I love a good brick & mortar boutique, but I'll admit that lately, I've been more into online shopping. Some of my favorites right now are Vici and Tusc.
THE FAVES
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RESTAuraNTS
favorites
see more
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Magnolia Magazine
There's something so satisfyingly Pinterest-y about snuggling up with said-Chai-tea in hand and an old-fashioned print magazine in your lap.
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FARMGIRL FLOWERS
Burlap-wrapped and American-grown, these bouquets are designer quality, lush and homey.
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CHAI TEA LATTES
My chai tea latte order is open all seasons, but come winter, I have a special love for a simple dark hot chocolate and in the summer, an iced caramel high-rise.
I've written a list of 100 dreams... to own a boutique, learn how to sketch, sand surf in the desert, camp on the beach, tour Europe, publish music, study interior design, make pottery, go to culinary school, launch a podcast, take a safari trip with my boys...
I'm just getting started.
While I am exploring so many avenues in life that add depth and texture to my days, capturing the best of you and the one with whom you've chosen to journey through life remains a constant and increasingly fulfilling pursuit.
"Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."
- Mark Twain
BEYOND
THE CAMERA
Ben
Meet
dream. create. repeat.
your life is a canvas
Born in Canada just north of New York, he spent the first part of his childhood with friends from Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK. When his family moved Stateside just a mile away from Beltrami Island State Forest, exploring the heavily wooded northern region of Minnesota became a regular way of life.
He enlisted as an American Soldier when our relationship was just budding and spent the next nine years serving in the National Guard, obtaining Airborne and Air Assault training and deploying for the better part of a year in Kuwait before moving to the Air Force working in munitions as Staff Sergeant.
He's a certified diver, history buff, political junkie and my all-star second shooter.
EFFORTLESS
REAL STYLE IS
"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."
- Emily Bronte
Meet Ben
Meet
CEDRIC
Photo by Rebekah Emily
He's six going on sixteen... as confident and full of life as he is prepared with death-defying karate chops and somersaults. If you're looking for a topic of conversation, hit the dinosaur circuit. Guarantee he'll outdo your knowledge database.
Cedric means "Battle Chieftain" and Paul (his middle name) means "Humble". Sometimes when he's running at full speed past sunset, Ben and I look at each other and with one slight raise of the eyebrow, non-verbally question our choice in selecting a warrior name.
EFFORTLESS
REAL STYLE IS
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
- Lao Tzu
Meet CEDRIC
MEET
Photo by Kamie Wittrock
SPARTAn
Spartan Alexander. A powerful name for such a sweet, fair-skinned baby, I know.
Spartan meaning "disciplined" and Alexander, "defender of mankind," encapsulates our belief that now, more than ever before, we need to be raising a generation of men and women with large, tender hearts and strong backbones. A rising tide of humans with vision, purpose and resolve; willing to sacrifice and stand firm in the brunt of resistance for causes worth advancing. Driven not for any love of the fight itself, but for the love of peace and the motivation of safe haven in the places we call home... embracing dearly those who need our tender attention and careful defense.
EFFORTLESS
REAL STYLE IS
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
- Lao Tzu
Meet SPARTAN
back to beginning
There's more...
BUT WAIT!
November 2011
I catch his eye
We write letters
FIRST DATE
(Thanks, Facebook.) He adds me as a friend, sends me a message in response to a comment I made and we message back and forth a handful of times.
That's right, the old-fashioned pen and paper kind. Remember those? We decide we'll exchange them back and forth after he leaves for the Army on Valentine's Day. He writes me from his bunk via flashlight and we even squeeze in a phone call every now and then.
By now, we've covered all the deep stuff in our conversations and know we work on paper. But do we work in person? He comes back from Basic Training and we go on our first date as an "official couple".
We definitely work in person.
HE TALKS TO MY DAD
He drives from northern Minnesota to southern South Dakota "just to catch his cousins' New Years' Eve Party" a month or two after we've become friends on Facebook. I know better. He knows better. We all know better after he asks to meet my dad for breakfast on New Years' Day.
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June 2006
WE MeET
DOESN'T NOTICE ME
He's 12, and I'm only 9, but God is already weaving our paths together.
I start carpooling with my one of my best friends to help at her family's church every summer. Turns out her cousin is this super handsome Gilbert Blythe look-alike I first met when I was 9... I'm a grown-up 14-year-old now, but he thinks I'm 8 and doesn't bat an eye. It's cool. I don't mind. That much.
OUR LOVE STORY
January 2012
February 2012
In a Timeline
November 2012
Photo by John Allen
There's more...
BUT WAIT!
Summer 2013
We're NEWLYWEDS
There's nothing like your first year as a married couple and ours is jam-packed with firsts! People don't talk up marriage enough. We're on the road more than we are home, but love every second.
HE BUYS ME A CAMERA
That's right, I only had a point-and-shoot up until this point! Ben puts his bet on me and invests in my dream camera at the time: a Canon 60D. I launch my website and officially start my business on January 1, 2014.
January 2013
April 2013
May 2013
HE PROPOSES
WE SAy OUR VOWS
I shoot my first wedding
It's the coldest day of the year, but that doesn't stop him. The day the ring arrives, he gets in his car and makes the six hour drive south to get on one knee.
Nine weeks after I tell him "I love you" for the very first time, I'm standing in front of him in my wedding dress (bought with a box of silver coins he gave me as an engagement present). We honeymoon in the Bahamas and drive back in a blizzard to our new two bedroom apartment in Minnesota.
I borrow my mom's camera and shoot my very first wedding solo. I have to download pictures in-between the preparation and ceremony so I'll have enough room on my cards, but I'm hooked.
OUR LOVE STORY
December 2013
In a Timeline
back
Photo by John Allen
2019
What's next?
We can't WAIT to see what this year has in store! Want to read more? Click for our personal archives.
2015
2016
October 2014
2017
we move
NAMED TOP 19 IN SIOUX FALLS
we have a baby
shoot 45 sessions & weddings
We move to Sioux Falls, SD, where my family is from and start building a client base from the ground up. I shoot in AZ, NC, MN, ND and SD.
I shoot my way through the summer and grab every opportunity that comes my way! The business is growing and so is my belly. On October 2014, Cedric Paul was born after a 29 hour labor... it was the hardest and most empowering thing I've ever done to this day.
Memphis, TN is added to this list of wedding locations and I continue shooting all over the midwest. Named in the Top 19 Wedding Photographers in Sioux Falls, SD by Expertise.
We book over 45 sessions and weddings in South Dakota and surrounding states and almost completely book out 2018.
OUR LOVE STORY
In a Timeline
back
Photo by John Allen