Wergerzyn Gardens Dayton Family Photography | Peura Extended Family Session | Dayton Extended Family Photographer

I’m so excited to share this extremely special Wergerzyn Gardens Dayton Family Photography session with you today! The name might sound familiar to you… because this family is my family!!

This session holds a very special place in my heart for a lot of reasons!

Wergerzyn Gardens Dayton Family Photography | Peura Extended Family Session | Dayton, Ohio Family Photographer

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Let me tell you, this session was long overdue! My husband, a full time National Guardsman, has been gone for the last year serving our country overseas. This session took place about one month after he got home! I’ve found that you learn a lot of things about yourself and about life while your loved ones are gone for a long period of time! One of which being how important family pictures are! When your loved ones are absent, pictures are a beautiful reminder of your love for them and help you to feel closer to them while they are gone! And photos remind you of how special our family is!

As you get older, life gets busy. It can be harder to get together with all of the people that you love! Work, pets, children, living in different places and having to travel to be together… All of these things (and more) make it harder to spend time together, so capturing that time in photos makes it easier during the times in between reunions.

Custom Family Heirloom Albums

Another reason is that within the last three years, both my husband and his brother, Jack, got married. And we didn’t have any pictures of all of us together without someone being in a wedding dress! So, I was able to put together this beautiful extended family photo session that has also been turned into an heirloom album for my mother-in-law to keep and look at whenever she is missing one of her children, or whenever any of us just want to remember this day that all of the siblings got to spend together. And the same goes for all of us! Each of us can look back fondly at these pictures and remember the magical day that we were able to spend together.

Wergerzyn Gardens Dayton Family Photography

We all got together at the Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark in Dayton, Ohio. I love working here! There are so many different photo locations to choose from in just one park! It’s also great because we had a lot of flexibility with timing. We could start nice and early, and I have to say the lighting was amazing!

One of the beautiful things about extended family sessions (like mine and this one) is that we can make it into several mini sessions at the same time! We were able to capture everyone all together, as well as each couple, and the siblings. Even the family dogs, Daisy and Oliver, made an appearance! Jack and his wife Lindsey are such a sweet couple (you’ve seen them on the blog before!) and I love taking their photos because their love for each other is so evident and magical!

My in-laws, Becky and Karl, were so thrilled to have everyone together. I typically work with young families and newborns, so it’s sweet for me to see how a parent’s love for their child never fades, even as they grow into adulthood.

These sessions can truly be a custom experience unique to you and your family’s needs, and it’s a smart way to get everything done at once, while everyone is together.