Niki and Dave Goatley are some of our dearest friends at our church, Renaissance. They have been such a support and encouragement to us on our journey, and we just adore them! So when Niki asked me if i was available to take some portraits at their family reunion – I was beyond thrilled to be able to capture this special gathering for them!

Nike and Dave live in Pana, IL – an area I’m fairly familiar with since I have family who live and farm in Pana. The Goatleys have a beautiful home, and you could instantly tell the amount of time and care that both Niki and Dave put into getting everything ready for the arrival of their many family members and loved ones! With all the rain we’d been having, I made sure to come prepared with other options for doing the family portraits just in case. But God was on our side – and the rain stayed away for the festivities.

I have to admit – I’m pretty proud of this awesome family group shot! It’s my largest family portrait to-date with 48 people. I actually really enjoy doing these big group portraits. I think it’s so SO important to document things like this! As families get older and grow – it gets harder and harder to get everyone together. So when you have a big get together like this – I think it really is the perfect time to document the family. Plus – there’s something fun about grouping these family shots. I always try to organize them by family so you can kind of see who belongs together. So that was a lot of fun!

We did a few individual family shots too for those who were interested in that and then it was time for dinner! I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the Goatley’s and getting to chat with everyone! You all are fantastic people and I’m honored to have gotten to be a part of your family gathering! Here’s a little peek at the Goatley family reunion!