Burke Family | Big Cedar Lake | Milwaukee Family Photographer

A few weeks ago I got to photograph some of my favorite people on the planet in a truly special place.

Last year my dear friends, Angela and Jeff, bought a lake house on Big Cedar Lake in West Bend and have spent many months creating the most beautiful second home for their family. So when she asked me to photograph their family out at the lake, it was my hope that these images would become an extra special treasure, documenting this momentous milestone in their family journey. I’ve been blessed to know Angela and Jeff for what seems like forever. In fact, Jeff was one of the very first people I met in college at UW-Madison (almost 25 years ago! Gulp). We met at the Memorial Union Terrace during the first weekend of freshmen year when my friend, Jenny, spotted a group of guys, one of whom was wearing a “Minnesota Rink Rats” Tshirt. My hockey-loving friend marched right up and started a conversation… and some lifelong friendships were born.  I also met Angela in the early days at UW-Madison through a mutual friend but we became close right after college when we were both living in Milwaukee. We still joke that we that the first time we met for dinner was like a “blind-date,” because we really didn’t know each other well at the time. Today, Ang is one of my nearest and dearest friends and I count her and her three guys as some of my greatest blessings in life. <3  We’ve seen each other through some of life’s greatest ups and downs and I can’t think of a better friend to have by my side through it all. Angela has the biggest heart and the most beautiful spirit and I’m honored to be among her inner circle. I also love that I can say I played a small part in connecting Angela and Jeff —I remember Jeff inquiring about Angela one night when I hung out with him and a group of college friends and I still have the email that he sent me the next day asking for her contact information. 😉  Ang, Jeff, Owen and Ethan, I love and adore each of you and truly treasured every single minute of wading up to my thighs in the chilly lake waters, while wearing Owen’s flip flops to capture these images of you!! XOXO