We had the BEST time with this fun family and loved getting to know the Merris clan!!📸💕 And also…we 10/10 recommend gathering your wholeee family for a photo session just like this!!!  Think about it…these photos & sweet memories will be treasured forever!  We are obsessed!! Get to know more about the Merris family and see a preview of their photos below!!✨

What is something that makes your family special?

“In the Merris family, no matter whether you are a son, daughter, daughter-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, grandchild, or cousin, we all have so much love, respect and unconditional support for each other. Although we are related by blood or marriage, we are all friends actively involved in each other’s lives and love spending time together. Dottie and Kyle raised their children with a strong faith and lots of love which is passed along to their children as we grow our own families.”

What has been your favorite family memory so far?

“One of our favorite memories so far would have to be our 4th of July trip in 2018 to the Red River Gorge. We all stayed in a cabin together, went on numerous hikes, visited Creation Falls Waterfall, went swimming, fishing and had a wonderful vacation together that genuinely allowed us to unplug and enjoy each other’s company.”

If you could choose any way to spend a family night at home with everyone, what would you all do?

“A typical get-together with all 16 of us at home would most likely involve a meal followed by hanging around the fire pit, a few adult beverages, lots of laughs, telling stories from the kids’ childhood and our children (the cousins) running around playing together.”

What is the best memory you have of your family doing something together?

“One of our favorite memories would have to be our family Christmas celebrations. We love to have fun and laugh, with such a wide range of ages we make up games each year, ones of the minute-to-win-it variety. One year we played pin the hat on the snowman mainly for the younger kids; it was all fun and games until one of us adults pinned the cap on the alarm system- setting it off with an emergency call to the security firm.”

What is your favorite family tradition?

“Our favorite family tradition would have to be our advent angel tradition. Each Thanksgiving, we draw a name, keep it secret and pray for that person throughout the whole advent season. On Christmas, we reveal our angels and give them a gift or a handwritten note.”

Would you rather time-travel into the past to meet your ancestors or into the future to meet your descendants?

“This is a tough one to answer, I think many of us would be torn on whether to visit the past or future. Kyle’s brother passed away 38 years ago before most of us “kids” met Uncle Rob and I know we would all love the opportunity to meet him, spend time with him and other loved ones that have passed away. But, as we have kids, some of us might enjoy meeting our future generations too.”

What’s next for your family?!

“What is next? Watching the littlest Merris kiddos learn and grow. Each has a unique personality and special talents. Watching how they each grow, explore their interests, find sports and activities they love is truly a blessing. We hope that not only do they continue to grow into great people- but they remain close cousins and each other’s biggest supporters and best friends.”

What was your favorite part of your session with B&B?

“Our favorite part was watching each of the kid’s personalities shine through in the shoot. Nolan, the littlest one was perhaps the most fun to watch- he was a little ham and loved the camera. The pandemic made us realize tomorrow is never promised and we needed to stop putting off getting family photos of us all, and Bret and Brandie made the shoot so easy and so much fun. We can’t wait to hang the final images on our walls.”