Bailey Schurke dove headfirst into photography after her wedding.

While having her engagement and wedding photos taken, Schurke became intrigued by the process of documenting the special memories.

Working as a nurse, the idea of doing her own photography stayed on the back burner. Driving back from a vacation and having a lot of free time, Schurke decided to go for it.

A year later, Schurke is opening her own photography studio called Special Moments by Bailey, which is located at 500 Main Street in Coon Rapids. On Saturday, an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at the studio, going from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For her photos, Schurke said she usually leans towards warmer and neutral colors. Saying she captures a little bit of everything, Schurke photographs pregnancies, families, senior portraits and weddings.

However, her favorite sessions are Fresh 48, where she takes photos of newborn babies within their first 48 hours after birth.

“You only have one chance to capture those right after the baby’s born in those 48 hours of life,” Schurke said. “These are very much capturing all those little details, the umbilical cord that’s still on, the baby’s fingers, all that fun stuff.”

In order to develop her skills further, Schurke said she reached out to another professional photographer Aryn Book, who is the owner of Peridot and Lace in Adel.

“She was all on board, this was her first time ever helping someone, so she was also super excited,” Schurke said. “So I got my camera, she helped decide which one to purchase, as well as what lens and all that good stuff.”

The studio used to be the space for Brown Bag & Co., a former home goods store. Around this time, Schurke was looking for a building, but hadn’t found anything she liked.

After noticing they were closing, Schurke reached out to move her photography business over.

On top of her photography business, Schurke continues to work as an OB nurse at the St. Anthony Birth Place.

“I love it, I wouldn’t change it,” Schurke said. “Some days do get long when I work night shifts, so that can definitely take a toll, but I love it. I love being a nurse, there’s just something about that process that I love.”

Being from Elk Horn and her husband being from Arcadia, the couple decided to live in Coon Rapids as a middle ground between their hometowns.

Her husband is Derek Schurke, who works at Outlaw Signs Graphics and Apparel in Carroll. Thanks to his profession, Schurke said he helped her design the front sign for Special Moments by Bailey.

Her parents are Molly Robertson and Terry Robertson of Elk Horn. Throughout the process, Schurke said her parents have been great in helping with the building, whether it’s for construction or painting.

“Whenever I need help, they’re not worried about driving the 40 or 45 minutes it takes to get up here, they’re just more than willing to be up here and help,” Schurke said.

For anyone looking to book a session with Schurke, she said they can message her Facebook account at Special Moments by Bailey, email specialmomentsbybailey@gmail.com or call 712-249-6733.