Viewing entries in
Weddings
How did you meet? Tell me your love storyMichael and I are both Wisconsin natives, but we met while living in the Twin Cities. As Michael would say, we were introduced the modern way via a dating app! We actually matched when l was on my way to Cozumel for my cousin's wedding and I had to message fast in an airport before I lost service for a few days. Michael messaged me back and in true form I didn't respond for several days as I was terrible at messaging people back with life being busy! Thankfully, Michael didn't give up and we agreed on meeting for drinks. On our first date, I found out he grew up in Wisconsin too and we both were Packers fans and we slowly dated from there, taking our time dating and getting to know each other!
What is one thing you love to do together on a free day?Golf! I'm terrible and Michael is great but as he would say--"I'm his life cartner" :) We also like to finish the day on a patio or outside with a glass of wine.
How long have you been together? And when did you know he/she was the one?Just about 2.5 years! We both knew each other was the one on our drive back home from my first weekend up in Michael's hometown of Grantsburg, meeting his parents. We just had this great talk and it literally changed our entire relationship.
How did the proposal go down?We had vacationed in San Diego in December 2018 and had such a great trip that we decided to go back again in December 2019 to use up our yearly PTO. This time we decided to add in Laguna Beach to our itinerary. Michael had just been to a work conference there in March at the Montage Resort. He would send me pictures of the amazing views and then also called to tell me Justin Bieber was also staying there. I immediately regretted that I hadn't taken time off of work to go stay with him during his conference. So when Michael mentioned going there for dinner one night while planning our trip, I definitely agreed that that was a great idea. Obviously, I had to see the place myself if Bieber had stayed there! :) So, on our second night of the trip, we arrived before our reservation so we could walk along the cliff overlooking the beach and ocean at sunset. I had no idea he was planning on doing it on our trip, so you can imagine my surprise, when halfway through our beautiful walk, he got down on one knee to ask me to be his life "cartner". As Michael would say, luckily I said yes, so the dinner and the rest of our trip wasn't awkward. But there was no doubt--I was saying yes!
Are you writing your own vows?Yes! We absolutely love when couples write their own vows!
How did you meet?
Tommy and I met in college playing pool at Partners Pub (Stevens Point) on a Wednesday on Dollar Bottle night. Super classy ;) We were both there with different people but had a mutual friend who introduced us so we could play pool together so that he could leave for the night.
When did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your life together?
(Jeanna) I would say I knew right after our first huge fight. It was actually a fight about getting married... I was grilling him on if he would ever propose or wanted to get married and he is such a pacifist, he just responded so vaguely that it annoyed me and turned into a fight. But once that fight was over and we realized what we were doing wasn't really "fighting", it was learning more about each other. How to communicate about different things and learning about how we saw our own futures; apart and together. It made us stronger, not weaker, and I knew I wanted to continue growing stronger with this amazing man :)
How and where did the proposal happen?
Tommy's proposal was absolutely perfect. And again, if it weren't for some disagreements we had had in the past to learn more about each other, it would never have been this way. We were looking at buying our first house and he was all excited and pushing forward HARD to get one ASAP. I on the other hand was very obstinate because I didn't want to buy a house until we were married or at least engaged; and he knew that. So when we found the house, put in the offer and it was accepted, we set up a time to go back on Monday (Also my Birthday) to show our family. Well, he convinced me to dress up a little so we could go out to dinner for my birthday after we saw the house. Well, when we got to the house, before we went in, he stopped me and told me that he cares about my feelings and wants me to be as excited as he is to buy a house. So he said something like "I don't want us to go inside and look at this with separate eyes, we should be looking at this together, as a couple, as our home." and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him :) I cried a lot... I don't even think I looked at the whole house again :)
What did you envision your wedding to be during the planning stages?
Totally different than what happened... Friday evening we had some pretty nasty storms roll through that knocked over part of the tent we had, but other wise didn't cause much harm. However, Saturday morning brought the hurt. Between 10am and 12:30pm, Central WI had 12 confirmed tornadoes touch down. Unfortunately, multiple of those went directly past the farm where we had worked for months to clean out an entire working and functional barn to make it a wedding space... as well as landscaped and decorated 4 of the 20 acres. By 10:40am power was completely out across the 2 counties. This meant, no hair, no nails, no A/C, no lights, no toilets, no nothing. We had to change everything. Our bus was late to pick up the girls due to downed power lines and trees EVERYWHERE. SO everything was postponed, and we were mostly concerned about everyone's safety. On the bus ride to the farm, we had to find alternative routes because the roads were all blocked. Originally we were getting married under the willow by the pond, but that was flooded. So we got married in the barn and it was gorgeous. We ended up getting 4 generators to run for lights, DJ and beer cooler. And that's all we needed. Thank goodness for solar lights port-a-potties too!
What was your color palette and style vision?
When we first picked a date and started planning it was tirquoise and grey. That quickly went away and turned to "summer colors" meaning farmers market flowers and black bridesmaids dresses. But again, that changed and I let my bridesmaids all decide what they wanted to wear which was lavender/lilac and denim/blue. Worked out beautifully :) As for the style, we knew once we were offered the barn for the wedding, we had to keep it as natural as we could. The barn was gorgeous on it's own so we did some lights and minimal decorations as to not take away from the absolutely gorgeous architecture of the barn.
What surprised you on your wedding day?
Where to begin.. I think first, I was surprised that so many people actually still came after the weather! I was also surprised that the afternoon was so gorgeous. The rings were also kept hidden from us until the ceremony. That was fun to see those for the first time together. Also, my brother released ducks lol they are still living on the pond happily!
What was you favorite moment from the day? and your detail?
Favorite moment: seeing Tommy smiling while I walked down the aisle, even after all the chaos Favorite detail: Either the rings or the flowers
What advice would you offer to other couples planning a wedding?
Relax and accept the help. If your parents want to push and be a part of the planning, dear lord LET THEM! It will only give you more time to enjoy the countdown :) And in the end, you won't even remember half of the day anyways :) only the parts you want to. Also, our running joke was "it's not about you." as in everything you plan for this wedding literally isn't for you; it's for your guests. You're essentially planning a party for other people who are going to constantly be pulling you in different directions and asking you the same questions... Make sure the ceremony is for you, then enjoy the party ;)
How did you meet?
First met running a tough mudder together. Ethan setup a team for coworkers to sign up, and Chris registered for the team. We chatted a bit before the race, but didn't officially meet until that day. We stuck close to each other the entire time, and exchanged numbers after the race. From there, we got drinks at a local bar and never looked back.
What was the moment you knew you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together?
Chris- I cannot think of a single moment when I knew this. It was really just a growing understanding over our relationship. Every once in a while (varying between daily and monthly) I'll find myself looking at him smiling while talking about some miscellaneous thing and all I can think of is about how immensely I'm in love with him and how much I look forward to spending more time with him. At some point that just came to include the rest of our lives so I instigated buying the rings.
Where and How did the proposal happen?
We both wanted to propose under the northern lights but after multiple nights in Iceland where the forecast suddenly switched from great lights to nothing we both updated our individual plans. One day we were walking down the coast and checking out beaches looking for beach glass (hobby of mine) and a couple beaches in we were in the middle of a fjord with some gorgeous mountains on either side when Ethan dropped down on one knee to ask me to spend the rest of my life with him. Unfortunately his ring was in the my other jacket so I couldn't drop down on a knee to ask back. Instead I said yes and then reversed the proposal later than night while stargazing to give him his own falling star back (our engagement rings had meteorite in them).
What unique elements did you include in the day?
We really enjoyed having our mothers come up for our whiskey unity ceremony. Both of our moms enjoy Bourbon so we had then pick their favorites so we could age them together in the barrel. Our officiant, Megan, also came up with fantastic descriptions on how each described one of us and really made it special. We also selected some of the flowers based on our mothers/grandmother's favorites.
What was your color palette and style vision
Our favorite colors are orange and blue so we decided to go with a sort of sunset over the ocean palette with reds and purples thrown in. We also like an outdoorsy/rustic feel and so we stuck with wooden chairs, lanterns on tables, etc...
What was your favorite moment of the day? And favorite detail?
Chris - The entire ceremony was perfect to me, but as I was tearing up practically the entire time I'll say Ethan's vows were incredibly heartfelt and very him and just made me feel incredibly loved. Favorite detail was probably the cake. We gave the cake company a fairly vague idea of what we wanted but it turned out absolutely amazing.
Ethan - everything about that day was perfect. Seeing Chris crying when we first approached each other made me feel so loved, and it was hard not to hold him close like I normally would. Seeing everyone we knew and loved from all different stages in our lives sitting under one roof was incredible.
What surprised you on the wedding day?
How incredibly busy we were the entire reception. There were so many friends and family to talk to that we barely had time to grab food and drinks but we had so many people helping that took care of everything for us which made thinks much easier than they could have been.
What advice would you offer to other couples planning a wedding?
Have a couple trusted members of the wedding party that can handle questions and tasks during the wedding. We didn't even realize how much our friends did for us until the end of the reception and everything was already packed up and ready to go, but I can't imagine how much time it would've taken to try to do it all ourselves when we already felt like we were incredibly busy the whole time. Also don't stress the little things, and by little things, I mean everything except you marrying the love of your life. That's why you're there, that's why everyone else is there. The food, drinks, and dancing are just a nice bonus
Grooms and wedding party attire: Nedrebo’s Florist/Decoration’s: Enhancement’s
Venue: The Oak’s Golf Course Cake: Carl’s Cakes Rings: Jeweler’s Workshop
Kallie and Devin met on the farm when he came to work for her Uncle, so it was only fitting they have their reception in her family’s barn. Everything about this day was relaxed and so much of both Devin and Kallie’s personalities in the details. The invitations designed by Kallie and put together by family and friends, each included a piece of wheat. They are both relaxed and never sweat the small stuff, like when the rings were forgotten in the church safe and had to be brought to the alter by the usher, Kallie’s cousin. The amazing locations of the fields on the farm, Kallie who also does photography knew just the best spots with the most amazing light. I LOVE shooting portraits in a location so beautiful and meaningful for the couple! And of course we had to get a couple of photos with the cows! And the reception all put together with the help of family and friends, Kallie spent the full year collecting unique plates and glasses for each setting at the reception. So Beautiful!
VENDORS
Florist—Flowers at the Inn https://flowersattheinn.com/
Ceremony Venue— North Cape Lutheran Church http://www.northcapelutheran.org/
Reception Venue—Kastenson Farms
Catering and Cake — Hoggin’ Cake https://www.facebook.com/hoggincake/
Dress— Amelishan Bridal https://www.amelishan.com/
Bridesmaids Dresses— David’s Bridal https://www.davidsbridal.com
Groomsmen and Groom attire— Men’s Wearhouse https://www.menswearhouse.com
Invitations— Designed by bride
Vendors:
Venue – Wild Eagle Lodge
Florist – Forth Floral
DJ – Kryptoni DJ Entertainment
Wedding Dress – Maggie Sottero
Tuxes – Generation Tux
Bridesmaid Dresses - David’s Bridal
Caterer – Reuland’s Catering
Paper Goods – Wedding Paper Divas
Cake – Nothing Bundt Cakes
Meagan and Mitchell were absolutely adorable, and so thankful for to everyone for being a part of celebrating their union to one another! They didn't want a lot of fuss but did have special personal requests that are so important when planning a wedding day. Mitchell with a set of small rings representing his grandparents in his boutonniere and both bride and groom wanted a photo with their puppy before the ceremony began.
Their venue was a stunning display of nature’s beauty and perfectly fit their vision of keeping things simple. The amphitheater at Rib Mountain made for a gorgeous backdrop for their big day. Their color palette of steel blue and gray complimented the outdoor elements perfectly. And with a few tears, Meagan was able to hold it in, but mainly smiles and laugher the day couldn't have been more perfect.
Thank you again to Meagan and Mitchell for allowing me to capture your beautiful wedding day!
Wedding Dress: Davids' Bridal https://www.davidsbridal.com
Florist: Krueger's Floral https://www.kruegerfloral.com
Ceremony: Rib Mountain https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/ribmt/
Reception: Dale's Weston Lanes https://www.mercantilehall.com
Sam & Jack's is a love story for the ages, it was truly one of the happiest most emotional wedding day’s I have ever capture. I’m pretty sure everyone at the wedding, including myself had tears in their eyes at one point throughout the day. But with the tears of joy came laugher as well including a special flash dance planned by the bridal party, parents and groom for the garter toss. The dance floor was packed form start to finish and I’m told the party went on until 2am. Thank you again to Sam & Jack as well as all of their friends and family for making my job so easy and allowing me to capture such a beautiful day.
Dress: Morilee 2791, https://www.morilee.com
Wedding dress from Vera’s Bridal in Madison http://www.verasbridals.com
Florist: The Pink Peony thepinkpeonyllc@gmail.com
Ceremony: St. Thomas Aquinas Church http://www.saintthomaswaterford.org
Reception: Mercantile Hall https://www.mercantilehall.com
DJ: midwest sound http://www.midwestsoundwi.com
Bridesmaids Azazie Leanna https://www.azazie.com/products/azazie-leanna-bridesmaid-dress
Invitations Minted https://www.minted.com/
Helen and Kyle had by far one of the most laid back weddings I have every photographed! They wanted a quick ceremony without a lot of decorations and fuss and to focus on each other as well as their friends and family on their wedding day. And I think it was achieved, the day was hot but no one complained or had any issues throughout the day. And the wedding meal I have to say was probably my all time favorite, a taco bar! For all my future bride & grooms, the "bar" has been set high, haha!
Rachael and AJ had a glamorous, loving, international, family filled wedding day. With friends from all over the globe the day was filled with love from every corner of the world. Notes of well wishes and love were read from those who couldn’t attend. And guests from all over the US and Australia got to see the beautiful day in person.
When Rachael told me she wanted her wedding party photos to look like a Vanity Fair cover I was ecstatic for the big day and it didn’t disappoint. Rachel had 2 amazing gowns for the day and a cathedral length veil. The bridesmaids wore elegant one sleeved white dresses, with Hollywood-like hair and a gorgeous red lip for all. And the men in tuxedos it was by far one of the most high fashion weddings I had photographed all year! And even with all the glamour and elegance they didn't leave out the fun, with everyone doing their best "blue steel" poses during photos!
Not only did Rachael bring the glamour but she put so much of herself into the big day by doing all the florals and décor, even greenery from her own garden made it into the wedding bouquets.
Vendors
Venue: The Bayfield Pavilion | Baked Goods: Gourmet Garage | Entertainment: Blue Drifters | Menswear: The Black Tux | Bridal Gown: Rosa Clara | Reception Gown: Dress the Population | Bridesmaid dresses: Calvin Klein | Hair and Makeup: Mollie Kae
Rachel and Danny had an intimate romantic wedding in Madison. Madison is one of my favorite places so when I found out the wedding would be at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, a classically beautiful church, doing photos at the Wisconsin State Capitol after and the reception Brickhouse BBQ I was bursting with excitement.
Rachel looked stunning and was glowing on her wedding day! Now if you have read my blog before you know I love when couples choose to do a first look but I understand some wanting to keep with tradition. Danny and Rachel wanted to wait to see each other and it made for a beautiful moment, as Rachel walked down the aisle Danny couldn't hold back the emotion. The wedding was smaller than I am used to but you could tell just how each person in attendance cherished both them. The wedding ceremony was full of laughter and personal stories and following the ceremony we got a group photo with everyone in attendance. Rachel is a girl with a love for photos, much like myself, so we planned lots of time to go to both The State Capitol and Picnic Point Park in Madison. While I know some in the wedding party were getting antsy I was loving every minute of the 3 hours we had for photos after the ceremony. The Capitol building made for a beautiful backdrop that allowed for the bridesmaid's navy dresses to pop with color and the golden light shinning through the colorful fall leaves at Picnic Point made for another stunning backdrop. I think if you look at the images you can see it was worth it!
The night finished out with the reception at Brickhouse BBQ which served a mouth watering meal of barbecue and cheesecake for dessert. I think this is a new must spot in Madison for me from now on, the brisket was to die for! The third floor was reserved for the wedding, with a loft that had games and a patio with market lights strung overhead it kept that intimate warm feeling that was felt throughout the entire day. Thank you again Rachel and Danny for sharing your special day with me, it was amazing!
Cassandra and Andy’s fall wedding in Wausau, Wisconsin couldn’t have been more wonderful. When I meet with Cassandra earlier in the year she told me how important family and photography were on her wedding day. Fast forward to the Monday before the big day when Cassandra’s grandfather passed away, while it was a difficult time she and her family wanted to continue with the wedding day and make it not only a celebration of Cassandra and Andy’s love but of life overall. The importance of family could be seen throughout the day from the stitching of the wedding date in into her wedding dress by Cassandra’s grandma, to the flowers arranged by Andy’s aunt, and the tattoo Cassandra got only day’s prior in her grandfather’s handwriting. She hind that tattoo during the week so the first time her parents would see it was when she was in her wedding dress, a moment that made us all tear up.
Cassandra was also very excited to have everything fall in Wisconsin be a part of her big day. The bridesmaid dresses were a rich burgundy color, sunflowers and a small blue piece of cloth from her grandfather in her bouquet. At the reception pumpkins along with family moments decorated the hall at the Holiday Inn, Rothschild. We couldn't have had better weather with the rain holding off for the bridal portraits at the Stoney Creek covered bridge. While the trees weren't at peak colors the small pop of red in the leaves along with the red covered bridge made for a beautiful backdrop.
Thank you again Cassandra and Andy for letting me document such a wonderful day.
Caitlin and Josh had the most amazing classic and romantic fall wedding at The Waters in Oshkosh, WI. The venue was built in 1903 as the Oshkosh Yacht Club with Nantucket-inspired porch and balcony facing the waterfront. When we arrived at the venue friends and family were bringing in decor, flowers, everything needed to create a beautiful day. You could tell by the amount of people who showed up hours early to help out this day was not only about Caitlin and Josh but about their families too. After getting dressed in a beautiful bridal room filled with light, the couple shared a “first look” on that balcony where the two couldn’t stop smiling and you could see the love between them. I am always an advocate for a "first look" as it gives the couple time to be alone before all the actives of the day, and makes for some of my favorites photos of the day.
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for a fall wedding in Wisconsin, the ceremony was on the grass facing Lake Winnebago following guests mingled inside and out on the porches during cocktail hour. The dinner space was decorated with personal touches like Caitlin’s favorite candy, Skittles, and the cake topper with the letter "P". Gorgeous light pored in from the large windows and large chandlers added to a sense of warmth in the room along with the beautiful flowers from Petal Pusher Floral.
The day had been mostly cloudily so we weren't sure were would be able to get in the sunset photos we had planned for. But during dinner with the last few minutes of daylight the sun peaked out and created a beautiful pink sky allowing us those few last portraits of the day.
Caitlin and Josh thank you for allowing me to photograph your beautiful wedding day!
