I was so excited to spend the afternoon with these 2 because, well, they are quite possibly some of the nicest people I know. No joke, they are the kind of people that make you ask, “Is it possible to really be that nice?” Well, it is and they are. Their ceremony was absolutely lovely and they were both so happy all day.  Thank you Cory and Ashley for asking me to be your photographer and for being so laid back in spite of the terrible weather!

I always say that every wedding is so unique and takes on a life of it’s own photographically. I definitely think that these photos are good examples of that fact. I can honestly say that lighting and weather wise, the day was pretty challenging. I love dramatic indoor lighting and am pretty good at it, but the outdoor portraits are what gave us some trouble. It was storming all morning, but cleared up and gave us beautiful blue skies for most of the day. Unfortunately, the one hour that we needed it be clear, it poured again!!!! Not only did it pour, but it was like taking photos in a steam room. My lenses were fogging up and I had to keep wiping them down every few shots. Technically, shooting through rain and steam was a first for me. Not to mention it was extremely gloomy and dark. All that said however, Cory and Ashley were amazing troopers and I don’t think I could ruin one of their photos if I tried. Because, they are just that beautiful!

I’ve always thought that Cory looks like George Clooney’s much younger brother.

I loved this flower print hanging in the bridal room at the church. Isn’t she just stunning?

Going over her vows. I love when couples write their own.

Here are some lovely details. These were the flower girl’s flowers. When I first got there, the florist had already hung them on this coat rack. I loved the way they looked hanging there and thought, “Why mess with a good thing.”

These flowers were so fragrant that you could smell them from 20 feet away.

The ceremony was held at  Heartland Community Church in Rockford, IL. I loved the graphic look of the inside of the chapel there. Since her dress was sweet and simple, I thought it would be a cool contrast for the dress photos.

We did manage to get some more photos at the reception site which was at Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Country Club in Rockford. I’ll end with this shot because it shows just how cute they are.

Congratulations Kris and Ashley!!! We thought the day would never come!

I love these two dearly and it’s been an honor photographing them over the past year. Here is their engagement session from the fall that you may remember. I also got to do a personal session with Ashley that was a gift to Kris, and she was a knock-out!!! There are so many images and highlights from their day that I want to share here, but I managed to narrow it down to a mere 20 something, so bear with me.

All of their portraits were taken in Beloit along Riverside Dr. at the Angel Museum, the Hydro Plant, and the Old Water Tower. There are a lot of little hidden treasures around here if you just look for them.

Ashley lookin’ gorgeous as always!

I love when people pray for the bride and groom before the ceremony. It’s always such an emotional time and I get a little glimpse into how very loved they are by those around them.

Love this shot of Ashley being prayed for. That is Ashley’s mom right behind her, and she was surrounded by people who love her dearly. It is hard to explain the role that Ashley plays in her large family (6 children all together) and how much they love her.  The only word I can find to describe it is ROCK.

Ash has a special relationship with her little flower girl London and London’s family.

Our friend John (London’s daddy) walked her down the isle. I love the look he is giving her. “You ready?”

*Note: Thank you to John and Monarch Media for letting me use their 50 mm 1.2 L lens to shoot the isle shots. It’s pretty much a miracle lens.

There were 2 sets of ring bearers (2 of Ashley’s nephews and 2 of Kris’s nephews.) I just loved this image because this shy little guy hid his face the whole way down.

Mmmm…I love dramatic lighting.

The ceremony was full of their personality. This was part of their personal vows where Ashley thanked Kris for being willing to let her watch TLC shows  like “The Woman With The 300 lb Leg” and “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.” Kris was quick to grab the mic and remind her that she left out the show “Women Who Killed Their Husbands.” She was quick to grab it back and tell him to quit stealing the show. It was so them and of course we were all in stitches.

Of course, there were many emotional moments. Love this shot of her 3 Maids of Honor which were her sisters Niki and Meredith and our friend Risha (London’s mama, John’s wife.)

This is one of Kris’ nephews. The kiddos couldn’t wait till the exit to start playing with the bubbles.

This was the first time I’ve photographed a “Bubble Exit.” I have to say that the back of my neck got very clean by the time they made it through the crowd. Either some kids had some very bad aim, or that it just the nature of standing in the middle of a crowd of people blowing bubbles. Kris enjoyed them though. Can you see that he caught a bubble on his tongue?

Just some details…

Kris and Ashley Love scrabble. We had creatively included some scrabble words in their engagement photos, so I thought it would be fun to do this for their ring shot.

Gettin’ down.

I adore this shot of London watching her mom dance.

I’ll end with this one cause it just shows how so darn cute they are together!

And Here’s the proof…

You may remember this couple from their engagement session a while back. Well, their day finally arrived and I was delighted to finally get to photograph it at Badger farms. Besides being super organized, Katy has a smart style about her that I really appreciate. She infused so much of that style into every detail.  She even picked some of my favorite songs for her ceremony, and had my favorite person perform them (my hubby.) She and Mike are just so nice and it was evident that they are truly loved by all who were their to share in their day.  Here is more from their day.

Here they are waiting for their “First Look.” I know it breaks tradition, but I highly recommend it. It truly gives the couple some time to just be together and to let it all “soak in” before the rush of photos, ceremony, and party begins.

Mike’s reaction was priceless.

More Bever/Frey Lovin’.

I do love me some back lighting. I can never resist it.

Katy was simply gorgeous. I could have done a whole post full of just photos of her.

Her dress and bouquet were amazing.

Her girls were all gorgeous and as sweet as could be. Their love for Katy was so evident all day.

The boys were looking sharp themselves.

Someone here did not follow my instructions. Can you find the peeker?

I have to say, there were a lot of tears flowing from everyone throughout the day.

Here are some lovely details. Everything was just so beautiful. I cannot say enough about how much I loved the color scheme, the location, the flowers and all the little details that made the day so beautiful.

A closer view of the Giant Paper Flowers.

I’m not quite ready to commit yet, but I think that this next photo may be my favorite wedding image  to date.

Even though the party was in full force by evening, they let me drag them out for some lovely evening light.

I was literally at my car door, ready to leave, and NEEDED to get this shot to wrap it all up.

Wedding Details:

Graphic Design: Kristen Fergus Van Stee

Flowers by Gretchen Harwood

Catering by Burbach’s Catering

Location at Badger Farm’s LLC, Deerfield WI

Hair by Hair Force

On Memorial Day weekend I had the pleasure of assisting Carrie Casey Bower of  Casey Bower Photography on not one, but two fabulous Milwaukee weddings.  I wasn’t sure what to expect because I had never been an assistant shooter before, only the Primary Photographer. My main goal was to be a help to Carrie, get plenty of those extra little “moments” shots that would compliment hers, and not get in her way while she was trying to get those ultra important shots. I met Carrie on a wedding photographer’s forum a while ago and discovered that she went to High School with my husband and also went to college in Beloit where I live. She has a classically beautiful style of photography that I really love and she is so easy and fun to work with. I felt at ease the entire weekend. We kinda bonded, as shooting 2 weddings in one weekend is quite the  experience! Thanks Carrie for sharing your weekend with me and allowing me to shoot  images of your beautiful clients.

The first couple of the weekend was Alyssa and Mike. They were a very sweet couple and Mike never stopped smiling.

One of my jobs was to get shots of the boys before the ceremony.  I love documenting all aspects of weddings, but especially the interactions between loved ones.

As a main shooter, you usually have to be at the front of the church waiting for the bride to enter, so I was excited to be able to hang out and get this emotional shot of dad fighting back some tears before giving his daughter away.

One of the benefits of  having a second photographer on your wedding day is that you get different angels. While I was getting Alyssa’s reactions, Carrie was getting Mikes.

Of course, I got to shoot extra little moments, expressions, and looks after Carrie did all the hard work of picking the locations, light and setting up the shots.

The flower girl was such a cutie and I couldn’t help but follow her and catch some candids while she was playing.

Again, Carrie picked some beautiful locations.

The details of the day were just gorgeous.

I’ll end with this shot of their first dance.

Check out Carrie’s beautiful shots of Mike and Alyssa here.

Ceremony location: Our Lady of Lourdes, Milwaukee

Reception location: War Memorial, Milwaukee

Cake: Extra Special Touch Bakery

Flowers: Petals by Carrie

Each wedding I photograph seems to have it’s own personality and style.  While I try to be consistent with my style and technique,  there are really very few elements that I have control of throughout the day. Being willing to adapt to the  days environment and events, interpret it all, and then produce stylized images that evoke the mood and feeling of that day, is what my job is all about.  John and Mary originally wanted to get married closer to Christmas, but had to settle for a date in November.  I learned yesterday that Mary loves snow. While it didn’t snow yesterday, all other elements of their day made us feel like we were in a “winter wonderland.”  One of the elements used to create that wonderland was pretty dramatic lighting (My favortie kind!) Here are a few images from their day (some dramatic, some a little less.)

The ceremony took place at their church which is Life Church in Roscoe, IL.

The groom.

The bride.

They were pretty happy and full of emotion all day.  It was beautiful.

They had a great group of friends supporting them.

This was a really important element to them. I love how it captures the enjoyment that they experienced throughout their day.

I loved the silver branches they used throughout the decor.

The cake was beautiful and wintery.

And last but not least. Reception dance floors always provide great dramatic lighting.  I usually shoot a little with my flash and a little without on the dance floor.  It’s worth it to mix it up in order to get shots like this.

Congratulations John and Mary. Thank you for letting me be a part of and document your day!

Kris and Ashley are “The Bomb” and their shoot was  pretty much “Off The Hook” (those are for you Ash!) Really though, everyone is so excited that these two are getting married. Although the wedding will most likely be next spring sometime, Ashley really wanted to do an engagement shoot before all the fall colors were gone. It was a challenge to make that happen due to all the terrible weather we have been having this year. After a rained out Monday shoot, we were all looking forward to a nice bright Tuesday morning. But, we were a little surprised to wake up to massive amounts of dense fog covering Beloit.  We held off as long as we could, but eventually had to start shooting due to time. I was excited to get some photos in the fog because I knew it would create a cool effect. But, I also wanted some NOT in fog.  I think everything worked out great and Kris and Ashley were awesome and flexible. Here is their sneak peek.

Nice Foggy Effect.

Just some good old fashioned portraiture in a foggy field.

Happy non foggy fall color.

They brought their dog Duncan with them. He was so well behaved. I don’t see myself ever getting a dog, but if I did, it would have to be one like Duncan. At one point, while I was shooting just Kris and Ashley, Duncan was running around and exploring. Suddenly he just stopped, walked right over to us, and posed perfectly in the picture. The photo below is not that instance, but it shows what a perfect “poser” he was.  I guess Kris and ashley did a good job too.

My favorite “artsy” shot from the morning.

Thanks Kris and Ashley!

Remember this awesome couple? What a priveledge it was to spend the whole day with them and their families and friends, photographing their wedding day. Seriously, I have the best job! I’ve known Josh and his family for lots of years and they are some of the most talented people I know (Josh and his brother Ben’s band TLOT is one of my favorites.) Kaia has a pretty amazing family too, and a really special relationship with them. I really enjoyed getting to know them all. The blending of these two amazing families, as well as all of the personality that Josh and Kaia  put into the wedding details, made it a special and fun day.  Here are just a few images from their day.

Kaia grew up in a log home by a lake with plenty of beautiful woods. It was a perfect ceremony location, and not too shabby for photos either. Can’t you just feel how crazy these two are for eachother?

Getting ready.

So pretty.

I love this next series of photos. Kaia’s mom Amy (who, BTW, has 4 published books and her own radio show) is so very sweet. Her love for her daughter was so evident at every moment throughout the day. The timing of these photos could not have been more perfect (and it was not planned.) As Kaia started down the stairs, Amy turned the corner and saw her daughter for the first time. This was her reaction. Priceless.

Josh looked pretty stylish in his Sean Jean suit (sorry Josh, had to spill the beans)

These guys had me laughing all day. In fact, it was hard to get a serious shot. But, I didn’t mind. I have known most of them since they were kids, and It was  fun to see them all together supporting Josh.  BTW, 2 of the guys are fellow band members with Josh.

The beautiful bridesmaids. I absolutely loved their dresses. They were all super brave too, as it was pretty cold (and they were in flip-flops.)

Beautiful flowers. Beautiful Dress. Beautiful woods.

The ceremony. Josh was pretty emotional.

Kaia was pretty happy.

This tree was just so cool. I used it several times throughtout the days portrait shots.

Thanks Kaia and Josh for letting me be a part of your day!

Jessica and Trent got married.  It has been so nice getting to know these two over the course of their wedding planning. I was always impressed with how calm and organized Jessica seemed everytime we met. It was evident last night that they put a lot of time and effort into all the details of their day. Everything was fantastic and I had a blast photographing it all! It really was a perfect fall wedding. And, I couldn’t have asked for nicer people to spend 8 hrs. with. Thanks Trent, Jessica, and Family for making my job so easy!

I loved the bouquets. So vibrant and fall like.

I loved all of the colors Jessica chose. Her bridesmaids looked fabulous. Their shoes were fabulous too!

I had to bargain with the boys to get a few more pictures. They agreed to get out of the limo if I let them take some photos with their beers.

The anticipation.

The Exchange.

Happy to have this tree as a beautiful fall backdrop!

Stunning.

I’ve been a pretty busy girl this week. I had been looking forward to Katy and Mike’s engagement session for a while. First, just to hang out with Katy a bit and then meet Mike for the first time. And second, because we agreed to do the shoot in and near their Chicago neighborhood, Lincoln Square. Erik came with me again and we both fell in love with the area. Thanks Katy and Mike for introducing us to your neighborhood and Herman, and for doing a fantastic job!  Here is a little peak for you.

Didn’t have to go far to find places to shoot. This was in the alley behind their house.

I love this one. So pretty!

The stairwell behind their home was cool too. Lots of ironwork.

We did some shot’s with their baby, Herman. I think they were worried that he wasn’t cooperative enough. He did a great job and he was really sweet.

Thanks Katy and Mike! I don’t think you had anything to worry about!

Could they be any cuter together? Really, I loved my time with Kaia and Josh. They are so much fun and were up for any hair brained scheme I had. And, they did an amazing job for me. I have known Josh and his family for many years, but this was my first time meeting Kaia and it was a pleasure. I am shooting their wedding in October and cannot wait! Here is just a sneak peek of some images that struck me right away.

I Lu Huv this one so very much!

This one too!

Seriously, look at her gorgeous eyes!

And one last one that was another favorite of mine.