Paul and Kristin first met at a New Year’s Eve party in downtown Chicago. The fun part is that they were both from Wisconsin! I had the pleasure of going down there for their engagement session and had wonderful time getting to know these two. Their wedding was seriously s blast. The wedding party was full of incredibly nice, fun, crazy and beautiful people! One of our stops after the ceremony was the University Golf Course and the ride there and back on the Mad City Party Bus was full of wild pole dancing, shots, singing and laughter. What a fun day! Thank you so much for having us document it!

List of amazing vendors who put this day together:

Ceremony: Holy Redeemer  //  Reception Venue: Concourse Hotel  //  Hair and Makeup: Organic Beauty  //  Florist: Sweet Pea  //  Baker: Rolling Pin Bake Shop  //  Dress: Stone Manor Bridal  //  Groom Tux: Men’s Wearhouse  //  Travel: Mad City Party Bus  //  DJ: Vital Image  //  Second Shooter: Angie Stroud Zelora Photography

First Look!

Azena Photography | Madison Wedding Photographer

Downtown Madison Wedding

Six years ago, Erik met Laurie in his hometown Philly while playing a hot and intense game of badminton. It was true love at first birdie! Since then, they moved to Madison, got a really cute dog named Kima, and planned a beautiful, offbeat, nature inspired wedding. There were many moments that really stood out to me and Heidi but the best part was one we couldn’t photograph. The bride and groom walked down the isle to The Talking Heads! How fun is that? Definitely one of my all time favorite bands.

Aldo Leopold Nature Center is located just about 5 minutes from my studio. I’ve been there many times, my son has gone to camp there, but I have never shot a wedding there before this! It was so much fun and beautiful and there were so many opportunities for photos! Everyone was so open, candid and friendly, emotional, loving and you could tell they all really cared about Laurie and Erik. We really enjoyed capturing the essence of this magnificent day. Congratulations to the happy couple!

This gorgeous day really came together with some wonderful vendors including a sweet taco bar from Blue Plate! Here is a little list of everyone involved!

Venue: Aldo Leopold Nature Center // Second Shooter: Heidi E Johnson // Floral: Daffodil Parker // Officiant: Glenda Kenyon // Catering: Blue Plate Catering

When we first drove up to Joe and Sue’s beautiful farm out in the driftless hills of Avoca, WI, we couldn’t believe such a perfect place could exist. All around the valley were hills, trees and winding roads. It was so quaint and pretty! The backyard was set up for the ceremony and there were beautiful gardens everywhere. I picked up Andrew and dropped him off at a tiny little church up the street with Gretchen so we could do a first look over there. Then I went back and picked up Miranda. She had on this incredible dress with lacy sleeves and a tee length skirt. It was so perfect for the setting!

These two are really into outdoors fun like fishing, hiking, camping and skiing. They live in Oregon so I know they get to enjoy some gorgeous scenery. They also like to cook! I loved how everything seemed to mesh with their personalities from the photos hanging on the clothesline showcasing memorable moments in their lives together to the delicious jam they made together in Oregon and shipped over for the their favors. They also made this incredible peach topping for the wedding cake. I didn’t try the one with brandy (I had an hour drive home!) but I’m sure it was also amazing. The song Peaches comes to mind when I think about it….You know, Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Me! Haha.

During the Ceremony, I was blown away by Miranda’s sweet little 7 year old son reading this beautiful writing. What a cutie!  Miranda’s friends also read and cried with happiness for them. I loved it! Such raw emotion! Beautiful!

Then we got to eat Pig! I love a good backyard pig roast. Mmm Mmm Mmm. We set up a little photo booth and got some crazy photos of everyone acting all goofy. I made a slideshow in the next post. Check it out! Then Miranda and Andy changed into their comfy clothes and cowboy boots and had kickin’ shindig! I had the best time photographing the “wild dancing men”. I love that term. Nothing better than a bunch of people dancing out in the great outdoors and having the best of times.

Vendors: Second Shooter: Gretchen Olson // Venue: Private Residence Joe and Sue’s Farm // Baker: Craig’s Cake Shop  // Catering: JL Richards Catering // Music: IPod // Floral: Miranda’s Mom!

Camille and Andrew were married in one of my favorite churches in Wisconsin. St. Francis Xavier in Cross Plains has so much beautiful space and light! We arrived in time to see Andrew’s Dad pull up with a sweet old red tractor to surprise him. The groomsmen jumped on Heidi got some great photos of the good ole boys hanging out in their tuxes looking all tough. So fun!

Camille and her beautiful ladies had matching shirts and pulled out these adorable multi colored bridesmaid dresses in pastels and vintage lace gloves!

After the ceremony, we jumped on the bus and went to Madison. The Capitol was so much fun with all of the bright colors against the building. Even the groomsmen had colorful socks! Little Henry the ring bearer couldn’t stay away from Camille. It was so adorable how much he loved his Auntie. So adorable, in fact, that they had their own dance to Taylor Swift’s Shake it off. What a great way to get the party rolling. Everyone really got into the dancing and had so much fun. Their signature drinks were pretty to look at too!  Thank you for choosing me, trusting me, and making me fall a little deeper in love with what I do!

Vendors: Second Shooter: Heidi Johnson // Ceremony: St. Francis Xavier Cross Plains, WI //  Reception: University Club //  Hair/Makeup: Rejuvenation Salon and Spa on location  //  DJ: Juke Box Bandstand //  Ceremony Music: Yahara String Quartet //  Florist: Lewiston Perennial Farm  //  Cake: Carl’s Cakes  //  Dress: Mara’s Elegant Bridal