When Genevieve and Alex told me they were going to have a vampire wedding, I burst into flames…

Well, if I was vampire, and depending on whether we are talking about Anne Rice or the twilight sparkly vampires, or maybe I got a special ring from a witch so I can go outside during the day, (Can you tell that I love vampires?). I could have exploded like Vampire Bill before he became all powerful! Sookie!  Luckily, I just got super excited and put on my all black outfit and got ready to take some dark gothic photos of very willing subjects. And, they showed up on film!

The wedding cake was so pretty and so very black. The theme went above and beyond with beautiful deep velvety reds that matched the bride’s blood thirsty lips. The Madison Club was such a perfect venue for this and the bartender smiled while pouring the signature cocktail into glasses with vampire teeth and enough alcohol to make you rise from the dead.

One of my favorite moments of the evening was when the best man talked about how he and Alex watched Twin Peaks at a sleepover when they were young and got completely freaked out. If you know, you know. The owls are not what they seem and my arms bend backwards.

Ok, well, now you have had a peek into some of my freak mode nerdy fandom, here some lovely photos that I took with my wonderful friend and talented second photographer extraordinaire, Heidi Johnson.  Enjoy!

Artist Cred: Venue: Madison Club | DJ: Jukebox Bandstand

When you mix together Union South, Camp Randall, Memorial Union and Bucky Badger for a wedding, you’ve got the recipe for extreme fun and wild dance offs.

Hannah and Brian were married right in the heart of Badgerland and surrounded by family, friends and many fellow UW-Madison alumni. It was a gorgeous day and everyone was ready celebrate these two 9 years after first meeting in high school! Their love of the outdoors and drinking beer with friends make them a really fun couple to be around. One of our very important stops was at the Memorial Union to hang out for a bit at the lake! Every single person in the wedding party was fun and nice and very good looking. We definitely had a lot of fun taking some crazy pics in addition to the traditional ones.

A few memories that really stood out for me were when Hannah first put on her dress and walked out in front of her bridesmaids, the first look when Brian lost it a little (so frickin cute) and also when Hannah walked down the isle! But right before that, Hannah and her dad took a shot before going in. I had my second shooter, Angie capture that moment while I was up front with the groom. I didn’t hear what kind of shot it was but hopefully something to make their breath smell good for the big moment 😉 Maybe fireball? Haha I know that was going around on the bus. Speaking of the bus ride, I had the song “Lick my neck, my back” stuck in my head for a full day after the wedding! Lol. Anyway, it was so much fun and to top the night off, there was a donut wall with Greenbush donuts and Bucky made an appearance and danced with everyone until it was time for me to go. I took my donut home because I was still full from the delicious dinner. Union South has a wonderful catering staff and really handled  a 300 guest count with ease.

Hannah and Brian did such an amazing job planning and designing this wedding! Their list of wonderful and trusted vendors who helped the day run so smoothly are below:

Second Photographer: Angie Stroud  // Venue: Union South  //  Rentals: EZPZ Marquee  //  DJ: Jukebox Bandstand Tom running the ceremony and Austin at the reception  //  Floral: Sweet Pea Floral  //  Hair and Makeup: Liz from Lovely Elegance  //  Grooms Attire: Nedrebo’s Formalwear //  Wedding and Bridesmaid Dresses: Brandi’s Bridal Galleria  //  Transportation: Gallant Knight  // Planner and Designer: Patti Paulin at Union South  //  Wedding Rings: Kesslers  //  Donuts: Greenbush Bakery

Julia and Ben met in undergrad at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He is actually originally from Germany but lived around the United States for some time before coming to Madison to meet his future bride. It was really neat hearing so many guests speaking German and even during Ben’s speech, he spoke to them in their language.  I didn’t know that some of them didn’t speak english and asked one of the kids to listen for our knocking when we went outside for sunset photos outside the Madison club. It was pretty funny when I realized they had no idea what I was asking!

The happy couple cited their vows at the First Unitarian Society on July 20th. We barely escaped a crazy storm inside the Capitol and heard sirens going off with warnings but luckily it passed and the light was so beautiful the rest of the evening that we were able to take some really incredible photos outside the Capitol and on the rooftop of Monona Terrace. This was the first wedding I have shot at the Madison Club since their basement renovations and WOW is it beautiful! The ceiling is all glass! The entire setting was just beautifully set up by the staff and also Kennedy Turner running the show from Blueprint Events. She doesn’t to a ton of weddings but she should! Everything was perfect!

My favorite part about the evening was when Julia got up to have her dance with her dad and the song she chose was Kermit’s Rainbow Connection. This is one of my all time favorite songs! I get all emotional when I hear it. Don’t you? I tried to pull out my Muppet voice earlier to get a laugh and had no idea that she also loved the Muppets. What a great day!

Here are some of the amazing vendors who helped create such a perfect celebration!

Ceremony: First Unitarian Society  //  Reception: The Madison Club  //  Floral: Generations Wedding Flowers and Photography  //  Cake: Clasens European Bakery  //  Officiant: Adam Tierney Eliot  //  DJ: Josh Kuhl /  Kuhl Entertainment  //  Piano Player: Brian Schultz  //  Event Planner: Blueprint Events, LLC  //  Wedding Dress: Vera’s House of Bridals  //  Bridesmaid Dresses: Azazie  //  Second Photographer: Klara Krause

Family weddings are one of my favorite kinds of events to shoot. I  get to see everyone I love and truly spend some quality time with the bride and groom on their special day. This wedding was my husband’s cousin, Zak’s wedding.  What is really neat about this, is that I have known the groom for about 16-17ish years (I think) and absolutely love his whole family. Megan has been really fun getting to know too. She is a perfect match for Zak. You can see how happy he is when he looks at her with his gigantic smile that crinkles up his eyes in cutest way. I had real tears in my eyes during the ceremony!

It was a very intimate ceremony at Doubledays in Cottage Grove with just some close family members and the wedding party. Afterwards, we went off to Burke Park to take photos and then back to the reception where more family and friends were waiting. My son Wesley was there running everywhere and was very excited to dance fight with the light sabers that the wedding party used for their grand march. Thanks to Blaine at Now That’s Entertainment for keeping the kiddos entertained while the grownups socialized! Megan also made a super cute groom’s cake for Zak. It was so perfect. Check out the photos below to see what she had made for him!

There were some great vendors involved to make this day super special. Here they are:

Venue: Doubledays  //  Dress: David’s Bridal  //  Suits: Nedrebos  //  Rings: Kesslers //  Travel: Wayne’s Ace Bus and Limo  //  Cake: Karen The Cake Lady  //  DJ: Now That’s Entertainment  //  Catering: Doubledays  //  Decor: DIY  and Doubledays