the blog.

Apr 29, 2023

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

black wedding cake

Bride wearing a black wedding dress posed in a library.

Black Wedding Dress

Oct 22, 2019

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 […]

Sep 3, 2019

When I asked Rebecca what her theme was for her wedding, she said “If Great Gatsby went to Europe.” Glitz and glam, sequins, headbands, feathers and beads. Beautiful golden swans topped the wedding cake and also on Jeffrey’s wedding band. They each had accents of emeralds on their rings which, I believe, they found in Dublin. They added so many unique touches to this wedding making it entirely their own!

It was a whirlwind of a day with everyone in their finest flappery. I couldn’t stop staring at some of these incredible golden sequined dresses! And the guys did not disappoint either. Check out the boy in his sweet mustache! Jeffrey wore a fantastic velvet suit-coat that I’m sure everyone wanted to pet and Rebecca’s dress was a gift from Jeffery that she found after her first dress wasn’t the perfect one. She actually wore it for part of her boudoir session earlier this summer. It was so gorgeous with all the shoulder and back beadwork. Daaaammnnn!

I’ll just let you see for yourself how incredible this wedding was. Their vision was poetic and beautiful. And the day went couldn’t have gone any better. Especially with the help of all these amazing vendors:

Venue: Lake Windsor Country Club //  Dress: Thelma’s Bridal //  Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal and Elegant Occasions  //  Hair and Makeup: Sondra Koenig  //  Groom’s attire: Men’s Wearhouse  //  Cupcakes: Gigi’s  //  DJ: Scott Mueller  //  Rings: Neal Conway and Jim Creashak 

 

 

Aug 15, 2019

Chris and Pam put together this super fun, intimate wedding in just a few months. They met up with me beforehand at Olbrich Gardens where we had an hour to just walk around and take photos. This is one of the most beautiful places in Madison to go take photos, especially for weddings. This year […]

May 20, 2019

It was a beautiful spring day at the East Side Club on the shore of Lake Monona.

Pete was watching Star Wars with his pals and Lindsay was getting ready with her gorgeous ladies. May the 4th Be With You! All the tables were sweetly decorated with gorgeous flowers and little Lego Star Wars figures. It was so cute. The guys finished getting ready and decided to play a frisbee to warm up for the day. That’s how the lovely bride and groom met! On their ultimate frisbee team! Side note, I also wanted to mention that they have the best name ever for their current team: Sofa Kingdom. So, to commemorate the day, they had a special wedding frisbee made since it is such a big part of their lives. It had a little design on it that Pete’s sister created for them. Kind of like a family crest. It also appeared on the cups the girls were drinking from, the programs and on the coasters that they used for seating arrangements. I loved all the little personalize touches that made the day so special for them. Lindsay even crocheted tiny little blue flowers to be put in Pete’s boutonniere.  She described the process and how she had to wear these big magnifying glasses to see what she was doing and had us all laughing. Seriously, these flowers were so tiny! Quite impressive.

Everyone was so fun to be around! You can really see the joy on their faces and the love in the room.

 

All these amazing vendors contributed to this amazing day:

Venue: The Eastside Club  //  Catering: Stoddard’s  //  Cupcakes: Bloom Bake Shop  //  Wedding Dress: Vera’s House of Bridals  //  Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal  //  Groom’s Attire: Jos A Bank //  Floral and Design: Simply Glamorous Designs by Oregon Floral  //  Hair and Makeup: Brideheads //  Wedding Rings: Bernie’s Rock Shop (Custom Design with Grandma’s Diamond

 

Nov 30, 2018

Kendra + Robert I love hearing how love stories start out. This one all began with a swipe right on a familiar app we all know about. Fast forward to a wonderful life together and all the fun things they like to do (including the reason for the app in the first place, heehee)  with […]

Oct 5, 2018

Morgan + Thomas

It all started 6 years ago with Thomas wearing a pair of bunny ears and asking Morgan to prom after following a crazy trail of Easter eggs with a code inside. Of course she said yes, I mean come on! How cute is that??? They went as friends but fell in love all the same. For years they kept a long distance relationship visiting each other from LaCrosse to St. Paul even without owning cars for the first few years. They would take bus rides to each other even though sometimes it would take several hours just to get there. One of my favorite stories is of their first kiss where Morgan had to dress up like a boy to sneak on campus at midnight to kiss Thomas under the Arches so he could become a true Tommie at the University of St. Thomas.

There were so many great stories printed on cards about their relationship on the tables at the wedding. What a great idea to share with your guests! I grabbed a few so so I could share some stories for this blog post! It was such a beautiful day and everyone was so sweet. You could just feel the love between Morgan and her parents. Especially during the father/daughter dance and she gave him a bunch of “Butterfly kisses.”

Vendors involved in the gorgeous day:

Ceremony: Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church  //  Reception: Wyndham Garden Hotel  //  Dress: Charlotte’s Bridal  //  Floral and Stationary: Pages + Petals  //  Cake: Creative Confections-Alicia Russell  //  Hair and Makeup: Ultimate Veritas Spa and Salon  //  DJ: Andrew Szlapka