One of the greatest things about photographing a friend’s wedding is that I get to spend the whole day with them and make sure to get the most personal, intimate, and real photos I can get. Kelly was so wonderful to work with! I loved how every time Brian said something funny to her, she would have this full on, head thrown back laugh that was just contagious. I got my first taste of this during their engagement session in the spring. I had not met Brian yet so had no idea what I was in for. He is one of the funniest and sweetest men I have ever met. We had the best time and when the wedding came around, I knew we were going to have a wonderful day and was ready for it.

Kelly had a vision that was so beautiful and inspiring. First of all, the First Unitarian Society is one of my favorite ceremony venues in Madison. Not only because it is unique and the architecture is beautiful (Hello Frank Lloyd Wright!), but also for what they stand for. All inclusive, non judgmental of any faith,  unbiased and spiritual. During the ceremony Kelly brought in “The Blue Brigade” which was all of their young relatives, and had them each bring her a flower at the beginning of the processional to create her bouquet. It was such a sweet way to include everyone and since there were so many young people, it was only right to have the reception at the Children’s Museum downtown! The design of all the flower arrangements was done by the insanely creative bride and then given out to guests at the end of the night as favors. I even got to take one home and I just love it! It is a centerpiece in my living room right now! It had a very tropic vibe and the cake was amaaazzziiing!

Her look was magazine worthy from her gorgeous dress from Vera’s right down to her sparkly butterfly shoes by Badgley Mischka. As I was taking photos of the rings, I noticed the inscription inside of Brian’s ring that said “Per Aspera, ad astra” and then something else that I couldn’t quite make out. But what I do know, is what Per Aspera, ad astra means: “through hardships to the stars” in Latin! How cool is that???

By the end of the night, I had a chance to sit down with a couple of long time friends and play some pong and enjoy a delicious beer. I just know these two will have an insanely wonderful life together. With all that laughter, how could they not?

I had a hard time narrowing down to just a hundred images for this one. So, you get to see quite a a bit of this wedding. I hope you enjoy!!!

Awesome Vendors Involved:

Ceremony:  First Unitarian Society  //  Officiant: Reverand Kelly Crocker  //  Reception: Madison Children’s Museum – Coordinator: J Belmont  //  Cake:  Trish Figueroa  //  Catering: Blue Plate Catering  //  Bar Service: Roman Candle  //  Donut wall: Cedar and Spice  and Greenbush  Bakery  //  DJ: Kuhl Entertainment – Patrick Archer  //  Flowers:  Felly’s Flowers  //  Wedding Dress: Vera’s House of Bridals  //  Grooms Tux: Jazzman  //  Brian’s Ring: Boundless Bands on Etsy  //  Kelly’s Wedding Band: Blue Nile and Engagement Ring designed with Trisha and Brett at the Diamond Center

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 

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 they are renovating so they are not hosting weddings but we just got a permit and were good to go! Pam and Chris love the Thai Pavilion so we made sure to spend some extra time over there. They ran through a flock of wild flamingos and jumped over hedges to get the perfect shot! The ceremony was small and intimate with just some close family near by with Chris’s brother officiating and Pam’s niece and nephew as the ring bearers. Afterwards, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and got some great photos outside the Capitol and the top of State St. You wouldn’t really think about the Ale Asylum for a wedding reception but these guys did and it was just lovely. We took over the entire upstairs and patio and enjoyed all of their incredible beer and cocktails. I really enjoyed spending time with these two. Photos were important to them and you can tell by the way they look at each other and laugh at all the jokes that they had a great time and were relaxed and truly enjoyed their day.

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