A luxurious February wedding at Our Lady Queen of Peace and The Park Hotel on the Capitol Square.

Our Lady Queen of Peace is full of beautiful stained glass windows and light. It makes a wonderful backdrop for a large wedding! We started our day with Lindsay and Jimmy getting ready at The Park Hotel by the Capitol. I love these hotel rooms because they also have beautiful light and a great view of the Square. All the ladies had on these super cute matching pajama sets and I just had to get a shot of them all together on the bed! Once they were all ready, we headed over to the church and got ready for the first look. The photos of Jimmy’s face when he walked out to see Lindsay are priceless! His grin was so huge! I think from that moment on, that smile did not leave his face.

When we left the church, the wedding party made a fun pit stop to Sellery Hall where they all met and got some fun photos in front of the sign. I also have fond memories from there! Ah, the college days. I didn’t go to UW Madison but I did visit quite often from UWP!  Then we spent some quality time at the Capitol and braved the cold. The ladies were major rock stars and kept their smiles on the whole time. We just hopped on the bus every once in a while to warm up and grab a quick drink and then back out to show off their gorgeousness! I Loooove their flannel shawls. So cute.  The last stop was out at Karben 4 Brewing Company. Of course we had to get a shot in front of the famous unicorn!

Their reception started off with a super fun table run where they went through the whole room and got a photo with every table all within one song. And we did it!!!! Me and Heidi tag teamed and some of the tables really went all out with it. The last one even did a pyramid! So much fun!  Then they played the shoe game where the dj asked questions and Lindsay and Jimmy had to lift either their own shoe or the other’s for the answer. So many fun reactions.

It was such a wonderful, fun, loving and happy day! So many guests came from all over the country to be with them and support them and show their love. All in February! Truly goals!

All of this was put together with the help of many wonderful vendors:

Ceremony: Our Lady Queen of Peace  //  Getting ready location and Reception: The Park Hotel  //  Hair/Makup: Katrina at the Posh Beauty Bar  //  Wedding Dress: Premier Couture //  DJ: The Milwaukee DJ  //  Floral and Cake: Hyvee  //  Second Photographer:  Heidi E Johnson

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

A Picturesque Wedding at the Hilltop in Spring Green, Wisconsin

Brittny and Jake had their gorgeous wedding on August 25, 2018 .  The Hilltop is one of those venues where it is spread out and you get to walk around this giant sprawling picturesque place and just truly enjoy your experience. I could spend several days there just shooting all the beautiful landscapes! I would need a 5 hour session with the wedding party to take advantage of all it has to offer. WOW!

These two have been together for a really long time and have been through many things together. You can tell their connection is very deep and strong and full of love. I was able to capture the serious side of things too which make some really powerful portraits. Especially up on top of the hill overlooking the valley. I still have lots of image to go through from this wedding but wanted to share some of the ones that really stood out to me. I hope you enjoy!

Vendors: Venue: The Hilltop  //  Caterer:  Cafe la Bellitalia //  Cake: Carl’s Cakes  //  Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal  //  Officiant: Nate Ivanowski //  Hair: Sam Whitcomb  //  Details and Signature Cocktails: Brittny’s Parents! Carol and Gary Campbell  //  DJ:  Sam Laws  //  Floral: B-Style Floral

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