Every time I’m fortunate enough to shoot out at Elmwood Gardens, I love it even more. :)

Calley had all types of shiny pretty things.  Petal’s Florist did a great job and I LOVE that she wore her grandmother’s jewelry.

Calley told me she has been “playing with this jewelry” since she was a little girl.  How awesome is that?  And, how crazy are these screw on earrings.  :)

Calley & William had an amazing First Look.  William kept spinning her around and looking at all the details of her dress.

If you remember their engagement session you know that these two love them some triathlons.  Their ring bearer must be in training because this little man sprinted down the aisle.  Big, long strides.  About a 5 minute mile pace.

As they were finishing up their ceremony it started to drizzle a bit.

Calley actually stopped her vows, turned to the crowd and said, “You all can head inside, we are going to finish up.”  They then shouted back at her, “Keep going!” “We’re fine!” “We are staying!”

That is what every marriage needs.  When the hard times come,

You need a group of friends that will cheer you on.
You need couples who will sit in the rain with you.
You need friends who will say “We are with you through all of it, good and bad.”

When planning your wedding and marriage make sure you have those.  They are super important.
You can’t find them on Pinterest or Style Me Pretty.
The Knot does not have a checkbox that looks like this: [  ] Friends as committed to our marriage as we are.

Those are the types of things that will make your marriage stand up to all types of weather.

So, Calley & Will continued, while family and friends were rained on a bit, they committed to each other regardless of what life brought their way.  They said I do. They kissed. And we were all witnesses.  (With a few raindrops to prove it.)

Just when I thought I could not love them any more, Will stepped up to the mic and sang “Forever and Ever Amen”.  Will’s vocal talents are…. how can I put this… uh… less stellar than his triathlon skills.  :)  It was totally out of a movie.  So so great.  Calley could not stop laughing and everyone else enjoyed it quite a bit as well.

Thank you two for trusting me with your day.  Thank you for not letting a bit of rain dampen your spirits.  (Get it. Ha Ha)

I hope you two have many many years and miles of marriage together.

ok so i know you are all excited about mlk day and the presidential inauguration, but let’s be honest.  the most important voting results are the ones i’m about to announce.  lots of great entries, lots of votes, 6 winners.  congrats to everyone and a special congrats to the winners.  i’ll get in touch with you each about your 16×20 print.

here are each of the winners starting with one of my favorites.
thanks again everyone for voting and thank you for all the kind words you left for each of the couples.  i know they loved reading them.

ok people, time to get your vote on. the couple with the winning image will get a fancy big 16×20 print. pick your favorite image. you can only vote once, the voting is open for 2 days. winners will be announced january 21.

vote at the bottom of this post.

today’s category may be my favorite.  i love the random things that happen at people’s weddings.  these are not thing you can usually plan for, pintrest, or expect.  it’s just part of the organic day that is your wedding.  your wedding day is not made up from a checklist and timeline but all the tiny moments that happen along the way.  some of those tiny moments just happen to be more awesome than others. :)

ready set. go!

here are the entries.

i’m glad they had a first look.  if not this would have been the first time daniel saw rachel. :)  pretty magical eh?

a very well prepared father of the bride.

any bridesmaid who can jump, catch a bouquet and not spill her drink gets props from me.

no one plans for it to rain on their wedding day.  chesley did plan on smiling on her wedding day.

aggies.

i hear it gets hot under those dresses.

nothing says classy ring bearer like poopin’ in your pants.

the ceremony to reception shoe change is every brides favorite moment.

i’m not sure if he is holdin’ down the dance floor or if the dance floor took him out.

kids love me.

ok people, time to get your vote on. the couple with the winning image will get a fancy big 16×20 print. pick your favorite image. you can only vote once, the voting is open for 2 days. winners will be announced january 21.

vote at the bottom of this post.

ready set. go!

here are the entries.

rachael & daniel’s wedding really was about having fun with all their friends.  i love this shot of them leaving.

christa & jeff were super super flirty flirty and affectionate.  i love this one from their first look.

audrey & cody really seamed to soak up every moment of their day. i love that audrey is laughing even though the horse just ate part of her bouquet.

lindsey & brandon had fun all day.  (this is the part where brandon had extra fun.)

lisa & mike were so so sweet to each other.  mike is a huge guy with such a tender heart.  i loved this moment alone they had.

tiffany & chris had the perfect sunset wedding. chris rarely took his eyes off her.

this shot of stephenie and jared leaving the ceremony is one of my all time favorites.

christen & brandon may have been my most “romantic” couple.  i love this shot peaking through the leaves during their first look at elmwood gardens.

cassie and kinsey may have laughed more together on their wedding day than any couple i ever photographed.  (that is a great sign for their marriage.)
rory is basically the man every father wants his daughter to bring home one day.  during his first look he kept talking about how gorgeous lisa is.
(huge bonus points for him wanting to see every detail of her dress.)

ok people, time to get your vote on. the couple with the winning image will get a fancy big 16×20 print. pick your favorite image. you can only vote once, the voting is open for 2 days. winners will be announced january 21.

vote at the bottom of this post.

ready set. go!

here are the entries.
i love telling the story of a couple with their ring shots.  it’s one of my favorite parts of the day.  sometimes i find elements from their wedding day, sometimes i have a plan going into the day from their back story.  other times i’m totally not sure what to do but by the end of the night the perfect location has appeared.  here is a little background on the ring photos you are voting on.

jessica likes fancy things.  nothing says fancy like jimmy choo.  (this one was too easy.)

christa and jeff read their vows from their phones and actually updated their facebook status BEFORE kissing as man and wife.

chesley and andy kinda have this thing for collecting pennies.now they can collect them forever.  together.  as man and wife.

i love how denise and josh worked so many elements of their journey into their wedding day.  it had to be a part of their ring shot. (plus aggies are always wanting more photos of their “real” rings.)

audrey actually won an old camp truck in a contest for cody.  this was part of the engine.

the girls at lindsey’s wedding got ready at a house with a fancy toilet.  it sprayed water.  the girls found it funny.  so did i.

kay and wayman had this guy named joe nichols come and sing at their reception.  he is kinda a country star.  we were all impresed.

ashley and chadd had these matchbooks at their reception.  (i didn’t ask permission to light the rings on fire.)

this is a page from karen’s diary.  where she wrote about the man she was going to marry.  28 years before she married him.  (this may be my favorite one ever.)

lisa and rory met at a hospital where both of them work.  they listened to their hearts and now they are married.  :)