On a chilly October Saturday Melanie & Dan were married and this lovely event was outdoors -- fleece lined leggings, blankets, fires and hand warmers for all and a wonderful wedding it was. I had the wonderful Jentri Colello second shoot and even though we were a bit chilly we had such a wonderful time documenting these two exchange their vows, meeting their furry children and eating pizza with all their guests.

On September 27th, Amy and Mike were married at the beautiful Tumbledown Barn surrounded by their friends and family who traveled from all over to be there to celebrate with them. Amy, Mike and I got together a few months back to talk wedding and to get to know each other a bit better, I heard stories of their recent travels to El Salvador, we discussed our common love for Count This Penny and other lovely Madison bands, I heard about Mike's days working as a forest fire fighter and I got to meet their dog who loved me. On their wedding day I felt like a friend, even with one evening together, they are both sweet, loving and wonderful to talk with -- so, I felt less embarrassed that I happened to shed a few tears during their vows that they wrote, talking about the simple everyday things they do for each other (Mike making Amy tea at night) and their promises for the future, it was beyond perfect. Congrats to Amy & Mike, I had a wonderful time documenting your day.

A few weeks ago I went back to my hometown of Appleton, Wi and photographed a wedding of the lovely Brittany Depis, who I went to High School with. I always love photographing weddings of someone I once knew, I love the little reunion we get to have, the stories we can swap and the chance to document such an important day in their lives and getting to meet the person they decide to spend the rest of their life with. I had such a wonderful time with Brittany, Ryan, their friends and their family, the ceremony was classic and beautiful, the sunshine stuck around for our photographs and the speeches at the dinner were some of the best I've witnessed -- Congrats to Brittany & Ryan Wirth, you two are lovely and were so much fun to photograph.  

"This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don't like something, change it. If you don't like your job, quit. If you don't have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over analyzing, life is simple. All emotions are beautiful. When you eat, appreciate every last bite. Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people, we are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often; getting love will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once, seize them. Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them so go out and start creating. Life is short. Live your dream and share your passion." A beautiful quote that Larissa & Jake had at everyone's dinner table and something that will now live on my refrigerator and I will think about August 23rd, the date these lovely two got married, a little rainy and a little too humid but it didn't matter for these two celebrated their love with their friends and family.

A few months back I met up with Hannah, Christopher and their son, Silas for a little engagement/family session  , it was a great way for me to get excited for their wedding day. Hannah & Christopher were married in New Holstein, Wi  on August 16th at this beautiful property on a dead end road. Their ceremony was set up to be outside next to a pond, and moments before Hannah & her father were going to walk down the aisle we all felt raindrops and made the call to run to the barn as Hannah, her father and her dear friend sat hiding in a tent so no one would see her. The rain stopped for 15 minutes, enough time to get some photographs, but it rained all day- but that doesn't matter because it was a beautiful day for Hannah & Christopher to get married, to say their vows to each other and  to their son Silas Rain and to celebrate their relationship with their friends and their family.  

Erin and Bob eloped back in December in their living room in Appleton, Wi with just 2 witnesses, their black lab and a pastor, a perfect set up for a wonderful couple.  A few weeks back Erin contacted me to see if they could put on their wedding clothes and do a little photo shoot with me - I was so excited for I have known these two for years and I was so happy when I found out they got married -- we had a blast on this photo shoot.

Mads and Za contacted me just a few months ago about their small, no fuss backyard wedding that took place on August 9th in Oshkosh, WI. Mads and Za have only lived in Oshkosh for about a year, they moved from Boston when Za got a job teaching at UWO and within that year these two have built such a lovely community. Their neighbors helped cook food and decorate, people traveled from Norway, Boston and many other places -- it was the perfect small gathering of close friends and family to celebrate Mads and Za.

I've known Anna since our Junior High Days, she then moved away in High school & continued moving through college and then her and Daniel moved to Madison a few years ago from Chicago and we've always lived 2 blocks from each other. Their wedding weekend was spent in Monroe, Wi in Anna's parents yard, one of the most beautiful places in Wisconsin and I got to be a witness with a camera. Here are some images that I took during the weekend. 

I first met Joleen & Brendan back in January to discuss the wedding and take their engagement photographs, it was the week before they moved to Washington D.C and it was about -10 degrees outside, so getting a chance to take their photograph on July 5th, a perfect summer day was wonderful. I arrived to the room with Joleen sitting in her beautiful flower crown with her brother and friend Joanna and everyone was so calm, I knew it was going to be a good day. Joleen & Brendan had a small guest list, a beautiful outdoor ceremony and the best party bus I have seen in all my years of wedding photography. They had lawn games, an amazing meal by Upstairs Downstairs  followed by an epic dance party.  

I'm not entirely sure how to start and where to end on this one -- Elizabeth Rose has been my best friend since before we had our drivers license and we were pen pals before cellphones were in everyone's hands. Elizabeth and I have many stories I could share, so many memories growing up together - every weekend being a sleepover throughout high school. I love her dearly and being a witness to her marrying into this amazing family was one of the greatest things I have been apart of. I could write a novel about how I feel about these two and this family of six, but I don't feel like everybody who reads my blog needs to know, or really wants to know – so I'll say this – when Elizabeth called me to tell me they were engaged – I made the weirdest sound possible - a combination of a scream, a burst of tears and some kind of words of congratulations – I was filled with joy because I truly couldn't pick out a better match. The love these two have for each other and for those 4 amazing children is a beautiful thing to witness – the love these two have for their close friends and family is just as beautiful and I am so thankful that when I come up to Appleton, I know I can spend a day at the beach hanging out with the kids and Elizabeth followed by making massive amounts of food and end the night sitting on their porch talking until the early hours of the morning.

Here is a series of photographs that I took while being apart of their wedding, with the exception of a few that I am in taken by my lovely Father and Elizabeth's brother, Ezra.

Caroline & Peter were married in Caroline's Mothers backyard followed by an epic dance party at High Noon Saloon on the summer solstice, June 21st -- a day that started out with rain but ending in being a perfect day of summer. The setting was stunning, they were married by Caroline's father next to a beautiful willow tree, followed by an amazing fish fry by Underground Catering, yard games and a party bus to take everyone to High Noon Saloon for some dessert, drinks and dancing. It was a wonderful day to be apart of, Caroline and Peter come from amazing families and have a wonderful group of friends who all traveled from all over to be witnesses for these two. Enjoy these images:

On June 14th I got the chance to spend the day with Adria & Chris along with Adria's daughter, their family and friends at Olbrich Gardens and it was truly a wonderful celebration filled with sunshine, good food and lovely music. I have been able to get to know these two a little bit since they decided to book me for their wedding, we had a pretty awesome engagement session in their home & letterpress studio and Adria has done some pretty amazing graphic design work for me --we've been able to connect on many things and I really enjoy these two, their story and I had such a lovely time documenting their wedding day.

A beautiful backyard wedding filled with DYI projects and home brewed beer, followed by a reception on the lake - a perfect day of not getting rained until the very end on and celebrating Matt and Amber!  

I met Mike & Kate on Skype over a year ago to get to know them as well as talk about their wedding, at the time they were both living and working in Philadelphia – Kate was working in Finance and Mike was in Fashion. After talking with these two, I felt so excited for their wedding, not only are these two sweet, beautiful and best friends but they have amazing taste. A few months after we Skyped, I met Kate & Mike in Milwaukee for their engagement session, I had so much fun wandering the city with them to capture their humor and love. Between that and their wedding, I received a letter letting me know that they had moved to New York because Mike accepted a job at Rag & Bone, a brand that I love and a very exciting job to get. After a year of change and adventure, these lovely Wisconsinites turned New Yorkers and came back on May 24^th to have a very Wisconsin wedding at Mulberry Lane Farms in Sherwood with perfect weather and a wonderful group of friends and family to help celebrate their love.

An April day that called for rain, gave us sun until we were all safe inside for the dinner. On April 12th Laura and Aaron had a lovely wedding at The Overture Center to celebrate their love with their friends and family and I was so happy to be apart of that day.  

On March 1st in Horred, Sweden I documented Isak & Clara's wedding celebration. A car full of girls picked me up in the morning and drove to the next city over to go to the salon where Clara got her hair done and her girls got ready in the waiting area. When we returned to Horred we went to the apartment for Clara to put on her wedding dress that her now sister-in-law made for her and we left the place for Isak and Clara to share their first look alone, as much as I love documenting that moment, sometimes moments are meant to be shared alone and I love that I wasn't invited. It called for rain but it never came, we drove to a few locations for images before the ceremony and made it to the church with 1 minute to spare --- The ceremony was beautiful, although I didn't know what was going on since it was all in Swedish, but there were still moment where my eyes filled with tears and I found myself laughing with everyone (luckily they translated the program for me so I didn't miss the kiss). After the ceremony, Isak, Clara and myself went to a few more places for photographs but made it quickly to the reception where guest were waiting to greet them. There was an amazing dinner was made by Clara, Isak and their families and served by friends. The rest of the evening was spent listening to stories of the couple, songs their family and friends wrote and a little dance between the new married couple -- a beautiful day filled with so much laughter and quite a few tears as well -- this couple has such a beautiful community surrounding them and it was a beautiful day to be apart of.

  On my first full day in Sweden, Isak and Clara wanted to take me on a little adventure and we turned our adventure into a little engagement session - Enjoy.

Oh how I love  road trips, I make a playlist by laying out the cassettes on the passenger seat in the order that I would like to play them and next to those you will find my road trip snacks. A few weeks ago I had a road trip to Waterloo, Iowa to photograph Travis and Lindsay's wedding - a scenic drive - between Dodgeville & Dubuque it really is beautiful, I pulled over a few times to take a photograph but it never really captured how beautiful it really is. I met Lindsay a few years back while she was living in Madison, she then moved to Iowa, met Travis and now they farm together. I was thrilled when Lindsay sent me an email asking me if I'd come over to shoot their wedding, I love when I get to work with someone I know and get to know the person they have chosen to spend their life with. A wedding in Iowa in February had me wondering what the weather would turn out like, but lucky us we woke up to a light snow fall, followed by a sunny double digit day - which felt great compared to the average -10 we have been getting this winter.

Lindsay and Travis had an 11am ceremony time followed by a wonderful long brunch at Hickory Hills Park in Laporte City, IA - enjoy!!

 

  My last 2013 wedding blog post, and the perfect wedding to end the year on. I met Chloe a few years back when I started to freelance at ShopBop, she works there as a stylist/stylist assistance. Chloe and I have working together on a few projects and when she got engaged to Mike I was so happy when they asked me to document their day. Chloe and Mike had a small guest list (around 50 people) and even though it was pretty chilly they still got married in an adorable park in the Monroe St area- their ceremony was beautiful and the guests were cozy with blankets. After they were pronounced husband & wife the marching band started up and we all walked to the reception space, Crescendo  (a coffee shop on Monroe St that is a wonderful place to rent for small gatherings) where we at dinner and danced.  It really was a perfect way to finish my 2013 wedding season.

A rainy day for Tess and Brandon, but that didn't change anything for these amazing people (except rain boots instead of heels and indoor ceremony instead of outdoors). These two and their friends and family were the perfect group of people to deal with downpour rain for an entire day and my crazy collection of umbrellas that are in the back of my car always FINALLY came in need.  I loved everything about this day, from trying to beat the rain an move the ceremony 2 hour ahead only for us all to get rained on to the unique location - Eden, Wi on the family mushroom farm. I only had one meeting with Tess and Brandon before the big day, and that was on Skype and by the end of their wedding I had cried about 3 times - their love, the things their friends and family had to say about them as individuals and as a couple and all of the love that surrounds them. It was a beautiful rainy day.