Rachael & Felipe - Louisville, KY Wedding

I'm so excited to share this wedding with all of you! Rachael and I go way back as photographer and subject. She's been a bridesmaid in THREE weddings I've photographed AND she was the reason I booked all of them. Rachael first recommended me to her friend Holly, who hired me to shoot her wedding back in 2011. A year later Rachael's sister Rebecca got married and hired me as her photographer. Then in 2014 her brother Alex got married, and of course, I was the photographer. I've been waiting for the day to actually photograph RACHAEL'S wedding for a long time now. I'm so glad it finally came! 

This wedding was so much fun to be a part of for so many reasons. I loved that I know the family well, since I've been at every family wedding. I loved that I know Rachael trusts me to do good work, since she's recommended me to all her friends and family. I loved how happy everyone was to be celebrating with Rachael and Felipe. There was so much love for the two of them!

The primary thing I love about being a photographer is telling stories. If you know me you know that I love to tell stories about ridiculous things that have happened to me. I love when one of my friends suggests to someone who hasn't heard a particular story, "Get her to tell you this one, it's such a good one." This is why some my favorite photos from a session are usually the candid ones. I originally intended to major in photojournalism, but got sidetracked somewhere and ended up with a degree in graphic design. Anyway, the point is that I love to tell a story. 

I feel like I have followed Rachael's story for a long time through her friends and family who have hired me. I've been documenting someone else's special moments, but she was always there weaving in and out of the story. Today she's the star of the story. Her and her amazing husband Felipe.

The wedding party stayed at the Seelbach Hilton hotel in downtown Louisville, which was a beautiful spot for photos. We did most of Rachael's bridal portraits in the hotel. She looked stunning!

Rachael and Felipe are adorable together. Like, want to punch them in the face they're so cute. I loved photographing them together because I could see how genuinely excited they were to be getting married and how much they love each other. Rachael and Felipe sort of met online. Rachael added Felipe on Facebook after believing she'd met him at a party where a bunch of his friends were present. Even though he wasn't actually at the party he accepted her friend request and started talking to her immediately. Lucky mistake! Thanks, Facebook. 

Rachael and Felipe's ceremony was beautiful and sweet and they couldn't keep their eyes off each other! I've thought all of the Wells children's wedding ceremonies were beautiful. I am reminded of one of my favorite moments from Rachael's older sister Rebecca's wedding. Rebecca and Louis wrote their own vows and Rebecca chose to read hers to him in Spanish, his first language. I loved that choice. Marriage is about compromise and sacrifice and trying to assist the other person before yourself. Rebecca put herself out there and expressed her love to Louis in a way that was most meaningful to him. I loved it.

These two looked so happy during their ceremony. I love it!

This photo is wonderful for so many reasons. The newlyweds were leaving the church to head to the reception. There was still snow on the ground from the crazy weather a few days before so Felipe offered to carry Rachael over a patch of slush so they could get to their car. Adorable, right? And the sun was setting and the light was perfect. Beautiful photo. 

Then he tripped and they both fell. 

Luckily, Felipe is a true gentleman and never actually let Rachael fall. She just sort of landed on top of him, still in his arms. No one was hurt, including the beautiful wedding dress, so we can all laugh about it. 

The reception was at the beautiful Starks Building, right across the street from the Seelbach Hotel. I loved all the gold details!

Look at these sweet grandmothers!

Everyone had such sweet things to say about Rachael and Felipe. It was so wonderful to be in a room full of people who genuinely love the two of them. People flew from all over the world, literally, to be with them on their wedding day. It was very sweet to see how many people care about them. 

These two...

I've never had so much fun at a wedding reception. There was great music and everyone was having so much fun. One of the great things about a wedding in which people flew from all over the world to be present - they're not about to cut out early! People stayed for hours dancing and having so much fun. I loved being part of such an amazing party! Thanks Rachael and Felipe for inviting me to share in these moments with you. I hope your wedding photos tell your story well!





Jennifer & Brad - Iowa City Wedding

Are you guys ready for this? Because this is a very, very special blog post. 

This blog post is of my best friend's wedding!

Jennifer has been my best friend since we were five years old. That means that I have almost no working memory of a time where she wasn't in my life. We've almost been friends for TWENTY YEARS! That blows my mind. We've been with each other through every major life event except for birth. First crushes, first "boyfriends" (which were pretty much pretend since sitting next to someone on a church bus doesn't really make them your boyfriend), mutually disliking high school, poorly planned road trips, and now getting married. She stood by me on my wedding day and I was honored to be able to stand by her on hers.

Many of you know that a few weeks back I Maid of Honored/Photographed a wedding at the same time. I received A LOT of questions about how this would be done. That's fair, it's kind of hard to see how that would work out. It did though! I've written a guide to help others see how this was possible.

Steps to Being the Maid of Honor and Photographer at the Same Time:

1. Get ready before EVERYONE else. 

The time when the bride and bridesmaids are getting ready is always the time in which I, when being a photographer, run around taking photos of the wedding details. No problem, except that this was also the time allotted for ME to get ready. I got dressed and made up an hour before everyone else. Then I took photos of the details and the girls getting ready. 

2. Be OK with not being in a lot of candid photos.

OK by me. Nailed it. 

3. Learn to do normal photographer duties while in a bridesmaids dress and high heels.

Normally when I'm the photographer at a wedding I wear the most comfortable clothes I can get away with while still being in appropriate attire fit for that wedding. I never wear heels. I did once for a super short and intimate ceremony because the amount of time I spent working was reduced by several hours. I actually couldn't walk the next day. Couldn't walk. For Jen's wedding I needed to stay ready to take photos and ready to be in photos at all times, so I wore heels. "Comfort Fit" heels. Psh.

4. Have a trusty assistant.

Most of the photos of a wedding day do not actually include the bridesmaids. I was able to capture bridal portraits, couple portraits, family photos, and just about everything else without any real problems. I could even help instruct the photos of the wedding party. The problem was the ceremony. I couldn't take photos, or help someone else take photos. I handed my camera off to my assistant Emily and she did a wonderful job! Huge thanks to Emily Weatherington of Sunflower Photography for being me when I couldn't be me.

5. Try not to cry too much.

I did OK on this one. Not great, but OK.

Enjoy!

This is Jen drinking EmergenC in a very much failed attempt to not get sick. 

This necklace was Jen's "Something Old". Her grandfather made it and gave it to her grandmother on the day they got engaged. She kept needing to give it back to him to polish because it was tarnishing. The last time Jen's grandfather polished it was on his wedding day and it hasn't tarnished since.

This sash was Jen's "Something Borrowed". It was the sash I wore on my wedding day!

Did I mention this wedding was in Iowa? Iowa is super cold. The day of the wedding it was like 35 degrees with a STRONG breeze. I suggested Jen take some photos with her flannel on.