And cigars on the porch for the gentlemen

I love how it takes a team of women to put on a wedding dress!

My assistant, Elizabeth Hannah got this awesome shot

Isn’t she gorgeous?!?!

Mark Higgins came to second shoot with me, and got this shot during portraits with the bride, of Elizabeth’s sister. The poor girl had a heck of a time keeping her makeup on with all the happy tears she was shedding!

The anticipation builds as Elizabeth watches the guests begin to arrive through the window…

The wedding was all held at Elizabeth’s parents’ home in Marion. Many little girls imagine walking down aisle on their wedding day, but I wonder if Elizabeth ever imagined it’d be the stone path she’d walked on so many times?

I love the moment right after the ceremony when the Bride & Groom get to talk for the first time and be “alone” for a moment before the bridal party gets down the aisle! It’s always so emotional and exciting.

After the ceremony we headed down to the dock for some portraits in the last bit of sunlight. It was beautiful!

I love the movement and the body language in the next few.

Mark grabbed this shot of me taking the photo above. He rented a 200mm f/2.0 lens from LensProToGo and got some fabulous results with it… and probably some permanent back damage as well – that lens is HUGE!

Elizabeth (assistant, not bride) caught Mark & the lens. This is him taking a picture of me taking a picture….

I remember quite specifically Elizabeth telling me the first time we spoke on the phone that she wanted some unique bridal party shots. She almost sent them all off to the cocktail hour before we could do it, but I’m soooooo glad we called them back! These were definitely more fun than the usual :)

Elizabeth’s take on the bridal party shots was pretty cool too!

After portraits, we headed back up to the house for the reception. Elizabeth’s Dad gave a wonderfully touching toast. Here, he’s thanking his wife for all her hard work on the wedding and for being a wonderful wife & mother. It’s so nice to see families where the parents love each other this much!

Ryan’s toast to his bride was equally moving.

One of my favorite images that Mark shot…

I love grandpas :)

Ryan’s parents with their arms around Elizabeth. American culture has stereotyped in-laws to be just awful (a la Everybody Loves Raymond), so I really appreciate how special it is when parents-in-law love their new daughter or son like their own. My parents both have that, and so does my sister and it makes such a difference in the life of a new family!

Last shot of the night!

There were so many more images that I just loved. If you’d like to see more of my favs, you can check them out on Facebook. And come back tomorrow to check out my favorite details and film shots from Elizabeth & Ryan’s wedding!

Elizabeth & Ryan – I enjoyed your wedding so much!! It was a wonderful day and witnessing how much your friends and family love you two was an extra blessing. Thank you for welcoming us in – I hope you love the photos!!