Kansas City Wedding: Emily and Josh

One of the things I love most about having a photography business is the opportunities I have to meet really amazing people from all over the place! I have the best time getting to know people — and sometimes it requires doing that from a distance! Emily and Josh both live in the Washington, D.C. area, but were planning a Kansas City wedding (it’s her hometown), so I got to know them from a distance… and really got to know them on their big day! :)

The day’s events took place at St. Patrick’s in Kansas City, Kansas. We started off with Emily doing the finishing touches…

Jeff’s detail shot:

Since they had several hours between their ceremony and reception, Emily and Josh opted to not see each other until the wedding ceremony. Their timeline was great, and still allowed for a great amount of time for portraits in between. So, Josh’s first look at his bride was during her walk down the aisle.

But first, Jeff caught a few shots of the moments right before the processional — I love these of the bride waiting for her turn down the aisle!

Josh walked his mom down the aisle:

And then Emily’s dad walked with her to meet her groom:

I loved this ceremony. The church provided a great backdrop for their traditional Catholic ceremony, and I love the shots we captured of their emotion, the whole scene, and the general excitement of the ceremony.

The next three images are Jeff’s view of the ceremony:

More of my favorites:

One more of Jeff’s ceremony shots:

Emily hugging her dad towards the end of the service:

Husband and wife! :)

The wedding party jumped in a limo and we all headed to Wyandotte County Park and Lake for outdoor portraits. The day could not have been more beautiful.

The ladies:

The guys:

I loved this white fence that wrapped around the golf course area. We waited for a nice fluffy cloud to move over the harsh, bright shining sun in the early afternoon, and it obliged. :)

Some more of my favorite bride/groom portraits… Emily has a great smile that just lights up her whole face!

The wedding party:

The guys wanted to play on some of the playground equipment for their photos… of course, I said yes.

Emily was not to be outdone, however. She climbed onto the jungle gym in tall heels. :)

So joyful!

Emily and Josh wanted a few more fun/casual photos on the playground…

…and so did the groomsmen… :)

The rings!

Emily’s bridal bouquet:

The reception was held at the church in its community center. They had great personal touches, bright colors and a fun atmosphere for their reception. The centerpieces were all painted by Emily’s 5th – 7th grade students:

I love the toasting time at receptions. It’s always great for fun reactions — I love how joyful they are, in response to the maid of honor’s toast:

The bouquet toss…

And the garter toss (seriously, can you feel the fun in these??)… :)

Their first dance as husband and wife! The first one is sort of fitting, because Emily and Josh met during their college years at Notre Dame — it just so happens that the church’s school’s mascot is also the Irish (maybe not the Fighting Irish, but it’s still fun!). :)

Jeff captured this one. It’s so romantic.

And one more of mine:

There are a lot of great shots from throughout their day — I loved how much emotion and excitement everyone had all day! It was definitely a joy to be a part of this special wedding. Family and friends of Emily and Josh, stay tuned for the entire gallery which should be posted online sometime next week!

Congratulations, Emily and Josh! Enjoy life as newlyweds!