Wichita Wedding: Leah and Michael September 8, 2009

Relaxed. Calm. Serene. 

Not words that are usually associated with a wedding day…

Unless you’re Michael and Leah, their family, and their friends. Because relaxed, calm, and serene is exactly what they were. And exactly how their wedding day felt. And exactly why they were able to be so joyful, so happy to be getting married, and so excited about everything all day long. In other words, a photographer’s dream. :)

Leah and Michael got married this past weekend in Wichita, and it was an honor to be a part of their special day. I grew up with Michael (okay, okay… we call him “Mike”) at my house a lot… he’s good friends with my older brother, who was in the wedding! I got to know Leah over the past several months of their engagement… and what a sweetheart she is. It’s no wonder these two found each other. They both share a huge love for music (and were both part of the Singing Quakers at Friends University), and their wedding really reflected that.

I met up with the ladies as they were getting ready at the church, Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Wichita. 

Leah and Michael opted to not see each other until after the ceremony, so we opted for photos of each of them individually beforehand, and did their couples’ portraits after!

Leah’s dad walked her down the aisle…

…to her groom, who was absolutely beaming. :)

I have so many favorite ceremony shots to share with you, because they were just smiling and giving each other these “I’m-so-in-love” looks throughout the whole ceremony! It was amazing! I’ll be sharing both my shots and Jeff’s with you here… the first two are mine:

And Jeff’s (I love this one so much)…

Mine again:

And Jeff’s:

Back to mine… here they were just announced as husband and wife!!

And Jeff’s of the same moment (is he good or what?!)… and isn’t Leah lovely? 

After the ceremony, we had some time for a portrait session with the bride and groom at the church (one of my favorite parts of the day!).

Jeff took these awesome shots of their rings!

And then we were off to the reception at the Homewood Suites at The Waterfront in Wichita. They incorporated such great details and colors into their reception decor — I loved the personal touches, and the details I kept finding all over the reception venue! They had a great indoor space and a beautiful outdoor patio that overlooked a lake. It was gorgeous! I’m going to share some of the details first…

They incorporated their engagement photos so nicely, blending them in with florals or placing them amongst other details.

They used old doors painted a light lavender color to display photos (attached to ribbons) of each of them, their relationship, and each of their parents’ relationships. It was really cute!

They had a “wishing tree” where guests would write notes or advice or congratulatory messages to the newlyweds, and hang it on the tree! I love this idea.

The toasts had everyone laughing. I love watching the couple during the toasts…

And their first dance was just so sweet… just like them! :)

The new bride and groom even let me steal them away for a few minutes for outdoor portraits in the late evening. Of course, I loved that. :)

Leah and Michael, congratulations on your marriage! I’m wishing and praying for you to have the most beautiful life together. Enjoy your honeymoon with no plans in the Northwest… it sounds amazing! :) Congratulations!

Friends and family can view all of the images online (or just sign in and you’ll be notified when they’re ready to go!).

Backyard Wedding Ceremony in Wichita: Allyson and Rafe – Part 3, The Ceremony June 4, 2009

We’re on to part three of Allyson and Rafe’s wedding photos! This post is all about their ceremony. I love wedding ceremonies. It’s my favorite part of every wedding day — after all, it’s the reason we’re there! I love the vows, the rings, the heartfelt words and emotional glances. I’m moved to tears more often than not. I’m a girly girl, and I live for things like this. :)

Here was the setting for their ceremony in the backyard (Jeff took this one):

They key to getting a flower girl down the aisle? Candy. :)

The other flower girl (Jeff’s):

Jeff also grabbed this moment of Allyson and her dad right before he walked her down the aisle. I can’t get enough of photos like this…

And, one more of Jeff’s awesome shots:

Meanwhile, I was capturing these shots:

It was an emotional ceremony for everyone. I love when two people commit their lives to each other. Allyson and Rafe’s ceremony was so sweet. The pastor, German, talked about loving like Jesus demonstrates and how He taught us to love unconditionally — it was an awesome message.

The next two are Jeff’s. I love how the first sets the scene and captures the awesome glow from the setting sun.

My perspective:

Husband and wife! I love this moment!

I also love the moments right after the ceremony, and watching reactions of family members and friends.

One more post to go — the reception! :) That will be a fun post, I can guarantee that! Coming soon (I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!). :)

Backyard Summer Wedding in Wichita: Allyson and Rafe – Part 1: Getting Ready

I am super excited to start sharing Allyson and Rafe’s gorgeous wedding with you. I know it might have been just a little mean for me to only post ONE image and then make you wait a few days for any more… :) I realized that I have so many photos I want to share with you from this wedding that I’m going to now break it up into parts. So you might have to keep waiting in suspense to see all of the parts of the day, but I think you’ll agree that it’s worth it. :) In the end, you’ll get a more complete idea of what their day was like and the awesome moments that made for great photography. :)

So this first “installment” will cover some of the details and the preparations before the ceremony. Allyson and Rafe’s wedding was held in the backyard at Allyson’s parents’ house — a gorgeous location for a very elegant yet casual atmosphere. I absolutely loved the vibe of the whole day!

I love images of brides getting ready for their big day. The first set of photos were all taken during the preparations to make already gorgeous ladies even prettier. :)

I love this!

Beautiful… Allyson is just beautiful.

And, the handsome groom… waiting for the fun to start…

And getting his microphone on for the ceremony:

Okay… now on to a few of the details. First, THE DRESS. Allyson chose a gorgeous Maggie Sottero dress… which are always some of my favorites to photograph. The details are amazing.

And the shoes (in a cute wicker rocking chair in her parents’ master suite):

The bridal bouquet (in front of the fireplace screen in the living room):

And one of the tux jackets, hanging on a water spout outside. I loved that the guys wore brown pinstriped tuxes. Jeff grabbed this unposed shot:

Alright… coming up in the next post: the bride and groom portraits! :) Stay tuned!