Viewing entries tagged
Eau Claire
How did you meet?
Tommy and I met in college playing pool at Partners Pub (Stevens Point) on a Wednesday on Dollar Bottle night. Super classy ;) We were both there with different people but had a mutual friend who introduced us so we could play pool together so that he could leave for the night.
When did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your life together?
(Jeanna) I would say I knew right after our first huge fight. It was actually a fight about getting married... I was grilling him on if he would ever propose or wanted to get married and he is such a pacifist, he just responded so vaguely that it annoyed me and turned into a fight. But once that fight was over and we realized what we were doing wasn't really "fighting", it was learning more about each other. How to communicate about different things and learning about how we saw our own futures; apart and together. It made us stronger, not weaker, and I knew I wanted to continue growing stronger with this amazing man :)
How and where did the proposal happen?
Tommy's proposal was absolutely perfect. And again, if it weren't for some disagreements we had had in the past to learn more about each other, it would never have been this way. We were looking at buying our first house and he was all excited and pushing forward HARD to get one ASAP. I on the other hand was very obstinate because I didn't want to buy a house until we were married or at least engaged; and he knew that. So when we found the house, put in the offer and it was accepted, we set up a time to go back on Monday (Also my Birthday) to show our family. Well, he convinced me to dress up a little so we could go out to dinner for my birthday after we saw the house. Well, when we got to the house, before we went in, he stopped me and told me that he cares about my feelings and wants me to be as excited as he is to buy a house. So he said something like "I don't want us to go inside and look at this with separate eyes, we should be looking at this together, as a couple, as our home." and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him :) I cried a lot... I don't even think I looked at the whole house again :)
What did you envision your wedding to be during the planning stages?
Totally different than what happened... Friday evening we had some pretty nasty storms roll through that knocked over part of the tent we had, but other wise didn't cause much harm. However, Saturday morning brought the hurt. Between 10am and 12:30pm, Central WI had 12 confirmed tornadoes touch down. Unfortunately, multiple of those went directly past the farm where we had worked for months to clean out an entire working and functional barn to make it a wedding space... as well as landscaped and decorated 4 of the 20 acres. By 10:40am power was completely out across the 2 counties. This meant, no hair, no nails, no A/C, no lights, no toilets, no nothing. We had to change everything. Our bus was late to pick up the girls due to downed power lines and trees EVERYWHERE. SO everything was postponed, and we were mostly concerned about everyone's safety. On the bus ride to the farm, we had to find alternative routes because the roads were all blocked. Originally we were getting married under the willow by the pond, but that was flooded. So we got married in the barn and it was gorgeous. We ended up getting 4 generators to run for lights, DJ and beer cooler. And that's all we needed. Thank goodness for solar lights port-a-potties too!
What was your color palette and style vision?
When we first picked a date and started planning it was tirquoise and grey. That quickly went away and turned to "summer colors" meaning farmers market flowers and black bridesmaids dresses. But again, that changed and I let my bridesmaids all decide what they wanted to wear which was lavender/lilac and denim/blue. Worked out beautifully :) As for the style, we knew once we were offered the barn for the wedding, we had to keep it as natural as we could. The barn was gorgeous on it's own so we did some lights and minimal decorations as to not take away from the absolutely gorgeous architecture of the barn.
What surprised you on your wedding day?
Where to begin.. I think first, I was surprised that so many people actually still came after the weather! I was also surprised that the afternoon was so gorgeous. The rings were also kept hidden from us until the ceremony. That was fun to see those for the first time together. Also, my brother released ducks lol they are still living on the pond happily!
What was you favorite moment from the day? and your detail?
Favorite moment: seeing Tommy smiling while I walked down the aisle, even after all the chaos Favorite detail: Either the rings or the flowers
What advice would you offer to other couples planning a wedding?
Relax and accept the help. If your parents want to push and be a part of the planning, dear lord LET THEM! It will only give you more time to enjoy the countdown :) And in the end, you won't even remember half of the day anyways :) only the parts you want to. Also, our running joke was "it's not about you." as in everything you plan for this wedding literally isn't for you; it's for your guests. You're essentially planning a party for other people who are going to constantly be pulling you in different directions and asking you the same questions... Make sure the ceremony is for you, then enjoy the party ;)
How did you meet?
First met running a tough mudder together. Ethan setup a team for coworkers to sign up, and Chris registered for the team. We chatted a bit before the race, but didn't officially meet until that day. We stuck close to each other the entire time, and exchanged numbers after the race. From there, we got drinks at a local bar and never looked back.
What was the moment you knew you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together?
Chris- I cannot think of a single moment when I knew this. It was really just a growing understanding over our relationship. Every once in a while (varying between daily and monthly) I'll find myself looking at him smiling while talking about some miscellaneous thing and all I can think of is about how immensely I'm in love with him and how much I look forward to spending more time with him. At some point that just came to include the rest of our lives so I instigated buying the rings.
Where and How did the proposal happen?
We both wanted to propose under the northern lights but after multiple nights in Iceland where the forecast suddenly switched from great lights to nothing we both updated our individual plans. One day we were walking down the coast and checking out beaches looking for beach glass (hobby of mine) and a couple beaches in we were in the middle of a fjord with some gorgeous mountains on either side when Ethan dropped down on one knee to ask me to spend the rest of my life with him. Unfortunately his ring was in the my other jacket so I couldn't drop down on a knee to ask back. Instead I said yes and then reversed the proposal later than night while stargazing to give him his own falling star back (our engagement rings had meteorite in them).
What unique elements did you include in the day?
We really enjoyed having our mothers come up for our whiskey unity ceremony. Both of our moms enjoy Bourbon so we had then pick their favorites so we could age them together in the barrel. Our officiant, Megan, also came up with fantastic descriptions on how each described one of us and really made it special. We also selected some of the flowers based on our mothers/grandmother's favorites.
What was your color palette and style vision
Our favorite colors are orange and blue so we decided to go with a sort of sunset over the ocean palette with reds and purples thrown in. We also like an outdoorsy/rustic feel and so we stuck with wooden chairs, lanterns on tables, etc...
What was your favorite moment of the day? And favorite detail?
Chris - The entire ceremony was perfect to me, but as I was tearing up practically the entire time I'll say Ethan's vows were incredibly heartfelt and very him and just made me feel incredibly loved. Favorite detail was probably the cake. We gave the cake company a fairly vague idea of what we wanted but it turned out absolutely amazing.
Ethan - everything about that day was perfect. Seeing Chris crying when we first approached each other made me feel so loved, and it was hard not to hold him close like I normally would. Seeing everyone we knew and loved from all different stages in our lives sitting under one roof was incredible.
What surprised you on the wedding day?
How incredibly busy we were the entire reception. There were so many friends and family to talk to that we barely had time to grab food and drinks but we had so many people helping that took care of everything for us which made thinks much easier than they could have been.
What advice would you offer to other couples planning a wedding?
Have a couple trusted members of the wedding party that can handle questions and tasks during the wedding. We didn't even realize how much our friends did for us until the end of the reception and everything was already packed up and ready to go, but I can't imagine how much time it would've taken to try to do it all ourselves when we already felt like we were incredibly busy the whole time. Also don't stress the little things, and by little things, I mean everything except you marrying the love of your life. That's why you're there, that's why everyone else is there. The food, drinks, and dancing are just a nice bonus
Grooms and wedding party attire: Nedrebo’s Florist/Decoration’s: Enhancement’s
Venue: The Oak’s Golf Course Cake: Carl’s Cakes Rings: Jeweler’s Workshop
Kallie and Devin met on the farm when he came to work for her Uncle, so it was only fitting they have their reception in her family’s barn. Everything about this day was relaxed and so much of both Devin and Kallie’s personalities in the details. The invitations designed by Kallie and put together by family and friends, each included a piece of wheat. They are both relaxed and never sweat the small stuff, like when the rings were forgotten in the church safe and had to be brought to the alter by the usher, Kallie’s cousin. The amazing locations of the fields on the farm, Kallie who also does photography knew just the best spots with the most amazing light. I LOVE shooting portraits in a location so beautiful and meaningful for the couple! And of course we had to get a couple of photos with the cows! And the reception all put together with the help of family and friends, Kallie spent the full year collecting unique plates and glasses for each setting at the reception. So Beautiful!
VENDORS
Florist—Flowers at the Inn https://flowersattheinn.com/
Ceremony Venue— North Cape Lutheran Church http://www.northcapelutheran.org/
Reception Venue—Kastenson Farms
Catering and Cake — Hoggin’ Cake https://www.facebook.com/hoggincake/
Dress— Amelishan Bridal https://www.amelishan.com/
Bridesmaids Dresses— David’s Bridal https://www.davidsbridal.com
Groomsmen and Groom attire— Men’s Wearhouse https://www.menswearhouse.com
Invitations— Designed by bride
Sam & Jack's is a love story for the ages, it was truly one of the happiest most emotional wedding day’s I have ever capture. I’m pretty sure everyone at the wedding, including myself had tears in their eyes at one point throughout the day. But with the tears of joy came laugher as well including a special flash dance planned by the bridal party, parents and groom for the garter toss. The dance floor was packed form start to finish and I’m told the party went on until 2am. Thank you again to Sam & Jack as well as all of their friends and family for making my job so easy and allowing me to capture such a beautiful day.
Dress: Morilee 2791, https://www.morilee.com
Wedding dress from Vera’s Bridal in Madison http://www.verasbridals.com
Florist: The Pink Peony thepinkpeonyllc@gmail.com
Ceremony: St. Thomas Aquinas Church http://www.saintthomaswaterford.org
Reception: Mercantile Hall https://www.mercantilehall.com
DJ: midwest sound http://www.midwestsoundwi.com
Bridesmaids Azazie Leanna https://www.azazie.com/products/azazie-leanna-bridesmaid-dress
Invitations Minted https://www.minted.com/
Rachael and AJ had a glamorous, loving, international, family filled wedding day. With friends from all over the globe the day was filled with love from every corner of the world. Notes of well wishes and love were read from those who couldn’t attend. And guests from all over the US and Australia got to see the beautiful day in person.
When Rachael told me she wanted her wedding party photos to look like a Vanity Fair cover I was ecstatic for the big day and it didn’t disappoint. Rachel had 2 amazing gowns for the day and a cathedral length veil. The bridesmaids wore elegant one sleeved white dresses, with Hollywood-like hair and a gorgeous red lip for all. And the men in tuxedos it was by far one of the most high fashion weddings I had photographed all year! And even with all the glamour and elegance they didn't leave out the fun, with everyone doing their best "blue steel" poses during photos!
Not only did Rachael bring the glamour but she put so much of herself into the big day by doing all the florals and décor, even greenery from her own garden made it into the wedding bouquets.
Vendors
Venue: The Bayfield Pavilion | Baked Goods: Gourmet Garage | Entertainment: Blue Drifters | Menswear: The Black Tux | Bridal Gown: Rosa Clara | Reception Gown: Dress the Population | Bridesmaid dresses: Calvin Klein | Hair and Makeup: Mollie Kae
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
fall family photos at the orchard
After making such amazing images at Ferguson’s Orchard for my styled shoot I decided to go back again this time for a family photo shoot. It was a perfect fall day with a cool breeze and a family of wonderful to work with. While the sun was a little harsh I think we made it work and got some great images!
For those of you who saw my previous post about the styled shoot at Ferguson’s Orchard in Eau Claire here is the second half a surprise proposal! As planning for the shoot was beginning I knew I wanted a real couple to model for the shoot but who would be willing and available on a Sunday evening in the middle of summer was a bit of a problem. So after asking a few people I was talking to my co-workers at Eastbay and decided to ask fellow photographer, Sam if he and his girlfriend, Sara, would be willing to help me out. During this same conversation, held at the Pizza Hut lunch buffet across the street from the office, 2 additional co-workers were with us and it was throw out maybe Sam should ask Sara to marry him during the shoot. I felt like it was said in passing or just as a joke but after Sara agreed to the shoot the surprise planning was on! There were a few bumps along the way with keeping the secret but it all worked out. She had no idea and we had great photos throughout the shoot and I was so honored to be able to document this amazing moment in Sam and Sara’s life!Thanks again to all those involved in planning the shoot and those that helped!!!
Venue: Ferguson's Orchard Floral Designs: Avalon Floral Decor and custom signs: Designs by Lucianne Cake and Desserts: Dessert First Hair and Makeup: Joey at Estilo Salon Wedding Dress: The Bridal Shoppe Eau Claire Tent and Rentals: Briggs Tent & Party Rentals
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After more than a month of many emails and planning everything came together on a perfect summer evening at Ferguson's Orchard in Eau Claire, Wisconsin for a styled wedding shoot. I was contacted by the orchard to take promotional photos of their orchard that will now be available as a rustic wedding venue. Rather than just shoot the venue I proposed we set up a styled shoot. With the help of many contributors and a couple of friends to be models I think we put together an amazing shoot that I finally am able to share with all or you! It took over 7 hours of set up the day of and ended with a surprise proposal, (but more of that to come in the next post.) A big thanks to all that helped including my sister, Angie, for all the planning and the production. Along with all those that donated their time and creativity including:
Venue: Ferguson's Orchard Floral Designs: Avalon Floral Decor and custom signs: Designs by Lucianne Cake and Desserts: Dessert First Hair and Makeup: Joey at Estilo Salon Wedding Dress: The Bridal Shoppe Eau Claire Tent and Rentals: Briggs Tent & Party Rentals
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