Andrea and Mark | Wedding @ Vandalia, IL

A Princess Bride and a Fireman Chief…..

Seriously could I get a cooler couple? Yeah, probably not. The above magic was basically my last wedding, pretty spectacular. We knew from the moment we did a fireman themed engagement shoot that this couple was going to be a blast and we were not disappointed. We headed a little further away from Effingham than normal down to Vandalia where we spent a really relaxed morning with Andrea who looked AMAZING from all her wedding prep. We chatted about lots of different things during her hair and makeup appointment and I was so amazed at how calm and relaxed she was. We headed to the church where both families did an INCREDIBLE job decorating, it looked amazing. We had plenty of time for relaxed portraits with beautiful natural light throughout the church (my favorite). From the moment I saw Andrea’s dress on the hanger my actual words were “holy crap, now that’s a wedding dress.” I got an arm workout bringing it upstairs for photos and I just couldn’t get over how AMAZING this dress was. Andrea looked like a total princess in it, no lie. I got to meet Noah, Andrea’s adorable little dog who participated in pictures also (he even let me hold him, such a cutie). Mark also was very calm and collected before the wedding got started. The ceremony was intimate and beautiful and we headed to the fire house after the wedding for some pictures with some very unique fire trucks. Mark and some of his family and friends are fireman and in fact, Mark is the chief. Talk about the biggest stud of all time. It was totally fitting that we incorporated some of the fire house in the photos. Since it was such a beautiful day out we also had time for some great shots in the sunlight. We headed to the Vandalia Moose Lodge where Andrea had created this magical vision complete with a popcorn/candy bar, one of the most unique cakes I’ve ever seen, a grooms cake (fire themed, of course) and absolutely gorgeous decor. So much thought and detail went into this wedding, it was just beautiful. What a great wedding and a great day, we can definitely say that this couple is going have an amazing life together.

Congrats you guys, have an AMAZING time on your honeymoon!

-Kate and Doug

*PS When you get your puppy, please bring it over so I can see it, maybe we could have a play date with Charlie Key!