Marie and Chase | Wedding @ Bishop Creek, IL

This is one of those rare moments where life just got in our way getting our blog out at a normal time. I’ve been traveling a lot for work lately and weddings are just something I need “the home zone” for and I think our blogs are better for that discipline. Chase and Marie got married last weekend on a beautiful spring day (finally, rain and cold free) and we absolutely LOVED their big day. Even though rain threatened the day, we ended up with perfect clouds with gave us deep, contrasting color and a beautiful couple to photograph. We started the morning with the bridesmaids, having their hair and makeup done by family friends (Chandra, her daughter, and her sister in law) *forgive me, I’m dropping names from my brain right now* where Marie was calm as ever getting ready for her big day. We loved the laid back feel of the day. We headed to the church to begin preparations and let me tell you that Marie gave us a wedding “First”: She wore her mother’s exact wedding dress AND veil all day for her wedding. She looked AMAZING and this timeless gown and rocking veil had me excited from head to toe. Anyone that knows me knows that I’m a sucker for long veils and this just so happened to be a windy day 🙂 Even though I’m sure that Marie wasn’t a fan of the wind, it gave us some glorious shots to work with and we couldn’t have been happier with the weather. We did as many family photos as we could before the wedding started and watched Chase’s large smile as Marie came walking down the aisle. With timeless classical tradition, Marie’s dad lifted her veil and handed her to Chase, it was a beautiful moment. The wedding ceremony went off without a hitch and soon the couple was exiting church, greeting their guests and getting excited for the reception. We wrapped up formal photos at the church and headed to the family’s private home to continue photos and mingle. The couple enjoyed some laid back time at the house with their parents, grandparents, and bridal party and we squeezed in a few more outdoor photos. Even though I pretty much had to be held back from wanting to shoot creative shots with the house and property for every single second we were there, I’m still very happy the couple entertained a few more outdoor photos more than they planned because I really think they were worth it. The couple was so genuine and in love, the photographs were basically cake to shoot. We loved working with the family and using the beautiful home and property, it was definitely a highlight. We headed to there reception hall where we were guests were treated to amazing decor by Walnut Street Weddings, an amazing meal by Niemerg’s catering, as well as some delicious cupcakes by Martin’s IGA. We heard some awesome speeches, watched Chase and Marie have their first dance, and were entertained by the fantastic band. The dance floor was full from the moment the first song started and I knew it was going to be a late night for all. I had to head home, do all my backups, start my transfers and pack because I was on the 6AM flight out the following morning to Minneapolis for a conference. I left my house at 3AM, headed to the airport and guess who I saw in the terminal? Chase and Marie 🙂 Heading out for their honeymoon just hours after their reception ended, you gotta hand it to these two, they are troopers. I hope you guys finally got some sleep! We wish you nothing but the best, we loved working with you both and we hope you enjoy this blog 🙂 Congrats!

-The Keys