June has been absolutely insane for us, more so than any other year prior. I have been traveling a lot more for my day job and we have been working hard just like last year to get as caught up as we can before the bulk of our travel hits this summer. Come next month we will be traveling to Alaska, Washington, Florida, and North Carolina and it is all going to be almost back to back. With that in mind we are staying as on top of our editing and communication as possible and it really helps that we have some great weddings to shoot this month just like the wedding of Monica and Zach.
I plan to use this wedding later as an example of the world’s most perfect wedding schedule. I mean seriously, I plan to pull out time stamps to show the world just how much difference an extra 15-20 minutes of portrait time given can do. Brides if you’re reading this and you want as many portrait options and opportunities as this couple had, then this is the schedule for you. Monica began her day with a mid-morning hair and makeup appointment at Branches in Effingham. We love this salon because they are always so reliable, keep us on time, and do a really excellent job making our brides and bridal party look amazing and feel confident. After the morning festivities were over, we headed to St. Anthony where Monica had already been so organized in making sure her dress was ready for pictures and all her accessories were available to us. The bridal party quickly got ready without any fuss or mess of the bridal room and our bride was in her beautiful gown in no time. The couple opted for a first look which I am HUGE fan of as it allowed us some beautiful portraits outside (no one melted I promise) and we even had time to take a 15 minute portrait session at Tuscan Hills in the morning before the ceremony allowing the couple a moment to breathe, relax, and get ready for the ceremony. Because of this we also got some great lighting conditions. Every single official formal picture was also able to be taken care of before the ceremony because of the first look. We are so thankful that the bridal party was ready to go and everyone was so easy to work with we flew through the formals with such ease it was so nice. We got in all the artistic church shots that we wanted to take prior to the wedding as well and despite all of this picture taking, still had an entire hour before the ceremony left for the bridal party to relax and really hang out and enjoy the day before the ceremony started. Fr. Chris from St. Anthony provided a beautiful service for the couple and we were able to concentrate solely on the couples portraits after the wedding ceremony was over. We strongly believe that portraits of the couple are the first and foremost priority in a wedding and we love when we are given the opportunity to concentrate our efforts on them. We headed to the beautiful Firefly Grill where their team graciously granted us consent to use their property for post ceremony photos and although the sun baked us a bit we were really happy with the quick cooperation of the bridal party and all of the great portraits we were able to capture. Because of the great schedule the couple got a longer opportunity to drive around in the party bus and visit the Orchard prior to heading to the reception. The reception was beautifully decorated with the couples “wine” theme and guests enjoyed a popcorn bar and the amazing DJ services of Zach Lorton from Complete Music. Not only is this guy organized and keeps a party on track, he knows how to get a crowd moving and keep things entertaining. We also appreciate how well he communicates and works to ensure all vendors are prepared for reception events. We loved the interactive games and dances he provided and he is one of our favorite DJ’s from Complete to see. It is hard to find a good DJ out there who is committed to the entire goal (to provide great services to the couple which includes working well with other vendors and making sure they are prepared for events) and not just self-centered on their own agenda. Thanks Zach, you’re awesome and we love you. Niemergs did an excellent job catering the meal and Monica and Zach had a beautifully decorated reception. We have loved Monica and Zach ever since their 100 degree engagement session day when we had to stop several times for an AC and Wine Slushie break at the house and we loved watching them enjoy their big day. It was so good to work with familiar faces in the bridal party again and we appreciate how easy their family and bridal party was to work with. We know that with a great couple, a great schedule, and a lot of cooperation we can produce some great results. Congrats Monica and Zach, we wish you many years of joy!
-Kate and Doug
