Darcy & Bryan | Wedding

Darcy & Bryan's wedding day teetered on winter - it was almost cold, there was almost no leaves left, but the weather and the colors hung on just long enough for their day. And what a lovely and fun day it was!

Ceremony: Carrol College Humphrey Chapel
Reception: Silver Spring Country Club
Flowers: Petals Floral Design

As a fellow curly-haired gal, I have to admit, I totally loved Darcy's fantastic 'do.




The Ceremony:









Time with the fab wedding party:









Bryan listening to his Best Man's speech:





This bridesmaid got engaged at the airport when she arrived in Milwaukee! (Her fiance surprised her by picking her up) How awesome is that ?! Her super fun fiance and the craziness they brought to the wedding reception was fantastic. I'm secretly hoping I get to photograph their wedding too:




The details:



The dance floor was really rockin' (thanks Mad Cap!) - check out more reception craziness in the slideshow:

Jenn & Eric | Engagement

He believed in signs. The kind that tell you where you are or where you are going in a larger sense. Walking to the coffee shop, he saw many signs along the way. He tried to let himself naturally notice them, but he knew in his heart he was searching for the ones that said "yes". It had only been a few months ago that he had met her in Chemistry class. Fun, smart and filled with an infectious laugh, they became fast friends. But despite the many hints and signs he tried to send her way, she seemed to not see them. So he had asked her out. Their date had been just seven days ago. He was pragmatic and had been rather blunt at the end of the night. "So, are we boyfriend and girlfriend?" he had asked her, hoping that this one audition date had been enough to seal the deal after months of friendship. She had surprised him with her response. "I'll let you know in seven days". So level-headed was the response, he worried that the answer was going to be a no. Who needed seven days to decide such a thing? And why seven? As he walked on he wondered if she had known before the seven days was up or if it took her all of them to decide.
Passing a mailbox, he noticed a bumper sticker stuck haphazardly on the side. "Vote Yes on Prop. 7" it read. That had to be it - that was the sign. She was going to say yes. The coffee shop was just around the corner and he picked up his pace. He opened the door and there she sat near the window, sun shining on her blonde hair. She looked up and smiled at him. He walked over and didn't waste any time. "So?" She laughed. "Yes, the answer is yes!"






Jenn & Eric had the last engagement shoot of the year on what must have been truly the last day we could expect any fall color anywhere. In fact most of the landscape was spent and brown, but I found a small pocket near the lake that had vibrant color going on. We shot on Halloween and managed without intention to find an abandoned house and a graveyard. And a mysterious mailbox in the middle of the woods, nowhere near any sort of dwelling. It was a fantastic session, and I can't wait to shoot their wedding. Much thanks to Ashley for referring these two!








Enjoy the Slideshow!

Kristen & Steve | Siblings

The way that Kristen and Steve found me and my photography is a bit round-about. Kristen was doing a research project for a class on small groups in a social studies class. Her focus was on brides and grooms. In that research she came across me and my blog, and has been a fan ever since. Then she had the idea to do a shoot with her brother as a birthday gift for her mom. And so, there we were on one of the truly last nice days of fall taking photos of these two siblings. I love it when people think this far ahead and put this much effort into surprises for others. How many Moms would LOVE up-to-date photos of their kids?





Kristen is in the middle of her college experience, and Steve is just a breath away from becoming an architect. I think nothing shows where they are at this moment as people than this shot:







Thanks for a fun afternoon guys and Happy Birthday to your Mom!

Erin & Dennis | Engagement

Unpacking her swimsuit from her bag, a little bit of sand spilled out on the bedspread. She reached down and ran her fingers over it, remembering the vacation she had just returned from. "It will be fun, just us girls!" her friend had pleaded. And it had been fun. But it hadn't been just the girls. The dress she pulled out next was the one she had worn the night that they had met the boys. Cruise ship dinners were either painful or wonderful, and it all depended on who you sat with. When they had entered the dining room, she had quickly zeroed in on two guys sitting at a table alone, drinks in hand and laughing hard. "They look like fun!" she had said to her friend, and they quickly approached. By the end of dinner the four had become fast friends and headed of to the bars and dance clubs for an action-packed night. The days that followed found the group stuck together for trips ashore, games of shuffleboard on the deck, lounging by the pool and nights at the clubs. She pulled a yellow linen shirt out of the suitcase and examined the faint pink stain on the front. A stain that Dennis had accidentally caused on a midnight stroll on the deck, fruity drinks in hand. It was the night that she realized she had really found something, found someone. Now here, back in Wisconsin it all seemed a little too unreal. She shook her head and continued to unpack, throwing the yellow shirt in the laundry pile. She had told him to call her when they returned. But he probably wouldn't. It had been fun while it lasted, she thought to herself, brushing the sand off the bedspread and zipping up the empty suitcase. And then, just as she was headed down the stairs, the phone rang. "Hello?" "Hi, Erin? This is Dennis. Are you home yet? I couldn't wait to call any longer"





Erin and Dennis's shoot was on a chilly fall day at Seven Bridges. We had a great time exploring the woods and looking for pockets of color as I listened to their story. I think it is pretty unusual to have met your mate on a cruise ship, especially when he was travelling with a friend who did the same thing. They have done things a bit unconventionally ever since, even having a daughter before they were engaged. As Erin put, she knew Dennis was it, and given that he is a cop, she wanted to be sure she had a piece of him should something happen. Now that is thinking ahead! Their wedding is next year and I can't wait to see their little tyke walk down the aisle!





Enjoy the Slideshow: