It's busy busy busy season over here in Elizabeth Land, I've been hiding away editing like crazy just to keep up with all of the different sessions & weddings that I was beyond blessed to book this October. I was a little nervous with how everything would work out after looking at my calendar at the beginning of this month, but I've been working with the very BEST people who make my job absolutely worth it. I am SO excited to have been able to photograph LeighAnn & Justin's gorgeous wedding day and am even more excited to finally be sharing a few of my favorite photos from their gallery with you now! I actually met LeighAnn in high school and she introduced me to boyfriend Justin at their Christmas mini session with me last year. When I delivered back their photos then, LeighAnn said that she was absolutely in love with them and would be contacting me for their wedding whenever Justin "finally" decided to propose, haha! A few short weeks later, she messaged me a picture of her ring and we started planning! She actually bought her wedding dress few months before they even got engaged after shopping around with one of her friends and the entire wedding came together perfectly. I started the morning off by meeting LeighAnn and her bridesmaids + bridesman (Patrick you're awesome!) at an Airbnb to document the process of them getting ready, matching cat pjs & all! One of my favorite moments of the entire day was watching as LeighAnn got into her dress for the first time, looked in the mirror, and exclaimed, "I'm just SO BEAUTIFUL!" Yes!! I loved it!!
While I was hanging out with the girls, my second shooter Ellieana (with Photos By Ellieana) was spending her morning with Justin and his guys.
After everyone was ready, we met for the ceremony at St. Joseph Church in Crescent Springs. I've worked a lot of weddings, and I've watched a lot of grooms react to seeing their bride for the first time. Justin's reaction has been one of my favorites so far. He was SO nervous leading up to the ceremony, but once he saw LeighAnn coming towards him, he knew it was all worth it. His face showed absolute SHOCK as he saw her in her dress for the first time and it was just SO precious! The entire ceremony was absolutely beautiful!
After the ceremony, we took a few family photos (but those are for LeighAnn & Justin to share with you!) and then headed to Villa Madonna for photos of the newly married couple alone together. We actually went to the same spot that Justin proposed last December and it was SO beautiful. I always love having a specific time period worked into the wedding day timeline to take photos of just the bride and groom together. Even though all of the photos taken throughout the day help tell the story of your relationship and wedding day, your couples portraits are the photos that you will absolutely treasure, the photos that you print off and hang on your walls in your home. It's so important to be able to document the day you became husband and wife and the excitement and love that comes along with it.
Those photos are worth carving out that littttttle bit of time, right?? Ah yes! After we finished up photos there, we headed to Devou Park to meet up with the bridal party. I LOVE working weddings where I know the majority of the people in the bridal party. I actually shot LeighAnn's matron of honor's wedding earlier this year AND I get to shoot another one of her bridesmaid's wedding next year! It's been so fun to watch a wedding dress rotate between the group of friends and to see how unique each day has been for each of them so far. I absolutely LOVE it. Devou was pretty busy since we had absolutely perfect weather on a Saturday in October, but we found a little spot and we were able to get GORGEOUS (and fun!) photos!
After finishing up at Devou, we headed to the reception to finish off the night with fun! Receptions are SO much better when everyone gets out on the dance floor, and this night was perfect. All of LeighAnn & Justin's guests were up & out there dancing the night away and it was such a blast to photograph. LeighAnn was leading the way for the party and wouldn't step off the dance floor. It was so easy to see how absolutely beautiful she felt in her dress, twirling and spinning the night away.
We also took a few minutes to go out into the golden hour sunset and capture just a fewwwww more shots of LeighAnn and Justin together and it was SO worth it! A perfect ending to a beautiful day! LeighAnn and Justin, thank you so much for trusting me to document your wedding day and capture your big moments, small details, and all the emotions in between. I am so excited for you to see the rest of the photos from your gallery here soon!!