Kelly + Cooper | A Backyard Intimate Fall Wedding in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

I really think Kelly and Cooper could plan any type of wedding and make it special and beautiful! In true 2020 fashion this was of course not their original wedding date, but then months after that it turned in to not their original venue either! Honestly though I’m glad this is how their wedding day went though because I couldn’t imagine anything more perfect or special :)

VENDORS: Venue: Private Residence // Wedding Planner: Gina Ennis // Wedding Dress: Vera’s House of Bridal // Hair/MUA: William Jon Salon and Spa // Bride’s Bouquet: Prairie Flowers and Gifts // Cake: Carl’s Cakes

How to deal with a national crisis when planning your wedding!

Hey everyone! How are you holding up? Lol silly question to ask right now ;) I know, A LOT has happened recently and none of it was expected or planned for. Well, that’s kinda how life goes, right? I think this is such a huge opportunity for us to really learn and grow from though. Everyone is going to be affected by the COVID-19 in some way or another, which means we really are all in this together and if we all help each other then we will all be able to recover and eventually get back to normal. Haha there were a lot of “all’s” in that sentence, but I think this is a good reminder of how connected we really are to one another and how much we rely and need one another! We each have an important role in our society and to keep everything running as normal everyone needs to do their part.

Right now part of my job is to help my May couples in managing what to do for their wedding day. Which as a wedding photographer I always need to be prepared for anything to happen (crazy lighting, horrible weather changing locations, that one drunk groomsman that can’t follow simple directions anymore) so I feel well equipped to give some advise right now :)

First, lets start with the facts and what we do know. As of today, the CDC has recommended that for the next 8 weeks (until May 10th) no events be held with more than 50 people and the federal government has recommended that no events with more than 10 people be held. If you must reschedule your wedding day, or if you’re right on the edge and think you should be safe and reschedule your wedding day, here are my tips for you:

1 - Check in with your vendors about their cancellation and rescheduling policies. More importantly if you’re after May 10th find out what is their deadline for deciding if you need to reschedule.

2 - Prioritize your vendors. Haha okay that probably sounds awful, but if you have to reschedule there is a chance that all of your vendors won’t be available on your new date. Which ones are you willing to schedule around and which are you okay (but sad) having to find a different vendor for.

3 - Sit down with your partner and remind yourselves of the priorities on your wedding day and why you’re getting married! This is a big one :) I know you’ve already spent a year planning this amazing day and you’re so excited for it and the thought of having to change everything is heartbreaking. But, at the end of the day you are marrying the love of your life and you get to celebrate that with your family and friends. Everything else is really just the cherry on top! I’ve lost track of how many weddings I’ve photographed (literally stopped counting years ago after 150) and even on the wedding day that was completely changed by downpours and lightning they still didn’t care and had the best day ever because they were married and that’s all that really mattered.

4 - Friday’s and Sunday’s are great days to get married as well! There are only so many Saturday’s during wedding season, but I promise you I have photographed lots of weddings on Friday or Sunday and I promise you those are great days to get married.

5 - Perhaps you do an intimate ceremony now and plan a bigger party later? I know this seems crazy because you just planned everything for your dream wedding, but sometimes you’re just not able to reschedule but you just don’t want to wait to get married.

6 - Take lots of deep breaths and go outside! Lol, honestly I think everyone should just do this right now. If feel like it’s very easy to get overwhelmed, anxious, and worried with the constant stream of news about COVID-19. Lets not forget that we can and should take a break from it and how it’s affecting our lives. Taking a step back can bring a fresh perspective and help you remember that you are strong and resilient and you can absolutely handle this!

Lots of things are going to happen and change in the next few weeks. We even know that it is going to get worse before it gets better. There are so many unknowns and I know that alone can be scary, but just remember that your mindset does matter! Where you get your news/facts matter. And remaining calm and rational always helps :)

I know people have been posting a lot about how we can help others right now and especially how we can help small and local businesses. Please, please, please don’t just share and repost those things to social media, actually DO them! And again, if we all help each other during this hard time we’ll all get to the good time again!

How to plan your wedding day timeline!

I think one of the trickiest parts of wedding planning can be the timeline. How do you lay out your wedding day? Haha or how do you lay out your wedding day that makes everyone happy and you make sure you have a fun and stress free day? That’s the real question :) When there are so many factors and things to consider (traditions, logistics, opinions from others) it can be daunting to even know where to start. That’s where I come in! I always tell my couples how you can lay out your wedding day however you want, so lets ask the right questions to make sure that happens.

1 - What parts of the wedding day are most important to you? I know it sounds obvious, but have you thought about parts of the day you really want to experience? Are there certain things that will just make you stressed or anxious? For some of my couples they really want to be at cocktail hour to have that time with their family and friends. Awesome! We just need to do a first look so we can do all of the important portraits before the ceremony.

2 - What photographs or types of photographs are important to you? I’m going to dig a little more in to this one since there are so many options and part of the day to consider…

Do you want your details photographed before you get dressed? This is your dress, shoes, jewelry, stationary, rings, etc. You have spent a lot of time planning these details and some can have lots of sentimental meaning, of course you want those documented to tell a complete story of your day! To do this though I need 45-60 minutes. Yes, that sounds like a huge block of time, but to find the right spot with a nice background, good lighting, and then to style those items it just takes time.

How long will it take to get in to your dress? Some are a quick 2 minute zip but some dresses are 15-20 minutes of hooks and buttons. After you put on the dress (this is when things feel very real!) then you still need to put on jewelry, shoes, and have hugs and toasts with those helping you get ready :) Do you also want to do a first look with any parents or friends? Even with the quickest 2 minute zip up dress I still would allocate 20 minutes to get dressed with considering final touches and getting bags ready to leave.

What kind of portraits do you want? While we don’t always have a ton of flexibility with this, it’s still important to think about the time of day and where we will be doing portraits. Will we be doing portraits in the middle of the day with harsh bright light? Do you want that soft, warm, glowy light at sunset? Most of the time the bride and groom portraits get split up in to (2) 20-25 minute blocks. One before/after the ceremony and one around sunset.

Do you want all of the events of the reception photographed? I don’t need to be there all night, but if you would like those fun dancing/party pictures you should plan on having me photograph 30-60 minutes of the reception once the party begins! Do you want a sparkler exit? No worries! Lets do it right before I leave and then everyone goes right back to dancing and having a great time :)

3 - What other things do I need to factor in to my timeline? Travel! Driving times and even time to walk to/from locations. Also know that if anything is going to run late on your wedding day it is going to be from 3 sources: hair/make-up taking longer, your ceremony not starting on time because of guests arriving late, and the family and friends that just can’t seem to be on time for anything. Haha and we love them for for it! To solve this just schedule little time buffers and add on a little extra time. I even had a bride put in her invites that her ceremony was starting at 4:00pm when we knew it wasn’t starting until 4:15 because she knew her family was never on time. Genius!

I am very good at managing the day and keeping everything going and on time, however if we can plan ahead of time for all of these things then we can ensure you not only get all of the beautiful images that you want, but your wedding day will also be stress free for everyone because we won’t be rushed or worried about fitting everything in!

Annie + Michael | A Nantucket Inspired Wedding at The Edgewater in Madison, Wisconsin

Here we are many months later, but I can still recall this wedding day like it was yesterday! First, it was one if the windiest wedding days I’ve ever had! Second, as you’ll see Annie, Michael, and Allison from Et Voila Events designed a beautiful space. And last but not least, even though I didn’t get to spend a full day with them, Annie and Michael we one of the sweetest and most genuine couples to work with! I always encourage my couples to be authentic and plan the day that they want and that’s exactly what they did.

VENDORS: Wedding Planner: Et Voila Events // Venue: The Edgewater // Wedding Dress: Pronovias from Nordstrom // Bridesmaids Dresses: Alexia from BHLDN // Groom’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse // Make-up and Hair Stylist: The Edgewater Spa // Florist: Pollen House // DJ: Sound By Design

Kelly + Cooper | A Classic Madison Engagement Session | Madison, Wisconsin

To start 2020 off right I thought I should blog the adorable couple who will be my first wedding of this year, Kelly and Cooper! They chose classic downtown Madison locations which means we get a combination of beautiful architecture, lake views, and beautiful parks. That’s one of the things I really love about Madison is that you can get all of that in one session all within a small radius.

Cheers to the new year and I can’t wait to start my 2020 wedding season!!