Katie and Ben were anything but traditional and I loved their wedding because of it. Katie wore pink, their dog Miller was the ring bearer, the wedding ceremony was super personal and followed no determined path/set rules. They were married under a huge willow tree and timed the ceremony to begin when the tree cast its shade over all their guests. An intimate dinner followed right in the orchard. It was so beautiful. Even the rain at the end of dinner didn’t ruin a thing.

I am nearly jumping up and down here because Katie and Ben’s wedding is featured today on GREEN WEDDING SHOES! This is one of my favorite wedding blogs and it is Katie’s all-time favorite. She used it a lot while planning her wedding and we are both thrilled about the feature. Head over to Green Wedding Shoes to read more about the wedding from Katie’s perspective.

Badger Farms is easily one of my favorite landscapes against which to shoot wedding portraits. Here are just a few of my favorites from Krizia and Scott’s wedding (we had a great mix of full sun, clouds, wind, stillness and a rainbow):

I admire and love how Krizia & Scott did their wedding their own way and not anyone else’s way. Simple and to the point with amazing food (best I’ve ever had and I eat wedding food every weekend), amazing music (best band at a wedding I’ve heard and I hear wedding band music every weekend), and an amazing backdrop. Apart from the ceremony, no real scheduled “events.”

Krizia and Scott, I am so happy and grateful I was able to be part of your wedding and more importantly, that I got a chance to know you both.  I look forward to seeing you again in the future (THATH!!!).

Dear Amalie & Eric,

Will you be my friends forever? Check yes or no. In all seriousness (although that was serious), I had a great time photographing you last week. Your chemistry is off the charts and your tastes and personalities are beyond any awesome adjective I overuse on this blog. Thank you for finding me and contacting me. Thanks for having a couple drinks with me at the Old Sugar Distillery before your session. Thanks for going there even though it was jam-packed and you two knew about it way before it was cool. Thank you for lighting a Chinese lantern to rid some negative energy from this world. Thank you for giving me a Chinese lantern to light one day when it’s darker outside. And for the wine and homemade maple syrup. I mean, come on … is it not clear why I want to make you be my friends?

Special thanks to Jennyface for her brilliant makeup talent. Dang, she makes my girls look gorgeous.

I guess it looks better at night :)

PS — Can I tell you the story of how these two met? They didn’t. Well, that’s how they describe their story … that they never really met. One night, when they were both out, Amalie saw Eric and just approached him. She grabbed his hand and started walking away with him saying, “you’re coming with me.” Yup. That was two years ago. And now they’re getting married.

I know. It’s not fair I get to work with people like this.

Well I’m officially at the halfway point of Wedding Season 2011. It’s easy to get lost/buried/burnt-out in the hustle of a 1,000 hour work week and endless hours spent at the computer, editing. But then I go shoot a stunning wedding like the one here, and well, I’m reminded to slow down and take this all in. The fact that I have the best job I could ever imagine and get to spend my weekends with incredible people at breathtaking events.

I’ll let the images do the talking — you’ll see that this wedding was obviously stylish, classy, beautiful  and amazing. My favorite memories of the day happened at the beginning and end of Holly & Kohler’s ceremony. After Holly walked down the aisle with her dad, Kohler grabbed her hand and pulled her aside to whisper something in her ear. I can only imagine it was something along the lines of, “you are gorgeous/striking/beautiful and I’m so lucky to be marrying you.” I thought it was such a sweet gesture and a wonderful way for a groom to communicate his first impressions of the bride before the ceremony even begins.

My other favorite moment of the day was after the ceremony ended and Holly and Kohler sauntered slowly down the aisle together while “At Last” played. Seriously — not the recessional song anybody would expect. But it was perfect. Thank you times 1,000, Holly and Kohler. You have done nothing but shower me with appreciation and hugs and warmth. It means the world to me, and so does the fact I got to share in your day with you. xoxo.

From the moment I stepped into Sara’s parents’ beautiful home I felt welcomed as part of the day. The love and warmth in both families is contagious. The northwoods setting was gorgeous, and despite pouring rain scattered throughout the day … everything was just perfect. I’ve never seen so many guests crying before the bride even walked down the aisle. I actually started tearing-up as well … the emotion in the room was so thick.

Sara and Joshua, you are so caring and beautiful. Thank you so much.