Val and Mike were married at Quivey’s Grove, a quaint, old restaurant just outside of Madison, in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. The restaurant is housed in the old house, while the bar and causal dining is located in the barn, connected to the house by an underground tunnel. Their open lawn is a pretty place for a ceremony, allowing enough room for a couple large tents for dinner and dancing, and open space for guests to linger.

I love kids at weddings and Val and Mike had a lot of them. They took advantage of the space and had a large “bounce house” for kids (and the adventurous adults- bride and groom included!) to climb through and jump in. To further entertain all the kids at the wedding, they made sure to have a craft table, music geared to little ones early in the evening and they even opted for cookies instead of cake for dessert.

The distinct ambience and character of a Madison wedding shines when the ceremony and reception are both in the beautiful downtown area. And what better place to get married than the oldest church in town, Grace Episcopal Church. I love old buildings, and especially old churches. Madison is lucky enough to have quite a few, but Grace is the iconic church that everyone knows- the church with the red doors across from the Wisconsin State Capitol.

I love fun details. Cecilia’s shoes were definitely a fun detail. Blue! What a fun way to include the wedding tradition of wearing something blue. The bridesmaids were in short black bridesmaid dresses, starting with yellow heels and transitioning into yellow flip-flops. Hair was done by Rana Kay Design and the dress was from Brandi’s Bridal.

Cecilia and Jason had a warm day in June for their wedding. Actually, I think it was one of the hottest days of the summer, but the heat of the day is always forgotten once the party starts. We went across the street to the Capitol for some photographs before heading to their favorite “biker bar” for drinks.

Laura and Dain had the proverbial “good luck rain” on their wedding day. And it happened in the cutest way.

The wedding took place at Trapper’s Turn Country Club, part of the Kalahari Resort. The ladies got ready at the club while the guys prepared for the day at Dain’s parents’ house. Check out the cute details with the love note on the bottom of the shoe and the family mementos sewn into the dress.

Shortly before the tented ceremony began, the rain came. Luckily, not a severe storm- just a regular summer rain shower. Guests were shuttled to the ceremony site, just off the green, by golf carts and hurried under the large white tent. When the bridal party waited to head down the aisle, the “last-minute purchase” of matching umbrellas protected them- as much as possible. Personally, I thought the images of the couples lined up in the rain were very cute (though I was dry under the tent). Laura coming from the golf cart, escorted by her father who held the umbrella, was just perfect. Really, the rain was light enough at that point that Laura stayed pretty dry and still looked absolutely perfect.

During the ceremony, the rain ended. The mingling after the ceremony and the family photo session carried on as planned, as did all the other photographs. The rest of the day was lovely, and the sun even popped out before photographs of Laura and Dain were done.

Flowers were by Wild Apples, cupcakes were by Bloom Bake Shop, the dress was from Edith’s Bridal, hair was done at the Kalahari salon and music was by Jukebox Bandstand.

I loved everything about Chelsey and Erik’s wedding. I loved the colors, the details, the weather, the couple!

The wedding was an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception at the Janesville County Club. The colors were the fun and trendy “yellow and gray”, with a modern vintage theme. For example, while Chelsey used mason jars for candle holders, the clean, modern floral patterns on the ribbons were definitely not “country.” Floral Expressions did the gorgeous flowers and the beautiful cake was done by Craig’s Cakes.

We are using Chelsey and Erik’s wedding to display our coverage of a full wedding and to highlight one of our Artistic Albums. Below are several of the album spreads. Visit with us to see the whole album!

I enjoy photographing families with young children. Actually, if I am going to photograph a large family, I would prefer there to be young children. (That sounds crazy, I know!)

Planning a family session: getting everyone together, having everyone coordinate, hoping everyone is healthy and in a good mood- it takes a LOT of work and effort on Mom and Dad’s part. And, since families may not update their portraits every year, it’s nice to take advantage of the opportunity when we can.

When I photograph a family, we will do the family all together, but then we will often do other groupings. When I can, I like to photograph just the kids, mom with the kids, dad with the kids, and even each child separately. I’m not able to do this with every session, since children tire out quickly, depending on their ages and attention span, but it’s the goal.

With so many favorites from a session, I am frequently asked, “What can I do with all of these images that I love?”

My answer: A family album!

I love albums because they show off the very favorites from a session, plus they are easy to carry with you to share with family and friends when you are not at home to show off your wall portraits. And it’s fun to have the album of images to look back through as the kids grow.

A baby by any other name would smell as sweet.

I had the privilege of photographing my niece, Hannah, at 10 days old. During the session, I called her Hannah Banana, and her two sisters instantly thought that was a fabulous name. (Sorry, Amy!) My youngest is sometimes called Leo Burrito, paying homage to the blanket folding technique they teach you in the hospital, where you wrap the newborn up tight, like a baby burrito. So, now my other son wants to know what food rhymes with Henry.