We had to reschedule Ashley and Brian’s engagement shoot so many times, we were almost thinking we would have to do it after the wedding. (ok, not that many times). Three times, the rain was to blame and since we were super excited to do this shoot I know we were getting just as ansty as they were!

We kept telling ourselves that the right day was going to happen for this, we were just going to have to wait a bit. Well, that day finally came in the form of a Sunday afternoon last week as we joined our happy couple at Cantigny Park for what turned out to be 4 hours filled with fun, silliness, tender moments, and lots of love! We were having such a great time, wecould have gone on for hours more.

Ashley got her perfect day, and we captured some fantastic images of a wonderful couple.

The heat index was predicted to be 100°+, there were severe thunderstorms throughout NW Indiana all morning, and the local weather stations cautioned against high winds. The wedding day had been planned for months, who would have guessed that the first weekend in July would be so uncooperative. We had been bracing ourselves all day for shooting in such extremes, checking our live radar every few minutes and listening to news radio as we drove from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago to Indiana to keep track of the conditions.

Amazingly, by the time we arrived at the venue in Munster, the clouds had parted, the winds had calmed down, and the temperature never rose to the expected blistering level. It was a gorgeous day for a wedding!

What a wonderful way to start out the Holiday weekend. The wedding outside by the lake was beautiful, and all the lovely details reflected all the hard work and planning that went into creating such a marvelous day. Fireworks could be seen and heard in the area all evening as it seemed everyone around was celebrating the love between Bekah and Solomon. Inside, friends and relatives shared memories and well wishes for the newlyweds.

We wish Bekah and Solomon many years of happiness, and thank them for the honor of letting us document their day.

We were really looking forward to Ashley & Dustin’s wedding in Charleston, South Carolina for many reasons. The number one reason was the wedding day, which was beautiful of course. After getting to know Ashley & Dustin it was of no surprise that the details ( from the place cards hanging from the branches to the decorated fans for the guests) were unique and set the tone for the southern charm, grace & elegance.

They were married at the Legare Waring house in Charleston. As you can see there was spanish moss (neither spanish nor moss) on most trees. The ceremony took place in the most gorgeous grove of trees. Every part of the day was filled with love, laughter (and a few tears).

Secondly we wanted to see alligators. The signs were up all around the lake surrounding the venue warning visitors of the alligators. I saw one as we were taking the top photo around the grounds of the venue. First time we’ve ever had alligators at a venue. In Colorado we only had black bears, deer, elk, buffaloes and rattle snakes that we had to be on the look out for during weddings.

The following day before we headed out to the airport we took a swamp tour at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. We both fulfilled our wish of seeing alligators. Many, many alligators. Some very close and just on the other side of a wire fence.

Lastly, we were looking forward to the southern food. Wow. Every meal was fabulous!! We now crave South Carolina BBQ. YUM.

We wish Ashley & Dustin all the best in their new life together : )