We figured that this would be the perfect transition wedding blog post as we work on a plethora of wedding editing, printing, packaging, and shipping to our clients this week amidst more wedding consultations in our office, wedding schedule making, and location scouting before photographing awesome clients all weekend! In a few days one of our wedding couples (Malyssa & Daokota) is driving up from their home in Nashville, Tennessee to have us capture their Engagement Session in Michigan (or here in Indiana depending on the weather) since they previously lived up here in Indiana (and we’re capturing their wedding here in Indiana at a Winery in less than 4 months)-! We’re currently editing wedding photos all week amidst printing, packaging, & delivering orders AND get to capture our 3rd 100th Birthday celebration for a family the day after the Engagement Session this weekend as well!. Next week we’re also capturing RIck & Rose’s beautiful Indiana-Michigan wedding day, then the following day capture another wedding couple Bee & Jordan’s Engagement Session as well-! (Then May & Jimmy’s Notre Dame wedding the weekend after that, Cassie and Jimmy the weekend after that, and we finish off June with Kaitlyn & Colin’s Notre Dame wedding as well!)
In the midst of this crazy Wedding Season 2019 (of the most weddings we’ve ever photographed in one year) and current wedding photo editing we’d love to share some of our favorite May weddings! Two of our favorite May weddings that we’d like to showcase were in two exquisite cities in California 4 years ago and two we’d also like showcase were in Southwest Michigan (close to Lake Michigan) JUST one year ago-! All of these weddings were gorgeous largely outdoor wedding days in May/ Spring and we were thrilled that in the start of Spring we got to capture all of these gorgeous couples in the great outdoors in two gorgeous states known for their diverse outdoors-! Let’s start with one such wedding then go through them by wedding dates-!
A whopping 4 years ago Kimmie & Mindy were wed in San Luis Obispo, California on May 2nd, 2015! San Luis Obispo (nicknamed “SLO”) was about 2 hrs north of our home in Santa Barbara, California, but the drive up on their wedding day was a beautiful one! Their wedding morning started out with these two getting ready separately- one at a gorgeous B&B located amidst beautiful hills next to a gorgeous river.and the other getting ready at their wedding location.
These two had their gorgeous wedding situated at the Dallidet Adobe in SLO! The ceremony was outdoors as was their reception, so it was a beautiful outdoor wedding day in May!
Soon after getting prepped and ready with separately with the bridal party it was time for the ceremony of Kimmie and Mindy! It was a beautiful, intimate outdoor ceremony under a beautiful natural wood wedding arch.
Once their marriage was made official, these two headed down the aisle and greeted their guests with love and hugs! After the well wishes, family photos were captured at the altar before portraits of the newlyweds!
Kimmie & Mindy were glowing after their ceremony and the portraits of these newlyweds highlight the beauty and kindness that these two exude.
After portraits these two were announced in to their reception (also in the gorgeous outdoors)! Toasts were given to these two, laughs were had, and then it was time for their First Dance.
What better way to celebrate your First Dance than right in the gorgeous sunny Spring outdoors in SLO, California?! After their First Dance, the dance floor opened up, everyone cut a rug, and floats and candy were served post-dinner! All-in-all Kimmie and Mindy celebrated their Big Day in style with a gorgeous intimate wedding outside with all of their loved ones on such a gorgeous day!
We reached out to these two a couple years ago to see how things were going and they had also moved out of California like we had! They moved to the East Coast (New Hampshire) for a Master’s program and caught us up on their lives which was great since we’d heard nothing in 2 years and had been searching for their contact info. We are so glad that we re-located these two and just want to say: Happy 4 Year Wedding Anniversary Month, Mindy & Kimmie! Thank you two for being so classy and amazing!
Next up on our favorite May weddings is Michiganders Eileen & Dustin’s wedding in Niles, Michigan just last year on May 5th, 2018! These two were wed at the ever gorgeous Morris Estate in Michigan just over the border from us here in Indiana (15 minutes down the road) and JUST celebrated their ONE year wedding anniversary this month!
On their wedding day these two both got ready in the adorable chapel in rooms down the hall from one another. When it came time for their ceremony they just had to walk up a small amount of steps to a packed ceremony with all of their loved ones!
During their wedding ceremony, Dustin and Eileen had Eileen’s uncle officiate, these two said their vows, and started their married life right then and there!
Post-ceremony we captured a few more family photos with the two of them in the chapel since we’d already captured many of their family photos pre-ceremony as everyone got ready!
After greeting and thanking every guest who attended their ceremony, the limo driver took the bridal party downtown Niles for some quick portraits with us!
We also captured Eileen & Dustin’s newlywed portraits right in the downtown of Niles as well!
We couldn’t have asked for a prettier May spring day for their gorgeous wedding! The Midwest (especially Michiana) can be very up & down with the weather (like this May raining most days and temperatures dropping down to the 30s some nights), but on Eileen & Dustin’s wedding day the sun shone and the leaves were in bloom!
After their portraits, we headed back to their venue of The Morris Estate and captured some shots of cocktail hour before Eileen and Dustin were announced into their reception literally just outside of the chapel.
Eileen and Dustin were announced in to their reception and soon after went into their First Dance. Eileen is a dance teacher on top of her family business, so she choreographed an amazing dance for these two that started off classic and ended with some fun fanciful dance moves!
Since their wedding was on Cinco de Mayo, these two incorporated a bit of a tropical theme into their wedding! Their wedding cake had flamingos on it, there were golden pineapples on the tables, there were tropical leaves and flowers all over the chapel/ reception/ in the actual bouquets, the church had two flamingos outside of it, their food items included elote and more, and their photobooth included cute sombreros which the kids loved!
Eileen and Dustin had an amazingly gorgeous and fun wedding day! We’re glad to say that everything leading up to it and after it solidified what awesome people and friends these two are and how we’re lucky to call them friends-! Happy Anniversary Month, you two! (We hope to see you two again very soon/ this summer!)
Another gorgeous May wedding with another great set of friends in another beautiful nature-y venue in Southwest Michigan just one year ago was Chicagoans Mike & Amy’s Blue Dress Barn wedding on May 19th, 2018! These two celebrated their 1 Year Wedding Anniversary just a few days ago in Chicago-! We luckily were able to see them a couple times over the past month in Indiana and Illinois at a couple massive auctions/ rummage sales that they planned on going to and reached out to us to go to too (since we have a shared love of Estate Sales) and we had a blast hanging out with them for the first real time since their wedding last year!
Their wedding venue was a short half hour from us here (in South Bend, Indiana) in Benton Harbor and was a dream!
Going with the gorgeous outdoor wedding theme, these two got married at the Blue Dress Barn in Southwest Michigan. Both got ready on the premises (Amy in the Bridal Suite and Mike in the amazing Groom prep vintage RV) and were literally steps away from their guests when the ceremony started-!
There are two spots for couples to get married at the Blue Dress Barn and these two picked a gorgeous spot for their wedding vows! They were surrounded by ivy, blooming trees, a beautiful barn, and most importantly all of their loved ones!
Luckily the rain held off for the day though it’d been in the forecast and these two had a gorgeous ceremony! After their ceremony (and a bit before) we captured many family photos with these two and then captured portraits of they and their bridal party!
We of course didn’t forget to capture some beautiful newlywed images of these two. These two were excited to get to the less stressful party of the day (their cocktail hour games, then reception), so they were nice and relaxed for their portraits together.
One of the final formal portraits of the afternoon was a big photo of these two and their friends from the Skeeball League that they run in Chicago!
After fun outdoor games and cocktail hour it was time for their indoor reception inside of the barn. It’s always fantastic when you’re able to have both your wedding and reception at the same location and you’ll notice that all of these May weddings chose that easier format of having everything contained at one wedding location!
Mike and Amy enjoyed their First Dance together, had many toasts given to them, and cut their cake before opening up the dance floor! These two even had the EVER amazing Jet’s pizza ordered in to the reception for a late night snack- boxes upon boxes upon boxes! At the end of the evening we went out and captured some last portraits of them in the Blue Dress Barn vintage RV that Mike had started the day out in getting ready (“Big Blue”) and final photos of them outside of the barn itself. We’re so thankful for such a strong, funny couple that we’ve become even closer friends to and are so happy for them. Happy Anniversary week you two!
The last May wedding that we’d like to pay homage to is Jamie & Karen’s gorgeous Montecito, California wedding which was on May 30th, 2015 with their 4 year Wedding Anniversary coming up next week! Montecito, California was just 10 minutes south of our home in Santa Barbara (and it’s also where Oprah lives)!
For their wedding day Karen and Jamie opted to have their ceremony and reception at their gorgeous home in Montecito, CA and it was a great choice for their intimate wedding day! The whole day heavily involved their immediate family with their kids playing a huge part in the melding of these two in marriage which was a gorgeous thing to witness. A couple of their kids even led Karen down the aisle to Jamie as their children were seated front & center at their home ceremony.
The beautiful spring May day was gorgeous as the sun shone down on these two as they committed their lives to one another. The Los Padres National Forest/ mountains showed in the distance as these two prepared to exchange their vows.
There was miraculously no “May Gray” to be seen as the sun shined down on these two during their ceremony!
Jamie and Karen exchanged vows and rings before too long and they were officially married! The day was perfect as these two headed back down the aisle to celebrate their their family!
There were a few portraits taken pre-ceremony with some of their family members, so they were able to head right to their reception/ meal after their ceremony!
Also pre-ceremony were their portraits together! There was no pre-planned “First Look,” but they were up for portraits right there at the beach, around their home, and on a walk. These two had a serenity and confidence with one another that every couple should aspire to!
They also glowed in their pre-ceremony individual portraits! It’s not possible to take a bad photo of either of these two!
Karen and Jamie’s wedding day was definitely one of our favorite weddings to capture in California in that it was intimate and laid back, but also classy, warm, and unique.
At the end of the day, the wedding day is a celebration of these two first and foremost, so we thought that their May wedding was beautiful and heartwarming watching the family officially meld together. Congratulations on your 4 Year Anniversary, Karen & Jamie! We hope that your family is doing well out in California and we hope that your upcoming Anniversary is well enjoyed next week!
We are absolutely honored to have gotten to capture such gorgeous May weddings-! We didn’t realize that we’d chosen/ captured so many outdoor spring May weddings (since that’s not too common here in the Midwest due to untrustworthy weather) until we started sorting through our favorites! We always love a good wedding day that takes place not only outdoors, but also all at one location and these fantastic couples from Illinois, Michigan, New Hampshire, and California nailed their big days! We were also reminded (through sorting through thousands of these photos) of just how much we love these and all of our couples who not only have fantastic taste, but are also kind, intelligent, educated, accomplished, warm, and driven! These photos bring us joy and memories and hope that they spark a bit of happiness for those celebrating anniversaries and also those who love deeply & fully.
—————— Unrelated: Check in next Weekly Wednesday for Tennesseans Malyssa & Dakota’s (maybe beachy) Engagement Session! We have consultations scheduled with couples in our office tomorrow, but will be editing Friday, then photographing our awesome clients on Saturday and Sunday before we head off to spend Monday Memorial Day with family. We wish you a weekend full of love and check back in next week for another love story!