Most of us, especially girls, have this picture of what our wedding will look like one day. Couples spend a lot of time and money researching and planning their special day. Yet no matter how much time you take trying to make sure everything goes smoothly inevitably something will not go as planned. Some couples luck out with small misfortunes of not having the aisle runner down in time or their bouquet not being just right. There are so many things that can go wrong on your wedding day that really no one besides the couple will even be aware of. Then you have all of the things that are completely out of anyone's control that can make the wedding day go awry. From weather to natural acts of God, to the venue burning down. Anything can happen. It is not like you can reschedule your big day at the very last second. Especially not when you have spent so much time and money and have hundreds of people who have manages to reserve this one day to witness your wedding. We ourselves knowing all that we know about weddings had a month long of misfortunes for our wedding that took place just a little over a year ago. We truly understand the feeling of panic that sets in when things start to not o according to plan.
This past Friday Austin and Amanda were enjoying their rehearsal dinner at the KC Hall in Teutopolis Illinois. After just finishing rehearsal at the church and surrounded by family and friends they were feeling blessed and at peace for their wedding the following day. Little did they know one of those unexpected and uncontrollable misfortunes had struck for their big day. Their photographer who they had chosen and cultivated a relationship with through months of planning and their engagement shoot had gotten injured, badly enough that she was unable to physically shoot their wedding day.
This is something that every professional photographer thinks about. We are all human. We get sick, injured, or any number of things that can make it impossible for us to shoot a wedding. Now having said that most of us are fortunate that things have never been so severe that we cannot still show up and push through. As I said earlier... you cannot just reschedule your wedding day... especially not the day before.
So Amanda and Austins photographer went into superhero mode calling around to all the photographers she had networked with through the years. She knew she wanted to be the one to capture all their precious once in a lifetime moments but was not in the physical condition to be able to offer that.
After a pretty grueling fall season and managing to barely keep our head above water Bryan and I were looking forward to one of our first wedding free weekends in months. That is when a received a message from one of our best friends and fellow photographers asking us if we were available to help a fellow photographer out. Despite our plans for a lazy and relaxing weekend, we knew the situation all too well. While we have never had to miss or almost miss a wedding our wedding photographer almost missed our wedding due to a hurricane. We knew the position that couple would be in once they found out and being wedding photographers ourselves understood the horrible position that the photographer had been put in. Luckily we were able to help. After a few hours of getting all of our gear ready to go and having a quick call with the bride to introduce ourselves and go over the schedule, we were ready to shoot another wedding, which brings us to Austin and Amanda's wedding day.
The wedding morning started out at Mainly You salon in T-town. Being from the area we have shot in T-town and this particular salon many times. With high ceilings, exposed brick, and a wall full of windows allowing natural light to beam in, it is the perfect place for a bridal transformation. The girls there are always so accommodating and are quick to make beautiful up-dos for the bridal party. After introducing ourselves to Amanda, the moms, and the bridesmaids, we traveled a few blocks down to St. Francis Church.
Growing up going to a traditional Catholic church myself, I am still in awe everytime we shoot a wedding in this church. The architecture is so intricate and beautiful, with hanging chandeliers, and large stained glass windows, it is a photographers dream. Amanda and Austin had chosen to remain more traditional and wait until the ceremony to see each other. This can sometimes make a wedding day hectic and stressful but because of the times and locations, they had set for their ceremony and reception it had a perfect flow to the day. With the help of her mother, Amanda stepped into her stunning wedding gown and completed her bridal look. After a few formals with her bridesmaids, we set up the first look with her father and of course mom was on standby with tissues! We then tucked all their girls away to start formals with the guys. Amand's aunts had been tasked with pinning all the boutonnieres and did a wonderful job. I am sure the guys appreciated this as well as they are not usually very familiar with this and typically look for some assistance.
Amanda and Austin chose to exchange private letters to one another. Delivered by the best man and maid of honor in a private setting the quietly read their letters bringing the emotion of their special day to the surface.
Now it was time to tuck everyone away as Amanda and Austins loved ones filled the church to witness their vows. As Austin patiently waiting for his bride to walk down the aisles the doors opened allowing Amanda and Austin to see each other for the first time that day. their faces beaming with joy, Amanda's father welcomed Austin before handing over his daughter's hand. The ceremony was beautiful and full of stories about how Austin and Amanda's relationship and grown throughout their seven-year relationship. This relates to their wedding day hashtag of #itsastouttime.
As with most weddings, we followed the ceremony with family photos and bridal party formals. Before we ventured outside to the beautiful wedding weather we were blessed with, we made sure to sneak up to the choir loft to capture them in front of the stained glass window featuring music notes. Some of you may not know that music is a very important part of their lives especially since Austin is a music teacher himself.
St. Francis Church has a beautiful mini-park in their backyard which was even more fantastic to shoot at since they had some fall colors in the trees finally. After capturing some fun bridal party photos and photos of the couple (they even went along with our crazy idea to lay down and fan out Amanda/s dress) we headed to the reception hall just across the tracks from the church.
Amanda and Austin had done an incredible job transforming the hall into a glowing and magical reception. After their entrance, they headed straight to their cake table to cut their cake. Every inch of this table was covered by cupcakes that I am sure guests were eyeing since they walked in as we saw a few of them come to snag a cupcake or two after the cake was cut. After a delicious dinner provided by IGA, we heard toast from both of the maids of honors and both of the best men. They told great stories of Amanda and Austin, stories from the moment they met to how Amanda now has her own part in some of Austin's "Austin-isms" The dance floor remained packed all night long thanks to 3rd Street Entertainment for their impeccable Dj'ing and the bridal party's passion for music.
The day truly went seamlessly and perfectly. We are so glad we were available to help both our fellow photographer as well as Amanda and Austin. We had such a wonderful time capturing your special day and cannot wait to show you the rest of the thousands of images we took.
Also, thank you to their original photographer for entrusting us with your clients. We know how precious they are to you.
Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Stout!!!!
