So I am sitting at my desk, staring at my keyboard. I must have brought my hands to my keys to begin typing twelve times now. Every time I think I have a cohesive thought and start to wrap my head around Lo and Ben’s wedding, I remember something else. I apologize if this post is a little jagged and rough but I am just going to wing it and start typing…
I booked Lo and Ben over the phone and while I appreciated her desire to want to work with me, I always get a little nervous when I do not get to have a face to face meeting with a potential client. See, I have NEVER even come close to having a “Bridezilla” and I can only attribute this to that I am exactly who I am on my website, on my facebook page and in person. I don’t play an games in that area and run my social media posts through the “business scrubber”. I be as genuine as I am with my family and friends when I am around clients and I hope I attract people just like that. So I trusted my gut that Lo did her homework on me and completed the booking.
This would be one of the best decisions I ever made.
I will not spend too much time talking about details (they were plenty and they were amazing) or the venue (If you have followed me for any amount of time, you know how I feel about the The Pavilion at Orchard Ridge Farms), what I will gush about is the couple. When I met this couple for the first time, it was at their engagement session and we had that moment where we all get out of the car and start to figure each other out. Sometimes this can get a little awkward as the couple is usually a little nervous to have their photos taken and to be fair, paid a solid chunk of money, to document the most important day of their lives, on a person they have never met.
This awkward time only lasted about 12 seconds. With Lo and Ben and I realized, before I even took my camera out of my case, just how amazing this couple truly was.
Through the entire wedding day you saw not just how impactful THEY were on their friend and family but also how impactful their friends and family were on Lo and Ben. From the tears, to the laughs, to the dances, to the CO2 cannons… (just think about that mix right there for a moment) every time I looked at a face through my camera, people knew this was MORE than a wedding. I was also one of those people. I drove home with no music, part because my ears were still ringing but also so I could savor this moment. This couple is one that I will talk about for a long time. Not because of the venue or the details or the vendors or that I photographed it on my birthday. I will simply and elegantly just say that this.
My “job” is to build relationships. My hope is that my photographs tell the story of that relationship. My reward is to forever call Lo and Ben a friend.
Venue: The Pavilion at Orchard Ridge Farms
Caterer: Hoffman House
Dress: Dimitras Couture Bridal Chicago (Jim Hjelm)
Suit/Tux: Mens Wearhouse
Hair and Make-up: Emily Wolf
Flowers: Event Floral
Cake: Cake Creations
DJ: Luxe Productions
Lighting: Luxe Productions
Videographer: Bonza Weddings
Officiant: Rev. Dan Herman