what better way to start december than by flashing back to a wedding on the hottest day of the year?!!! it was pretty much over 100 degrees all day long…and it was an outdoor wedding. ceremony? outside. reception? outside. and honestly, it was perfect!!! only corey and margaret and all their AMAZING friends could turn this sweatbath into one of the most amazing parties we’ve ever seen…and we’re not just talking weddings! sweat was just one of the details that made this wedding more fun

did we mention that corey and margaret brought in a vintage ferris wheel for their guests to ride? oh…and an ELEPHANT?! yup. hey…if you’re going for an outdoor, vintage tent wedding, how could you not have a ferris wheel…and elephant?!!

huge hugs and thank you’s to our good friends, jayden and caroline of woodnote photography, for introducing us to corey and margaret. caroline, we know it was killer hard for you to not shoot your sister’s wedding!! so thanks for thinking of us!!

did i mention they had an elephant? oh yeah. i think i did.

it’s easy to write about the heat, the elephant, and the ferris wheel when there’s all these pictures of them. but we hope the main thing you see in the pics is how beautiful corey and margaret are. inside and out. and together. thanks you two for inviting us to be there on the best day of your lives!

this was one of those weddings that we had seriously been looking forward to for months!!!  what could be better than being flown to paris with your super hot lover to shoot an elopement of an amazing couple whom we now call friends?  not much.  when cassie (paper designer extraordinaire at pixie chicago) contacted us to shoot a reception for her in chicago (after they returned from their elopement in paris), i flippantly wrote back to tell her we traveled.  she responded with a “really?” and the next week everything was booked.  ben and i have both been to europe separately, but not together, so we decided to add on a couple of extra days (like seven) and galavant through paris together.  it was like a second honeymoon and i’m not gonna lie……. we made out A LOT!!!

back to jacques + cassie.  we met them for the first time in paris, two days before their wedding and we fell in love.  the day of their wedding was so relaxed and fabulous.  they held their intimate ceremony in some beautiful gardens under a amazing gazebo with intricate details.  after they were hitched, they kissed, drank champagne and we all hopped in a chauffeured car to hit some fabulous locations in paris that ben and i had scouted the week before.  the four hours we had to explore and shoot flew by as we were having such an incredible time with them.

one of our favorite memories was when we traveled to the top of the city in montmarte (home of the sacre coeur, aka, the fancy cathedral in the pics below).   locals and tourists FILLED the stairs every night to catch the most amazing view of the sun setting over the entire city of paris.  it would start casual with kids running around and amazing street performers.  and then the peddlers would come out with the $3 heinekens and the street performances turned into more of a concert with a lot of buzzed people singing along.   we couldn’t wait to bring jacques and cassie here to catch some shots.  we basically just asked them to stand in the crowd and kiss.  what we didn’t anticipate is that the street performer stopped his song and started to serenade these newly married lovers while everyone sang a long, cheered, and toasted with their heinekens!!  cassie wasn’t the only one with tears in her eyes.  this wasn’t just one of our favorite memories of their wedding.  it was one of our favorite memories ever!!!

jacques and cassie…thanks for letting us tag along and capture your perfect paris wedding!!!  here’s some of our faves.

handcrafted bridal bouquet brought to you by our great friends, brad and lisa, at whimwed.

drooling.
matt and liz’s wedding was…perfect!

the details defined beauty. seriously people. these are easily some of the most beautiful flower arrangements we’ve ever seen. we’ve got to send some “we’re not worthy” shoutouts to modern day floral who always know how to do it right.

cascade hills country club hit it out of the park with their service and amazing room with TONS OF WINDOWS. love that!!

and, matt and liz. you two are perfect for each other. it was amazing watching you two enjoy each other all day. the looks you kept giving each other made it clear that you two are crazy in love. and that was easily the most beautiful part of the day!

congratulations on your beautiful wedding…and marriage!!