I can say for sure that we were all watching the radar the entire week of Laura & Austin’s wedding!  We’ve got some sort of crazy weather pattern in the Midwest and it seems like we’ve had storms non-stop for weeks.  The radar was showing thunderstorms all day and I was a tad heartbroken that Laura & Austin might not get their outdoor ceremony at Lavender Crest Winery.

Alas, as it usually seems to happen for us – the weather cleared up and gave us an absolutely beautiful wedding day.  The grounds were a ‘tad’ muddy due to all of the intense rain storms that we’ve been having but nothing was going to stop Laura from getting the wedding and the photos that she had always dreamed of.

I’m not sure I’ve ever had a bride that was more willing to do anything for beautiful photos.  Ashley and I went out scouting the grounds of Lavender Crest Winery looking for places to take photos that weren’t full of inches of standing water and mud.  We came back with three different options for Laura – two of which were OK lighting and background wise and had no mud or water.  And then one option that would offer a beautiful background and light but would require walking through and standing in muddy water.  Without hesitation Laura said – “We’ll do the last one.”

I’m so glad the Laura trusted our vision.  All of her portraits turned out beautiful and you wouldn’t of even guessed that they were standing in water.  Unless you happened to look at all of our feet – because those were most definitely covered in mud, but it was SO worth it!

We kept with the outdoor ceremony and it was absolutely breath taking.  Austin began by lighting a candle for his late father, followed by unity sand and a short but meaningful ceremony.  Right after their first kiss Laura and Austin looked at each other and you could see the happiness and love written all over their faces.  That’s one of my favorite parts of the wedding day!

The rest of the day was filled with some fun introductions, a few tearful speeches and toasts, and of course the dances.  Austin and his mom were both crying during their first dance and Ashley and I were both blubbering messes behind our cameras.

Now that Laura and Austin are married Laura will be packing up and moving to Germany to be with her husband!  I know it will be sad and tearful goodbye for all of her family but it’ll be so, so, sweet for Laura & Austin to finally be on the same continent again!