Category: Stories Documented

Galena Illinois Wedding Photography by Liz and Ryan (31)

Galena Illinois Wedding – Cathy and Jeff

Engagement, Love, Stories Documented // 27th May 2015

I have so much to say about Cathy and Jeff’s incredibly special wedding celebration that I really do not know where to start… except for the very beginning! Way back on October 29, 2013, we received an incredibly thoughtful email from Cathy and Jeff, introducing themselves, sharing the news that they were getting married, and asking us to be their wedding photographers! I remember that email so clearly! It was the kind of the email where both Ryan and I gathered around the computer with crazy excitement reading it and re-reading it! Their hearts exploded from the computer screen and we just knew they were definitely “our couple!”

Cathy and Jeff planned an intimate wedding in their sweet small town of Galena, IL. Their closest family and friends gathered to witness them exchange vows that brought love out of everyone! The day was GORGEOUS… complete with one of the heaviest rain showers that came and went in pretty much the exact time of the ceremony! The rain could have very easily made any bride cry… but Cathy and Jeff rolled with it… as we know they will in all of the adventures of their years to come together! They definitely know how to make every day the best day of their lives!

Can I just mention how incredibly honoring and humbling it is to be asked by two professional photographers to come to their hometown and photograph their wedding day?! Goodness! They could have asked any photographer… and they chose to ask us to document this AMAZING chapter in their beautiful love story. That is such an incredible gift to us and one that we will always hold close to our hearts! It was such an honor!

Cathy and Jeff… THANK YOU. Thank you for being such a beautiful example of love. Thank you for your AMAZING hospitality in the sweetest mid-west town of Galena! And Thank you for giving us an opportunity to witness and document your fun love! Congratulations to you and we wish you a lifetime of AMAZING adventures to come! XOXO!

Cathy and Jeff put together a sweet team of wedding professionals to help make their wedding day the Best Day Ever! Huge thanks to all of you! And extra HUGE thanks to Rodney… he came to my rescue when the clouds opened up and held my umbrella for me the whole time! We are so grateful!!! ;)

Chesapeake Bay Beach Club Annapolis Maryland Wedding Photos by Liz and Ryan (20)

Chesapeake Bay Beach Club Wedding – Andrea and Sean

Love, Stories Documented, Wedding // 18th May 2015

Ahh! Andrea and Sean’s Chesapeake Bay Beach Club Wedding is one that we will certainly never forget! As we arrived to meet up with Andrea and the girls, we received a call from Erin, the coordinator at the Beach Club. She told us there was an accident on the Bay Bridge and it was closed west bound. Ohh goodness. You never know what traffic will be like on the bridge (the only way to get between Annapolis and the Eastern Shore!) when all lanes are open… but, an accident with one way closed is sure to cause traffic challenges in both directions. Erin was just giving us the heads up so that we could be ready for flexibility! ;) (So grateful for their courtesy in contacting everyone immediately!!!)

Gratefully, we were with Andrea and Sean at this point and we could just go about our schedule as planned! (YAY for schedules with cushion room so that we can be flexible when unexpected things like this happen!) We went about the schedule as planned and as soon as we were ready to start the ceremony, we received word that many of Andrea and Sean’s guests were still stuck in traffic… including the Cantor! Big changes had to be made to the schedule at this point! Everything was delayed. The cocktail hour was bumped up before the Ceremony… Andrea and Sean did a first look that they had originally not planned for… and just before the introductions at the reception, the remaining few guests who had been in traffic for over 4 hours had arrived! Wahooo!

What a crazy day! And one that required incredible flexibility from everyone involved! Andrea and Sean handled it all with so much poise! Andrea is the bride that emailed us the week before their wedding with the good news that we were able to push the formal events of the reception back 5 minutes so that we could get pictures at sunset. ;) They were so organized with a minute by minute, thoroughly thought out, schedule of their dream day (you all know how much we LOVE that!). But you can imagine how hard this was for Andrea’s (self-proclaimed) type-A ness! ;) ! Ultimately, Andrea and Sean’s detailed planning allowed all of us to be more flexible when the unexpected happened! We were not stressed going in… so why would we stress now?!? ;) Instead of stressing, we were able to go with the flow as the day was meant to be! Andrea and Sean’s wedding day did not necessarily go as the timeline had planned, but we are totally confident their wedding day was exactly how it was supposed to be… a celebration of marriage, full of so much love and so much joy!

Andrea and Sean… thank you for your AMAZING smiles that set the mood for everyone on your special day! Thank you for being flexible and going with it… even when that seemed like the hardest thing to do in the world! ;) (I feel like you can check off one of your first big lessons in marriage… be flexible, even when it seems like the hardest thing to do in the world. You’ve got that down! ;) ) Your wedding was incredibly special and we are so honored to have been able to capture it! We are wishing you a lifetime of so much love and so much joy!

Thank you so much to all of the wedding professionals, who also can check flexibility off their list of traits to celebrate! ;)

Naval Academy Wedding Annapolis Maryland Governor Calvert House Military Wedding Photos by Liz and Ryan (29)

Annapolis Naval Academy Wedding | Sarah and Seth

Love, Stories Documented, Wedding // 15th May 2015

From the moment we first met Sarah and Seth, we knew their wedding was going to fun and super special for everyone involved! They were intentionally planning a celebration that would bring their family and friends together for a memorable weekend!

Sarah and Seth had a vision of what they wanted their wedding celebration to look like and they made it happen! It was so much fun to see them throw out ideas like having all of the guests parade from the ceremony at the Naval Academy to the reception at the Gov. Calvert House downtown and then MAKE IT HAPPEN! ;) … complete with bagpipes, of course! That was just one of the incredibly special moments from their day! How much fun to be able to turn around and see your favorite family and friends parading through Annapolis in celebration of your marriage!?!? Ohh and not to mention the random strangers on the streets who came out of the stores to congratulation Sarah and Seth! That was so much fun to witness!

Sarah and Seth’s beautiful Annapolis Naval Academy wedding was such a treat to be a part of! Their smiles were beaming ALL DAY and they radiated through every friend and family member who surrounded them! Sarah and Seth, we wish your AMAZING years of beaming smiles to come! So happy for you! Congratulations!!!

Also, just in case you missed it….. Sarah and Seth’s wedding announcement was in the New York Times! Whoop whoop! How sweet is that?

Thank you so much to all of the wedding professionals who came together to help make Sarah and Seth’s big day so special!

Desert Botanical Gardens Phoenix Arizona Anniversary Session Love Amazing Life Together (1)

Jen and Reuben Anniversary Session – Phoenix, AZ

Love // 13th April 2015

The Amazing Marriage Adventure has introduced us to so many absolutely AMAZING couples across the country! Jen and Reuben are one of those AMAZING couples who have a love that is awe-inspiring! We sat across from them at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona as we chatted about life and I could literally feel their love from across the table. That is special, my friends!

We are so grateful for Jen and Reuben’s beautiful example of love and their amazing support of Amazing Life Together! They were the BIG winners of the Anniversary Session we gave away as a part of the Amazing Life Together Indiegogo Campaign earlier this year! It was so much fun to meet up with them in these gorgeous gardens!

Check out their full amazing love story on the Amazing Life Together blog!!! Honestly, it will make your heart smile and encourage you to pour even more love into your significant other!

St Johns College McDowell Hall Randall Hall Annapolis Maryland Winter Wedding Snow Wedding and Engagement Photography Classic Romantic Photos by Liz and Ryan (23)

St Johns College Annapolis Wedding – Lauren & David

Love, Stories Documented, Wedding // 21st March 2015

Lauren and David described their dream wedding day to us as “warm, classic, and romantic.” I am not sure that they envisioned snow and such cold temperatures, but it didn’t matter because their love was all we needed to stay warm!

Lauren and David have this romantic connection that is undeniable! They planned their wedding day to reflect them as a couple and to share that love with their family and friends. They wrote their own vows that they already had framed to make sure they always stay at the forefront of their lives! Lauren and David’s wedding day was truly something special and an undeniable testament to the love they share together!

Lauren and David’s wedding was like a dream to photograph! Their love is beautiful and they are quite a gorgeous couple (Can we talk about Lauren’s incredible eyes?!?!) ;) ! The light was AMAZING and St. John’s College in Annapolis is truly a hidden gem! It was also dreamy because… Lauren was a bridesmaid in Darcy and Patrick‘s wedding that we photographed in 2013! It was like a family reunion getting to see Darcy and Patrick and their incredibly AMAZING family again! (Dorian, Darcy’s brother, was the pianist during the ceremony and then surprised Lauren and David by singing to them during the reception! WOW! Dorian- you are CRAZY talented!!! Thank you for sharing your gifts with us all and making Lauren and David’s wedding so extra special!)

We are so excited to share Lauren and David’s wedding with you all! That is an understatement! ;) Enjoy! And Lauren and David, you make our hearts sing! Thank you for blessing us with your incredibly special love!