Stacy and Kyle are an amazing couple who I just really enjoy being around.   I love becoming friends with my brides and grooms – their wedding day becomes more and more personal to me as I get to know them.   And yes, I have teared up quite a few times during the first sight.   This time was no different.   I so loved being a part of their wedding day at the  Nunnlea House in Louisville.    Here are some of my favorites of the day.   I literally mean ’some’ – if I showed all of my favorites, I might as well just show the whole wedding.

We started off the the day at Studio 151 Salon, which by the way is one of my new favorite Louisville salons.  I had them do my hair a few weeks later and I loved it.   As soon as I walked in, Stacy was so relaxed and just enjoying the day.    She started asking me about my vacation and my ministry – it was at that point, I knew she felt completely comfortable with me and that I was a friend.   Everything was so laid back, I had to remember to take photos.  Just kidding.. I couldn’t stop taking photos.   

Then we were off to the Nunnlea House to get ready for the First SIGHT!!!!   AND GIRLS HER DRESS WAS TO DIE FOR!!!!   I don’t even care that I used bad english.. it was that pretty!! 

Seriously Stacy – you are gorgeous!!

I always give the bride and groom a few minutes after their first sight to be alone.   It’s one of the few moments they will get when they can be absolutely alone and some things are just too sacred to stand there snapping photos.    So, I always offer couples a few minutes to just be together on the most important days of their lives.    Then we are ready to take photos again.  

LOL.  I love how none of the guys tried to grab the garter.  I don’t know if it was because the garter had UK  on it or because they are afraid of commitment.  I guess we will never know :)

Just a little FYI about Kyle… he is kind of a dancing machine.  It’s a good thing he was the groom, because I have tons of pictures of him.  Some of my favorites are when he did the Mrs. Doubtfire routine!   AWESOME

This group was so fun.. it was all I could do to not join them!!   Even Marilyn Monroe showed up :)  Stacy and Kyle literally stole the show whenever they danced.   They were so funny.   I loved watching everyone just enjoy them.   Stacy and Kyle – congratulations and may you enjoy years and years of happiness.    You both were so fun to get to know.

The two best words I have to describe Erin and Matt’s wedding day is  – beautiful chaos.  Erin and Matt experienced the most memorable wedding that I have seen to date.   They came all the way from Los Angeles, California so that they could have their wedding near family in Louisville, KY.   Erin planned the most gorgeous rustic wedding at Yew Dell Gardens, complete with an outdoor dinner served under the trees to wildflowers in tin cans lining the aisle of ceremony.   I was there early and took full advantage of the time to capture the scenery. 

Seriously – I was antsy to get the pictures of all the beauty and details that she had planned for her outdoor wedding.  The day started out wonderfully sunny but the wedding planners kept close watch on the weather because there were threats of a storm brewing.   Let me just tell you, Erin surrounded herself with a phenomenal team of vendors for her wedding.   You will hear more of how wonderful they were later.   Since the couple was coming in from California, I didn’t have an opportunity to get to know them face to face until that day.   I met Matt first and I noticed he was a man of quiet confidence and brought a gentle and calming presence (which came in handy later that day), plus he was very intentional and uplifting to those around him.  Just a great guy to be around.   Erin was just plain gorgeous!  I knew she had a dancer background.. and you know how dancers look.. so elegant and confident.  Both of them had so many good friends there  – it was easy to see why.   I liked them both right away and was excited for their day to begin.     

Erin got ready in the Castle. 

Just in knowing her a short time, I could tell how much poetry and prose meant to her.   The readings she selected for her wedding were so thought out and poetic.   Everything she did and chose to do had meaning.   She wore her passionate and tender heart on her sleeve – you could tell she loves deeply with all of herself – Matt is a lucky man.  So, I noticed that Erin was extremely comfortable in front of the camera.  With every click she would change her look with a slight tilt of the head and not only that, every shot looked great.   So I commented, “Wow, you are extremely comfortable in front of the camera. You look fabulous!”  To which she quietly and humbly replied, “Well… it’s kind of my job.”  I said, “Oh, what do you do?”   She said, “Well, I am an actress.  And I am pretty excited that I just landed the Oil of Olay campaign.”   My jaw dropped.  I thought, What?!!!! And all the sudden I felt nervous that I wouldn’t do a good job.  She is used to magazines and doing commercials and I am a photographer in Kentucky.   And Matt.. well, I found out he is a film maker and is known for doing documentaries.   If they weren’t just so darn likeable and humble.. I would have been shaking and sweating all night wondering if I was up to par.   But then I remembered that they chose me to do their wedding and they are just so great who could be nervous.   Just for fun, here is her living social commercial, I think the Olay one is coming out soon or I would link that one too.    But seriously, doesn’t she make a beautiful bride!!!Shortly after this everything changed!   You have to realize with someone as passionate and creatively artistic as Erin – she, of course, had perfectly planned the day down to the letter.   When everything did not go as planned – this is when the beautiful chaos began.   The wedding planners who had been monitoring the weather all day interrupted the pre-ceremony  photos to tell us we had to get the outdoor ceremony going before the storm came.   I looked up and this was overhead.  Let me just say that Joanna and Libby from Essential Details timed this perfectly – a few minutes later and we would have been running for shelter.  They were absolutely wonderful and kept everything seemingly smooth though chaos was all around us.   Their quick thinking gave plenty of time for guests to get under a roof before this monster storm came.   Sometimes, I wonder why things happen – why a beautiful outdoor wedding with amazing details would be completely overhauled by a treacherous and damaging storm.     For a woman like Erin who had perfectly planned this day to have all of her work to be undone and out of her control – to be far from what she envisioned   – I admit I felt disappointment with her.   I found myself praying for her with each discouraging problem she faced.   Before i continue, I want to show the original design of the day.   After the ceremony, the small intimate group attending her wedding were to have an elegant dinner underneath the trees.   It’s gorgeous, is it not?    After the dinner, the original plan was for the guests to go to the barn for dancing and mingling and cake.   This was not what happened.   Shortly after the storm started, it wiped all the power out.   This is when chaos turned beautiful and people rose to the occasion.   Wiltshire Pantry rocked this out.   They set up the beautiful dining arrangement only to take it apart not once but two times.    When the power went out, they quickly found a gas stove to finish cooking their elaborate meals.  All of their crew were soaking wet trying to make everything as beautiful as possible for the couple.   I will highly recommend Wiltshire Pantry - they truly went above and beyond and stayed way later then hired to make sure the rest of the night went well.   I always feel touched when I see people who will serve other people in that way.   (yes, I am tearing up right now thinking about it.)    The crew from Essential Details worked right alongside them.   When I see vendors like this, I can’t help but feel glad to be a part of this business who make their service not about a paycheck but about people.   Another awesome aspect of the night, were Erin and Matt’s guests – their friends and family who laughed and stuck it out no matter what curve ball was thrown their way.  They went with the flow and still enjoyed hanging together in the dark.     Finally, I think the most beautiful part of this day in the midst of chaos was the couple themselves.   I don’t know if you know this about me – but I am a bit of a perfectionist.   I empathized as I imagined what it would be like to have all my plans for my wedding be changed.   Ugh.. Can you feel it too?   Most girls dream of this day from when they are little girls and for it to not go as you had hoped, well.. it would be so heartbreaking.   But it wasn’t – this wedding day was beautiful.   I believe made even more beautiful in the midst of everything going wrong.   Think about it.. marriage is far from perfect.   We are after all, imperfect people and often in life.. we are disappointed with things that go wrong.    And most things are out of our control (though, we may still try to control it- lol).     In the midst of chaos, this couple proved they could stand the test.  They rolled with it, they problem solved, they remembered the most important part was relationship and the night became beautiful once more.  Though, it was dark – they shone brightly.  Yes, i know that sounds cheesy.. but forgive me, nights like this make cheesy sayings ring true.    Here are my favorites from the rest of their night.  

Though the rain stopped, the power never came back!  Fortunately, the awesome caterers and cooks were able to make the dinner happen on the deck.  

And then this happened.What did I tell you?  Beauty from Chaos!!! 

This cup has special significance as it was used at her great great grandparents wedding to toast at their wedding and by every generation after.

Because the power was out and this lively crew still wanted to celebrate, they all headed to 21c museum hotel to continue the party!!

Erin serenaded Matt :).  Funny and sweet!!

Thanks Erin and Matt for letting me be a part of the beautiful chaos!!  I will never forget your day!!