Alexis, Chad, and their giant crew of friends and family gathered at the Civic Center for their bridal prep. This was SPECTACULAR news for me coming into this wedding, as pretty much every photographer in the area was a little stressed by the less than ideal weather caused by tropical storm Olga. The Civic Center has gorgeous large windows and is one of the very few areas in downtown Lima with coverage, so it would have been my suggestion even if we weren't already there! 

Alexis and her ladies (and sweet baby Barrett) were busy with hair and makeup in the conference room at the connected Wingate Hotel. They all buzzed around in their matching personalized hoodies while they munched on morning goodies, and sipped on mimosas. Alexis wore a gorgeous fitted, sleeveless, bateau necked gown. The dress was white with blush undertones and covered in gorgeous lace and bead details. The neckline and sides were shear, and the back was open. Alexis wore her hair curled, half up, and finished with a cathedral length veil with beaded trim. Her shoes were silver and covered in gems, she wore drop jeweled earrings, and a few pearl and jeweled bracelets. Her look was completed with a breathtaking bouquet from the talented Ivy Hutch on which she wrapped Chad's grandmother's handkerchief and attached charms with images of her grandparents and uncle. 

​Whenever people hear about how Mark and I met they usually tell me that it’s like a Hallmark movie, well it’s MY Hallmark movie for sure. To give you a little back story, every year my family goes to the candlelight vigil on Christmas Eve and every year we sit behind the same family, Mark’s family. Sometimes the love of your life is right in front of you...literally and you don’t even know it! So Christmas Eve 2015 is where our story begins. Now fast forward to May 13, 2017; Mark and I are having brunch with our parents, the first time that we all really got a chance to be together. When we were leaving my mom handed me a photo box and told me to open it in my car…SURPRISE! Mark is sending me on a scavenger hunt. The first clue sent me to a park where we had spent many afternoons taking walks, there I found his dad who gave me my second clue. This clue was taking me downtown where we had gone on quite a few dates, his mom was there waiting for me with my next clue. This clue was telling me to head to the location of our first date, my dad was sitting at the bar waiting for me with my final clue. I knew exactly where I needed to go next...to the church where we had met Christmas Eve 2015! I’m pretty sure you know what comes next…💍!! What made it even better was when he turned me around and I saw my mom and his parents had been hiding in the church doors! But, my favorite moment though wasn’t seeing the ring, or putting it on because I’m going to be honest with you...I didn’t even look at the ring until we were getting ready to leave. My favorite moment was sitting in the pews where we first met. Because it was in that moment that I could feel God smiling down on us, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that Christmas Eve Mass in 2015. Sitting back in those spots gave me chills because I knew that it was all part of God’s plan and that he sent me His most precious angel who got down on one knee and asked me to be his forever wife

Folks, when I worked with Veronica and Mark last year for their engagement session I knew this wedding would be nothing short of epic. They are both kind, loving, FUN, and detail oriented. This day was completely filled with every bit of those qualities. 

The couple's day started out surrounded with family and friends at the gorgeous Jameson Manor. The top floor belonged to the ladies and the bottom to the men. Each had a scrumptious buffet of food and beverages laid out beautifully for them to munch on.  Upstairs Veronica, who is talented in so many ways, tackled her hair and makeup while the Beauty by Jill team was working away on the rest of the crew. Downstairs the boys hung out, sang, sipped on bourbon and worked on getting their finishing touches on. 

Veronica wore an absolutely stunning sleeveless A-line gown with an open back, plunging V-neckline, and sheer bodice covered in lace that trickled down the skirt. The full skirt with several layers and a dramatic train, was full of lace, sequence, and bead details. I practically squealed with delight over her unique heels when I spotted them sitting near her details, they were champagne in color and  simple in design with the exception of a jeweled detail spiraling up the heel, and a diamond at the top of the spiral on the left shoe. She wore her hair down and loosely curled finished with a cathedral length veil placed near the crown of her head and a jeweled hair piece. 

The couple made sure to make all their friends and family felt their love with letters and gifts. Many laughs and tears were shared. One of my favorite moments was seeing Veronica in a full belly laugh after Mark had surprised her with confetti in his card. She explained that was a thing they do to people and she had thought of doing it to him but didn't...these two really are on the same brain wave! 

One of the final things we did before leaving for the church was have a special moment with Veronica and her dad. It was a sweet and tender moment seeing a dad and his little girl together moved with such emotion. 

​We met October 29th, 2016 at Levis Commons in Perrysburg, OH. It was a blind date, set up by our friends Emma and Brandyn. The funny thing about our blind date, was that Emma had been telling me about Jared long before the break-up with my previous boyfriend. (Somehow she knew!) After that first date, we have been inseparable since. We came into the relationship with the idea that we really didn't want to deal with anymore heartache. Jared is the kindest, sweetest, cutest, hardworking guy I have ever had the pleasure to know (besides my dad), let alone get to be with. We really compliment each others personalities well, as if God made us both with the other in mind. Although some may not believe it, we have never fought with each other and so far the ship has been smooth sailing.

I would describe Cassie + Jared's wedding as romatic and vintage. Oh. my. goodness. friends, Black Bird Farm was perfect for their day! This venue has been on my radar for awhile but I haven't been lucky enough to have a wedding out there till now. I swear this venue was made for Cassie.

The ladies took over the upper floor of the perfectly decorated farm house as they prepped for the day. Cassie wore a beautiful light and flowy sleeveless gown with blush undertones. Her hair was intricately swept into a gorgeous full braid, and topped with a fingertip veil with beautiful beaded trim. She wore rose gold heels, simple drop earrings, a vintage style pearl necklace, and her grandmothers ring. Speaking of rings....can we talk about Cassie's...oh my goodness I am in LOVE!!! Her ring is so unique and fits her in every way. Even Cassie's garter fit the romantic-vintage feel of the day with the off-white lace and the sweet blue button sewn on the top. Cassie's look was completed with a gorgeous cream and green bouquet with succulent accents. 

Jared and the boys used a room on the main floor for their prep. Jared wore a white shirt, cream tie and vest, blue velvet jacket, some ridiculously cool brown shoes, and a white fedora. 

Nope that isn't a typo, this ridiculously sweet couple will be one of my 2020 wedding couples and YES, they are both named Spencer. I'm not going to lie to you, it was a little difficult at first giving directions. I needed to figure out a way to make sure they knew who I was giving direction to. I tried out Spence, Miller, and I think I ended on Spencer M lol. Anyway...it turned out great! We started in downtown Ada then swung out to their future wedding venue. Spencer S. did throw Spencer M. under the bus (kinda like I am now) when I first got there and explained that picture taking was his least favorite thing << most guys feel that way Spencer M., you are not alone. BUT they did AMAZING and I can't wait for their BIG day <3  

Chloe is one of our senior models this year! She is also a family friend, and I photographed her sister's senior photos...so I was stoked when I heard she was joining our senior model program. Man, I love photographing Chloe, she falls right into posing, is super easy and obviously gorgeous <3 I can't wait for her second session coming up soon! 

 Will someone pinch me!! I swear I am dreaming because I get the most beautiful clients <3 Audrey and her gorgeous hair, eyes, and smile made my day!

​We met when we were 14 years old. Aidan was a sophomore in high school and I was a freshman. We met in marching band in high school and have been in mutual weirdness ever since. We recently celebrated our 8 year anniversary and are both each other’s first and last loves. There are a few things we disagree on like music and tv shows but the things we do agree on and the selfless things we do for each other has made every day of the last 8 years the best. Our love has traveled with us all over because we love to travel and adventure. We have gone all over Ohio and many other states across the country. We hope to continue to take it everywhere with us across the rest of the country and the world. It is these memories that we will cherish forever and will continue to keep our love growing like it has in the past.

Before I dive into describing the bridal prep, I want to touch on a couple things Ruby said in the love story... "each other's first and last loves"... [insert heavy swoon and all the heart eyes] I LOVE these two!! "Mutual weirdness ever since" I mean... isn't that the goal we all have? To find someone that you can share all your weirdness with and they look at you like "oh really, that's all the weirdness you got? Here, hold my beer. Let's do this life thing together." LOL I love this statement so much I may have to steal it for MY relationship description. 

Ok...let's talk bridal prep now! Ruby and her ladies had hair and makeup done off campus by Beauty by Jill, then hopped on over to the church to get their final touches on. They had sweet purple personalized robes to wear while they hung out. Right before Ruby got ready, the bridesmaids slipped into their gorgeous charcoal dresses that had plunging V-necklines and POCKETS!! I absolutely loved the choice of necklaces for the ladies. I thought it was very unique and capitalized on the fact that the front of the dress was already gorgeous so the main feature of the pearl necklaces draped down the back. Ruby wore a stunning off-white strapless A-line gown. The bodice was covered in lace that crept down onto the amazingly full skirt. This dress was perfect and made Ruby look like a princess floating across the ground. She wore beautiful jeweled heels and her grandmother's earrings, necklace, and ring. Ruby's hair was down and loosely curled. She wore a small headband and a knee length veil. 

​On our wedding day, Eric and I will have been dating for 10 years and 2 days. Our story begins WAY back when I was in eighth grade and Eric was a sophomore in high school. Eric first texted me "Hey friend", and I had no idea who it was. He eventually told me who he was, which lead to him telling me that he was texting me because his cousin Andrew had a crush on me! Ultimately, Eric and I actually ended up dating. We dated all throughout high school, college at The Ohio State University, and through his first years of his career while I attended graduate school at BGSU. After 8.5 years of dating, Eric proposed on the Oval on The Ohio State University's campus, a university that played a large role in the growth of our relationship. We are so thankful for the support of all our family and friends throughout our entire relationship, and we can't wait to begin our married life together!

Justine's parent's home was filled to the brim with beautiful ladies in cute robes buzzing around with personalized glasses for their mimosas when we arrived. The living room had been turned into a beauty salon and all hands were on deck to beautify Justine, and her massive crew! After hair and makeup were complete Justine slipped into her gorgeous high neck, sleeveless, lace covered sheath gown, and stunning silver heels. She wore her hair up elegantly with a jeweled comb side piece, and a fingertip veil with bead trim. Her jewelry was simple with jeweled drop earrings, a pearl  bracelet, and her grandmother's ring on her right hand. Justine was very detailed oriented and sprinkled special touches everywhere through out the day starting with their wedding date painted ever so tiny on her toe, their wedding date hand stitched on her dress by her mother,  a blue bow from her grandmother's dress sewn next to it, and her grandfather's ring attached to her bouquet. 

​We met at the beginning of 2016 because we have had the same group of best friends for most of our lives. Somehow, our paths never crossed before then. We became good friends almost immediately. We went our separate ways for a few months and our paths crossed again in October of 2016. By October 8th of 2016, my daughter and I were moved in with him, and we never left after that! It seemed crazy from the outside looking in, but we knew that this was something special and that we needed to be together. We got engaged in June of 2018 on a beach in Delaware and could not wait to begin our journey together. We plan to get married, build our family, and continue to grow in our love for each other.

Leigh, her friends, and daughter gathered at Leigh's mother's house for hair and makeup where they munched on fruit and drank mimosas. After hair and makeup, they made their way to the church to get all the finishing touches on. Leigh wore a fitted, off the shoulder long sleeved gown with lace accents and buttons up the back. Her hair was worn in long curls and topped with a fingertip, lace trimmed veil. She wore simple jewelry and elegant pointed toe, low heels with beautiful pearls wrapping her ankles. Her look was completed with her stunning bouquet of dahlias, roses, mums, thistles, and orchids with a buttoned wrap and her grandmother's ring tied around the stems. 

The couple exchanged gifts before the ceremony, and if their goal was to make each other cry (come on...we all know that is the goal) they knocked it out of the park. Sweet Raeleigh, the bride's daughter, delivered the gift to Nick. She stood next to him with this funny little grin looking up at him, then after a minute whispered... "I know you're trying not to cry" <3 

Hair and makeup took place at Lauren's mother's home. The ladies did their own hair and makeup all while dressed in the most adorable matching jammies. Then we hopped over to the church to get dresses and finishing touches on. Lauren wore a gorgeous A-line dress with beautiful detailed bodice featuring a deep plunging V neckline with a shear fabric covering. Her mother pulled her hair elegantly off her neck completing it with a headpiece that had been worn by both her sister and sister-in-law before her, and a stunning cathedral length veil with gorgeous lace and sequence trim. She wore beautiful drop earrings and a sweet necklace that belonged to her great-great-great grandmother. Lauren carried a beautiful bouquet made of white flowers, succulents, eucalyptus that were wrapped in a portion of her mother's wedding dress. 

Alex wore a navy suit, burgundy tie, and his grandfathers cuffs and tie pin. As soon as he arrived to the church the couple had a first touch and exchanged gifts, and I'm pretty sure if it was up to Lauren she would have held his hand till she had to walk down the aisle....you guys these two are soooo cute <3 

GUYS!!!! I get to photograph this insanely cute couple's wedding THIS WEEKEND!! We met up last month to have our pre-wedding meeting and snap some sweet photos of these two around their cute town and I am finally getting around to blogging their session. I had so much fun laughing with them and I know this weekend is going to just be just like last month but a gagillion times better at their ridiculously gorgeous venue.... Check back in next week to see their wedding highlight blog!

Bridal prep took place on the gorgeous Nazareth Hall campus for both the guys and the girls. Kelsey and her crew sat and chatted in the pretty pink bridal suite in their cute robes while sipping on fruity drinks. Kelsey's dress was UHMAZING! I picked it up off the hook and instantly blurted out, "how are you going to wear this?!" She is so tiny and this thing was HEAVY. It may have taken the whole crew to get her in and move her around all day but it. was. worth. it! Dang! Her dress had a plunging v-neckline, stunningly long train with buttons down the entire back, the upper back was shear with a beautiful jewel design, and the icing on the this gorge dress...pockets! Who doesn't love a dress with pockets?? Especially when you have sweet things to carry like your grandmother-in-law's handkerchief. Her hair was elegantly swept up and finished with a gorgeous hair piece and cathedral length beaded veil. She wore beautiful jeweled drop earrings, nude flats and on her bouquet, placed a locket given to her as a child for her wedding day (I had to take a photo of the little child scribbles because I could just imagine a little Kelsey doing that <3)  

Kylie and Ryan made arrangements for their bridal preperations to take place at the gorgeous Jameson Manor. Which makes this photographer so happy :) It is so nice to have everyone in one spot and tons of beautiful spaces. I feel like it makes the getting ready part of the day extra special <3 The ladies took over the 2nd floor with the talented Beauty by Jill team and the guys hung out in the corner room on the main floor. The house was full of smiles, laughs, and excitement as they all got ready. Kylie had so many special touches! There were personalized hangers for her bridesmaids, matching outfits and pineapple cups, her sweet kitty Dale came to visit, and for the first time ever I photographed a 3 generation wedding dress photo!  I held my breath as we pulled out her grandmother's gorgeous and delicate dress and hung it along side Kylie's. Love. Love. Love. this!!

Kylie wore a STUNNING V-neck beaded and lace fitted gown. The top back of her dress was shear lace that wrapped around to her sides and came to a V at her mid back. Buttons alternating with jewels cascaded from that point down the dramatic train. She wore her hair up elegantly at the nape of her neck topped with gorgeous beaded cathedral length veil.  Hidden and only occasionally seen was Kylie's bright red heels <3 red is her favorite color, which was not in the theme for the day but that didn't stop her from following her heart and I LOVED it! 

This has been such a fun year for the McKinleys! Not only did I just get to do an engagement session for one cousin, I got to do a maternity for my other cousin! <3 <3  What a fun season in life I am so happy for my family and it was an absolute joy to sweat my booty off with these gorgeous people at the gardens :D  I can't wait to meet baby Coe and I don't think Emily could look any more beautiful <3 

Bride Dakota's day started with her crew at Shama's Salon and Spa. The ladies arrived to The Stables looking glamorous in matching personalized robes with their hair and make up completed. Dakota wore a stunning bright white strapless gown with a  sweetheart neckline, lace on the bodice, a stunning beaded and jeweled belt, and layers of tulle with sequence accents to match her sparkling Kate Spade Keds. Dakota's overall look was simple elegance with her long beautiful hair softly curled with a romantic baby's breath and rose crown. 

A few years back I got to photograph another cake smash in the same place for Nola's big sis, so I was thrilled to come back to this beautiful location for another one! Sweet Nola gave me all the smiles, all the cake grabs, and all the tired cries lol. She was perfect and her outfit was so so adorable! Love Love Love watching families grow <3 

This ridiculously cute couple is one of my 2020 wedding couples and I couldn't be more excited! They were so sweet and fun as we explored some downtown alleys and played in a tall grassy field. I'm looking forward to photographing them again next June!! 

This session is extra special friends <3 Austin is my husband's cousin, and I am so excited for him and Jocelyn as they prepare for their wedding next year! I was so happy when they invited us down to visit them at their home in German Village. It is so nice to get out of little old Lima and explore. I literally walked one block from their porch and was like "we could do the whole session right here" lol. We didn't, we did walk around a bit, but boooooyyyyy was it hot and humid, we were all dripping (well except Jocelyn, she was perfect) so we opted to not walk all the way to the park as planned. But honestly we didn't need to, German Village is AMAZING <3 

A little backstory to the lightbulb image above; about two years ago Jocelyn had given Austin the lightbulb jar as a random gift and told him he could write all his brilliant ideas down on the scroll inside.  He was thinking about how he knew he wanted to marry her one day, so he decided to write it down and see how it felt..  he kept it in his drawer for the next two years. This past February they we were listening to "Harvest Moon" in their kitchen with their cats while drinking wine and he pulled the light bulb out. He explained to her how he’s always known. When she opened the lightbulb to see what it said inside, he got down on one knee with the ring.

OH. MY. GOSH!! Isn't that the sweetest story!!!! <3 <3 I am such a sucker for good love stories.

Let me introduce one of my 2020 couples!!! Kirstin and Zach hung out with me last month and have been super patient rock stars allowing my current weddings to cut the "Blog line" :) I tell you these two... once we got past that first weird 15-20 minutes, and when I say weird, it's not them being weird, it just takes some time to get used to snuggling and kissing in front of the camera on random public streets. Anyway once we got past that, these two were snuggling pros! Excited to see them tie the knot next June! 

We arrived to Brooke's house where she and her 11 bridesmaids were all a buzz with wedding preparations. There were girls in the most adorable matching personalized shorts scattered everywhere laughing and chatting, applying makeup and having hair done by the talented Guys and Dolls team.

Brooke wore a stunning lace and beaded gown with a V-neckline, shear tattoo back lined with buttons, and a beautiful train. Her hair was pulled elegantly up at the nape of her neck, adorned with a beautiful hair piece and finished with a beaded fingertip veil tucked up underneath. 

Amy and her crew got ready on site at Shady Brook Acres in their bridal cottage. As we arrived makeup and hair was in full swing and there were fans galore trying to keep everyone cool on what was going to be an obviously hot day! It wasn't long after I grabbed Amy's details and started capturing these special little things that I had acquired an audience. Amy's daughter and one of her daughters-to-be joined me and boy were they sweet and fun to chat with. My favorite convo bit was about Amy's ring when her daughter asked if Todd had picked that out for her and said, "Ya, Todd is ALWAYS doing nice things for her" <3

Amy's dress was gorgeous y'all! She brilliantly opted for a dress with no train which was perfect for a toasty outdoor wedding. Her gown had a deep V neckline, keyhole back, and beautiful beading all over the bodice. Her hair was elegantly swept up and finished with a delicate flower hair piece. 

These high school sweethearts were sent to me by Ruby's cousin (THANKS Shea!!) They traveled down to me from Toledo and boy did we have fun! I love how they laugh together, act goofy together, make random silly faces, and are just dang cute <3 They were seriously down for anything and even followed me into a field of waist high grass as I was having minor panic attacks lol. I didn't used to be this way but it felt the same as when I am in water that I can't see my feet in! I think if I had worn more than shorts and flip flops it may have been different, but every step and every time my bag rustled the grass behind me I thought I was about to be eaten lol. I am so excited for this couple to get married this October! It's going to be such a fun time <3 

On opposite sides of the church, both Monica and Chris prepped for their wedding day. The ladies chatting away while applying makeup, and the guys were hanging out being guys while passing the time on teeny tiny purple chairs in a kid's classroom :) 

Chris was dressed all in black except his olive green tie and suspenders. His  groomsmen were similarly dressed but wore a white tie instead. The littlest guy of the bunch was perfectly dressed for his duties of ring security, complete with a brief case and ID badge! 

Monica wore a gorgeous satin gown with beautiful embroidery and bead details. Her makeup was classically beautiful and her hair was worn down in loose curls. She wore a simple finger tip veil, diamond stud earrings and gold wedges. 

The bridesmaids wore different dresses all in the same olive green coloring.  Tying everyone together was the beautiful and detailed Mehndi adorning their hands.