Madison Wedding at the Overture Center :: Monica + Alex

Monica and Alex celebrated their wedding on a very sunny day in July in Madison, WI. Monica was a stunning bride and Alex (along with his groomsmen) were looking pretty sharp, as well.

Their ceremony took place at Luther Memorial Church in Madison and the rest of the evening was celebrated at the Overture Center. It was amazing to see how far friends and family had traveled from in order to witness two people who are dear to them say their "I do's".

Below are some of my top favorites from their day. Once all the photos have uploaded to my online gallery, I'll be adding a link at the end of this post - in case you want to see even more images!






this kid was a NON-STOP dancer... all night long.

can you see the bouquet - wayy up there?

a sweet shot, in the evening light.

Congratulations, Monica and Alex!

Jan and Joe's Wedding

It's always a little risky to have an outdoor wedding in Wisconsin - at any time of the year, really. But from a photographer's perspective, it is a risk that is totally worth taking because rain or shine your photos will be better!

Jan and Joe decided they would risk it. They got married at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison in mid-July and from the time they arrived there, the dark clouds just sat overhead... waiting to pour down rain on the beautiful little white-chaired seating area they had set up. But believe it or not the rain waited until about 5 minutes after they were announced as husband and wife. Crazy!

Overall, it was a great day that Kelly and I were so glad to be a part of. Joe and Jan took us around downtown Madison to some of their favorite hangout spots as a couple so we could capture the memories while they were dressed in their wedding attire. It was one of those weddings that we can look back on with great memories, even though we were only the photographers. =)

Thanks, Jan and Joe!

Charlotte and Mark's Wedding

Charlotte and Mark's wedding took place at CD & ME, a venue on the outskirts of the Chicago area. This is the second time we shot a wedding at this location, so it was really nice to know what to expect at the venue. I think they set the record with the largest wedding party (that we've ever shot) with 9 bridesmaids and 9 groomsmen, plus the bride and groom, so 20 total in the whole party! They were a fun crew.

Charlotte was a natural in front of the camera - I'm pretty sure we didn't have to tell her how to pose at all throughout the day! (She made our job easy.) And Mark (and his entire family, for that matter) are all really talented musicians who provided some pretty top-notch entertainment throughout the entire day.

Congratulations guys! I hope you enjoy the photos.

Kara and Paul's Engagement Session

Usually, I don't shoot an engagement session so near to the wedding date, but Kara and Paul recently upgraded from Package #2 to Package #3, so we wanted to be sure to get a session in before their wedding! And it's always great for me to be able to meet the couple prior to the actual wedding day.

We met up in Madison at the beautiful Allen Centennial Gardens on the UW-Madison Campus. The sun was shining exceptionally bright that day, so we tried to stay in shady spots as much as possible to stay cool, but we also wanted to make the most of what the gardens has to offer.

Thank you guys for a great session - I'll see you in a couple weeks!

Emily and Brad's Engagement Session

There are a lot of reasons why I miss living in Chicago; however, parking is not one of them. My wife and I used to live a block of the lake, and when we did, it wasn't uncommon to spend 30-45 minutes to find a parking spot that was a half mile from our apartment. So the story continued when I went to photograph engagement photos for Emily and Brad. It didn't help that we chose to do the session in Lincoln park right during the middle of the gay pride parade.

...But once we did all find parking the session went very smoothly. Brad and Emily are a great couple with a lot of interesting stories and it was fun to spend the afternoon with them and to share our Chicago life stories. They are getting married a little later this summer and their ceremony is going to take place in the Wisconsin Capital building Senate Chamber. I am pretty excited about shooting there and can't wait to see them again on their wedding day.

Andreas and Jen's Wedding

Just a little over a week after we drove the moving truck back to the Midwest I had the opportunity of shooting Andreas and Jen's Wedding. It was a small intimate wedding that took place in a beautiful mansion near downtown St Paul. After looking at the photos again I have to say that it was one of the more truly journalistic weddings I have photographed in a while. The great setting and natural flow of the day allowed me to capture a wonderful, memorable, and relaxed day as a unique story of two individuals. Thanks again Andreas and Jen for letting me be a part of your day.