Erin + Ingrid: 10 Years of Making the World Better Together

Erin + Ingrid celebrated their 10 year anniversary surrounded by friends and family from across the globe

These two have had some amazing adventures both together and separately in the last 10 years! They met and eloped in 2015, the year same-sex marriage was legalized, and have spent a significant amount of their decade-long marriage abroad, working in Russia, the Ukraine, and other places along the way! After 10 years together, they decided that they wanted to have a belated wedding reception to celebrate their union with friends and family and adorable puppy Butter (now more than ever it’s important to celebrate queer joy and queer love) and so the idea was born to host the reception in their adopted hometown of Madison, WI!

The morning of the reception, we met at the Dane County Farmer’s Market to take photos with the couple’s close friends and so that folks from out of town could enjoy the farmer’s market (yay Stella’s hot spicy cheese bread!).

The reception itself was held later in the day at the gorgeous Goodman Community Center Iron Works building, and featured delicious all-vegetarian food and a picture-focused activity for guests to find pictures of themselves on the cocktail tables and write good wishes to the couples on the backs before placing the photos in a photo album (I LOVE this activity in place of a guest book!). The tunes were great (as they always are with Kuhl Entertainment) and there was so much joy and love to go around it made me a little weepy! (I’m a crier, what can I say?)

Enjoy the photos of this fun and meaningful 10 year anniversary wedding celebration, and help me wish Erin + Ingrid a great big happy anniversary!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center, Ironworks Building

DJ: Kuhl Entertainment (Greg & Ace)

Catering: Goodman Community Center

Em + Sam: A Modern Wedding Celebration at Goodman Community Center

Em + Sam had a beautiful modern one year anniversary wedding celebration!

I’m not much of a “fate” sort of person, that is until I hear a meet-cute story like Emily + Sam’s! These two both went to UW - Eau Claire at the same time (same dorm even!) but never crossed paths. Flash forward to a Live on King Street concert many years ago, and the person standing in front of Sam at the concert had a GIANT bug land on them, and Sam snapped a pic of the giant bug (cuz giant bug) but didn’t think much of it until sometime later when he was swiping on Tinder, and a friend found someone who seemed like they’d be a good match based on interests, music taste, etc., and it turns out that Sam recognized Emily as a person who had been in the background of the giant bug photo from the concert (the bug had landed on one of Emily’s friends as it turned out) so Sam swiped right, and the rest is history!

While the wedding was originally planned for 2024, life got wild and it ended up getting rescheduled to 2025, but Em + Sam didn’t want to wait to be married, so they got married officially in March of 2024, and then planned this epic celebration for their friends and family for their one year anniversary!

The wedding celebration day was so fun, and filled with so many awesome details, like an album wall (great taste in music is right!), a tiny 3-tiered tower of cheese to use in place of cake for Emily’s part of the cake cutting (she doesn’t care much for cake, but what red-blooded Wisconsinite doesn’t like cheese?), to the live band (Em’s dad’s band, Sage!) that played during the reception! It was a joyful, modern, and laid back wedding day that rocked!

Help me wish Sam + Emily a BIG congrats, and enjoy the photos!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center Brass Works Building

Officiant: Jeanie Weiss (friend)

Hair & Makeup: AB Onsite Beauty

Bridal Gown: David’s Bridal

Band: Sage

Florist: My Cotton Branch

Desserts: Susie Danielsen

Catering: Goodman Community Center

Wedding Coordinator: Dave Tatro with Goodman Community Center

Joel + Justin: A Maximalist Wedding for the Ages

Joel + justin combined their love of food and their love of art to make for one absolutely spectacular wedding celebration!

These two met like most couples do these days; online. But their love story is anything but average, and they brought that energy into their wedding day in a huge way!

Joel + Justin are both foodies who love to travel. They wanted to throw themselves into creating the perfect celebration of them as a couple and their friends, family, and chosen family! You wouldn’t believe all of the details these two thought of unless you were there, but I’m going to try my hardest to give you some highlights! Justin made all of the hors d'oeuvres for their guests himself, showing a wide range of different flavors and cuisines, and Joel made all the desserts (of which there were multiple options that all look phenomenal)! These two also handmade all of their wedding favors, which continued the food theme, and had little goodie bags that their guests could fill with tasty treats from the favors table, including honey, sourdough starters, cotton candy, dog treats, flavored salts, ramen mixes, and more! I feel like these two need to open their own Rose Apothecary but for food ASAP!

Other non-food related touches include Joel’s artistic flair showing itself in a myriad of ways! These two had an art installation in the foyer of Goodman Community Center’s Brass Works building that doubled as Joel + Justin’s living room, complete with record player, antique TV, strategically placed books and chairs, and the piece de resistance, a painting Joel is making of he and Justin! Each centerpiece was also a maximalist enthusiast’s dream, being themed on different regions of the world, and pulling in so many fun elements! A picture is worth a thousand words, so make sure to check them out below because seeing is believing!

Joel + Justin’s dogs, Gus and Bobo, were there to celebrate with them too, for photos before the wedding, and to walk down aisle with them, and even participate in the ceremony (mostly by interrupting very cutely). Speaking of ceremony, Justin + Joel did their own spin on a tea ceremony, in which they served tea to their wedding party and Joel’s mother, and later served to the entire group of guests during the first toast!

Last but not last, these two folded over 1000 paper cranes to use as place-card holders and as a beautiful backdrop for formal photos!

“We [were] striving to have a wedding that [was] out of the box and different than any wedding that anyone [had] ever been to before. We as a couple have always said that we are anything but normal and we wanted our wedding/reception to reflect that. By utilizing our individual skills, we added touches of ourselves throughout the day.” - Joel

Enjoy the amazingness that is Joel + Justin’s wedding , and help me wish them a BIG congratulations!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center Brass Works Building

Officiant: Shoobie Shirley (friend of the couple)

Jewelry: Wedding Ring Store

Suits: NL Suits

DJ: Midwest Sound

Florist: DIY by Joel

Desserts: DIY by Joel (donuts from Greenbush Bakery)

Appetizers: DIY by Justin

Catering: Upstairs Downstairs Catering

Dog Handler: Kibbles & Kisses

Decor Rentals: Velvet Rentals

Erin + Rachel In Their Gayest Performance Yet

Rachel + Erin had a introvert’s dream wedding

A not overwhelming number of people, board games, crafts, ice cream & cookies, a t-shirt toss instead of a first dance, chill vibes, etc., which is to say, it was a perfect day for these two! A friend even made Rachel (they/them) and Erin (she/they) the most amazing wedding day poster in the style of old cinemascope films that touted this wedding being their gayest performance yet, which is honestly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen (I would absolutely hang this poster at my house and I’m not even in it, that’s how awesome it is)!

This was our last wedding of the 2023 wedding season and I was thrilled to end on such a high note! Help me wish these two a big congratulations on getting gay married, and enjoy the photos!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center

Officiant: Erin’s Mom

Hair Salon: Thorps

Wedding Bands & Rings: Jeweler’s Workshop

Rachel’s Dress: H&M

Dried Flower Arrangements: Moon Flower

Floral Centerpieces: Goodman Community Center TEENworks program

Desserts: Cookies by Bloom Bake Shop and Ice Cream from The Chocolate Shoppe

Catering: Goodman Community Center

Emma + Daniel: A Fall-Themed Wedding at the Goodman Brass Works Building

We were so excited to photograph Emma + Daniel’s wedding in the historic Goodman Center Brass Works Building!

I have been wanting to photograph a wedding in the Brass Works building ever since the Goodman Center renovated it, but COVID had other plans. It turns out it was well worth the wait though, because Emma + Daniel’s wedding was an absolutely perfect wedding day, and a great way to send off our 2021 wedding season!

All of the little personal touches that Emma + Daniel poured into their wedding day were wonderful! Daniel made all of the vases that sat on each of the tables and Emma designed the floral decor herself! With Daniel being a trumpet player, there were no shortage of musical guests playing for different parts of the wedding day, and the whole thing was such a lovely and sweet celebration of these two and their commitment to each other.

Help me wish Emma + Daniel a big congratulations, and enjoy the photos of their magical fall wedding day!

-Sam

Here are the vendors (with links) that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Goodman Center Brass Works

Officiant: Phillip Cross (Dan's Uncle)

Wedding Band: Orchesta de Latin Pride (Sound equipment courtesy of Dan's uncle Fred)

Wedding Gown: The Wedding Shoppe (Wilderly bridal collections)

Groom’s Tux: Men's Wearhouse

Bridal Jewelry: Family Heirlooms

Hair Stylist: Brynn The Styling B

Wedding Party Attire: Mother of the maid of honor made the bridesmaid dresses and Dan’s mother made the Groomsmen’s vests & ties

Florals: K&A Greenhouse (floral decor, designed by the bride), Bre Cotter (bouquets), Suella Moran (boutonnieres)

Wedding Desserts: The House Cafe & Bakery

Catering: Working Class Catering

Terry + Leah: A Rainbow Wedding at the Goodman Community Center

Terry + Leah had a happy and colorful wedding day, complete with Ring Bear!

Terry + Leah, like a lot of folks getting married during the pandemic, decided to do things a little differently on their wedding day. They had a very intimate ceremony in March, and are planning a bigger reception celebration in October.

Small and intimate doesn’t mean boring though, and Terry + Leah’s wedding day was fun and joyful, and full of little touches (beautiful lights and rainbow accents and so many sequins!!!!) and big touches, like having a Ring Bear (I still giggle about this every time I think about it)!

Congratulations, Terry + Leah, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you for round two in October!

-Sam

Here are the wedding vendors (with links where available) that helped make their wedding day wonderful!

Ceremony Venue: Goodman Community Center

Officiant: Eldonna Hazen, Senior Minister, First Congregational UCC

Wedding Jewelry: Jewelers Workshop

Hair Stylist: Serena of Serena's Hair Now

Brunch Catering: Lily Kilfoy

Cupcakes: Daisy Cafe and Cupcakery

Andy + Jake: A Very Elemental Wedding

The elements of Fire and Earth played a big role in Andy + Jake’s wedding

Jake sees Andy’s personality as perfectly representing the element of fire and Andy sees Jake as a grounding influence and representing Earth . They had vests that were the color of their element, and they each chose to give a piece of themselves to other in their wedding ceremony, to symbolize their union. Andy’s ring is green on the inside showing that Jake is symbolically transferring that Earth element to him, and Jake’s is red to show that Andy is giving some of that fiery spirit to Jake. I love the thoughtful symbolism in not only the bands but in the very idea of marriage being a union where you give a part of yourself to another to help them, to balance them, and they do the same for you.

We were able to brave the cold (and the snow flakes!) to take some photos outside, and throw around the rugby ball for a bit, which is a passion for both Andy and Jake, and then we stepped back inside for the wedding ceremony and celebration!

Andy + Jake’s wedding day was full of love, joy, and donuts, which is just about the best kind of wedding day I can think of. I’m so glad I was able to celebrate with these two!

—Sam

Here are the wedding day vendors that helped make Andy + Jake’s wedding awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center

Officiant: William Annis

Wedding DJ: Spike Bolen

Wedding Bands: Embr

Wedding Donuts: Greenbush Bakery

Catering: Working Class Catering

Krystal + Jake: A Lego-Themed Madison Winter Wedding

Doesn’t this wedding seem wonderfully Frozen-inspired?

Krystal+Jake had a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L winter wedding day. It was cold as all get out, but so worth it, because just look at these first look photos and wedding party photos in that pretty February snow! Also, check out Krystal’s awesome use of a veil-turned-wedding-cape cuz holy smokes. <3

These two sweethearts also let us throw so much glitter at them to get that fun confetti shot, laughed and celebrated with their friends and families, and danced the night away. We loved how affectionate Krystal + Jake were with each other all day. They were so fun to photograph!

We are so honored to have been able to celebrate with Krystal+Jake, and take a look at their wedding day below!

—Sam

Here are the vendors (with links) that helped make this wedding awesome!

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center

Officiant: Kayla Francis (friend of the couple)

Bridal Gown: Vera’s House of Bridals

Groom Tux: Men’s Wearhouse

Wedding Jewelry: TQ Diamonds

Wedding DJ: Aaron Jai

Florist: DIY

Wedding Cupcakes: HyVee

Catering: Blue Plate Catering

Shannon + Chris: A Sweet Wedding for Two Adventurous Spirits

These two adventurers planned a wedding and an international move all at the same time!

Shannon + Chris met at Greenbush Bar in the spring of 2015 and hit it off quickly, bonding over being in the 99.9 percentile of height and a shared love of pizza, the outdoors, and getting in the last word. Chris loved Shannon's enthusiasm and sense of adventure, and Shannon thought Chris was endearingly goofy and smart, despite finding out that his basketball loyalties lay with with the Kentucky Wildcats (woo hoo!) and that he somehow despised chocolate. They continued dating that summer and it was full of rock climbing, concerts on the square, and visits to the zoo.

They also love traveling, and have traveled to 12 countries together - Watching the macaques in Gibraltar, sea fishing in Iceland, climbing a via ferrata in the Pyrenees, remaining civil over 2,900 km across Spain in a tiny smart car, and swaying around a mid-summer bonfire in Latvia. But it was right here in Madison, on a walk through Allen Centennial Gardens, that Chris asked Shannon to marry him.

These two adventurers also took on the adventure of moving to Bristol, England shortly after their wedding (the next week in fact), and I’m sure wherever their curious and adventurous spirits take them will be filled with love and joy! :)

Check out the photos from Shannon + Chris’ fun and intimate Goodman Community Center wedding and join us in wishing them the best with their move!

—Sam

Here are the kickass wedding vendors (with links) who helped make this wedding wonderful!

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center

Officiant: Court Commissioner Daniel Floeter

DJ: Erin Crowley with Musical Memories

Bridal Gown: Vera’s House of Bridals

Groom’s Tux: Lucca Menswear

Engagement Ring: The Diamond Center

Groom’s Wedding Band: TQ Diamonds

Hair Stylist: Thorp’s

Wedding Party Attire: Vera’s House of Bridals

Florist: Daffodil Parker (except for DIY centerpiece greenery)

Event Coordinator: Samantha Hintz with Wishful Weddings

Wedding Cake: Carl's Cakes

Catering: Working Class Catering (Goodman Community Center)

Decor Rental: A La Crate