Jennifer + George: An Intimate Wedding in the Olbrich Conservatory

Jen + George’s colorful, intimate ceremony was stunning!

And it was also giving major unicorn vibes thanks to the colorful outfits of the couple and their friends and family!

I love small, intimate ceremonies, and this one was so sweet and lovely with such attention to detail! Help me wish these two a hearty congratulations! We are so honored to have been able to celebrate with them!

—Sam

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

Ceremony Venue: Olbrich Conservatory

Officiant: Christopher Kalscheur

Wedding Jewelry: Black Diamonds of New York

Bridal Gown: Fairy Tongs

Florist: My Dinosaur Dreams

Erica + Matt: An Intimate Wedding Day At Home

This beautifully intimate wedding day was the perfect way to ring in the new year

Erica + Matt chose to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a small, intimate wedding day with their closest family and friends, and their kiddo Yvonne. It was everything that is sweet and good about weddings that I love, and I’m particularly fond of weddings that are so true to the personalities of the couple! I’m so, so happy to have been able to celebrate with these two! Help me wish them a big congrats!

—Sam

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

Wes + Sam: A Gorgeous Fall Wedding Day

Who knew what hating pink starbursts would lead to…

Sam + Wes met on Hinge, where Sam’s answer to the “unpopular opinion” question (that he hated pink starbursts) kicked off an intriguing conversation that turned into a lasting commitment, that turned into a marriage to celebrate that commitment! Which is absolutely amazing (even if I love pink starbursts).

The wedding day they planned with the help of their families was phenomenal and had so many sweet touches, including a guest “book” that was actually a phone (where you could leave a message for the couple!), a chest full of blankets in case folks got cold, an outdoor dance floor under the stars, and fake mustaches for the wedding party!

While the day started off rainy, it cleared up just in time for Sam + Wes’ ceremony. The wedding day itself (both ceremony and reception) was held at the property of Wes’ mom and stepdad, and it was the perfect backdrop for such a joyful celebration.

Help me wish these two a big congratulations, and enjoy the photos!

—Sam

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

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Wes’ Mom & Stepdad’s House

Officiant: Angela Santanni (friend)

Hair & Makeup: Rooted Culture Salon

DJ/Band: William Chorski

Catering: Blue Plate Catering

Wedding Coordinator: Brooke with Your Day, Your Way

Decor Rentals: Tables/chairs/bar/dinner service rentals from Event Essentials; Tent and Dance floor rentals from Madison Party Rental

Traci + Nicci: Wedding Portraits in a Wooded Wonderland

Traci + Nicci wanted to do their wedding portraits in a place that is very special to them

So we headed out to Donald County Park in Mt. Horeb to stop at some of their favorite spots along a trail they used to hike and run when they lived in Madison. It was a gorgeous day, and the spots they picked couldn’t have been more beautiful. Their actual wedding was just a few days before, which was an intimate gathering of close friends and family that they hosted at their house, but they knew they wanted their wedding portraits at the park, and I’m so, so glad they did, because it was just perfect! These adventuring folks climbed trees and rocks and braved all kinds of things to get fun photos, and it was such an honor to get to celebrate with these two!

Help me wish these two a big congratulations!!!

—Sam

Cassie + Luke: A Halloween-Themed Costume Party Wedding

A fun and sweet (literally) wedding day celebration!

Cassie + Luke met at The Bodgery (Madison’s makerspace) and bonded over a shared love of learning new things, making stuff, tabletop games, and a good sense of humor (love a good “yes, and”!)

Their wedding day was halloween-themed, complete with a trick-or-treat dessert bar, and adorably spooky accents, as well as games and crafts! Cassie + Luke also handmade each of the terrariums for each table, showcasing their love of making things, and, it was a costume party, which I love!

It was such a beautiful and joyful wedding day, and I’m so happy to have been able to celebrate with these two and their closest friends and family!

Help me wish them a big congratulations and enjoy the pics!

—Sam

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

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Red Oak Shelter and Devil’s Lake State Park

Jewelry: Engagement Ring by Aurora Designer; Wedding Bands by Lee Dorn Jewelers

Bride’s Outfit: Dress by Holy Clothing; Armor by ArtisansDAzureLARP

Groom’s Outfit: Atelierbacodaseta

Band: Fermata Caesura

Desserts: Madison Sourdough

Catering: North & South

Terri + Megan: An Intimate and Joyful Queer Wedding Celebration

Believe it or not, These two had not one but two failed proposal attempts

Megan (they/them) had planned to propose to Terri (she/her) on a gorgeous waterfall hike in Iceland, but COVID ruined those plans, and then less than two months later, Terri planned to propose to Megan at Disney World, but plans were thwarted by a hurricane! After all the plans gone awry, they both proposed to each other sweetly tucked away in their house and then began work on planning a small, intimate celebration in September!

Their wedding day was filled with personal touches, most importantly a beautiful memorial to family members who have passed, including Megan’s brother, and Terri’s father. Other personal touches include their dogs, Lars and Apollo walking each of them down the aisle. Megan gave Terri a beautiful gold bracelet that contained a locket with pictures of Terri’s dad. Terri gave Megan gorgeous custom cufflinks with their various furry friends’ faces. Megan made Terri’s bouquet and their own boutonniere out of pages from their favorite book! (The book is House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, which is one of my favorite books also!) Megan’s dad wore a tie Megan colored for them back in 1994 and he also made the s’more flavored wedding cake (which was delicious)! Megan + Terri had custom cocktails made for the celebration, and for their wedding favors? They hand-picked different books for each of their guests and wrote a person inscription in all of them.

It was a beautiful and deeply personal wedding day with so much love, laughter, and joy. I am so, so grateful to have been able to celebrate with these two and their family and closest friends! Help me with them a big congratulations!

—Sam

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

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Air BnB

Hair Stylist: Union Hair Parlor

Bridal Jumpsuit: Strike Bridal Bar

Mx. Suit: Bindle & Keep

Custom Cocktails: Mint Mark

Haylee + Julia: A Chic Modern Wedding at Barnwood Events

These two had a beautiful wedding day!

It was a gorgeous day (absolutely perfect weather) for an equally gorgeous wedding celebration for Julia + Haylee. The wedding was chill and simultaneously chic, and I am so excited to share these photos with you all! I’m even more excited and honored to have been able to celebrate with these two. Help me wish them a big congratulations!

—Sam

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

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Barnwood Events

Catering: Buck & Honey’s

Paige + Aaron: A Wedding Celebration with a Theme of "Finally"

Paige + Aaron had a small and romantic celebration with their closest family

And they laughingly joked that the theme of their wedding is “Finally”, because they’ve been together for 10 years, after meeting in high school Spanish class.

These two are so sweet and smiley (and like me, apparently they both cry quite a bit at weddings) and it was an amazingly lovely wedding day!

Help me with them a big congratulations and enjoy the photos!

—Sam

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

Ceremony Venue: Rock County Courthouse

Portraits Venue: Rotary Botanical Gardens

Officiant: Jodi Timmerman

Jewelry: Kessler’s Diamonds

Bridal Gown: David’s Bridal

Groom Tux: Men’s Wearhouse

Florist: Floral Expressions

Drea + Doug: A Pokemon-Themed Wedding at the Bur Oak

Drea + Doug had a perfect mix of fancy and laid back for their wedding day!

With lots of DIY touches and fun ideas (like the Table Dash, which was a blast), as well as all the Pokemon references you never knew you needed from a wedding, these two put together an amazing shindig!

After 10 years together, they wanted their celebration to be distinctly them, and for their closest friends and family to be able to party with them in style. The Bur Oak was a wonderful backdrop for their big day, and I loved seeing all the laughing and shenanigans (that’s how you know it’s good party)!

Help me wish these two a great big congratulations, and I am so excited I got to celebrate with these two!

—Sam

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

Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Bur Oak

Catering: Beef Butter BBQ

Wedding Coordinator: Ashley with The Bur Oak

Marshall + Francesca: A Lovely Outdoor Wedding Day 3.0

Marshall + Francesca had not one, not two, but three wedding celebrations!

They first got married in February 2023 (you may remember them from such weddings as this one), but also had a gorgeous formal wedding celebration in England in March 2023 so that Francesca’s family in the UK could celebrate with them. Finally, wedding day 3.0 came about in August of 2023 which was meant to be the big celebration with their friends on this side of the ocean!

It was a gorgeous day for wedding 3.0, and the Barnwood Events venue is stunning this time of year (more on that in another blog post, but I want to mention that Barnwood Events is the most accessible venue I’ve ever shot in), and folks were clearly so happy to be celebrating with these two! There were smiles all around, and so much laughing, and even heat and mosquitoes couldn’t keep folks from feeling so much joy for Marshall + Francesca!

After dinner and speeches, we snuck out for a little golden hour light, and wow did the sunlight and the venue grounds deliver some perfect scenes for photos!

Afterward, it was all about the dancing, as you’ll see in the photos. ;)

Help me wish these two a BIG congrats to Marshall + Francesca, and also let’s congratulate them on not having to plan anymore weddings! (Though they’re very good at it!)

—Sam

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

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Barnwood Events

Officiant: Casey Varecka (friend of the couple)

DJ: Isthmus DJs

Florist: daffodil*parker

Wedding Cake: The Baked Lab

Catering and Non-Cake Desserts: Ugly Apple

Sam + Joe: Wedding 2.0 in the Mountains of Colorado

Sam + Joe celebrated their 3 year anniversary with a vow renewal in Boulder, COlorado

Boulder is an incredibly important part of Sam + Joe’s story; It’s where they first said “I love you” to one another. These two had originally planned to get married in Boulder in 2020, but, as we all know, 2020 disrupted a lot of wedding plans. They opted instead for an outdoor micro wedding in Madison (see the pics here) that was lovely, but kept dreaming of a celebration in Boulder, and in 2023, decided to make it a reality!

They started the celebration on Thursday at Rayback Collective, which is a magical place with food trucks, yard games, beautiful and interesting murals, and tasty beverages! We stopped back there on the day of the wedding 2.0/vow renewal celebration to take photos at one of my favorite geometric murals ever.

Next up was the “rehearsal dinner” on Friday evening at the Rio Grande Restaurant in downtown Boulder, where the wedding guests had tasty Mexican food and desserts and the kiddos learned how to make origami frogs for fun!

The wedding day 2.0 itself was absolutely gorgeous. There was some threat of rain, but the skies cleared just in time for photos, and Saturday was one of the brightest (and hottest!) days we spent in Boulder. Sam, Joe, and I made our way up the Flatirons to take photos in the mountains just before the vow renewal ceremony, then headed down to the lawn of Chautauqua Park for the main event. My son, Ben, even helped second shoot the wedding ceremony with me, which was an awesome first!

The vow renewal ceremony was short and sweet, and Sam + Joe repeated their original wedding vows from 2020, but they hit even harder this time around, given the last few years of trials that Sam + Joe have gone through since wedding day 1.0.

Following the ceremony, Sam, Joe, and Ben and I headed to a few spots around Boulder to take photos of the happy couple, and then onto the reception, at West End Tavern for BBQ (delicious cauliflower steaks for the vegetarians among us) and very fancy drinks. There were tender speeches, dancing, and cake as the sun set around us.

It was such a beautiful celebration of love, care, and tenderness, and I am so honored to have been able to celebrate love with these two not once, but twice!

Help me wish them a BIG congrats on their 3rd anniversary!

—Sam

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

Ceremony Venue: Chautauqua Park (Boulder, CO)

Reception Venue: West End Tavern (Boulder, CO)

Officiant: Maid of Honor and Best Man

Bridal Gown: Torrid

Desserts: Costco

Catering: West End Tavern (Boulder, CO)