Robin + Luke // A Family Farm Wedding in Big Rock, Illinois

Robin and Luke spoke their vows on a family farm in rural Illinois over the Fourth of July weekend. She wore her friend’s dress and a flower crown, they celebrated with bonfires and apple pie, and they kept things sweet and simple from the beginning to the end of the day.

 You might recognize Robin and her family, as well as the gorgeous Frank Lloyd Wright house where she and her girls got ready. We captured her sister Amy’s wedding the year before, so it was an enormous pleasure for us to be back celebrating with their family again! They’re one of those families that simply invite you in and make you feel like you are truly one of them. With us they showed that by trusting our creative vision completely – they let us come and go and do our thing, they invited us into their home and let us have free reign. It’s incredible the difference it makes when we have not just our couple’s complete trust, but that of their families as well. It might be selfish to say, but we wish Amy and Robin had more sisters so we could capture a few more wedding days for their sweet family!

It was truly a pleasure for us to do both the photography and video for this day. It’s a labor of love for us to capture a wedding day in this way, but Tim and I are always so pleased when we get to share a cohesive story, with a consistent style, across both the photo and video platform.

 

Vendors:

Venue: Family Farm in Big Rock, Illinois

Hair/Makeup: Friends of the Bride

Robin's Ring: Designed by the Bride's grandmother, Gail Witttekind

Dress: BHLDN, borrowed from her bridesmaid Jill Fortson

Flowers: Joanne DeGroot of The Tree House

Pastor: Rev. Rick Alnutt

Ceremony Program: Designed by the Bride

Catering: South Moon Barbeque

Photography and Videography: Grain & Compass

No Comments

Jordan + Matthew // A Morrow Mountain Wedding

There’s something extraordinary about capturing the wedding day of a couple that trusts you so completely – a couple that invites you into their space and into their story to capture the day they commit their forever to one another.

Jordan and Matthew are one of those couples. We knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this was a wedding day we were meant to photograph. Jordan and Matthew got married at the very same place where Tim and I spoke our vows over six years ago. They decided to have their first look just down the path from where Tim and I had ours as well. But it wasn’t about nostalgia for us on Jordan and Matthew’s day. It was about being present with them, joining in their pure joy, and capturing it to share with all of you now.

Each piece of their day was so uniquely them. Jordan, her mom, and her friend Justina created her own bouquet out of a handful of ranunculus. Matthew had a quiet, contemplative morning getting ready at Jordan’s grandparents’ lake cabin where she’d been living (the same one where we photographed their engagement session!) They opted for the side-by-side first look idea that we offered up – and it was perfect for them! It just made sense that they should do something a little more unique. We spent over an hour with Matthew and Jordan, simply allowing them to soak in a little time together and fully dive into their day, with us taking photos all along the way.

Even the ceremony and reception were uniquely tailored by Jordan and Matthew. They opted not to have a bridal party, instead focusing solely on their commitment to one another. Instead of a unity candle they had a tree-planting ceremony where their family members brought soil from each of their homes and poured it over the tree roots to symbolize the joining of their families to support Jordan and Matthew’s new family.

After the ceremony the guests snacked on popcorn and a few favorite Southern drinks and snacks. They even had a potluck style dessert table with every variety of cake and pie you can imagine, all baked up by someone that is special to Jordan and Matthew. And to end the night, we all danced beneath the sky – yes, even Tim and I. When the mother of the bride commands you to put your cameras down and join in the fun, you don’t disobey.

Venue: Morrow Mountain State Park

Hair: Justina Stevens

Bridal Bouquet: Justina and Jordan

Pastors: Philip Baucom from The Gathering in Albemarle, NC, and Harry Hawk, Grandfather of the Groom

Wedding Signage: Nicole LuQuire of Gloriously Restored

Catering: Chris Beal

Desserts: Family and friends of the Bride and Groom

No Comments