Even though I technically had a wedding in January which started my 2021 and 7th year of business, it still felt like Stephanie and Geoff’s May 1st wedding truly kicked off the wedding season. I got to meet the couple early on in their planning stages at a Dunkin’ Donuts (and as you can see in the video, Geoff REALLY loves Dunkin’ Donuts, so I’m glad we met there!) and was excited to be able to work with them.

I first met up with Geoff the morning of the wedding at his and Stephanie’s house where he was getting ready with this groomsmen. They were watching sports news and talking about the NFL draft. There, I met Geoff’s nephew and best man, Xymier, and learned pretty quickly about the important family connections that I would uncover throughout this wedding. After some shots of him getting ready and hanging out with their cute little dog, Nash, I headed over to Stephanie’s parents house where she and her girls were getting ready.

One of my favorite parts of a wedding day is hearing the letters that the bride and groom write to each other the morning of the wedding. And these letters did not disappoint!! My heart just melted a little bit watching Geoff open and read his letter and loved the sweet tears from Stephanie and she read her letter from her groom.

I’m always happy to see GLAM by kab working hair and makeup on any given wedding day and I was also happy to work alongside Gabriela Bucero, who I think is starting to become a pretty regular partner of mine on the wedding day! Already, the day was off to an awesome start!

And then Stephanie got to do the first look with her dad. I LOVE a good first look with a father. That’s

actually one thing that I regret not getting a picture of from my own wedding. Stephanie’s dad’s reaction was so sweet and genuine and tied in nicely with his toast that he gave later on at the reception.

After the ceremony, we headed to Cutler Gardens for pictures and video. I had fun the whole group as they laughed, practiced their reception entrances, and played with Nash, who almost stole the whole show! Later, at the reception, and I LOVED the energy this bridal party brought with their entrances! The DJ Mo Taylor played the Chicago Bulls theme song for the bridal party to enter to (which was the same song we used at my own wedding!) and now the party was STARTED! I always love that shift in the reception – when all the energy changes from sweet and sentimental to lots of carefree fun. After some amazing toasts, sweet dances and cake cutting, the dance floor was open and Stephanie and Geoff partied the night away with their friends and family.

Thank you Stephanie and Geoff for allowing me to capture your amazing wedding day. Everything turned out beautiful and I’m excited to follow along your journey with Nash!