Rain. It’s a part of life. I just hate that sometimes it is a part of weddings as well. Vanessa and Drew’s wedding was my first experience shooting in the rain and it seemed like they barely even noticed it.

Their wedding was in the same church as Jason and Allison’s, but the decor and vibe were quite different. It is really cool to see how the same space can be used and decorated very differently. Vanessa went to school and does graphic design and you could see her design influence all throughout the day.

They had a cake/hors d’oeuvres reception after the ceremony and then we left to take photos. We arrived at our location and it started to drizzle. We got the group shots done and then it started to pour. We ran around and found overhangs and some cover to shoot in. Eventually we were all soaked, so we just shot in the rain. (I’m super glad all my gear works. Thank God for good equipment!) We finished outside and Jake and I still wanted to take photos… a photographer is never done. One more shot NEVER, means one more shot. That is like a preacher when they say they are almost done… fiction. Anyoldways. Jake suggested a coffee shop might be fun and so we headed to the closest one, which was closed. Awesome. Well, guess we have to… go… ho… wait. Grocery store in the rear view mirror. Wonder if they would be up for shooting there? They were and it was epic.

Drew. Vanessa. Thank you so much for being amazing and trusting that even though Jake and I had never shot in a grocery store before, we would come up with something interesting and a memory like no other for your wedding day.

(If you saw their sneak peek, you know you can click twice on the last photo to see it large. It’s a combination of about 7 photos that I stitched together. If I printed this at it’s original size it would be 60 inches wide by 13 inches high. I hope they have large walls…)

P.s. What are you watching on TV? Americas Next Top Model doesn’t come back on for a while and I need a new show.

P.p.s. Leave some love on the blog for Drew and Vanessa, not just the TV show

Anyoldways. Caleb, Jake, and I went out and tore up the town with camera equipment and awesomeness. We ran around downtown and caught some really good light and had a blast. Caleb goes to Menomonee Falls High School and is a pretty cool cat. He’ll be graduating in 2011 and then going off to college. Check out the coolness that is Caleb.

P.s. Anyone have any good Ice Tea recipes? I love Ice Tea.

P.p.s. Caleb was also sporting some really sweet TOMs. They are a fantastic shoe company that donates a pair of shoes every time one is purchased. So far they have donated over 600,000 pairs of shoes to people who need them. Lots of good stuff going on over there. Check them out.

The setting: The Orpheum

The Orpheum was a really cool venue. Really dark… but really cool.  Lots of texture and lots of space. Those always make for fun photos.  Jake and I went up to Madison a few hours early from Milwaukee to shoot an engagement session for Nick and Dana who are getting married at the same place next year.  After the shoot we got some lunch then it was time to get our wedding shoes on. (I don’t really have wedding shoes, although I did wear pink and white chucks when shooting my cousins wedding)

There were lots of cool touches to the wedding that made it very personal and fun to shoot.  Sarah had her mother and grandmothers dress on display as well as their stories for people to check out.  The bouquets were made out of different herbs and smelled amazing.  After they said I Do and kissed, Sarah’s dad busted out a guitar and Kevin serenaded her on the steps of the stage.  It was a very warm and fun wedding to shoot even though it was chilly outside.  I am so glad that we got a chance to be a part of these two Hawks special day.

Shawn and Cassie’s wedding had all of their awesomeness infused into one giant day which has now turned into one giant blog post.  I loved everything from the Chuck Taylors that the grooms men wore to the Crazy Booth that is going to be tough to top in 2010.

The wedding was at the Eisner Museum in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, which has tons of really great places to take photos.  After the ceremony we went running around the Third Ward taking tons of photos, tripping on things, and dropping bridesmaids. (Wasn’t as fatal as it sounds)  From there, the Ceremony rocked and the Crazy Booth was brought.  By the end of the night I was exhausted, but had such a fun time shooting and capturing an amazing party for two amazing people.  Congrats Shawn and Cassie.

(now on to the photos which is why you are looking at the blog anyways)

Oh. My. Lord. These are divine. Jowels.

Yeah… Shawn and Cassie were so much fun… pretty much love them. To be able to shoot for clients like them is a pleasure.

I know that was a mutha load of photos, but hope it was worth it.

p.s. pretty sure the booth makes the reception killer (well, your DJ betta be rockin it, but whateva)

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Air guitar at it’s finest.

One of us has to be responsible.

Guess it isn’t Jake

Body Surfing?

Women… this is why you need to have the crazy booth at your wedding (because you ALWAYS win this and can gloat for years to come)

Shooting weddings makes  you really thirsty

And, I guess it also makes you a little crazy

Cuvee, a super swag place is a great location to have your reception. Great staff and a really great environment.  You can check out the full wedding post on My Blog and Jakes Blog.

Rob and Christina contacted me from New York where they live and work.  Both of them have been involved in theater and the arts and it was evident at their wedding.  Christinas dress was handmade and so were all of the flowers.  The flowers were paper and crafted by St. Jude’s Creations and looked fantastic.  The wedding was at the beautiful Villa Terrace, which is an awesome location overlooking like Michigan.

I love to see the different emotions that people go through at a wedding… from the nervous first steps to the first kiss.

They had an adaptation of one of my favorite author/illustrator, Shel Silverstein’s work “The Missing Piece Meets The Big O”

We had some fantastic light for photos after the ceremony.

Of all the great personal touches, this one takes the cake. Rob is a big Back to the Future fan and Christina surprised him with renting a Delorean (from TimeMachineRental.com) to go from the Villa Terrace to the reception site, Cuvee.  Pretty much the most fantastic thing ever.

Heck… I even got in on the action.

The cake was from Eat Cake and was not only gorgeous, but was the best smelling cake ever. I could smell the berries before the cake was even cut.

Later that night we went out to the car and took more photos and had a great time quoting lines from Back to the Future and attempting to go 88mph. Didn’t work…

A big thanks to Dynamic Events for helping pull everything together and make this a great night for Rob and Christina.  There are more photos coming from the Crazy Booth… I’ll post those in just a bit… too crazy for my computer to handle.