landlocked bride® | midwest + mountain west wedding inspiration

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JL Vintage
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Matoto
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While the photos from this wedding are gorgeous on their own, the story that comes with them is one of my favorites. When the ceremony is so personal (and silly in the right places), it really just gets to me that this whole day is about celebrating two people joining their lives together forever. Okay, and the vintage details are to die for!

From the Photographer:

Dana & Aubrey were married on May 27th, 2012 in Des Moines, Iowa. Every part of their wedding day was jam-packed with meaning and emotion! Aubrey put together details to create a lovely, feminine, vintage theme to her day. From her shoes to her veil to the chandelier at the ceremony, everything was delightful! They got ready at the house Dana & Aubrey bought only a month before their wedding, and we began the portrait time in their beautiful front porch. Everyone in the bridal party was such a trooper to endure the thick Iowa heat! A few important details and stories: Aubrey’s father gave her a heart necklace years ago and told her that he will keep the key to her heart until the man comes along that she will marry. During the ceremony they did a very joy-filled, emotional “giving the key away” ceremony. It could not have been a more beautiful picture of a dad giving his daughter away to the man of her dreams! Right before the ceremony’s processional, Aubrey & Dana’s proposal video was played. The video was incredibly emotion-filled as well as quite humorous! Most of the guests were left with tears of joy. It was such a beautiful way to begin the ceremony, as the proposal laid the foundation of their commitment to each other. The video can be found on my blog post of their wedding here: http://www.allisonmariephotographyblog.com/kansas-city-wedding-photographer-aubrey-dana/ There were all sorts of surprises during the ceremony! Aubrey sang to her new husband (and she is not known as a singer!!), her brother performed quite the dancing act, and all the groomsmen and ushers sang a hilarious version of a boy band song to Aubrey! Details: A friend of Aubrey’s custom made the bridesmaid dresses, and another friend designed their bouquets! Words cannot express how deeply moving, joy-filled and emotional their wedding day was! Even I, the photographer, was in tears

I wanted to do something a little different today. Instead of posting about trends or colors or ideas, I wanted to take a second to talk about when those things become overwhelming. I’ve worn a lot of different hats in this industry: planner, blogger, bride, guest, bridesmaid, and plain old wedding enthusiast. Each of these has offered me a little perspective on what happens to a bride when she is in the throws of wedding planning, and often times, she is experiencing some sort of anxiety about the actual planning process. While this has always existed, I believe in the current age of things, it is becoming compounded.

Between blogs, Pinterest, magazines, and TV, there is an endless supply of wedding input. I call it input, because in the end, what you create for your wedding will be your very own individual output. For most, this will be a compilation of things they loved from here and there, as well as their own original ideas. This input can be super helpful, bringing ideas to brides that they may not have come into contact with otherwise, and it’s why I love doing what I do. On the flip side, it can become detrimental when it becomes a form of “noise”-just static, distracting, and pulling in tangental directions. I have noticed this manifesting itself in two ways: having too many options and not being able to decide or bring them together into a cohesive event, or a fear of disappointing others.

Chances are, your tastes can vary some, and your wedding inspiration doesn’t all fit into a neat little package. That’s entirely okay if you are able to evaluate what should stay and what should go in order to create the day you’re envisioning. I’m not talking about having a theme, or only having a color palette with two distinct colors. I’m all for your wedding being an expression of you, even if it appears a little random, but it also needs to make some amount of sense. The trouble can lie in committing to something when, if you allow it, new ideas are going to pop up in front of you every day, up until the big day, and you’re going to love them and want to include them.

This hoarding of wedding ideas can also present problems because in some cases it’s a collaborative experience. Whether you’ve enlisted your mom, sister, or friends to help you plan, or you’re just sharing ideas with friends and strangers on Pinterest, there is additional input in the form of the opinions on all the input you’re already getting. Overwhelming, much?

This can manifest itself in a couple ways. For one, there is the fact that all of your friends, even those that are not planning actual weddings are looking at weddings on Pinterest. Everyone (or at least nearly every marrying-age female) is paying attention to current trends, new ideas (if such a thing exists in wedding world), and the next best thing. This creates some degree of expectation from wedding guests, whether we like it or not. Then there is the fact that they can comment, either in person or virtually, on the ideas you haven’t even put into production yet, so if you’re sold on something but someone says something negative about it, it might cause you to think twice. Then there are the opinions of family you don’t want to offend, the opinions of family that may even be helping to pay for the wedding and thus feel they have more say, and the opinions of “they”-that group of people we create in our heads when we are worrying about what others think. All of that to say, the more people added to the equation, the more difficult it can become to weed through it all.

But the process CAN be joyful, and fun. It is supposed to be! Yes, because you’re planning the biggest party you will ever throw, but more importantly, because you’re planning the celebration of the commitment you’re making to the person you love most in the world. That fact should help guide your steps and hopefully help some of the “noise” fall away…that and stepping away from the computer, calling your vendors and committing to a decision when it settles and feels good and not looking back!

I wanted to leave you with a few quotes that are applicable to all of life, but wedding planning as well.

Yes, that’s right.

It’s hot outside (well, at least in the Midwest). So, why not cool off, right?

Christ and Bo had planned a little fun for their wedding guests after their sweet and intimate ceremony in downtown St. Louis. A little fun in the form of a water balloon fight.  And, I cannot get over how fantastic these images are, not to mention how gorgeous the light is.

Images courtesy of Megan Thiele Studios

Obviously, not every bride is going to be game for launching water balloons back and forth with her groom, but you cannot deny that the idea is definitely a fun one!

I love anything quirky, funny and lovey-dovey (i.e. videos like this one). Andy from Oceanwide Studios shared this one just yesterday (and I’m a sucker for wedding videos), so I’m passing along. Not only does a wedding video like this truly capture the character and personality of the couple, but it tells a beautiful story.

brad + jen from oceanwide on Vimeo.

Rain. Most brides (and grooms) dread that lovely little four letter word. We all wish for sun and blue skies on our wedding day. But at the end of the day, shouldn’t you be excited about getting married, regardless of what the weather is like? I think this bride’s face says it all.

Image courtesy of Lisa Hessel Photography

Not only were the details from this wedding ah-mazing (including the photographers, btw), but the emotion at this wedding was insane.

You see, both the bride and groom, Kristin and Donald, are hearing impaired, including 13 of their 14 wedding party members. Their vows were signed, and interpreted so guests could hear.  Not that it is an important detail to note, but I love that love knows no boundaries. It is not tied to one specific language. And, it definitely does not judge.

Check out more from the wedding, including some great comments from the couple over on bobbi + mike’s blog.

Images courtesy of bobbi + mike

It seems there’s quite a bit of angst out there in the wedding world hinging on what reasons we (as in all of us brides) want to get married.  And, instead of my typical “photo-heavy” posts, I’m taking the text route (sorry friends).

Why do you want to get married?

It’s a valid question. Is it about the dress? Is it about the perfect flowers? Or how about the best reception venue?

Are those the things that are important to you?

Don’t get me wrong, some girls have dreamt of their wedding day since the day of their birth, but was it really about all of the perfect details, or was it about the perfect guy (or gal!)? Is your world going to fall apart if the florist made your centerpieces from hydrangeas instead of dahlias. Or that the flower girl stuck her finger in your cake during cocktail hour?

In a hodge-podge wedding world of details, tradition, non-tradition, big parties, are you, in your heart of hearts really remembering why you are getting married in the first place?

Do me a favor while you “Oooo” and “Aaaahhh” over the pretty pictures you find on this blog, and others like it, remember why you’re getting married.  Trust me, I love the details, and still plan on having them at the wedding and pouring over them, but I know, each day why I said “Yes” to the pilot on top of that mountain. And, it makes me smile every. single. time.

So, why did you get married? What was it about your significant other that made marriage the word of the day?

If that is the bride’s reaction. Cheers to great MOH and Best Man speeches!

Image courtesy of Fuse Photographic

I love a good love story. Just as much as I love finding new talent and sharing the work (well, they may not be new, but they are new to me). And, I love finding photo shoots that are a true representation of a couple.

Jillian Bisinger recently shot a friend of hers and his husband while they were in town (in town = Los Angeles) visiting. If there is something I’m a die-hard advocate for, it is same-sex marriage. So, of course, I love the fact that Alton and Andre were married several years ago while on board a cruise ship off the coast of Rio de Janiero in a fantastic ceremony with friends and family. Now, if only we can make the move to allow that to happen in the States (as in all of them, not just a few).

Jill was able to capture some wonderful, and high fashion shots of the two – of course while enjoying a few glasses of the bubbly. Besides being a fun, and perfect couple, the two have small ties to the wedding industry. Alton is the Creative Director at Kate’s Paperie, a paper boutique in New York and Connecticut. Andre, on the other hand is a jewelry atelier out of Rio de Janiero where he runs his own business A.Costa Deluxe. And, of course Andre made their wedding bands – which could not have been a more perfect situation.

Images courtesy of Jillian Bisinger Modern Photography

P dot S: If you have already jumped over to Jill‘s site, please do so – she does some amazing work. Not to mention she is extremely sweet. AND, add her blog to your Reader (no pressure or anything)!

P dot S dot S:  On April 8, the No H8 Project is hosting an exhibit featuring the photos from the St. Louis shoots. I urge you to check it out if you’re available!