landlocked bride® | midwest + mountain west wedding inspiration

This wedding is truly one of a kind, and the photography is just as amazing as the day that was captured. The way that the pre-ceremony details are captured are truly amazing – these are the details I would encourage every bride to have their photographer document. The details that happen behind the scenes can be just as beautiful as the moments that happen before your eyes. This is a stunning couple, who had a lovely, emotional, gorgeous outdoor and barn wedding. 

From the Photographer:

The best thing about Greg and Gretchen’s wedding is something you can’t necessarily capture in pictures. The entire day was filled with a sense of the community coming together to celebrate these two people joining their lives together. It’s there in the scenes of Greg and a family friend working to set up the ceremony site. It’s there in the crowded bathroom, packed with close friends, where Gretchen got ready. It’s there in the quiet moments we stole with the couple. It’s clearly there at the ceremony in the round, in which multiple family members and friends took their turn on the small stage, singing songs and speaking words about love. It’s there in the handmade details, like the corn filled box holding the escort cards. And, it’s most definitely there, in the turkey barn: in the basement where succulent roasted pig and tender farro were served family style to guests and upstairs, where white lights strung on the rafters provided the perfect ambiance for indulging in pie and dancing. The pictures get close, but if I could bottle up that feeling and send it to you, I absolutely would.

I love how the images below really capture so much of the bride and groom. There are some beautiful detail shots, of the bride’s dress and bouquet, the adorable cupcakes, and the pops of color on the tables, but the photos of Carolyn and Bryan around Bryan’s family property are just stunning. And then there’s the groom serenading his bride during the reception, and I’m just done. So wonderful.

From the Photographer:

The couple currently lives in the Washington DC area and traveled home to Lawrence, Kansas for their wedding. The groom’s father is the late Dr. Bob Frederick who played and coached basketball at the University of Kansas and served as athletic director for 14 years. The morning of the wedding the groom ran in the 5K Dr. Bob run. The wedding ceremony was held at the Danforth chapel and the reception was at the Adams Alumni Center, both on the University of Kansas campus. The mothers of the bride and groom helped in the planning of the wedding since the couple lives in DC. The weather on the day was actually quite chilly, barely making the 50′s, but the bride and groom were excited for outdoor pictures and the groom’s family home. Much of the home and rock walls were constructed by the late Bob Frederick.

Kerri wanted her wedding to have a modern vintage vibe, but with some flair. I’d say she nailed it. This purple and red extravaganza is classic, yet funky, traditional, yet personalized. The DIY details form the the scarves, to the centerpieces, the cake topper to the candy bar – each element is unique and adds so much personality to this wonderful affair. Throw in a hot pink jacket, tea-length dress and 2 pairs of wedding shoes in the mix, and prepare to be blown away.

From the bride:

One might ask, how do you write a short story about the best day of your life? I’m still pondering…

My vision was clear – A modern vintage vibe with flair. My wedding dress was the source, a Coffee Tulle Tea Length dress by Justin Alexander. Our favorite colors, red and purple made the vision perfectly pop. A lover of all things crafty, DIY projects were seen throughout the day. I crocheted scarves for the entire wedding party, made yarn pom pom cake topper and centerpieces, created a candy table display for the sweet tooth, wrapped ribbon head table chairs, and cupcake liner garland to show off of cupcake table display.

My favorite part of the day was the first dances, one with my husband and one with my dad. My husband, Jack, is well known for his pink jacket. It’s been around since college and makes an appearance at all major events, our wedding was no different.  Right before our first dance, I surprised him with a matching pink jacket for his wife!

Neither of us wanted to leave the dance floor, our world felt perfectly in place. On the other side, my dad, Rory, and I have spent the past few years bonding on the swing dance floor. It was only fitting that our father-daughter dance would be a swing dance. What a blast we had showing off our moves to our friends and family!

For those future brides, my advice is to slow down, relax, breathe, let it go, and enjoy….

There are two kinds of venues that I really love: ones that are a completely blank slate and allow for a couple to entirely make it their own, and ones that are already infused with a certain ambiance that the couple can play off of in multiple ways. The venue this couple chose is the latter, and being a historical society, it had all sorts of interesting installations that led the couple toward a vintage theme. It shone through beautifully, in their day that was crafted around making sure the bride and groom’s personalities were evident. I’d say they nailed it.

From the Bride:

Our aim during wedding planning was to keep it strictly us; to be sure that our personalities shown through in as many aspects of it as we could. We started the process by finding our incredible venue, the Indiana Historical Society in downtown Indianapolis, and a “vintage” theme just sort of fell into place from there. My mom (and matron of honor) and I did the bulk of the planning. We’re not terribly crafty, so we got ideas from friends who are and scoured Etsy on a regular basis.

We were dead set on an outdoor ceremony from the start, which the venue provided in its scenic patio on the canal that runs through the heart of the city. Our weather was perfect, despite the freak September hailstorm that hit our outdoor rehearsal dinner the night before. A priest and dear family friend served as our officiant and she did perfectly in upholding our wishes to make it strictly personal. We each wrote our own vows and picked one of the two readings. Paul read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 when he proposed to me, so it was the obvious choice. A friend provided piano accompaniment for the ceremony and I walked down the stairs “aisle” to an instrumental In My Life by The Beatles.

We had a cocktail hour in the cafe of the museum section of the venue immediately following the ceremony and then proceeded upstairs to the main hall for the reception. The centerpieces were a labor of love, the one thing I’d really insisted upon DIY-ing since seeing an idea online early in the planning stages. We assembled a collection of vases (some vintage, some not) from family and friends and filled them with various items like flowers, beans, birdseed, and candies to give it a natural feel. Our caterers provided an amazing dinner of fall-themed foods like carrot souffle and cous cous with butternut squash.

I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine by Dj-ing my own wedding. I, with help from Paul, painstakingly created a playlist of Motown classics, 70′s funk, and 80′s one hit wonders for the reception and our coordinator plugged my iPod into the sound system. We had a ball! The icing on an already incredible day came when we played the last song of the evening, “With a Little Help From My Friends” by Joe Cocker, and all of our guests formed a circle around us as they all wailed the lyrics and we guitar solo-ed.

I am a little biased, but I adore a love story that starts with Cardinals baseball. But even more than that, my favorite part of this wedding aside from all the gorgeousness-the reception space, the cake, the bride of course-is the fact that it took place on what could have been a sad day, but wasn’t. The bride’s grandmother had passed away two years ago to the day, and while they tried to pick a different date, it seemed that was the only date that their loved ones were available. The bride and groom then said they felt it was a “sign” to get married that day, and make it a joyful one. And the beautiful shawl the bride is wearing belonged to her grandmother-that definitely tugged at my heartstrings-what a lovely way to commemorate and include her.

From the Bride:

It all began April 17, 2010 at Hacienda restaurant. The Cardinals played the Mets in a 7 hour 20 inning game that did not end well for them. It sure ended well for us because that is the night we met. A year and a half later, we just cannot seem to remember what life was like without each other. We now know what it means to have found “The One” and most importantly, we share the kind of love that only comes once in a lifetime!

From the Photographer:

I am excited to share this wedding with you! A beautiful couple for sure. Kelly and Ryan’s wedding was beautifully coordinated by Simply Elegant Events, Sommer Barry. Kelly’s beautiful shawl was her grandmother’s who had passed away two years earlier that day. David Kodner Jeweler coordinated Kelly’s embellishments for her day. The earrings were particularly breathtaking! The AMAZING smash band was tremendous. The Quinn wedding was fantastic down to every last detail!

I was sold on this wedding after I saw the stunning lace bridal gown, and the hints of baby’s breath (two personal favorites). I absolutely love the bridal party photos around the city of Chicago, and the photos of the bride and groom within the conservatory are breathtaking. Every detail looked flawless, and was documented beautifully. I love how the details of the venue were reflected in their unique, creative wedding cake, and how they incorporated travel details – a big part of their relationship – into the reception decor as well.

From the Bride

Keith and I met in our first week at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003 (almost ten years ago!) through mutual friends on our way to a football rally. We ourselves were friends until we started dating during our senior year. We had a lot of common interests–such as the same music tastes, listening to and collecting records, hanging out at coffee shops, being outdoors, and our love of reading–but I think our relationship was firmly cemented in our love to travel. Our relationship started with a road trip to go camping in Missouri and in 2007 Keith and I took our first international trip together to Rome, Italy. It’s safe to say that we fell in love not only with the city, but we also fell in love with each other there. That’s why in 2010 on our third trip to Rome, Keith proposed on my favorite bridge, Ponte Sant’Angelo, while we were putting a lock on the bridge. We celebrated the occasion with an established tradition of Limoncello and Guinness in an “Irish Pub.” [He almost proposed in Munich on New Year's Eve, but he held off in better judgement]. It was a great reflection of our relationship (and why our wedding had hints of our travels and Italy throughout) and it gave us a few days to enjoy being engaged before we told the masses!

This wedding is full of so much joy! You see pure joy and anticipation when the brides are getting ready for their first look. The overwhelming joy and excitement when they turn around to first see each other. The emotional joy and pride you feel while they are walking towards each other down the asile. The joy and happiness they share with their bridal party. The deep joy and love they share during their first dance, and stunning, intimate pre-wedding photos together. This wedding just wants me to scream Oh Happy Day – cause that’s exactly what it was.

From the Bride – Monique

How we met: Amber and I went to the same high school for a couple of months, when Amber was a junior and I was a sophomore. We only had a few friends in common, and knew of each other, but we weren’t friends at that time. A couple of years after graduation, I hosted a birthday party for a friend of ours and a mutual friend of ours asked if she could bring Amber as a guest. Having remembered her from high school, I said yes and she came out to celebrate with us. We hit it off immediately and we have been inseparable since that day, May 29, 2005.

Our Engagement: A few months after we celebrated our 3rd anniversary together, Amber told me that she wanted to spend a special weekend in Salt Lake City together. I was excited because this is something that we enjoy doing, but never seem to get enough of. When we got to Salt Lake City, Amber handed me an envelope with a clue directing me to the Farmer’s Market, which is one of our favorite places to go in SLC. After we spent some time there, she gave me several more clues directing me to different dog parks around town. I also got clues to my favorite store, our favorite restaurant, and this funky dog-friendly hotel downtown. We spent the entire day in this clue scavenger hunt, visiting our favorite places and spending time with our dogs. When we got to the Hotel Monaco there was a giant sign welcoming our 2 dogs, Joey and Bella.  It was pretty special. After dessert and an in-room massage, Amber surprised me with the sweetest moment of my life when she asked me to marry her. A couple of weeks later, I chose a ring for her and started planning a proposal on a trip we were planning later in the month to the Mexican Riviera. A few days before we left for our cruise, I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep. I absolutely couldn’t stand it anymore so I woke her up really early in the morning and asked her to marry me too.

Though the weather can’t seem to make up its mind about what season it is, this wedding definitely puts me in a spring-y mood! The slate blue bridesmaids dresses, the lush pastel florals, and the delicate DIY lace details in the votives and escort cards are making me swoon. Then the party really gets going with a mariachi band, mini cupcakes, and colorful cocktails! Happy almost 1 year anniversary, Nathalie and Saul!

We met at a friend’s gathering for a Manny Pacquiao fight. Our mutual friend mentioned to Saul that they had already talked to me about him and it was up to Saul to make his move. So he sat by me and the only thing that I saw where these “ugly” converse shoes (not chucks, but skater shoes) he was wearing. All he was talking about was his trip to Paris that was coming up in a week. Long story short, I said there was no way you should be taking those shoes to Paris, and the entire crowd at the gathering was laughing. To say the least, it broke the ice and Saul finally introduced himself to me. Food, drinks, dancing followed and Saul asked me on a date via Facebook! I accepted anyway, and the rest was history!!! Hence the Converse Chucks at the wedding reception.
Saul picked a fantastic place to get ready- Simone’s in Pilsen. It was an excellent touch of color to the guy’s afternoon, and a good start to the Mariachi festivities. Our ceremony was at my early childhood church St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Chicago, IL. My sister and I were baptized there. My sister also got married there so we have a lot of wonderful memories. Meson Sabika in Naperville IL for our reception was selected for the well known Spanish Tapas and intimate setting at their Pavilion. For our music, we had a DJ and the traditional music Mariachi group. The lively feel came into play once our guests and groom joined our Mariachi band in singing along.
I love soft pink so I wanted to keep it simple and clean with an accent of light grey. We accented the tables with pink appliquéd lace votives which I made, in addition to coordinating the table numbers with the color scheme. I incorporated the lace theme with lace stamped escort cards.  Saul vigorously worked hard to cut the wine cork escort card holders. I purchased some handmade felt flowers on Esty for our ring bearers to carry. The theme was Happily Ever After Starts Here! We thought it would be a nice touch to give our guests a look at the past by sharing  our parents’ wedding pictures and our baby pictures. Saul and I have both been to Paris and loved it so we found a box that had a Parisian theme which we made into our wedding card box.

Bright pops of color (just wait until you see the bridal party shoes) a little bit of vintage flair, a day starting at a magnificent cathedral and ending at a cozy art gallery – this wedding has a perfect combination of traditional and modern. One element that I love is that the bride chose a shorter veil. Typically in a ceremony venue as extravagant as the one they were married in, you see brides with long, cathedral or chapel length veils, and I love how this bride took the less traditional route and topped it off with a big chunky pearl necklace. Breathtaking. I also love that the dogs are captured during the getting ready shots, and especially that the whole family was involved in such a special aspect of the day before the bride walked down the asile.

From the Photographer
Megan and Joe are two optometrists with an eye for vintage-modern details. The bride, whose family is from the Midwest, wanted their families to enjoy both the vintage and modern flair that Denver has to offer, from a ceremony in the historic Cathedral Basilica to the art gallery space where they enjoyed their reception, Artwork Network. With those two ceremony and reception locations, they complemented the vintage and modern theme with vintage greys and colorful salmons and pinks.

No one could argue that this is both a beautiful wedding, with a very fun-looking reception, looking at these photos. The church is awe-striking, the bridal party looks exquisite, and the bride’s dress is incredible (especially how the bottom fans out when she’s spinning!). The guests and bride and groom are having a blast on the dance floor. It all looks awesome. But my absolute favorite thing about this wedding is just one photo, of the bride and groom sharing a moment sitting down together alone. These moments are so important in a wedding day, as it is a day that joins two people together for a lifetime, and those two people should get a chance to relish it, as well as have an amazing time celebrating. This couple obviously did both, and I applaud them for it.

From the Photographer:

Leslie is a Minnesotan native, but met her groom, Matt, while in college in Texas. All of their Texas friends were shown the beauty of a St Paul wedding, on one of the hottest days of the year. A large formal ceremony took place in the Cathedral of St Paul, followed by a lovely reception at the (thankfully air conditioned) History Center. The wedding party was the epitome of classic beauty in Monique Lhullier and Hugo Boss. The couple showed their southern hospitality and chatted with guests during dinner. The band was amazing and the dance floor was packed the entire night. Leslie even changed into a cute second dress made for dancing.