this wedding made my heart happy...
two creative souls - two busy creative souls - who in spite of life's crazy demands, pulled off one of the most unique and cool weddings inspired by their appreciation of vintage goodies and love for art & music. melissa stays busy as head designer for chicago sustainable women's wear label mountains of the moon, llc and as an artist & blogger for bubby and bean. robbie is a stage manager for the band umphrey's mcghee & spends a lot of time on the road...nonetheless, their love & appreciation for each other obviously inspired their loved ones to come together and see their vision through!
my photography mentor, family friend, second momma, lynne, agreed to travel to saint charles, illinois, right outside of chicago, and shoot the wedding with me. because the wedding venue was an eco-friendly nature center with a community garden outside, it was a little easier to talk her into it! lynne loves to photograph nature...but weddings? umm, not so much...so thank you lynne!! i appreciate you!
and because my future brother in law officiated this lovely event, i had the opportunity to help out with some of the last minute diy projects the day of the wedding with my sister and spend time with the bride and groom's friends and family. listening to stories of friendship and family memories just made each photograph even more meaningful. i know that it is not at all about me, but what a joy to be a part of such a thing!
melissa has shared several lessons learned through this diy wedding process on her blog here & here. she even shared some words of wisdom - to relax and have fun with your wedding photos here! i am pleased to be able to share their love story through the camera lens...
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| casual rehearsal dinner with fun kids! the baby gave lynne & i a run for our money...melissa went over details with sara (btw, sara is reppin' sonoma county) while robbie worked on music selections... rev. ralph was cool as a cucumber |
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| ahh! the vintage goodies were definitely eye candy! flowers by my sister, sage bundles from one of mel's besties all the way from colorado & paintings created the day of the wedding from the couple's talented friend...a conspiracy of love! |
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| the details...a drawing of the couple's beloved four legged friend, leary...donuts instead of cake on robbie's diy record "cake stands", mel's graphic designs throughout the venue, mason jars with cool straws & hand made drink stirrers... mel's sister's wedding favors - honey jars with personalized labels..."meant to bee" |
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| i wish i could remember more details of the ceremony itself...i remember melissa walking out to the instrumental version of guns n' roses, "sweet child of mine (and robbie is cuing the music - he was ready to marry that woman!), melissa's sister morgan reading "oh the places you'll go," & something about robbie wanting bacon every year for his birthday (melissa is vegetarian)...such personal & unique vows! |
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| could they be any more picture perfect? melissa looked gorgeous in her vintage dress...and to top it off, it was her mother's wedding dress!! and the wedding party? so much fun! |
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| the reception was hopping between the photo booth, drinks in the mason jars, & the dance off between the kids to be ryan's dance partner...so much fun! and yes, that is leary - we stopped for a couple family pics before the wedding! my wish for melissa & robbie is simply more of what they already have...friendship, love, and joy. peace & bliss, amy |
