Wedding Date: December 3rd 2022

I love when family is the center of a celebration. This was definitely the case for Kelli and Brendon at their beautiful and meaningful wedding at the Semple Mansion. Kelli had so many creative and fun ideas for their day that I knew it was going to be packed full of memories and excitement from start to finish!

I met up with Kelly in the morning just as she was finishing getting ready. She had a gorgeous custom dress, so we schemed together to do a big dress reveal with her parents. Her moms reaction was priceless! They all hugged and wiped away some tears of joy before another big moment was upon us. It was Kelli’s Dads birthday that day, so she had arranged a very special surprise for him. They loved playing catch together growing up, so she wrapped a glove for him so they could play one last game of catch before she was married. This sweet moment pulled at my fatherly heartstrings and definitely filled my eyes with some happy tears and I think her dad felt the same.

Now it was the guys turn! I joined them as they were unveiling their custom painted shoes. One of the groomsmen is a gifted artist and painted each of the groomsmen shoes with their own special interests along with a very special pair just for Kelli to wear after the ceremony. They modeled their stylish shoes with pride and before you knew it, we were all laughing until we cried. By the time the ceremony rolled around, my sides hurt from laughter and my cheers were sore from smiling all morning. Everyone took their place and Brendon made his way to the end of the aisle where he would see Kelli for the first time that day.

Everyone held their breath as Kelli and her dad made their way down the grand staircase. It was the perfect moment but the only person she could see was Brendon at the end of the aisle. They smiled the second their eyes met and knew everything was right in the world. They exchanged their vows during the heartfelt ceremony and even snuck back to the front of the room to grab a group photo before dancing their way back down the aisle. I stole them away for a few minutes to take in the last light of day while their guests were being seated upstairs. They were both so excited and happy, you could feel the joy radiating from them!

Back inside, the couple had arranged for a very special surprise. A mariachi band entered the room and started playing upbeat music to the excitement of everyone in attendance. His grandmother popped up out of her chair and started singing along while his dad took to the floor for a dance. Before I knew it, the two dads were dancing together and the entire room was clapping and singing along. This felt like the most perfect coming together of two families I had ever seen and it’s right up there with my top moments of the past few years. Thank you both for such an incredible day and for letting me capture your love story!

Vendors: Semple Mansion (venue), Charmed Boutique (decor), Green Mill (catering), Honey and Mackie's (dessert), Travis Monroe (videographer), Custom Essence of Australia (dress designer), Luxe Bridal Couture (bridal boutique), Milbern Clothing Company (suit), Lady Vamp Artistry (hair), Midwest Sound (dj)