As 2016 has come to a close it’s always fun to look back at all the amazing weddings and couples I got to work with. It truly makes me love my job even more.

So as I’ve done in years past I picked one favorite from each wedding this year. You have no idea how hard this is to do. Just one?! These are MY favorites, which aren’t always my couples favorites. Sometimes I make my selection because it captures a moment or emotion, sometimes it’s because I’m super proud of a new lighting trick or technique I used or sometimes it’s just because it show the love between the couple or tells a story. I tried to write a little about why I made each choice as I’m sure a few of them will make my couples go “she picked this one?!”

So here they are (in no particular order)! My 2016 favorites! I can’t wait to see what 2017 brings!

Scott + Alayna – 9/17/16

There were so many favorites to choose from at this wedding, which isn’t surprising considering this couple could be models! I chose this image because it is a prime example of my favorite time of the wedding day. Every single wedding I try to steal the couple away for a few moments. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does I get images like this! It gives them a chance to slow down, take a second to breath and enjoy a quiet moment away from everyone to just go “we got married!!!”. And when I can time it to be during golden hour like this I’m pretty much the happiest photographer alive!!

 

Ali + Josh – 10/1/16

I love a good dance party! And I get super excited for Jewish weddings because it’s always a packed dance floor. Ali & Josh’s wedding was no exception to this. Despite the fact that it poured down rain almost the entire day they weren’t going to let that stop the party. I love this image because it’s a great moment, but also because of all the faces and reactions of the people surrounding them!

I think I need to train in the off season to keep up with the Hora! I was out of breath after this one!

Kathryn + Giacomo – 5/27/16

Speaking of rainy wedding days…… it rained on and off all day creating us some problems with our planned outdoor photos and forcing them to move their guests inside for cocktail hour instead of outside in the gorgeous courtyard at Ivy Room. I knew that they picked this location at least party because of the courtyard so when the rain finally stopped I pulled them outside for a few night shots in the courtyard. I also love this image because he looked at her like this all day long. Stealing little glances here and there of his beautiful bride:)

Amanda + Alex – 10/15/16

Was 2016 the year of crazy wedding weather?! This day was SUPER windy. Her veil blew off during first look! We made one stop at a nearby lake and the wind was wild. I could see that they were getting frustrated (understandably so). I talked them into sticking with our second location knowing that there would be more tree coverage to block the wind and praying to everything holy that it died down. When we arrived it was as if we entered a different world. Everything was calm, the fall colors were great and everyone took a collective sigh of relief. I picked this image because it reminds me to always look for the calm in the storm. Something goes “wrong” at every wedding, but if you saw this image you’d never know that 20 minutes before Mother Nature had thrown us a windy curveball!

Michelle + Steve – 8/6/16

There are moments that happen at every wedding and they may only be a split second in time, but part of my job is to make them last a lifetime. Of course there are other favorites and pretty portraits from this wedding that I love, but I won’t forget this moment! Family formals are always an interesting time as I’m trying to organize people and get them all to look at the camera (which is way harder than it seems). When you throw kids into the mix, all bets are off. This little guy decided he was done with his ring bearer duties for the day…..

Andi + Jaan -8/27/16

As I mentioned before I always try to steal my couples away for a few minutes. This shot was my favorite because it was the end of their portrait time, the sun was setting and they were walking into their reception to meet their guests. I had said “Ok, I’ll meet you inside” when I saw this photo happening.  It just seemed so peaceful and symbolic to me as they literally walked hand in hand to start their lives as husband and wife.

 

Ashley & David – 11/12/16

Another favorite for me because it was a quick moment in time. David may hate me for saying this, but he’s not the biggest fan of having his photo taken. So when I got this genuine smile I knew it was an instant favorite of mine! I also love it because I will forever remember the chaos of trying to shoot downtown on this day (protests, street performers, cops patrolling, a giant crane putting up the Christmas tree, and about 3 other wedding parties).

But, all you see in this image is happiness 🙂

Carrie & Ted – 6/24/16

I could pick a hundred favorites from this wedding, but for me this look on Carrie’s face says it all. This couple had been together for like 75 years (ok maybe not 75, but let’s just say it’s been a few). Her excitement as they were about to say “I do” is something I hope for all of my couples. And Ted was non-stop smiles all day as well.

Liz & Greg – 6/10/16

“Hey guys, can you walk in the middle of the street for me?”

Again there are so many photos I loved from this day as these two were all smiles and laughter despite the scorching hot temps. And when I suggested a stroll in the middle of a busy street they didn’t hesitate. This is my favorite because thanks to some pure luck and timing it appears as though they are the only ones in the city!

Lori + Fred – 6/25/16

This was another favorite summer wedding! The second I saw Lori’s veil I had this shot in my head. Thanks to some “wind” aka my second shooter Sami we got this awesome shot!

Lora + Steve- 5/7/16

These two are one of the sweetest couples ever. I couldn’t wait for their downtown wedding at the Langham. I’ve been dying to shoot at this venue, and oddly my favorite is one outside,not in! We only had maybe 15 minutes for photos of just the couple before we had to be back in for introductions. I love this quick kiss with the pink taxi before we heading back in to the reception.

Jenn + Alex – 11/5/16

So I’m cheating on this one a little bit since it’s not just one photo. I was pumped to head back to campus at IU for this wedding and when Jenn told me she wanted to do First Look at sample gates we went to work trying to plan for it. If you know Bloomington you know that this area has a lot of foot traffic and is probably the most photographed spot on campus. After some talks with my second shooter, she and the guys get there first and try to block people as much as possible from walking through the middle while I headed over with Jenn. I love how it turned out and I hope that we delivered on what she envisioned. Plus Their reactions are priceless!

Elaine & Joe – 9/3/16

I always love first dances, but as I was editing this one stuck out to me. Why you ask? Look around the frame. EVERYONE is watching their first dance. In 2016 that is very rare. So often I see more phones than faces (and yes there are one or two here). So often people are not paying attention or looking down at their phones or talking to someone nearby or have their backs to the dance floor. Not here. Wedding guests take note – the couple invites you for a reason. Be involved. Be present.

Gold stars for all the guests at this wedding!

Kelly + Steve 7/15/16

This is one that my couple will probably wonder why I picked this image. So I’ll tell you. It rained on and off most of the day. We got lucky with a break for some portraits, but it picked back up again right before the ceremony. This forced them to move the ceremony to the covered area at the venue, which I know wasn’t what they had envisioned. But guess what? It didn’t matter. I look at this photo and I see two people in love exchanging their rings. Rain or no rain, covered or not, nothing was going to prevent them from living happily ever after (a little bit cheesy, but true).

Laura & Tom – 7/16/16

You know the rainy day I mentioned in the photo above? This was the day after. Chicago you are a crazy beast, but I love you. I picked this image for a couple of reasons. 1 – can you beat this amazing view for your ceremony background? 2 – I had hoped and prayed for the perfect day for this couple. Their original venue closed with no warning about 4ish months before their wedding and they basically had to start over. Thankfully it all worked out and mother nature did us a solid by giving us a gorgeous day for their outdoor ceremony!

Molly + Jake -5/21/16

I’m not sure this one needs an explanation as to why it’s a favorite. . Molly & Jake got married at a flower farm pretty much in the middle of nowhere Indiana. It has this amazing old barn on the property that I couldn’t wait to shoot in. We snuck upstairs after their ceremony and the light was perfectly streaming through. I immediately got my super happy photographer face on (aka I’m smiling like a weirdo behind my camera) and took way to many images in this space.

Can you blame me?!

Nicole & Jimmy – 10/8/16

This is one that I’m sure they wouldn’t have guessed would be my favorite. But, knowing these two and being friends with them for a few years I picked this one because to me it’s much more them than any posed shot. Yes there are some portraits I love, but this photo of them coming into their reception is much more genuine and real.

Plus these two are always ready to get the party started so it seemed fitting.

Ronit + Jonathan – 9/25/16

This one may be an odd choice as my couple is really in the background of this image, but I love it. I honestly don’t know if I took it or my second shooter Carrie did as we were both shooting. So props to Carrie if this wasn’t one of mine! (That’s how seamlessly we work together). This is during their Ketubah signing. I love that they are intently watching as their witness signs, just enjoying the moment together as they are about to become husband and wife.

Kristin + Ari – 9/4/16

And last but not least, a little photoshop magic! I’m going to have to confess my secrets on this one as it’s a combination of two images. Kristin & Ari had these amazing lights hung from the ceiling that I wanted to show off in an image, but it took me a while to figure out how to take the image I had in my head and make it reality.

The dance floor was packed and I was roaming around like a weirdo looking at different angles and climbing on things and crouching in corners trying to figure out how to pull off this image without a ton of people in the background. I finally decided what I wanted to do and after getting my background shot I pulled them away from dancing for a quick backlit photo (speedlight with a snoot for my photo nerds out there) in in the same spot and combined the two in photoshop. Could have I have done this in one image – probably, but because of timing and all the people I decided not to and I’m still pretty happy with the result. Hopefully you’d never know that there were people dancing all around them when I took this!