{Hitched} Rachel & Adam

(NOTE: as of Friday, Dec. 28, at 4 p.m. I am out of the office and will not be back until Wednesday, Jan. 2!!! Have a great time ringing in the New Year!)

 

So on to the fun stuff…It’s not every year that one of the 15 weddings I book falls in December. Winter weddings are not as common in the midwest for obvious weather reasons. The lower temps are actually kinda welcome compared to the ones that are so high that everyone is melting before the ceremony even starts.

Rachel & Adam’s wedding was such a great experience. It  pushed me out of my “box” in a few different ways: the ceremony was inside a dark hall late in the day (sun sets very early in the winter!) and required the use of an on-camera flash, which I usually leave in my bag until the reception; some of the formals were done with just the use of one window as light; though it wasn’t as cold as it could be, the wind proved to be dastardly so we acted as quickly as we could in spurts to acquire a variety of portraits of the lovely bride and her handsome groom; the bride and groom really wanted to do a dramatic shot in a dark auditorium, and we did just that!  I couldn’t be happier with the way these images turn out for such a sweet couple.

Speaking of the couple…Rachel and Adam both live in Texas. Adam is in line to be an nurse anesthetist (that is one word that I can never pronounce, much less spell correctly without the dictionary!) and Rachel is currently a nurse in a pediatric ER. They met one another while working in the throes of the Surgical Trauma ICU. She describes him as “funny, smart & adorable.” He says Rachel is, “spunky, sexy and funny.” And I think both of them nailed the descriptions! 😉

Adam is soft-spoken, but his personality is not lacking. Although I hadn’t met him until his wedding day, I felt incredibly comfortable around him, and he definitely was a good sport and genuinely great groom and guy.

Rachel’s sense of humor is my cup of tea. She is so goofy and silly, but also playfully clever. She proved to be a source of many laughs after verbally playing out absurd hypothetical situations with me throughout the day.

Put these two together, and they are the kind of couple that smiles with their eyes at one another and then rubs noses and giggles…and you don’t gag, but instead, you feel envious because they look cute doing it. Yeah, you know the type. 😉

Their wedding party was a class act to boot. The ladies were helpful, talented (Rachel’s friend Ashley made the gorgeous veil & garter belt, as well as did the hair and makeup!!), good-humored and clearly would do anything for Rachel. The guys kept us on our toes. They were always looking for a good time… whether it be via handlebar mustaches, playing the piano in the hall as guests migrated to the reception, or killing time with a dice game on the floor.

Laughter was definitely abundant that crisp December day. (Rachel’s dad would have it no other way, right?? Such a funny, charming man!) Both sets of parents were so clearly proud of their “kids” who had found their other half. And the grandparents who were able to be there were riots, too. Rachel’s tried to avoid the camera but acquiesced to my persistence by kissing for me–see pic below!!…And they won the anniversary dance with a whopping 60 years of marriage under their belts!!. 😉 And Adam’s grandmother was eager to tell me she came all the way from Florida to see her precious grandson get married. I didn’t think she’d stop hugging him during the formal pictures. hahaha

I felt so loved just looking at and being around all the love! ha

Rachel’s mom told me that she was so pleased that Rachel held fast to her vision for the wedding, and that it played out nicely. I agree. The overall vibe was warm, cozy, intimate, soft and romantic. And the food was yummy. haha

{{{{Also, below, you will see a pic of a lil’ blonde boy sitting on the steps of the stage. A shout out to him because he stole my heart that day. Something about him reminds me so much of what my own son, Weston, will probably look like in 2 years. And the sweetest thing was when I took that photo of him on the steps, I then sat down on the stage to wait for the garter belt toss to begin. He looked at me, and then quietly stood up and scooted up a few steps to the top one, so he was sitting right next to me. He didn’t say a word. He just smiled. And he melted my heart. 🙂 }}}

Major props to the guests for dancing up a storm despite the rather warm temps of the ballroom…and for cracking me up with their version of Gangham style. See if you can spot the lad who stole the show. 😉 Sidenote: My husband just asked me yesterday, “What is this Gingham style thing?” I laughed out loud. I told him I can show him pics of someone doing it as soon as I blog this wedding.hahaha

When Ali and I were leaving, Adam sent us off with a warm fuzzy because he came out in the hall to bid us farewell again and to once again thank us for everything. I’m telling you–he is THAT nice. So thank you for that, Adam!!!

Anyway…enough yammering…let’s look at the ooh-and-ahh-worthy wedding… and Rachel & Adam, once again, thank you. I know you’re still on your honeymoon… but I hope this is a nice holiday surprise for you both! You closed out my 2012 weddings with an amazing ending…. And I am so glad that I met you both. Have a glorious New Year…I would say “Stay Warm” but I am pretty sure down in Texas, you’ll have a better shot of that than you would here in Kansas City. 😉