Keokuk Iowa Wedding Photography: Michelle & Ian

I am so excited to kick off the wedding season! I am second shooting again this summer with one of my best friends ever, Wendi Riggens-Miller. She is a very talented photographer and the person who helped me get started in the business. I am a firm believer in sharing with other photographers and helping them grow and Wendi is a perfect example of this. You can learn so much just from teaching someone else and she has done that for me. It is so awesome to be able to have such a close friend who has the same passion as you. We definitely never run out of things to talk about! We are working on getting together a group of Burlington, Iowa (and surrounding area) photographers together to network, shoot and just have fun. If you are interested you can shoot either Wendi or myself a message.

Anyways, on to the wedding!

Second shooting is so different than being the main photographer at a wedding. I love just watching things unfold and picking up little moments and detail shots while Wendi is doing her thing. Here is Michelle and Ian’s day from my point of view:

This couple was an absolute dream to work with and up for anythng. Their wedding took place in Keokuk in probably the biggest church I have ever seen! We headed to Rand Park for a few wedding party shots and then to the Comfort Inn & Suites in Ft. Madison for their reception.

A few details. I really loved the bold colors in the flowers. They just popped off of the bridesmaid’s dresses (you’ll see that later!) Michelle & Ian are die hard Cubs fans, so she had a Cubs garter, of course.

I just love how he is looking at her in this shot after reading the note in the card she gave him. I don’t know what it said, but it made his mom cry, so it must have been good.

The beautiful ceremony.

Their wedding party was super fun! It’s always nice to have a cooperative, laid back group. Makes for a great day and even better pictures.

She was wanting to spin all day, but she kept getting stopped by her mom and everyone else because they didn’t want her to wrinkle her freshly steamed dress. Finally after the ceremony I told her to go for it! LOVE THESE!

Wendi scoped out this wall before the ceremony for some shots of the couple and it is so so perfect!

I love it when DJs do the “how many years have you been married?” dance. Not sure what to really call it, but if you’ve been to a wedding where they’ve done it you know what I mean! They start out with all of the married couples on the dance floor, then call out different lengths of time until they end up with the couple who has been married the longest. I had my eye on Ian’s grandparents and told them they were just hanging out waiting to claim their victory. They definitely did claim it and if my memory is correct they have been married for 54 years. I love his grandma’s expression when they are announcing how long they have been together. So sweet.

Some more fun details from the reception.

I caught Wendi in action!