Schoenfelder/Gummerson Wedding

Katie was one of my brides who booked me over the phone, since she and Will live in Texas. She was such a sweetie and was one of a few of my brides who sent me a hand-written note of "can't wait to see you". I love to get hand-written notes! Thanks to all of you who take time out of your day to do this. It really makes me happy :). So - because of her sweet, thoughtful note, I knew this would be a lovely person to work for!

I met Katie and her bridesmaids at the Hampton Suites in Boise where they would begin getting ready. This is also the time that I get to shoot details, like the shoes, the jewelery (which was a romantic gift from the groom), the flowers and the dress.





When Katie got on her dress, she added this darling little golden sweater. One of the bridesmaids said, "Only Katie could wear a golden sweater with her wedding dress and still look beautiful". Isn't that the truth??? She has got such a great style and it was apparent in every part of her wedding.






Katie and Wil met downstairs in the lobby of the Hampton Inn where they would see eachother for the first time.




After their meeting, we headed over to the Church where we would get ready and shoot a few of the "before ceremony" shots with the bridesmaids. We would also get a shot of mom putting on the veil and of the incredibly unique Ring "pillow" along with some other great details!







The ceremony was beautiful. Katie's cousin is a priest and he performed the ceremony. It"s always nice to have that personal touch of, "I knew the bride when *insert something embarrassing about childhood here*". I could tell he really loves his cousin - it was so great that he was able to be a part of the wedding!




Aren't these two just so-stinkin' cute? They are Wil's nephew and niece and I could have just taken them both home with me! It was hard not to get a great shot with these two!



After the ceremony, the weather was going back and forth between rain and sunshine. We had to make the best of it, so during the rain, we shot inside at Hotel 43, where the boys stayed, and when it was sunny, we shot outside. If we were driving and it became sunny, we stopped! Will saw a great rainbow and we tried hard to get it in this first shot, but by the time we actually stopped at a place that had parking for us, the rainbow had disappeared...who cares? We still got this beautiful first shot!



Then we headed to Hotel 43. Did you know there were so many great areas to shoot in at the hotel?






Katie and Wil are both designers (do you see a trend in my weddings?), so they were up for many of my ideas! After Hotel 43, we headed over to Surprise Valley to get some great Storm shots. The first image in this post was also taken in Surprise Valley.



Okay - ironically, this bride and groom also had their reception at Barber Park this weekend. Barber Park really is a fantastic alternative to Katheryn Albertson's Park. Don't get me wrong, KAP is great, but you can't continue with your reception there. At Barber Park, you can have the beautiful outdoor wedding that you've always wanted (along with shade and beautiful lighting for the photographer :) ) and stay in the same place for the reception which can be held indoors, outdoors or both!

Anywho - Katie and Wil's reception was full of designer touches. From the amazing "log" cake from Greg Marsh (I feel like a broken record here - see my other posts with photos of cakes) to the very cool reception cards to the woodlike chairs & gorgeous "bride-created" topiaries, the theme of "into the woods" was an obvious thread to tie the entire reception together.






Okay - in all reality, when Katie told me of her colors of Gold and Silver, I wasn't quite sure how she would be able to pull it off. But - I must say - it was sooo beautiful! The girl's dresses looked fantastic on all of them (who would have known???) and the guys' socks??? Too cool! The Flower Girl's darling dress was made by Lessie, Katie's mom.



My favorite thing about the wedding? Of course it was the Cotton Candy Machine. After seeing me eye the machine for about 10 minutes, my sweetie-assistant, Brooke, asked me, "Do you want some Cotton Candy?". I could no longer resist. Alas! I got to participate in the delectable taste of my favorite fair food. It brought out the kid in all of us!






And at last, the traditions. These are ever-changing from wedding to wedding. There are many people who are switching them around or not even including them. One word of advice - however you do your "traditions", be sure it reflects your personality.





And finally - you all know how I love the dancing *sigh*.










Special thanks to Brandon Johnson, my second shooter, and Brooke (my ever-faithful and hard-working assistant).

Thanks, Katie and Wil, for letting me be a part of your special day! Enjoy your Sneak-Peek and Consider Yourselves Loved...