The flowers were gorgeous...
...as were the church's stained-glass windows.
Kevin and Jenny's officiant was a friend of Jenny's from church -- he took classes for a year so he would be qualified to give their ceremony! Now that's friendship...
After the ceremony we had planned to go to Palmer Park for photos -- Jenny and her mom and I had met about a month ago to walk around and pick out the best locations. We ended up having to do the wedding party portraits inside the church, and they turned out just fine anyway :-)
We went to the park to at least attempt a portrait of the happy couple. Now, I have to say this is one of the most challenging storms I've ever worked in -- and I was a newspaper photographer in Montana! Drizzle, I can deal with. Rain I can deal with. Even snow is ok. But this was high winds and lashing rain -- the storm was really unbelievable! I consider it a sheer miracle that the photos turned out as well as they did -- and that my camera and lenses stayed dry. Wish I could say the same thing for Eric and the limo driver, who were holding my lights and umbrella ;-)
We had a blast in the party bus...
And Jenny and Kevin made a grand "grand entrance" at the reception.
There were kisses...
There were toasts...
and lots of adoring looks :-)
And you know what? During the reception I was looking at Kevin and Jenny, and I was admiring them for handling all the craziness with the weather so calmly and in such good spirits, and I thought, "It isn't their fault that it rained!" They had wanted photos in Palmer Park so badly, and Janesville isn't too far from our hometown... so I decided to offer to meet them there the next day for the outdoor portraits they had dreamed of. They gratefully accepted, and I'm so glad they did!
Even though I generally like high-energy shots with lots of motion and action, I think this is one of my favorite wedding pictures ever because it so perfectly captures Jenny and Kevin's happiness -- but also the deep reverence they have for their relationship and each other. They just settled into this pose -- I didn't direct them -- and I think it's so sweet.
If you want to see more pictures set to the song from their first dance, you can see their slideshow here.
Thanks, Kevin and Jenny, for inviting us to share in your joy! Best wishes!
