One January morning I went to Stoughton to photograph this lovely family in their beautiful home. There is something about photographing a family in their home that just hits different than when I meet them in a park. I get to capture them in their space, the space they live their daily lives in. Mabel will look back on these images when she grows up and see the art hanging on the walls, the quilts her Mom made draped on the furniture, the sourdough bread her Dad made sitting on the kitchen counter and it all tells a story for her - she will get that warm “feels like home” feeling.

I was recently in a meeting with a couple & the wedding planner and I made a comment about how I have been photographing weddings for almost 20 years. The planner responded to that by mentioning how embarrassing it would be to see the early things they did for weddings and i started to think back at some of the first ones I did. This one I am sharing here, almost 20 years ago, came to mind. At age 18, I had only photographed 1 other wedding before Bill Golden asked me to photograph his. I said yes and charged them $300 dollars (this included the film and prints.. haha, I probably made $50). On their wedding dayI showed up with my 35MM film camera that was duct tape together, an old 50mm lens and a fanny pack of film. I kept quiet, I witnessed and I documented all day long. I am not embarrassed by these images because these images are what I witnessed, I waited for moments and I captured the moment. This is still how I shoot because this is real, moments last, moments are sacred and after almost 20 years, I looked through these images and remembered how it felt to be there & I still love them.

Even today, I still feel so honored when I get a wedding inquiry - every single request for information is such a compliment, that means they found my website, saw the images I got to capture for people and it made them want to learn more about my work. I don’t take that for granted and I don’t think I ever will. I can’t tell you how many weddings I have been invited to document or how many more I will photograph but I am so grateful this is my job. I love that I have been showing up, shutting up and documenting for all these years.

A week after that meeting, I was in Stoughton thrifting with my family when I heard “Audre Krull?” I turned around and there was Bill, the groom from this wedding, and then Sarah, his wife of almost 20 years, came out of the dressing room. I got to introduce them to my husband and my 3 year old & they told me they have 5 kids and live in the Madison area now. We stood around and caught up a bit and it was just nice and it made me want to share my early work. *These are scanned from the old 4x6 prints I have from their wedding so forgive the quality and the off coloring.

After a pivot in venue Liz & Jordan ended up getting married at a family member’s backyard and it was the best. Liz got ready in her childhood home, her Dad got her to the first look, they had a beautiful ceremony with not a dry eye in the crowd followed by cocktails, a taco truck and dancing. This wedding may have been years ago but I remember is all like it was yesterday. it was a wedding I walked away from so grateful this is my job - I get to witness and document wedding days.

Even 8 months later I have a hard time putting into words what it was like to witness and document Hannah and Mark’s wedding. When I first met these two it was at their rehearsal dinner the night before their wedding, I got to photograph that event and watch these two embrace and reconnect with their community - I know I got choked up during that evening as I watched people reunite after years apart. I left that event feeling calm and excited to show up the next day to document their vows and party and that feeling stayed with me throughout their wedding day. It was just a really special wedding to be a part of and I am so grateful they chose me to document it.

Second photographer: Nikki Hansen Photography Event Location: Sprouting Acres Event planner: Lofi Events Rentals: A La Crate / Event Essentials Flowers: 1209 Creative Dress: Khaite

On February 19th, 2021 my world changed when our son, Elijah Robert Krull was born and my days became consumed by him in the best way possible. He was born during a time where we weren’t leaving the house much and it was rare to invite people in it, we had our little pod during those first couple of months of his life and they were magic. My husband went back to work 12 weeks later and I learned how to be a stay at home parent. That first year, Elijah wouldn’t let me put him down for naps, so I held him while he slept - some days I hated it but most days it was wonderful - I knew this stage is temporary and there will be a day when he can wiggle out of my arms and run to play and now he is turning 2 in two months and well, he wiggles out of my arms while saying “all done” and runs to play.

It have been almost 2 years since I last posted on this blog - I still photograph, I love this job and can’t and won’t stop - I have many sessions I can and hope to share but my days are spent with Elijah, so when I have time to work, I am working hard to edit my clients images and sending them their galleries and I have fallen behind on sharing my work that now it feels overwhelming to start but I hope for this winter to be a time for me to organize and post more. So if you are visiting my website to consider booking me for your wedding or family session, just know that I am looking forward to hearing from you but just also know that I may not email you in record time, I might be playing hide & seek or playing in the snow with my almost 2 year old but I will get to that email and I would love to capture your moments in your life. I also came to say that I hope to get back to blogging my work, winter is my slow season and I hope in these next few months I can share some of my sessions from the last 2 years. Lastly, I wanted to share some images from our own family sessions when Elijah was 4 months, 8 months and 20 months old - I am so grateful for our friends over at Lovely Ember Photography for documenting our days and i am so grateful I get to do the same for their family.

Just a day in the life of the Rajala family from this last fall. I’ve been lucky enough to document this crew since Henrik was just a little babe and now he is rocking a skateboard and they are all really good at ignoring me and just live life in front of my lens.

Megan and Russ made many changes in order for their wedding to happen in a safe way this last summer and it was a perfect day by the lake to celebrate their exchanging of vows. It was a wonderful day filled with happy tears and so much joy and I am so grateful I got to be there to witness and document it all.

I got the chance to meet up with Kari and Cody this fall to document their engagement and it was really lovely. I am very much looking forward to when these two exchange vows and celebrate with their family and friends.

This has been the year for family sessions. We all have spent more time home together this year than most years and I’m so grateful families have reached out to document this time together. Back in September I was able to visit the Heidemann family at their new home to document their lovely family again - I photographed this crew back in 2018 when their second son, Adler was just born, it was so lovely meet him as a toddler and see my buddy Ezra again.

We all have had to make sacrifices in 2020 but that doesn’t mean you still can’t marry your person. For Gabriela and Meheer, they had a plan to have a big celebration in August and when the reality that is 2020 hit, these two made a new plan - Instead of August, how about July, instead of a venue in Madison, why not Gabriela’s parents’ rooftop patio, instead of 100+ people, why not immediate family only and instead of a wedding gown, why not an amazing feathered orange dress? These two shifted their plans but kept their goal in mind - to marry each other and I loved that I was able to document this wedding and also eat the meal Gabriela’s parents prepared for all of us.

Maddie and Bret got married underneath my favorite tree in Madison and I got to document it and now they have a sweet little one named Wren and a pup in their home and this summer I got to document them in their home. I always say this, but I really love staying connected with my wedding couples and I love when I get invited to photograph their lives.

One of my favorite parts of my job is when I get to continue documenting a family. The couple reaches out when they get engaged, I photograph their wedding and then they contact me when they want photographs with their little ones. This year I got to see so many of my past wedding couples with their little ones and it really brought me so much joy. Earlier this summer Jenny reached out and I got to visit them with my camera when they brought their son Liam home.

Nicole and Matt met in college at UW Madison, they now live in Chicago and last month these two got married in Milwaukee. Their wedding day plans may have changed, the sky may have been spitting rain down on and off all day but this was a good day and I am so glad i got to be apart of it.

Second Photographer: Megan Yanz

Venue: Ivy House

Planning + design: Rosewood Weddings

Floral: Flowers For Dreams

Specialty Rentals: A La Crate

Cake: Miss Molly’s Cafe Milwaukee

Entertainment: Milwaukee Airwaves, Aaron

Catering: Birch + Butcher

I’ve known Elise since Elementary school, I got to go to Colorado to photograph her wedding to James a few years ago and this summer they took a road trip to Wisconsin and I got to meet their precious son, Silas! I love getting to continue documenting as families grow and it was such a joy to see these two again and meet their happy kiddo.

Allison and John welcomed their daughter Eloise home this summer and I had the opportunity to document one of their first days together and it was so special to me!

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a rough year for all of us, but Megan and Andy took this as an opportunity to strip down their wedding and create something new from a crummy situation and I am so grateful I was still able to be apart of this day.

I’ve been lucky to have Megan in my life for over 10 years, one of out first hang out was two weeks together in Guatemala so we got close pretty quickly. I got the opportunity to meet Andy right after their first date and I can honestly say I knew then that that was her person. Andy proposed on a trip they took to Italy, I remember getting the text with the photo of them with big grins and tears in their eyes as they show off the ring, I remember squealing with joy. When they reached out to ask if I could document their day, I felt so honored - I love being a guest at weddings but there is something so special about documenting friends getting married, I get to witness moments that no other guests gets to witness - like Nancy zipping up Megan’s dress and Jerry, her father seeing her for the first time - and the list goes on.

They went from planning a big party at a lovely barn to stripping it down to just immediate family at a park Andy grew up going to and having an intimate dinner in the backyard of Andy’s parents and it really was so them and so perfect.

It has been a season of family session for me and this year has been such a reunion of past wedding couples! Natalie and Nathan got married back in 2018 and i got to document that wonderful day and this year they welcomed their sweet baby girl, Natalie to their family. I went to visit them earlier this summer and did a distant session of them at their home and it was so wonderful documenting them in this new role as parents.

I’m not going to lie - I miss photographing people, I miss being invited into peoples homes and document their day. On March 7th I went over to meet this lovely family in their beautiful home and I didn’t know it would be my last family session for awhile. It was just starting to feel like spring, that feeling where you know hibernation is coming to an end and soon you will be meeting up with friends at outdoor cafes and hosting grill outs. We spent some time in their beautifully lit home and then went for a walk out on the tracks just out in their backyard - it was a simple day in the life of this family and I got to document it.

I’ve been sitting with my computer in my lap trying to figure out how to type out words about these two, their relationship and this session but it’s not easy because this day was pretty magical and not just because we were in this insanely perfect space, we felt humidity in February in Chicago and it was a workday and we got to be outside of the studio and then we got to go eat an amazing meal before coming back to Madison but because I got to witness these two together, outside of work - their humor, the way they bring comfort for each other, the words to which they whisper in order to burst out laughing. Jen and Jesse have been Jen and Jesse for a long time and I really can’t remember a time when they weren’t a pair even though technically I knew them then and I am so grateful they invited me in to capture them and I cannot wait to see these two exchange vows this fall.

Hair and Make up by the ever so talented Alison Drake.

So happy I get to have this lovely family in front of my camera so often, from their engagement session to winter wedding, from when they were pregnant with their first and now with their second - I love watching this family grow, I love documenting their love and their lives. This shoot was done back in January before their little bundle of joy was born - Jon and Lauren, thank you for inviting me over for coffee and photographing and congratulations on your sweet baby girl!