Truth is I've been sitting on this blog for 2 days now, I've done this because the love I have for this day is hard for me to put into words. I have been blessed to know Hillary and Ted since middle school, I watched their love grow into what it is today and I am so thankful that I got to be the one to document their wedding day. As I pulled up to Ted's family cabin and when I came in and saw Hillary, I got choked up -- it was the day that Hillary and Ted get married and I knew it was going to be magic from start to finish. You guys, I was right, from their first look and cribbage game, to the light and words during the ceremony, to everyone ever singing beautifully on the back porch including the lovely bride and her band, Peridot to the meal being one from one of my favorite caterers, Heirloom Kitchen, to the many amazing toasts to the father daughter dance where Hillary's Grandpa sang to Ted's Mom Singing to Ted's Dad playing Trumpet to Hillary's family band making the dance party happen. I would photograph this day everyday. Hillary and Ted, you two are gems, your love is magic, your family and friends are the best and I am so grateful I know you both, thank you for having me at your wedding, in the words of Hillary, love you more,

Audre Rae

People often ask me if I get sick of photographing weddings, and to be honest sometimes I feel like I am until I arrive the day of, observe the preparations and document the emotions, the building up to the ceremony, the exchanging of vows - I get to be there, to be that fly on the wall documenting everything. Sarah and Drew's wedding was the first one of my season since I took off to get married myself and it was a dream, I was beaming all day with excitement and tears in my eyes - from the moment Sarah showed me her locket with her grandparents portraits in the frames to Michelle Grosso marrying them, it was honestly one of the best days, I get to document love, family and epic parties and watching Sarah and Drew exchange vows and celebrate their love story with their favorite people made me so happy. These two got married at Aldo Leopold Nature Center, they had people travel from near and far to witness their vows and to dance the night away. Sarah Lang of Lovely Ember helped me document this day.

A few weeks ago I met Tom and Colleen at their home, their home that is currently wood beams and big dreams. They gave me the tour of what the home will be and we took some photographs of them in their project as well as their amazing garden. We then went to the Arboretum where Tom took Colleen on one of their first dates and despite the mosquitoes, we had a lovely time. I am so excited I got to meet these two and I look forward to photographing their wedding next May!

Lauren and Jonathon have been in front of my camera a few times for I had the opportunity to document their engagement and then their wedding. These two being me joy, I love working with them and I squealed with excitement when Lauren emailed me to tell me they were expecting and wanted me to document this stage in their lives.

A few weeks ago I made the trip over to Milwaukee to meet up with Sarah and Drew in their adorable Bayview apartment. These two made some mojitos, sat on the patio where Drew proposed followed by a walk in Bayview park. I just love these two, I've had the opportunity to photograph a few of their friends weddings and so I've been able to document their adorableness on other occasions but this session was a dream and I can't wait for their wedding next month!

A Sunday afternoon in the Capitol with just 6 of their people to witness their vows followed by a packed Forequarter filled with friends and family to celebrate with delicious food and drinks. Adrianna & Joe had the perfect day and I am so grateful I was apart of it.

As we all paitently await their new family member, I thought I would share our latest session with you all. A Sunday morning with the lovely Rajala family while it is still just the 3 of them. We cannot wait to meet your little one in (hopefully) just a few days!

Jes & Jimmy met at a dog park a few years back and last month Jes and Jimmy had a popup ceremony at the Buckingham Fountain in Downtown Chicago followed by an incredible meal at Betty's on Fulton Market. Perfect weather, beautiful community and the dogs even came to the ceremony!

Another season, another session with the Lang family - An early Wednesday morning, rainy and dark they make coffee, breakfast and entertained little Elsie who is now always on the go. These seasonal sessions are such a beautiful way to see how a morning routine changes as their daughter grows up.

Last month Luke and I packed up my Honda Fit with musical instruments and cameras and hit the road to Austin, TX stopping on our way for Luke to play a few shows. Our main reason for this road trip was to visit our dear friends Katie & Maia and meet their sweet sweet little baby named Noah Ryan. He is basically perfect, their new home is the best and I really didn't want to come home - I wanted to stay on their back porch, snuggled in with a book and a baby and eat tacos from breakfast, lunch and dinner. So before we left, I had to document this little family in their new space.  

A few weeks back I drove out to Jefferson to document Brittany and Cory on a Sunday afternoon in their new beautiful home. They started their session out by finishing up their game of Scrabble, which I was totally into. With these two just recently purchasing this home, it was fitting to start our session here - these two are in the middle of making this place their first home and it was such a treat to see their progress. These two are getting marring this fall and they are totally adorable.  

Madison's own talented Anna Vogelzang has moved with her husband to L.A and continues making music on the Sunny side. When I was in L.A a few weeks back we did a little update photoshoot to represent her new creative space, we spent the day in their home studio as well as walking around their Highland Park neighborhood.  

A few weeks ago I met up with Hillary and Ted in their beautiful apartment in Silverlake. I've known these two since Junior High, I remember Ted's band, Left At Atlantic, I remember Hillary's first gigs at Copper Rock Cafe in Downtown Appleton and now these two will be getting married this coming August and are making a lovely life in Los Angeles. It was lovely to spend an afternoon with them in their neighborhood and I can't wait for their wedding!  

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to Tulum, Mexico to document Stacy & Will's wedding on a Thursday afternoon on the beach. I've been sitting on this blog all week because I couldn't figure out how to put in words how I feel about Stacy & Will and this beautiful trip we all got to experience. I am so grateful for this opportunity to document these two exchanging vows, taking tequila shots with all their lovely friends & family who all took a week off from their lives to come and celebrate these two gems, watching Will and Stacy smash so much cake in each others faces and Stacy, sweet sweet Stacy, laughing so hard about the amount of cake that is in her hair. So much love, so many drinks and dancing in the sand on a Thursday evening was a beautiful thing to document and experience, thank you Stacy and Will for having me be apart of this epic week. 

I love when I come home from a session and Luke asks me how it goes and my answer is “ah, so good, this couple is amazing and I want to be their friends” Chelly and Mark was exactly that. It was honestly hard to stop having a conversation and take photographs because they have such interesting lives and I wanted to hear more about Mark's travels and Chelly's time in the Peace Corps. I also love that I get some many couples who love to travel, travel is such an important part of my life and getting to connect with other people who feel the same is so great. Chelly and Mark were in town for the holidays for they both live and work in D.C, with their flight the next day we were lucky to get a nice day for a winter session (nice in Madison in January is 40 degrees). We met for tea at Lakeside Coffee, and went for a walk on the frozen lake. These two will be exchanging vows next fall at Tenney Park and I'm looking forward to spending more time with them.

November 5th an abnormally warm day in Wisconsin and I got to spend it in my favorite little town, Spring Green with two of the loveliest people and their friends and family. Sara and Allen had a beautiful day, starting at the church and ending at the river for the traditional marshmallow roasting ceremony ... The best.

I met Elaine and Dan at a wedding I shot this summer, Elaine was the Maid of Honor and killed it at her speech and was a joy to be around , so when she emailed me about shooting her wedding I was excited to get to know her and Dan better and hang out with them on their wedding day. These two own a home together in Milwaukee so I met them in their city and spent a lovely fall day with them.

Halloween weekend, perfectly fall, beautiful city and one of the loveliest couples -- October 29th, 2015 was a wonderful day for Eric and Casey and I am so happy I was there to document them looking their finest and celebrating their love.

A few Sundays back I met up with Rachel & Dave for a little engagement session. I met these two this summer at a wedding I was photographing and I'm so glad I had the chance to document these two!

I genuinely love my job and enjoy documenting two people who love each other exchange vows in front of their loved ones. I am thankful for the couples who give me full creative freedom, who trust me to document them as them and Adam and Rob did just that. On October 22nd, 2016 I got to document Adam and Rob get ready in their amazing apartment, walk around the grounds in which they live as well as were getting married in, then exchange their vows in a perfect chapel by a wonderful woman who spoke of love and community and made basically everyone cry followed by a celebration of all things Adam and Rob -- It was a perfect day to be apart of as well as photograph. Adam and Rob, I love you both, I am so beyond happy that you two have found each other and thank you for asking me to document your wedding.