Weddings can be stressful for everyone involved but not Maggie and Tim's wedding. From the moment I showed up to the time that I left everything went smoothly and everyone was full of joy, it was a dream to be apart of. These two are dear souls, they picked my favorite place to shoot at, they had a beautiful ceremony led by their Yoga instructor, a meal provided by Heritage and some of the most amazing speeches I've heard this year. I would redo this day it was that good.
Chelly and Mark spent the year leading up to their wedding not only planning a wedding but starting the process to adopt a child. A month before the wedding they welcomed their baby girl, Cora into their home and then flew from D.C to Madison to celebrate with their community. This wedding had something different about it, it was about Mark and Chelly and their love for each other but also about their commitment and love for their child and the journey they were put on to find her. I'm sure you guessed it, I cried a few times at the wedding.
A perfect day in the city for a wedding, spent the afternoon wandering the neighborhood with Katie, Dan and their wedding party - a beautiful ceremony at sunset followed by a wonderful meal, beautiful speeches and an epic dance party. 
Katherine and John made their engagement session a walk down memory lane - starting with The Mason Lounge, where they had their first official date ending with the Edgewood boardwalks, where John proposed! These two told me they have never gotten their pictures professionally taken, like ever - I think they did a real good job being in front of the camera together and I look forward to being apart of their wedding day this coming spring!
A highlight of my summer was traveling out west to hike in the mountains, spend a few days living in a tiny house and documenting this wedding. I've known Elise since the 3rd grade, so it was very exciting when she contacted me to come shoot her wedding - getting to know these two through this last year has been wonderful, seeing her family and friends again was a nice reunion and this day was perfection. I cried more than the photographer should, I had goosebumps from the way these to love not only each other but their families and their friends - it was an honor to be up on that mountain witnessing their vows.
As my sister, Ashlee, and her husband Travis embark on their journey of adoption, they asked me to help them with their adoption book by taking photographs of them on a typical day in the life of the Whitty crew. These two are running a campaign to help offset the price of adoption, any amount will help: www.gofundme.com/whittycommittee In their words:
"you may have noticed Ashlee and I have been absent from social feeds over the past year or so. This was due largest in part to our focus on starting a family. The journey has taken us on many paths— each one packed with various forms of struggle, perseverance, countless life lessons, and above all: personal growth. Through these experiences, Ashlee and I are proud to say we’ve emerged a humbled, more confident husband and wife.
With that said, we are excited to announce that we are currently in the middle of an open, domestic infant adoption process!
Some of you know the adoption process incredibly well and have been an invaluable resource to Ashlee and me. Thank you for your stories, wisdom, foresight and comfort. For those less familiar or new to this news, we have been working with the phenomenal organization Catholic Charities here in Milwaukee to help welcome a little one into our family. We cannot wait for the day we get to introduce him/her to you, and we are beyond blessed knowing that they will be met with the same love and community all of us have cultivated together over the years.
Ashlee and I have been focused on learning as much as we can about adoption, as well as contributing to funding the journey with the means we have. All monetary resources ensure Catholic Charities is able to provide a safe, well-informed decision making process for the birthmother (and/or birthfather), as well as to help educate and properly prepare us for our family’s future.
We have set up a GoFundMe account (www.gofundme.com/whittycommittee) in hopes of offsetting some of these upfront, financial contributions Ashlee & I have dedicated to the process. We know there are a great many deserved causes to align yourselves with—but if you are able, we would greatly appreciate your support! As it goes with any social campaign, simply forwarding our link to others to expand our visibility would be equally as helpful."
On August 19th Sarah and Brien traveled back to Wisconsin from Seattle and had a beautiful wedding at Devil's Head Ski Resort. I am so thankful to have met these two and photograph their celebration and be apart of their ceremony.
Venue: Devil's Head Ski Resort
Second Shooter: Sarah Lang of Lovely Ember Photography
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!
