A few months back I met up with Hannah, Christopher and their son, Silas for a little engagement/family session  , it was a great way for me to get excited for their wedding day. Hannah & Christopher were married in New Holstein, Wi  on August 16th at this beautiful property on a dead end road. Their ceremony was set up to be outside next to a pond, and moments before Hannah & her father were going to walk down the aisle we all felt raindrops and made the call to run to the barn as Hannah, her father and her dear friend sat hiding in a tent so no one would see her. The rain stopped for 15 minutes, enough time to get some photographs, but it rained all day- but that doesn't matter because it was a beautiful day for Hannah & Christopher to get married, to say their vows to each other and  to their son Silas Rain and to celebrate their relationship with their friends and their family.  

Erin and Bob eloped back in December in their living room in Appleton, Wi with just 2 witnesses, their black lab and a pastor, a perfect set up for a wonderful couple.  A few weeks back Erin contacted me to see if they could put on their wedding clothes and do a little photo shoot with me - I was so excited for I have known these two for years and I was so happy when I found out they got married -- we had a blast on this photo shoot.

Mads and Za contacted me just a few months ago about their small, no fuss backyard wedding that took place on August 9th in Oshkosh, WI. Mads and Za have only lived in Oshkosh for about a year, they moved from Boston when Za got a job teaching at UWO and within that year these two have built such a lovely community. Their neighbors helped cook food and decorate, people traveled from Norway, Boston and many other places -- it was the perfect small gathering of close friends and family to celebrate Mads and Za.

My favorite way to spend my time with friends is around a table sharing food. A few weeks ago we went over to our friends home for a meal and a night of swing sets and firefly hunting - a perfect summer night.

My dear friend Kristina and owner of Brown Rice & Honey  hosted a vegan pop-up dinner on beautiful rustic tables from A La Crate and laid out on linens by Midwest Textiles. Brown Rice and Honey focuses on “back to basics” food, featuring baked goods that are primarily vegan and often also gluten-free. This dinner was set up to raise funds for a new commercial kitchen space and to start a CSB (Community Supported Bakery) program. The CSB will give customers a chance to directly invest upfront and receive weekly or bi-weekly baskets of fresh Vegan or Gluten-Free baked goods, and all at a fraction of standard retail cost! 

I've known Anna since our Junior High Days, she then moved away in High school & continued moving through college and then her and Daniel moved to Madison a few years ago from Chicago and we've always lived 2 blocks from each other. Their wedding weekend was spent in Monroe, Wi in Anna's parents yard, one of the most beautiful places in Wisconsin and I got to be a witness with a camera. Here are some images that I took during the weekend. 

An outdoor wedding moved indoor for it was far too humid to guest to enjoy such a beautiful ceremony -- at least they let me take some photographs of the two of them before the wedding! Despite the weather, this day was filled with so many lovely moments, faces and love, I am so happy for Brady, Virginia and Brady's two lovely daughters.  

A few weeks ago I met the Johnson family for a tea party to celebrate Etta's 1st birthday, a perfect day (except for all the bugs) to celebrate a lovely little lady.  

I first met Joleen & Brendan back in January to discuss the wedding and take their engagement photographs, it was the week before they moved to Washington D.C and it was about -10 degrees outside, so getting a chance to take their photograph on July 5th, a perfect summer day was wonderful. I arrived to the room with Joleen sitting in her beautiful flower crown with her brother and friend Joanna and everyone was so calm, I knew it was going to be a good day. Joleen & Brendan had a small guest list, a beautiful outdoor ceremony and the best party bus I have seen in all my years of wedding photography. They had lawn games, an amazing meal by Upstairs Downstairs  followed by an epic dance party.  

I'm not entirely sure how to start and where to end on this one -- Elizabeth Rose has been my best friend since before we had our drivers license and we were pen pals before cellphones were in everyone's hands. Elizabeth and I have many stories I could share, so many memories growing up together - every weekend being a sleepover throughout high school. I love her dearly and being a witness to her marrying into this amazing family was one of the greatest things I have been apart of. I could write a novel about how I feel about these two and this family of six, but I don't feel like everybody who reads my blog needs to know, or really wants to know – so I'll say this – when Elizabeth called me to tell me they were engaged – I made the weirdest sound possible - a combination of a scream, a burst of tears and some kind of words of congratulations – I was filled with joy because I truly couldn't pick out a better match. The love these two have for each other and for those 4 amazing children is a beautiful thing to witness – the love these two have for their close friends and family is just as beautiful and I am so thankful that when I come up to Appleton, I know I can spend a day at the beach hanging out with the kids and Elizabeth followed by making massive amounts of food and end the night sitting on their porch talking until the early hours of the morning.

Here is a series of photographs that I took while being apart of their wedding, with the exception of a few that I am in taken by my lovely Father and Elizabeth's brother, Ezra.

Caroline & Peter were married in Caroline's Mothers backyard followed by an epic dance party at High Noon Saloon on the summer solstice, June 21st -- a day that started out with rain but ending in being a perfect day of summer. The setting was stunning, they were married by Caroline's father next to a beautiful willow tree, followed by an amazing fish fry by Underground Catering, yard games and a party bus to take everyone to High Noon Saloon for some dessert, drinks and dancing. It was a wonderful day to be apart of, Caroline and Peter come from amazing families and have a wonderful group of friends who all traveled from all over to be witnesses for these two. Enjoy these images:

Sometimes before you start to set up a DIY wedding you need a little time in the woods. A few week back, my best friend, Elizabeth Rose got married and before the wedding I spent 3 days with some wonderful women in a cabin. Time with my girlfriends is a rare thing in my busy season, but something I need -- these women are lovely and inspiring and when my time is up, I always feel refreshed and inspired. Elizabeth Rose makes me all of my favorite jewelry, sends me the most beautiful mail and I get to spend many evenings on her porch in Appleton until the late hours of the night. Noelle and I just met on the trip, but it didn't feel that way, she is an amazing artist who has made a career out of  her talents,  the hats in these photographs are made by her, she is currently having a 30% off sale until the 4th, so visit her website here . Here is a series of images from Elizabeth, Noelle and I's  morning stroll in the woods, before Colleen arrived and we baked 100 cupcakes and made burrito fixings for 60 people.

On June 14th I got the chance to spend the day with Adria & Chris along with Adria's daughter, their family and friends at Olbrich Gardens and it was truly a wonderful celebration filled with sunshine, good food and lovely music. I have been able to get to know these two a little bit since they decided to book me for their wedding, we had a pretty awesome engagement session in their home & letterpress studio and Adria has done some pretty amazing graphic design work for me --we've been able to connect on many things and I really enjoy these two, their story and I had such a lovely time documenting their wedding day.

A beautiful backyard wedding filled with DYI projects and home brewed beer, followed by a reception on the lake - a perfect day of not getting rained until the very end on and celebrating Matt and Amber!  

Caroline and Peter will be getting married in 6 days! The 3 of us have been trying to set up an engagement session for months, and we finally got together last week. Their wedding ceremony will be in Caroline's mothers backyard followed by a reception at High Noon Salo0n.  

Last week I drove up to Hilbert, Wi for an early morning shoot with Christopher, Hannah and their beautiful son, Silas who just turned 1 a few weeks ago. I've known Christopher for well over 10 years now and until these two asked me to photograph their wedding in August, I had only met Hannah Darling (yes, that is her real last name) once, so it was wonderful to get to know her a little more and to meet their son who stole my heart just a little bit. I am so happy for this little family and I am beyond excited to be apart of their wedding day.

Oh my darling Nora, my dear little friend has turned 5! I have known this sweet girl since she was a baby, I would spend every Thursday afternoon with her and she became a subject in many of my photographs through the years and will continue to be so through her childhood. Nora is a big reason why photographing children is my favorite - no insecurities, no 'good side' just pure joy and true candids. When I get to spend an afternoon with her with my camera at my side, I feel like I can really document her - she doesn't have a pintrest board, she doesn't say 'can you photoshop out my (insert an insecurity), she just is, and I get to document her - and it makes me remember why I am and continue to work on being the best photographer I can be. I wish we could go back to the mindset of a 5 year old, get the pintrest mindset out, get rid of the insecurities and just be - so I hope this set of images from Nora's 5th princess themed birthday party helps awaken your 5 year old self.

A few weeks back  I stopped over in Fond Du Lac to spend an afternoon with the Trepanier crew to celebrate their lovely family and their parents, John and Lisa and their 40 years of marriage. A stylish and fun crew to capture the 3 generations and their life together as one beautiful family.

I met Mike & Kate on Skype over a year ago to get to know them as well as talk about their wedding, at the time they were both living and working in Philadelphia – Kate was working in Finance and Mike was in Fashion. After talking with these two, I felt so excited for their wedding, not only are these two sweet, beautiful and best friends but they have amazing taste. A few months after we Skyped, I met Kate & Mike in Milwaukee for their engagement session, I had so much fun wandering the city with them to capture their humor and love. Between that and their wedding, I received a letter letting me know that they had moved to New York because Mike accepted a job at Rag & Bone, a brand that I love and a very exciting job to get. After a year of change and adventure, these lovely Wisconsinites turned New Yorkers and came back on May 24^th to have a very Wisconsin wedding at Mulberry Lane Farms in Sherwood with perfect weather and a wonderful group of friends and family to help celebrate their love.

An April day that called for rain, gave us sun until we were all safe inside for the dinner. On April 12th Laura and Aaron had a lovely wedding at The Overture Center to celebrate their love with their friends and family and I was so happy to be apart of that day.