September 25, 2019
Whew! It has been a little over 2 weeks since Samantha and Jake tied the knot and I think it’s about time to feature them on the blog!!! I have a few days off from shooting and my brain seems to be sharp today so I am getting caught up here at home on blogging and editing, so expect a lot of posts from me over the next few days. Sorry not sorry! To start, I just have to show off this beautiful early September / late summer wedding!!
I first met Samantha through her sister Haley, who is an amazing boudoir photographer based out of Milwaukee (and San Diego!!) Check her out over at Elizabeth Urban Photography! So, when Samantha told me that she wanted to book me for her wedding, I was so humbled!! It means a lot to me because I know that with Haley’s help she likely researched a lot of local photographers. So, yes, I’ll admit I was a bit more nervous than usual for this one!! When we did their engagement photos last fall, I really felt that we clicked and I knew this would be a super fun day! It’s so evident how absolutely in love Sam and Jake are – and you’re about to see for yourself!
Walking into the day, I fully admitted my nerves out loud. Cue Nikki’s awkward moment #1!! However, I lucked out because Sam and her girls got ready in Haley’s studio which is insanely gorgeous and full of beautiful natural light. Not only that, but in the past, I had the opportunity shot a few sessions there myself so I was a little familiar with the space! Samantha had a super laid back timeline with a lot of wiggle room for getting ready… which meant the morning and early afternoon was easy, relaxed and un-rushed and that = beautiful photos!
Samantha asked if I’d help her get dressed so that she could surprise her girls and do a first look with them. Cue awkward moment #2; I’m sooo used to photographing the bride GETTING dressed that I had no idea what I was doing HELPING her get dressed and so I called in reinforcements from her makeup artist, which enabled me to capture a few shots of her just after she had her dress on, one of my favorite moments of every wedding day! Sam quietly emerged from the dressing room and showed off her beautiful gown to the ladies and they loved it! My super talented second shooter Alax of The Wild Authentic headed over early to get some images of the guys getting ready, too. I am so thankful my seconds are so good at what they do, I never worry about me missing half of the getting ready photos (meaning, the guys!) because I know they will nail it for me! Samantha also surprised her groom with an album of pictures from an absolutely gorgeous boudoir session shot by her sister!! You’ll see his awesome reaction below!!
Once everyone was ready, us girls left to head down to the Racine Civic Center so Samantha could get MARRIED!! As I was selecting the images from this blog post I couldn’t help but think of some of the memorable moments of the day… like how Jake TOTALLY tried to hold back tears when he saw Sam and how she was also trying so hard not to cry! Just look at their first kiss image from behind the altar – they’re totally #cryingnotcrying! Absolutely beautiful. I also loved Samantha’s vows, which were both filled with touching words and a little humor too, about “rushing into marriage” (they’ve been together for over a decade!!) which created both laughter and tears. In fact, I think that may have been the theme of the day – smiles and tears, because as you are about to see, they flowed freely by many at times throughout the day. These are my kind of people <3 ALL the emotions!!
Thank you soooo much Samantha and Jake for trusting me with one of your MOST important days. I absolutely loved working with you and I hope that I will have the opportunity to work with you again as you go through the milestones of life!!
xoxo,
Nikki
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