This is one of those weddings I had been eagerly counting down the days for MONTHS. I already knew to expect a few things from this day: a biiiiiig wedding party, a SOLID vendor team lineup, and an elegant and romantic design. Caroline and Luke’s hours/days/weeks/months of planning and dreaming came to life and wow, wow, WOW (that’s all I can say!!!). This wedding’s wedding party may be the largest group I’ve ever worked with – 15 bridesmaids and 15 groomsmen. Now, the part that was a coincidental, fun surprise was that I knew almost every. single. bridesmaid. BY NAME… prior to the wedding!!! How cool and what a small world!!! This certainly doesn’t happen often, especially with a group this size. Now the groomsmen… didn’t know any of them prior to the wedding day but we were all friends by the end of the night!
I loved the way Caroline’s bridal party consisted of friends from different parts of her life (childhood/high school friends from MN and college friends she met at Baylor in TX) but they all effortlessly befriended one another. There were two moments from Caroline’s day with her bridesmaids that I loved capturing. The first was her dress reveal to the girls. She kept her dress a secret from EVERYONE and definitely caught the girls by surprise. We made a fun tiktok/reel from that moment because the reactions were PRICELESS: check it out!!! 15 Reasons to Keep Your Wedding Dress a Secret. The second moment was one that followed shortly after: those same women all praying over Caroline before she saw Luke. A picture is worth a thousand words and those images speak for themselves.
Moving on to the vendor team… incredible! A group of fantastic professionals that know their craft to a T. Their wedding took place at my absolute FAVORITE wedding venue in MN… Bavaria Downs in Chaska, MN. While I have shot at this venue 10+ times, this particular wedding stood out to me because of all the details that came to life. The drapery in the ceiling, chic linens with the timeless floral centerpieces, the personalized dance floor with Caroline and Luke’s initials. Not a single detail was missed. Caroline and Luke had to bring some Texas spirit to their Minnesota wedding… *cue light up cowboy hats* — AMAZING. Those things really get everyone hyped and on the dance floor lol!
Earlier I said how a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I need to refer to my favorite images from their wedding day… those have to be the ones from the moments following their ceremony exit. Caroline and Luke went into a private room where their wedding party and family entered shortly after, cheering, singing, and celebrating them in a way that left me teary eyed. They all circled Caroline and Luke and it was a rush of emotions. I am definitely one to orchestrate the ‘perfect shot’ (give direction, tidy up a space, make sure every hair is in the right spot) but this is one of those moments where I acted like a fly on the wall and documented the moment (smiles, tears, embraces) as they were.
Caroline and Luke’s goal keywords to describe their wedding day were elegant and romantic. I didn’t actually know this until we were out taking golden hour photos and I was freaking out saying how this entire DAY looked like an elegant and romantic FAIRYTALE when Caroline said that was exactly her vision. Needless to say, this wedding day was one for the books.
