Kortnie + Joe Medbery | Married - Mager Image Weddings, Elopements, & Boudoir

I'm a coffee loving, travel-obsessed, thirty-something based out of Central Illinois. My best friend and I raise two kiddos on chaotic schedules in our vintage ranch and I couldn't love it more. I'm lucky enough to make a living doing what I love for the people I love! I specialize in weddings (destination + local) and boudoir. I hope we have the chance to meet!

I'm Emily!

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Kortnie + Joe Medbery | Married

Weddings

May 22, 2019

Springtime Navy + Pink Wedding at Allerton Park + Holiday Inn Champaign, IL

Kortnie is a good family friend of mine, so when asked to do her and Joe’s wedding, it was a no brainer! Even though I know Kortnie, this was a wedding of firsts for me – her and Joe (he did choose their wedding day colors) made a lot of creative choices that just simply worked and looked great!

First of the firsts for me was shooting wedding bouquets that were half silk and half real. When Kortnie first told me about her flowers, I wasn’t sure what to think but once I saw her flowers, I was completely blown away. They were absolutely stunning!! The morning details went great and next up was the first look – have I told you how much I love first looks?! So romantic and such a personal moment that I love to capture. We were running way ahead of schedule so after their first look we were able to capture all the bridal party pictures – HELLO TIME SAVER!

Their May wedding was similar to a sauna, it brought very hot and humid weather! Luckily, Kortnie + Joe’s Friday evening wedding worked in our favor, slightly 🙂 It was my first time (another first) shooting a wedding at the Sunken Garden at Allerton Park and Retreat and WOW is all I can say! The huge pillars and landscaping made for a beautiful backdrop for their ceremony. Besides the ceremony location, my favorite part was when Kortnie walked down the aisle with her dad! Her crying down the aisle made me cry – it was SO sweet!

After the ceremony we headed to Holiday Inn Champaign for the reception, which was my first time there and it was so nice! The last of my firsts was Kortnie + Joe’s sparkler ENTRANCE! Yes, I said entrance! I LOVED LOVED LOVED this. Future MI couples, take note: do a sparkler entrance – and here’s why – safety, lighting, turn out.

1. Safety: ultimately, people are dealing with fire – it is less likely for large amounts of alcohol to be involved at the beginning of the evening, which means less likely for a chance of fire or burned photographers/videographers!

2. Lighting: as a photographer, sparkler exits (in the dark) are very hard to capture. By doing an entrance it allows for lots of natural light to be present and “ta-da” – gorgeous pictures!

3. Turn Out: it allows for EVERYONE who is at your reception to participate, including the older crowd. Doing it as an exit, you may not have as many people involved since plenty of people will duck out early.

Kortnie + Joe’s wedding day was so fun and was such a huge party! Thank you Kort + Joe for including me in your special day. It means a lot to capture such precious moments for such dear friends.