Urban Civic Center, Urbana, IL

Oh boy. This wedding. This day. Let me tell you, it was a roller coaster of emotions for sooo many reasons.

First off, Adrian was my girl crush back in high school, but you already know this since I’m sure you’ve read their blog post from Adrian and Taylor’s engagement session. I arrived the day of shortly after makeup left, and all there was to do was hair. Adrian and Taylor decided to keep things simple, with no bridal party, which was an awesome twist I had never seen done before. Anyways, despite a lack of bridal party, Adrian’s home was filled with dear friends and family all buzzing around to get ready for the day ahead.

The ceremony went smoothly (thanks to Angie for running up a lighter when they needed it!) and was absolutely gorgeous. Back when Adrian and I met to make her wedding timeline, she had mentioned that they wanted to skip the wait in between ceremony and reception, which was easy since it was all at the same location! It did provide a small challenge for me however, since I am accustomed to doing most of the photos in between ceremony and reception. However, after Adrian and Taylor’s first look prior to the ceremony, we did a handful of bridals (which were super easy with how gorgeous these two are) and went straight into family photos. During the reception, we had planned to step out and walk around downtown Urbana for a few shots closer to sunset. What I didn’t plan for however, was to drop my lens! My favorite lens, better known as Jeb, or the 70-200, or “the big guy”, HAD BEEN DROPPED. All I heard was a thud and a shatter. My heart dropped. Words went through my head like an angry sailor. Some of those words slipped out of my mouth. Upon inspection, the lens itself was fine. The lens filter and frame had taken the toll (this is why we protect our gear!) and it was working fine. I took multiple test shots and we went on with photos and they killed it once again. As the sun went down, my assistant and I began to prep my lights to do some off-camera-flash work. One location down, one more to go. As we walked, I heard another thud and shatter behind me, only to turn around and find that the flash had fallen! Seriously. Words were now falling out of my mouth and all I could do was laugh. The flash was fine, it ended up being a cover that fell, but I still felt sick to my stomach. Twice in one day, after I have gone YEARS without an incident. *insert eye roll here*

Adrian and Taylor were such sports, apologizing over and over as I told them in now way is their fault. I’m just glad it all happened with these two, and by the end of the night we laughed it off and danced the night away.

Leave a comment for the happy couple and after 50 comments they’ll receive a free print!

PS – In case you were wondering, Jeb was sent in to Canon and is all better now!

Thank you to the following vendors for making Adrian + Taylor’s  day so special:

Reception Venue:  Urbana Civic Center

Bridal Gown:  Maggie Sottero

Tuxes:  Elite Bridal

DJ:  Sweat Productions

Cake/Cupcakes: Stephanie Herges

Favors:  Cookies by Design

Florist:  The Flower Cart

Hair: Lauree Parker

Makeup: Brittany Koroyanis Makeup Artistry

Bride and Groom’s Wedding Bands:  Kays Jewelry

Invites:  VistaPrint