Many times, we have  a pretty good grasp on what to expect at a wedding. Yet, sometimes, we’re totally wrong. Before the wedding, Andy had informed us that Lacey has a whole basement full of stuff to fill the barn. We figured he was exaggerating. But no, he was serious. :)

Andy has been in a ton of bands and Lacey co-owns a hair salon, so the day was filled with great musicians and of course, great hair, all around. At the end of the night, Andy joined the live band, locked eyes with his Lacey and sang his heart out.

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Trying to write something about this wedding in a concise way is really overwhelming right now.

Overwhelming, in a good way.

When we received Jonathan + Ariel’s initial inquiry they told us their wedding – in three words – would be: simple, small, and lovely.

We tell our couples that we come to their wedding as family or close friends — and Jonathan and Ariel took us seriously.  It was only their immediate family.

And us.

So we, along with less than 20 other people, had the joy of witnessing them exchange their unique, hand-written vows, which were filled with passion and delivered with no reservations on an unusually warm and very sunny October day in Wisconsin. With just enough leaves on the trees to still make it feel like fall.

After the ceremony, on our drive back to Jonathan’s parent’s home, we saw a horse training facility in the Middle of Nowhere, WI. Ariel is an avid horseback rider and is the manager of an equestrian facility outside of LA, so we knew we had to pull over and ask the owners if we could take a few photos there. :) As you’ll see, they kindly let us wander their grounds and it was so fun watching Ariel with the horses. She was in her element and it was beautiful. Jonathan is an extremely talented graphic designer, you can thank him for a few TOMS catalogs :) but he’s also into photography and  architecture. His appreciation for architecture most likely comes from his father, who is an architect in the area and recently designed his own home, where the reception took place.

We could tell you more about their families and more about the non-showy speeches and lovely reception, because there was no pressure. No big crowd. No script needing to be followed. Just love conveyed through words and actions, confirming that their parents love them. But we’re trying to keep this from becoming a novel.

I’ll end with this – one of my favorite images from the day is of Ariel, sitting on the floor of her brand new in-law’s beautiful home, sharing dinner with… us. When we say we were honored to be a part of this wedding, we’re not exaggerating. We truly felt like honored guests, who happened to be taking a lot of photos. :)

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Weddings take a lot of work.   A    l o t .  Especially when it takes place at a family member’s home and there’s more than an acre of land – or, say, 70 acres.

Leah + Steve, with the help of many, many hands of family, friends, and neighbors poured their heart, sweat and energy into preparing the home where Leah grew up, and maintaining the apple orchard and surrounding land for their wedding. They cleaned out the barn, created an arch out of reclaimed wood from a barn down the road, she and her mother picked raspberries back when they were ripe and canned them, saving them for the guests who would jump on a school bus — after arriving from all over the country — and step foot onto the land where Leah used to run and play. And these are only a few of the projects that were involved in preparing for this day. :) Like I said, weddings take a lot of work. You guys know already know that. But for reeaaal, this was worth it.

Days like this are some of our absolute favorite. Meaningful, backyard, handmade, homemade, homegrown, relaxed goodness. Now go ahead, enjoy some of what we experienced, will you?

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If you haven’t yet heard of Norskedalen, you’re missing out and we will show it to you today.  And if you haven’t yet met Brian and Anne (pronounced “annie”) you’re also missing out. :) They are one of the sweetest couples we’ve had the pleasure of photographing; light-hearted, genuine, peaceful, and, well, we bet you would like them. :)

Brian is the kind of guy who isn’t afraid to show his emotions. It always tugs our heartstrings a bit when a groom cries — we love it and think it speaks volumes about how he cares for the lady he is going to marry.

We hope you enjoy this little glimpse of sweetness from Brian + Anne’s wedding day.

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We’ve been photographing a lot of destination weddings in Wisconsin lately — which we absolutely love. Doug + Lucy live in Hollywood but wanted their wedding to take place in Wisconsin, because they both grew up going to summer camps here.

They wanted to throw a party where everyone could enjoy a weekend in Lake Geneva with “a J. Crew summer vibe”. And as if their gorgeousness isn’t enough, they invited all of their beautiful and stylish friends to celebrate with them. :)

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