I’ve really let the ball drop with my blogging schedule this summer but lately I’ve had a lot going on. I celebrated my 31st birthday (a few days in a row) and last weekend was a holiday weekend. So needless to say I didn’t do much last week but I’m finally catching up on work and I’m so excited to show you favorites from Jay and Emily’s wedding.

Modern rustic wedding… that’s what I’m calling Jay and Emily’s wedding. It was gorgeous. Burlap, lace, chevron designs. The whole wedding was put together by Jay and Emily and their families. They even had 2 of their friends as wedding planners helping keep everything smooth throughout the day. I was glad to see that they wanted to start the day off with a “first look” because that meant that all the photos were going to be done before the ceremony. After Jay and Emily had their special moment seeing each other for the first time, we all made our way over to the SIU campus for bridal party portraits and bride/groom portraits. I gotta admit, it was pretty muggy and hot that day but we made the best of it. I have to give props to Emily because I know when it’s hot the last thing people want to do is stand out in the heat and sweat, especially with a heavy bridal down on, but Emily didn’t mind. She was excited to take pictures. She suggested heading over to the Shryock Auditorium and I’m glad she did because it was amazing! I can’t imagine taking their wedding portraits anywhere else. It was perfect for them.

The reception hall was beautifully decorated, again all down by Jay, Emily and their family/friends. It was stunning. I loved seeing a mixture of modern elements with the rustic. It took me a while to even notice the huge black/white portraits of Jay and Emily from their engagement session with me. They were scattered around the hall and hung on the walls. No detail was overlooked. The best part of the reception had to be when the homemade ice cream bar was set up. Emily’s mom made the ice cream and they had everything imaginable to put on your sundaes or cones. It was so cool and yes, I got me a scoop (or two) before I left for the evening.

I had so much fun getting to know these two and their families and I’m so honored to have been apart of such a special day. Hope you all are having a wonderful week. One more day till the weekend!!!!

This is this exact place Emily gave Jay her first kiss on her 21st birthday 7 years ago at Pinch Penny Pub! I think it was 7 years ago LOL. I can’t remember but I know they have dated a while.

Jay prefers pie/cobbler over cake so there needed to be pie and cobbler at the wedding for sure!