Emily + Jeff | Spring Wedding at The Falls – Columbia, Illinois

July 23, 2019

Filed in: Weddings

Rain rain, go away, come again another day. That’s the song and prayer I kept saying over and over again as I drove to Columbia the morning of Emily and Jeff’s wedding. Over the years I’ve learned to just ‘go with with flow’ when it comes to Mother Nature on wedding days and I know I always bring the weather up when blogging weddings and engagement sessions, but I just can’t help it. Weather can play such a huge role in natural light photography, as well as when a couple is planning their big day. I’m sure when Emily and Jeff planned their wedding day, they didn’t think there would be storms rolling in and potentially ruining their hopes for an outdoor ceremony. That morning, as Emily and Jeff were getting ready, they both just kept saying that the important thing was that they were going to be marrying the love of their life and rain wasn’t going to change that. They were happy and never looked worried about the weather at all. They were cool as cucumbers and relaxed and they let the day unfold how it was suppose to.

We were lucky enough to take all the portraits we needed to for the first look, bridal party and some immediate family. God was seriously answering my prayers because The Falls is so beautiful and I wanted to use the beautiful scenery for the background of the photos. We had about an hour of downtime while waiting for rain so the bridal party decided to order pizza. They might as well get something in their bellies if we couldn’t take portraits LOL. I kept looking at radar and I’m not going to lie, I had my doubts about the ceremony actually taking place outdoors. There was a plan B to set up everything in the ballroom, but the staff at The Falls kept looking at radar and said that we needed to wait a little longer before they could set up. Turns out, the rain stopped, just like we all hoped, and the staff had everything ready to go. The ceremony may have started 30 minutes later than planned, but it was seriously one of the most intimate and special ceremonies I’ve gotten to capture.

Emily and Jeff wrote their own vows and instead of doing a traditional unity candle, 3-stranded cord, etc. they chose to mix a cocktail and share a drink. It was special and unique and I love with couples do something that represents who they are. If you’re planning your big day, make sure to incorporate something special for just the two of you, no matter what it is. Trust me, you’ll look back on it and be grateful that you did.

I know this was sort of a long and rambled post about a rainy wedding day, but when you scroll below, you’ll see just how good God is and how Emily and Jeff’s wedding day couldn’t have turned out any more perfect than it did. It stopped raining just when we needed it to and Emily and Jeff got the wedding of their dreams. Enjoy looking at my favorites below.