To put it simply, Ellie and Tate’s wedding day was a culmination of all the things I love most about wedding days. The two of them, along with their wedding party and family members, started the day getting ready inside Ellie’s parents’ house, and there really is something to be said about the comfort and ease I often see in people who spend the morning of their wedding in a place that feels like home. I watched as family and friends steadily flowed in and out the doors, as they set up table décor in the backyard tent while the ladies were having their hair done and the guys were upstairs hanging out. There had initially been rain in the forecast for their wedding day; then we all woke up that morning and checked our phones to see that the forecast had cleared, and I sensed the excitement and relief in the air over the news. There is something about a positive forecast shift on a wedding day that can feel like a blessing in and of itself, and I always love when I can feel that sensation from people in a room.
From here, it’s difficult to pinpoint my favorite moments that occurred throughout Ellie and Tate’s wedding day, simply because there were so many. Ellie and Tate are a couple who love well and are loved dearly in return, and they’re also the kind of people who invest in moments with their whole hearts – I watched as they teared up through first looks and walks down the aisle, and as Ellie shared a hanky with her also teary father, and as Ellie and Tate shrieked with excitement over seeing their dog Brew in his bow tie, and as they walked into the barn together prior to the ceremony to see how their vision for it came together, and as Tate walked up and stood in the spot where he’d marry Ellie in a few short hours, and a giant grin spread across my face as he looked back at her standing in the aisle and simply said, “whoa”, and I felt like all of the excitement and awe and love they were feeling in that moment was plastered on their faces, and I was reminded that I do this job precisely because of the chance to be in the midst of moments like these.
This wedding day came together beautifully, as you can see – the barn was gorgeous, and the backyard served as the perfect backdrop for their tent reception, and all of the hard work and little touches they worked on throughout the planning process completely paid off. But what I loved most was simply the two of them – engulfed by the people that loved them and filled their dance floor, and showered them with confetti and cried happy tears with them during the ceremony, and the way Ellie and Tate’s faces continually reflected exactly how much this all meant to them.
Venue: Bride’s Parents Barn + Backyard in Ringwood, IL
Event Coordinator: Events by L
Rentals: Ed’s Rentals
DJ: Behind the Beats Productions
Catering: BBQ on Wheels
Bride’s Dress: David’s Bridal
Videographer: Gordon Crum