Taylor and Cory became friends first before they eventually started dating three years after meeting, and once you know this about them, you realize how much it informs so many parts of their relationship.  They met in Biology class when they were both students at Black Hawk College, and they started hanging out and getting to know each other while amidst their mutual friends. Cory eventually would express interest in dating Taylor, but she was worried about them making an attempt at dating eventually affecting their friendship, so she wanted to continue to keep things “the way they were”. Cory went on to take matters into his own hands, by tricking her into going on a date with him; he told Taylor that they were going to be hanging with a group of friends, and then when she showed up, he was the only one there. This mixture of friendship and playfulness and fun is something that clearly stayed with Taylor and Cory as their relationship status changed from friends to partners, because I saw it still in the way they cracked jokes with one another throughout their wedding day, and in their garter toss antics, and when they danced and belted out songs with their friends on the dance floor.

Earlier in the day, they had spent a brief moment prior to their ceremony holding hands on separate sides of a wall’s corner in the bridal suite, sharing a prayer without seeing each other. It was one of those moments that left me a bit speechless – not only because of their shared belief and love, but also because I often just can’t believe I am in such close proximity to this level of sincerity.

Their faith paired with their friendship seem to be a large part of why when certain elements of their day didn’t go exactly as they’d envisioned, they shrugged it off together. While I’m used to things not going as planned on wedding days, I found myself marveling at how calmly these two took each bump in the road. “Murphy’s Law, you know? I feel like both of our families are just like this – we’re pretty used to just rolling with the punches,” Taylor said to me, as we walked around their venue grounds taking photos in the August evening sunlight. I loved so many things about this statement – the testament to this trait coming from each of their families and upbringings after witnessing how close they all are throughout the day, and their continual happy shrugs, and the way they then quietly raised their glasses to one another as they were about to head back into their venue to join all of their guests. There are a lot of great things about Taylor and Cory, but one of the very best is the way their friendship and faith and love are embodied so beautifully through their visible joy.

Venue: The Cider Mill at A Hundred Acres Orchard
Dresses: Bridal Elegance
DJ: 815 Productions
Videographer: Always Flourishing Photography
Bride’s Boots: JC Sales
Cake: Cindy Ehnle
Catering: Renee Endress
Tuxes: Seno Formalwear