Jared and Alicyn were married on January 1st, the first day of 2016, more commonly known as New Year’s Day.  I first worked with this beautiful couple for their engagement photos this summer. I was initially hired for engagement photos only and assumed that they had already had a photographer for their wedding. After taking their engagement photos, I was so bummed that I thought my time with them had come to an end. They were and still are crazy photogenic and I loved working with them.  After they saw their blog post for their engagement photos, Alicyn contacted me about their wedding day.  I was SO excited…  I probably told John 15 times. Alicyn said that after working with me and then seeing how great their photos turned out, they couldn’t help but go with me rather than the photographer they originally had in mind.  So if it isn’t obvious… I was veryyy excited for their wedding day to arrive.

Jared and Alicyn’s magical day took place at the Allerton Mansion and was filled with the most beautiful details throughout.  The mansion itself was still flourishing with christmas decor and gold sparkles, which perfectly highlighted the gold in their wedding colors.  In addition to the gold, they incorporated ice blues, purples, soft green and yellows into their day.  Her dress was covered with lace and had an ivory layer underneath that was to die for.  I loved that Jared and Alicyn decided to play up the New Year’s theme with adding a touch of sparkle anywhere they could.

I spent majority of the morning with the ladies. My second shooter Morgan and I laughed at the little flower girls playing with their goodie bags and running around in their cute purple tutus.  We moved Alicyn’s dress around for photos, crossing our fingers that the curtain rod we were hanging it on didn’t break.  We also spent time with the boys…putting on boutonnieres and making sure that their ties were all straight.  We managed to make sure that Jared and Alicyn never saw each other prior to the ceremony even though they were both in the same building the entire day.  Rather than seeing each other, Jared & Alicyn chose to meet in the hallway for a prayer right before the ceremony.  We had all members of the bridal party and anyone else that had been around go away for this moment.  It was so special to see the two of them so close to each other praying yet not able to see one another.

Their ceremony was beautiful with the white light coming in behind them at the alter.  They shared their own vows and each incorporated how they met and how they plan to keep their love intact throughout life.  I love that Jared said he would never stop dating Alicyn, how cute is that? Another unique aspect of their ceremony was the braiding of rope.  Rather than pouring sand together or lighting a unity candle, they braided a rope as a symbol of all three equal parts in their marriage.  I had never seen that done and thought it was a really special part of their wedding day.

For their reception, the newly wed pair had a grand entrance down the mansion staircase to see all of their smiling guests cheering them on.  They went directly into dancing and celebrating their wedding.  The dance floor was located in the library of the mansion which provided a quaint, romantic area.  Their guests joined them dancing after dinner and the party continued throughout the evening.  I am so thankful to have been a part of Jared & Alicyn’s day and couldn’t be happier for the two of them.