Rylan & Courtney were married April 16th in Urbana, IL.  I had been working with them since the beginning stages of their wedding planning and was just as excited for their big day to come as they were.  Their ceremony was held at the St. Matthews Lutheran Church and their reception was held at the Laborers Union Hall.  They couldn’t have dreamed of a more amazing day for their wedding.  It was 76 degrees and sunny with a light breeze…sounds lovely right?! The church was surrounded by beautiful cherry blossom trees which paired perfectly with their wedding colors.

Rylan & Courtney’s wedding day was filled with wonderful people that were close to them.  Their bridal party consisted of several family members in addition to some friends.  It was so obvious that these family members and friends all shared very close bonds with the couple.  The joy that Rylan and Courtney shared on their wedding day was matched with equal excitement from the ones celebrating with them.  This made it so much fun to capture images of the bridal party and everyone throughout the day.

My second shooter Nicole and I began the day with the ladies at Breathe Salon in Urbana. It was absolutely adorable and made the perfect spot for a bridal party to get ready.  We photographed candids of everyone getting their makeup and hair done by my favorite sister duo, Emma Taylor and Kirsten Place.  We also made sure to snap lots of cute ones of baby Kassidy, Courtney’s niece. It was a fun, relaxed morning with all of the ladies which was followed by bridesmaids photos at the church.  Rylan and Courtney decided not to see each other until their ceremony so we had to make sure to keep Rylan from peeking out the church windows during Courtney’s photos.  We photographed Rylan & his groomsmen after the girls were finished and then rested up before the ceremony began.

The ceremony was a special one. The little flower girls and ring bearer were so sweet, especially baby Kassidy being pulled in a wagon down the aisle.  The sweetness continued when Courtney surprised Rylan during the ceremony. Courtney is a wonderful singer (and has sung at several of my previous weddings) and prerecorded a song to be played during the unity candle lighting.  It was so cute to see Rylan connect that it was her singing and the big smile that followed his discovery.

After the ceremony, the bridal party stuck around outside of the church for their photos by the beautiful cherry blossom trees. We then ventured to Crane Alley for some candid, crazy photos at the bar. The wedding party’s stop at the bar made for such fun reception entrance pictures and ideas. Rylan and Courtney entered the reception and went directly to cut the cake.  After dinner followed dances, toasts, games and lots of dancing. They had a photo booth at the reception which always provides lots of fun entertainment for guests (I also made sure Nicole and I hopped in in with crazy props at some point in the evening!).  It was wonderful to see two of my previous brides, Elizabeth Riddle and Kelsey Matlock in attendance.

Rylan and Courtney, I am so happy to have been a part of your wedding day.  Through the process of wedding planning, engagement pictures (CLICK HERE TO VIEW) and your wedding day, I have not only gained you two as clients but also as friends.  Congratulations on your wedding Mr. & Mrs. Hambleton!

HAIR: Timothy John Salon, Emma Taylor

MAKEUP: Kirsten Place

DJ: Party on Productions

FLOWERS: Lori Kaldenberg

CAKE: Samantha Hurt

DECOR: Dena Strong

VIDEOGRAPHY: Five 26 Productions