Last week I have the wonderful honor of flying out to Gilbert, AZ to shoot the lovely Andrea's wedding. I love when people ask how I know Andrea because neither of us can actually put our finger on the moment we were introduced. But I do remember when she became one of my dear friends. We were sitting on a couch in at the New Attitude conference (now called Next) in Louisville, KY. We hadn't actually hung out just the two of us before and it was almost eerie how well we connected. We laughed and talked about our lives back home and laughed some more. I don't remember all the things we talked about that evening, but I do remember asking her about dundunDUNNn...boys. She shrugged her little shoulders, tossed her hair and said there was nobody back home at the time.

A few weeks later I heard she was with Zach. Who was this guy?? Where had he come from in such a short time!? Well, apparently Andrea hadn't told me the whole story. :) Because while "technically" there wasn't anybody back home, there was this guy named Zach that she had liked for a looong time. From that day on I happily stalked them on Facebook, oo-ing and aah-ing at their adorable photos together. She looked so incredibly happy. I couldn't wait to meet this guy.

In March I visited Andrea on my way home from a wedding in San Diego. You may remember my post about it here. Well, only one week after my visit the two were engaged. :D I remember getting the text from Andrea and screaming. :D It was too wonderful. But Andrea found a way to make it even more wonderful - by having me come and photograph the wedding!!

Mm mmm Andrea. You were one gorgeous bride.

I'm also happy to report that Zach is one cool dude. I actually never got the chance to meet him back in March so it was so wonderful to get to see him in person! And the way he treats Andrea is just about the sweetest thing ever.

And one photo of the ring bearer. He was one of many little kids Andrea included in the wedding which was adorable to watch. I don't know what it is about this photo but I just like it a lot.

Okay, you ready for my highlight of the day? It was the ceremony. Holy cow, it was the most emotional ceremony I've ever been to. The two of them were in tears the whole time and actually broke down during worship. They were just so relieved to finally be getting married!

Guh.

I captured this moment between them right after they walked down the aisle. They went into a back room and just sobbed and hugged each other. Words just can't do justice in describing moments like these. They are just...wow.

YAY married!!

Definitely one of my favorites from the day. Haha too good.

And we'll end with a shot from their first dance. They danced to a song he wrote especially for their first dance. Leeets just say I wasn't the only one there crying.

Andrea, now that the wedding is over I need for you to find another excuse for me to come back out there. Ok? Love you, girl. :)

It was pitch black. The kind of pitch black that makes my dad ooh and aah because he can see the Milky Way in the sky. But he wasn't there this time. Just me and Emily, my driver. "Oops, I think we just drove off the road!" exclaimed Emily. See, the thing was that you couldn't really tell where you were driving, much less on or off the road. There were no street lights, no road signs, and certainly no landmarks. We carefully followed directions scribbled on a pink napkin. Happy to be off the tiny plane and out of the tiny airport (only two gates and one baggage claim!) I commented on how it seemed like Iowa was pretty flat. What Emily said next made me laugh so hard it made my stomach hurt. "Oh, it's actually pretty hilly here. But, in central Iowa you could watch your dog run away for a week!"

Iowa, oh, Iowa. I had the pleasure of going to Iowa for Kyle and Christy's wedding. Christy found out about me through a friend who found me on Carolyn McCulley's blog. I love word of mouth! Anyways, I had a feeling Christy and I would become friends pretty fast once I met her, but honestly I just had no idea what I was getting myself into. Christy is like my new best friend.

I swear, I had a huge pit in my stomach for an hour after leaving the wedding because that meant that I might never see her again. Christy is like a sweet Georgia peach crossed with Laura Ingalls Wilder crossed with that girl in middle school you played house and doctor with. Only, Christy really became a nurse. And man, does that summarize the kind of person she is. Gentle, caring, thoughtful, funny, what you see is what you get kind of genuine person. No wonder Kyle fell head over heals for her.

I love love Kyle and Christy together. They decided to have a "first-look" before the wedding so that we could take all of their photos and the family formals before the wedding. I LOVE when couples decide to do that. It's so much easier for me and I think helps the wedding run so much more smoothly.

Another reason Christy earned rocking awesome points was that she picked an urban spot for their photos. She knew I liked that kind of thing and scouted out downtown Waterloo for this AMAZING location. Isn't it incredible?

I have this thing for bikes in pictures...love it.

Seriously, I could hang out with them all day. Look how fun they are.

Aaand the bike again. :)

Now to the wedding!

The ceremony was in a ridiculously un-Iowan location with a lake and trees and even a couple hills! It was seriously gorgeous.

Rainbow flare love! Wooot.

Another part of the wedding day that I loved was how big a part Kyle and Christy's siblings played in the wedding. Christy's brother walked her down the aisle, her dad was the pastor, and all three of her sisters and Kyle's sister were in the wedding party. They also had a sibling dance after their first dance. It was the sweetest thing ever.

And now for a few last shots of the happiest couple in Iowa. :)

I love you guys dearly. Please come to Maryland?