From our first meeting at a local coffee shop, I knew that I was going to love Rachel and Andrew.
Flash back to eight (eight?!?) years ago, I was getting ready to marry my husband Andrew, who was taking my five-year-old son Olin on as his family as part of our marriage. I have a huge place in my heart for families coming together. Rachel has four amazing children, and Andrew is now (and has been for awhile) a wonderful father to them. These kids’ love for Andrew was obvious and clear, and this day made perfect and complete everything that had been in the works for some time. It was absolute joy.
I always ask my brides for their a few of their “must-have photos” … to get an idea of if there’s anything in particular that I might not be aware of during their wedding day, an item in particular that they would like me to photograph, etc. Rachel’s response to this question was “lots of candids and fun photos of family and friends.” I had the good fortune of having the extremely talented Rebecca Allen with me to photograph Rachel and Andrew’s wedding day, and together we photographed the heck out of Rachel and Andrew and their family and friends. I really wanted to tell the story of the day for them, giving them memories of all the bits and pieces that are too fleeting in our busy minds, and I hope that we did that.
There are so many photos that I want to share from this day, that part two of this blog post (the reception!) will be coming in the next day or two.
Rachel and Andrew started their day getting ready at their church in downtown Columbia. Their first look was incredibly sweet. Their pastor Charity was their officiant, and I loved how she placed her arm around Andrew as Rachel was walking down the aisle. After the ceremony, we went to one of their favorite spots at Mizzou, and then to the golf course at Old Hawthorne, where their reception was taking place.
My heart grew this day, as it does on almost every wedding day, and left me feeling like their friends and family were now my friends and family too. It’s cliché probably to say how lucky and blessed I am to be able to photograph days such as this one, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Thank you, Rachel and Andrew.
Second photographer: Rebecca Allen of Rebecca Allen Photography
Hair: Sarah Opie – Revelation Salon
Makeup: Renita Dement
Wedding Gown: David’s Bridal
DJ / Entertainment: Complete DJs
Cake: Edith Hall Cakes
Ceremony Venue: Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia, Missouri
Reception Venue: Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Missouri
Floral: Kent’s Floral
