Columbia | SHARON GUILLOTTE PHOTOGRAPHY

Brynn & James – Backyard Family Wedding in Columbia, Missouri – May 26, 2018

August 12, 2018 wedding

Brynn & James’ wedding was full of the very best things in life, which was exactly the way they had planned it. The wedding took place at Brynn’s grandfather’s beautiful home. The house was a work of art sitting on acres of open green spaces surrounded by tall trees. A peaceful lake with a dock sat right next to the house, and that is the place where they chose to have their ceremony. It was especially meaningful that it was the exact place that other family members had also chosen to have their ceremonies in the past. Family was the highest priority to Brynn and James, and it was a beautiful thing to witness.

Soon after arriving on the wedding day, I noticed that the importance of family wasn’t just limited to their blood relatives … every single person there was a beloved friend that was the same as family. Photographing people hugging, kissing, and holding each other is when I get my photographer’s high … and this wedding had me on cloud nine. I loved that their focus the entire day was exactly where it should be, on celebrating and being close to their people. I really feel like this does come through in these photos, and I hope when they look at them they feel the wash of love flowing over them just like they did that day.

It was a hot one! Summer came on strong and quickly at the end of May, so much so that James didn’t wear his awesome jacket very much, but we still took some photos in it because it was so great. Brynn’s dance with her father and then her grandfather made me (and everyone else) cry. I was so happy and honored to spend the day with these people that I loved quickly and immensely. Enjoy the photos!

Ceremony & Reception: Family owned home in Columbia, Missouri
Wedding dress: BHLDN
DJ / Entertainment: Howl2GO – Kansas City, Missouri
Cake: Mrs. Pohlman’s Cakes – central Missouri
Catering: Smokin Chicks – Columbia, Missouri
Bar Service – Hired through Macadoodles – Columbia, Missouri

Maggie & Brayden – Columbia, Missouri Winter Wedding – December 30, 2017

March 20, 2018 wedding

I can’t start my blog post about my dear Maggie and Brayden without first talking about how important friends are. Last winter was our first winter in Columbia, after having moved here from Illinois, and I was still gently and casually reaching out for friendships, trying to meet different people when I could. I met a group of people at a swim meet for my oldest son, and as I was editing photos at the downtown during the swim meet, one person inquired if I was a photographer. I told her a little bit about our family’s story and what I do, which is primarily weddings. Later at that same swim meet, Maggie’s mom was talking to this person I had just met, and mentioned that they were looking for a good wedding photographer. The rest is history and it’s BEAUTIFUL! I love that this is my job, I love that I get to meet these amazing, wonderful people, and I love how it all falls into place exactly how it should be. So thankful for all of it.

Maggie and Brayden wanted to do something a little different for their engagement session … we ended up going to a greenhouse, which I thought was a fantastic idea. I loved that they were up for something different! We ended up spending way over the hour that is normally allotted for engagement sessions, simply because we were having so much fun laughing together and hanging out. Maggie then contacted me in the fall to do another engagement session for them at a Christmas Tree farm in St. Louis, which was also amazing and different!

All of the details of Maggie and Brayden’s wedding were beautiful and picture perfect, but what I hope comes across through these photos is the happiness and love that was filling the air that day. It was absolutely freezing cold, so our outdoor photos were limited, but I love that they were willing to still go outside to get some beautiful pictures despite the chilly temps. Throughout this entire day, I couldn’t help but notice and feel that Maggie and Brayden and their families were treating me and my husband as warmly as their own family … and that’s so, so special to both my husband and me.

Ceremony venue: Fairview Church of Christ in Columbia, Missouri
Reception: The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Missouri
Hair: Jennifer Romine – Revelation Studios
Makeup: Confident Beauti by Erica – Erica Durnil
Wedding Gown: Belle Mariee
Ceremony Musicians: Ethan Forte
DJ / Entertainment: Safari Sound
Catering: Old Hawthorne
Cake: Hy-Vee
Floral: Alan Anderson’s Just Fabulous!
Décor: Rentals from A-1 Rental

Dorothy and Brad – Wedding in Columbia, Missouri – April 28, 2017

June 5, 2017 wedding

This was the day, Friday, before the day that it rained. all. day.

I’m so glad this wedding happened on Friday and not on a Saturday.

It rained all morning Friday though, and as I watched out the window of my dining room, preparing my batteries, cameras, flashes, and bags, I wondered if it was going to break at all for us to have the outdoor ceremony for Dot & Brad’s wedding. When I had asked Dot what her rain plan was, she had told me, “umbrellas.” It was going to be an interesting one. 🙂

We got lucky.

It broke just in time for the ceremony to take place, with the most moody, gorgeously overcast skies overhead.

When a couple describes their wedding day to me, I get pictures in my head of what it might be like. All of the pictures in my head of what Dot told me about from our initial meeting could not have prepared me for the actual beauty, colors, laughter and love that I saw that day. She described her mother’s home, the memorial for her late father that was there, the pergola that her father built with her groom-to-be, and all of the special things there at the home that meant so much to her and her family. When I arrived at the house that day, I was completely overwhelmed with the visual stimuli. Enraptured, I began to photograph and take it all in. It was heaven for a photographer, and it was even better because of how special the connections between these people are.

Dot and Brad have a fantastic story. They met at a Petco, where Brad was training Dot’s beloved pup. Dot slowly worked up the courage over time to buy Brad a coffee, and the rest is history. It was perfect and so fitting for their pups, Bentley and Riley, to be their flower girl and ring bearer. Brad’s cousin Lisa created the amazing bouquets and floral arrangements, and I think this might be the most beautiful bridal bouquet I’ve ever seen in my life, hence the flower overload in these photos. They’re epically amazing.

From the moment I met the girls at the hotel where they were getting ready, and the mothers were dancing to Nelly, I knew this was going to be a great wedding. I have never had mothers dance like that before! It was such a great way to start the day.

Dot’s twin brother, James, walked her down the aisle. The music for the ceremony was performed by a fantastic live band made up of Dot’s extended family members – they were so great!! I didn’t even know that they were family until it was time for the family photos, and they all jumped in. The toasts given that evening by several of their closest family and friends were emotional, hilarious, and so right for this amazing occasion.

Dot and Brad, thank you so much for having my husband Andrew and I photograph your wedding day.

Hair & Makeup: Colissa Nole at Salon Nefisa
Wedding Gown: Breeze Bridal Boutique on Broadway
DJ: Safari Sound
Linens: The Broadway
Cupcakes: The Broadway
Ceremony: Family home in Columbia, Missouri
Reception: The Broadway Columbia
Floral: Lisa Brown of Jazzy Flowers in Chicago, Illinois

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