Let me start by talking about the initial booking process, yep, when I first met Brandon and his Mom Sonya. Now, I for one have never had to talk to the bride or the groom’s parents until the wedding day, this case was different. 

We had our initial phone consultation with Brandon, Emily, and Sonya. This was not a bad thing at all, Sonya was amazing as was Brandon and Emily.

It was just something new for me which I welcome as a business owner. 

Now to the wedding details, most of my couples have had to reschedule their wedding due to Covid-19 (aka Coronavirus).

Not Brandon and Emily they adapted to the situation at hand and had their wedding at Elks Club in Festus, MO. Now I am not familiar with many wedding venues located near Festus, MO, but the Elks Club had everything this St Louis wedding photographer could ask for.  

The Ceremony was held outside, so kinda like an outside venue, it was impressive, and the reception was inside the Elks which was equally amazing.

I also had the privilege of taking the couple and the bridal party to a local church to capture some images and it was an amazing place. But let’s start with the ceremony! 

As I said the ceremony was held outside.

We were all holding our breath hoping it did not rain and thankfully it didn’t. Well, not heavily anyway, just a slight drizzle. 

Most of the outside decor was made by Brandon and his dad, and I must say, it turned out jaw-dropping for sure, the officiant of the ceremony was Brandon’s grandfather. How cool is that! 

They also had a flower guy, which I had never heard of before but he was super funny and played the role very well. I hope I get to see someone do this again in the future. 

Just as the entire party was at the arbor/altar it started to rain, just slightly and I think it made for some impressive images.

The couple said their vows and had their first kiss. It was very romantic, there was so much support from everyone at the ceremony, it is obvious they are a very loved couple. 

Emily also had her grandmother there which I was told was on hospice care at the time but would not miss the wedding for the world. She seemed like a very kind lady and I am sure she will be missed. 

Oh, and I forgot someone special…BLUE!!…Emily and Brandon’s very loving husky. She was sooo cool, and a very fun guest at the wedding. 

Once the bride and groom made their way back down the aisle, it was time to get the family formals and then over to Grace Presbyterian Church for a couple of photos and the bridal party. 

At Grace Presbyterian Church, I got an image of the entire wedding party.

It was a good size but everyone did a very good job getting lined up and keeping their eyes open for each shot (haha). I personally think we got some incredible wedding photos. 

Each and every image tells a small story of their day. After we got all the images we could at Grace Presbyterian church it was time to head back to the Elks Club.

This is where things got insane for this wedding photographer.

Normally on a wedding day, you are stressed for time and don’t get much time with the couple. 

When we arrived back at the Elks Club I had Emily and Brandon for almost an hour or so more… Just me and them! I was so excited I lost track of all the ideas I had (haha). 

We started off down by a lake which took a few minutes to get down to.

There was a little gravel path that went just a little into the lake, I stood them there and that is where we got a number of their wedding photos, it was astonishing! 

Then we walked back up the hill and I stood Brandon and Emily at the side of the building where there were a few big windows that I thought looked awesome. All in all, I think we got some great images. But the party has not started yet. 

So we moved on to the introduction, speech, first dance, and garter/bouquet toss. The reception went awesome and we got some wonderful images there as well. And we ended this amazing couples night with a grand exit. 

It truly was a magical night! Congrats to both Emily & Brandon and I wish them all the best.