Austin & Alexa’s wedding at St Mark Catholic Church in Winchester, IL this past weekend was one that I won’t soon forget. This sweet couple just booked me a couple of months ago, but as soon as we started corresponding, I just couldn’t wait for their wedding day.

Austin and Alexa met as students at the University of Illinois — go FIGHTING ILLINI! I’m beginning to believe this is the beginning of the best love stories. Austin was a senior, while Alexa was a sophomore. They met through mutual friends and began studying, working out, eating and watching movies together. Alexa says she loves that Austin is smart, silly, and drive, and that she loves his shoulders! But, mostly, she loves his big heart and how much he loves her. This amazing couple has spent the last 5 years traveling 3.5 hours nearly every weekend to be together. When they spent weekends together, Alexa says they love to cook, work out, clean, go to Cubs games, watch TV and visit the beach!

Austin proposed to Alexa on July 3, with a sweet reminder of all of their travels together. Apparently, Alexa is quite the napper, but I’ll let her explain that to you. They ended the night celebrating at Joe’s with crab legs and martinis! These two know how to celebrate!

I’m sure Austin and Alexa are most excited to be able to be together all of the time now that they are married. They will settle in Northwest Indiana, where Austin works as an engineer and Alexa will be putting her master’s degree in counseling to good use. They hope to visit Austin’s sister in Hawaii soon, or at least visit a beach somewhere to celebrate their marriage.

Austin and Alexa were one of the sweetest, easy-going couples I’ve ever photographed. I love how kind they were with all of their guests and the fun they had with their bridal party. Even when the air conditioner quit working on their party bus, they remained upbeat and made the best of it. Their friends and family were fun and easy to work with, making my job as the photographer wonderful. You could tell that everyone was so supportive of Austin and Alexa’s marriage and just wanted to make their day perfect.

When I met up with Alexa on her wedding day, she was just as I had imagined: sweet, bubbly and drop dead gorgeous! I could tell right away that this was going to be a great couple and beautiful wedding. She and her bridesmaids met me at the church with their hair and makeup already finished. Seriously, all of the girls looked amazing. They all jumped right in to help Alexa with her final details, including a stunning cathedral length veil. I loved how attentive everyone was, especially Alexa’s mom and sisters.

The ceremony was held in the stunning St Mark Church. I love old Catholic churches. All of the architecture makes a perfect backdrop for a wedding ceremony. Following the ceremony, we did family pictures in the church. This was the most cooperative group of family members! Everyone was where they were supposed to be and genuinely happy to be there. After we finished up with family portraits, we headed to Washington Park in Springfield with the bridal party. It was the hottest day of the year so far, so we moved very quickly with them so that they could get back on the bus and to the air conditioning at the reception location.

We finished up with bride and groom portraits at Lincoln’s Home in downtown Springfield, IL. Austin was especially excited to take portraits with his new bride in front of the Lincoln home. Because of the timeline of the day and a few unexpected snags along the way, we just had a few minutes to capture their pictures. We were able to get so many beautiful photos of this couple in that short time that I had a hard time choosing which ones to share with you.

Austin and Alexa chose the beautiful Wyndham Springfield City Centre. From what I understand, Austin’s mom spent a lot of time making sure the ballroom looked beautiful! I loved all the personal touches that added to the ballroom. Austin and Alexa’s first dance brought tears to everyone’s eyes, as did the daddy-daughter dance. Of course, I’m always a sucker for daddy-daughter dances. I love how her dad got her twirling around a bit during their dance. My favorite part of the evening may have been when Austin’s grandmother serenaded the newlyweds with a beautiful a cappella rendition of Sunrise, Sunset!

Austin and Alexa, your day was so perfect! I am so happy that I got to be there to document the beginning of this great adventure called marriage. Thank you for being so awesome! I pray that your new life as husband and wife is everything you dreamed it would be, from the non-shedding puppy to trips to the beach to cuddling on the couch binge watching shows on Netflix.

Thanks to these incredible vendors who helped make this day perfect!

Reception Venue: Wyndham Springfield City Centre

Florist: Ashley’s Petals & Angels

Cake Artist: Debra Elmore

Hair & Make-Up Artist: Willow & Birch Salon

Bridal Gown: Michelle’s Bridal (Designer: Allure)

Bridesmaid’s Dresses: David’s Bridal

DJ: The Elite DJ Service by Dave Isaacs

Tuxes: Savvy Formalwear