Iowa Spring Wedding - Stephani & Colton

Stephani and Colton officially got married last summer in their families backyard so grandparents could attend. This Spring they wanted to celebrate with all their family and friends 🙂 They decided to focus on their blended family and not have a wedding party. Even though their wedding day was technically their second wedding the day was just as special and emotional. I knew Stephani from high school and she has always been a talented artist. She made her invites, all the florals, ceremony backdrop and table decor herself. Scroll through to see the emotion and beautiful details of Stephani and Colton’s wedding day 😍

Johnston Engagement Session - Amanda & Zane

Zane and Amanda wanted a simple, easy going engagement session that reflected their personalities. We spent an hour at a local park together exploring, talking, and snapping photos along the way. Nature sessions are my sweet spot, so I’m always excited when a couple wants nature focus for their session. Amanda and Zane had so many sweet moments, I cannot wait for their wedding next April at Reiman Gardens 🙂

I'm Engaged: Now What? | Tips for Newly Engaged Planning a Wedding

So you are officially engaged, told your family and closed friends, shared the happy news on social media and now are thinking where do I start?

First of all, congrats! 🎉🎉 Getting engaged is so exciting and is a special time of your life. Now that the initial shock and checking your hand every minute to make sure this is real life has set in you may be feeling overwhelmed. The following are a few tips to help ease the where the heck do I start feeling after you’ve told all your closest friend and family, scrolled through Pinterest and realized there are a million options.

NAIL DOWN A BUDGET

Although it’s not the most fun part of planning, setting a budget is the most important part of wedding planning. It effects nearly every decision you will make when wedding planning. Talk with your fiance, talk with your parents, talk with anyone who is chipping in. If you don’t plan on hiring a wedding coordinator I highly recommend downloading a free wedding planning app that will help you budget and track everything as you go. Setting a budget will help you make countless decisions for your wedding day.

SET YOUR DATE + BOOK YOUR VENUE(S)

These two steps go hand in hand. Venues fill up and even churches seem to book more in advance than they used to. So be sure to find a venue that is available for your date or be willing to change your date! The worst thing is booking a different vendor and having to go back and tell them the date has changed and they are no longer available. So to prevent that heart ache - book the venue first.

RESEARCH & HIRE VENDORS

During this time, decide what aspects of the day you want to hire professionals for and what you plan on doing yourself or having family help with. Below is a list of just about every wedding vendor out there:

• Event Planner/Coordinator

• Rental Company (decor and anything additional the venue doesn’t supply)

• Photographer

• Videographer

• Wedding Attire

• Florist

• Caterer

• Baker

• DJ

• MakeUp Artist

• Hairstylist

• Save the Date and or Invitation Stationary Designer

• Wedding Officiant (If your venue doesn’t include one)

• Transportation (If you want to have a party bus or a special getaway car)

• Fun Bonus Vendors to Check Out: Calligraphers, Photo Booth, & Live Wedding Painter

REMEMBER

When planning your big day remember that at the end of the day what really matters is that you are marrying your best friend. Having beautiful things at your wedding day is fun and I’m a sucker for the details, but it’s the relationships that matters the most. So when planning take your fiance’s opinion to heart and decide on things together ❤️

Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden Engagement - Anna & Coleman

Anna and Coleman reached about wanting an engagement session before they eloped in Colorado. Anna knew right away she wanted their session at the Des Moines Botanical Garden, which I’m always excited to photograph at! These two had such a sweet, gentle energy and I loved photographing and getting to witness. I love the botanical garden because every time I go I seem to discover a new corner to fall in love with. Walking around with these two learning about their love story was so fun and refreshing.

The Teachout Building Wedding - Zach & Tia

Zach and Tia celebrated their wedding day at the Teachout Builidng in downtown Des Moines. From Tia’s bold makeup to their surprise choreographed first dance they created themselves (that was amazing and so them) I had so much fun photographing every single element of their day. Throughout the day they radiated joy and it was infectious. One thing I loved about their day was how obvious it was that they were there to celebrate and fully enjoy the day. Photos were a priority for them so we scheduled 3 separate times for portraits with just the two of them: after their first look, after the ceremony and at sunset, which I loved. At each time of the day the lighting was completely different and we had the opportunity to go to 3 locations within minutes of one another for a fun different feel. Zach and Tia made their wedding day exactly what they wanted and it was a blast to to photograph.

If you are wedding planning and struggling with people pleasing look through these photos and take them as a not so subtle hint to make your wedding day exact what you want 🥰

Vendors

Location: The Teachout Building

Videographer: Sanders Visual

Decor: Borrow my Vintage

Dress: Perry Bridal

Hair: Oliver & James Salon

Makeup: Laynee Rietz

Dessert: Molly’s Cupcakes

Caterer: Cosi Cucina

DJ: Reaman DJ Services