2020 // The Best of Weddings - Part One!

I said this exact same thing last wedding recap post from 2019 (and 2019’s part two wedding recap post) but I just have to say it again for this 2020 recap — choosing “a few” favorites from each wedding is SUCH an impossible task, my goodness! I’m extremely blessed and fortunate to get to do this job, and the joy of it all is never lost on me. But ya know, I’m also extremely blessed and fortunate with my clients, my sweet sweet couples, their families and friends, the top notch Kansas City (and beyond) vendors, all the effort that everyone puts into these wedding days to make them special… and just how special it all turns out, it is uhhhmazing!

As always, I’m completely in love and forever shall be in love with the couples portraits on a wedding day. That time and space to celebrate being married and to document a couple who just promised forever together — L O V E! But, just like last year and the year before and the year before (okay, you get the point), wedding days are as always, SO much more than just that. Though I love bride and groom photos and though I DO feel those are SUCH a huge focal point — wedding days involve a bigger picture, a bigger story. Families coming together, cousins seeing each other who haven’t in years, grandparents getting to leave their nursing home to see their granddaughter/grandson get married, siblings getting to dress up and bring a plus one, flower girls getting to feel like princesses, — all of it, everything, every single moment, it’s so so good.

So here we go, recapping the 2020 wedding season in part one of two, and starting off actually — a styled shoot!! But! Not only a real couple, but one of MY real couples!! Yuki and Anton were married in 2018 at Loose Mansion, and you can see their wedding here — for this styled shoot though, we got together at Hawthorne House to showcase their recent amazing renovations, and do a wee bit of a styled shoot. Wedding days with cotton candy? Absolutely perfect idea — hit up Cottontale KC for this sugary treat for your day, it’s totally worth it!

Yuki + Anton (a stylized wedding shoot)

Now onto the real weddings of 2020!!

And first up of my real weddings from 2020 — I’m starting off with a couple who I almost wasn’t able to book, and am so glad I could!

Melissa + Logan

These guys found me within a week (true story) after my original couple for this date had to postpone due to Covid — Melissa and Logan had planned on having a very small intimate wedding at The Elm’s Hotel and Spa regardless, so their day was able to carry on as planned. Had my original couple not needed to change gears to a different date, Melissa and Logan wouldn’t have ended up on my schedule. It’s funny how things work out :)

Greysen + Cory

These two tied their knot at the end of May at The Sycamore Tree! Beautiful venue, beautiful couple, beautiful emotions, and of course — a beautiful day!

Jill + Pietro

One of the many couples who had to make some changes to their wedding plans last year due to Covid… but, also one of the many couples who realized that love wasn’t cancelled, their day could still be special, and the ultimate goal still happened: they got married!! I LOVE the photo of everyone waving to the iPad as Jill’s grandmother couldn’t be there, but they wanted to include her as best as they could. And the shot of Jill and Pietro at their outdoor (Jill’s parents backyard!) reception table, love love love. So true, so memorable!

Susan + Loren

Susan had such pretty bridal details and bridal portraits — can’t beat a beautiful bride combined with that round window at The Hawthorne House!! Insider story: The shot of these guys doing their tree-planting-ceremony is a favorite because they had been using those little shovels to slowly add the dirt from each of their respective dirt buckets, when Loren, total guy, realized he could just dump it in all at once much faster — LOL everyone laughed!!

Tara + Travis

SUCH a joyful couple, so fun to be around!! These guys had a beautiful wedding at Timber Barn up at Weston Red Barn Farm. LOVE how Tara’s sweet Dad is looking at her right before he handed her off to Travis at their ceremony. LOVE the black+white shot of Tara’s Dad laughing with his arm around his own Dad — easily one of my favorite shots of my entire career, of all time. And I LOVE the black+white shot of the reception — Tara’s Mom laughing it up, her grandpa doing the same, everyone just so IN THE MOMENT. Love these moments!

Annabelle + Josh

Cutest little couple, sweetest wedding at The Legacy at Green Hills! These two really rolled with some punches that were thrown at them from Covid, but they made it all happen pretty seamlessly, and their day was amazing!! Love their portraits SO very much! Annie’s bouquets were GORGEOUS! And I love how her bridal portraits turned out!

Brianna + Jim

Remember when I said in the 2020 Couples Recap post that I traveled to Charleston South Carolina last July and got to do some shoots while there!? Let’s just go ahead and drop this GEM of shoot here and say that I was fuh-reakin-out over the beauty of this amazing couple, and this amazing location! Wedding photos at Legare Waring House in Charleston SC.. sign me up, any damn day of the week!!

Keri + Brandon

Another couple who had to make some changes due to Covid, but as I just keep echoing — another couple who STILL had an amazing day!! Some of the most fun reception shots ever, and I had a hard time narrowing down faves!

Mallory + Josh

Another lovely wedding of 2020 at Hawthorne House!! Such a joy-filled day for these two — loved loved loved their first look! The joy between Mallory and one of her bridesmaids, the stunning light blue bridesmaid dresses, and that precious little flower girl!

Kaylie + Cameron

These guys opted to move their November 2020 wedding UP to August instead because of some Covid complications… and they also decided to make things a bit more intimate, forego the wedding venue, and instead — do everything from start to finish at Kaylie’s parents newly purchased, under renovation, beautiful farmhouse! It was a lot of moving parts, it was a lot of planning, but honestly? It was perfect. LOVE that they decided to do this, love that their doggies were involved the entire day (love the shots of Kaylie with her sweet doggy, and same doggy laying on her dress….ugh my heart). Such a memorable day!

Anna + Jack

Starting off my faves from Anna and Jack’s big day with SUCH an awesome moment — the very moment Anna and Jack realized that Anna’s sweet sister and Dad had orchestrated a surprise for them — their precious first born, their doggy, Winston, to show up on their wedding day and surprise them!! OH MY FREAKIN’ HEART. Love love love that sweet moment and the photos that resulted! Also love the fun road trip we took to downtown Kansas City from their venue, The Farms at Woodend Springs, to get some fun city shots!!

Heather + Thomas

Kicking off my faves from Heather and Thomas’s wedding with Heather’s bridal portraits / getting ready shots because how can I not!? LOVE these shots. And for ONCE in my editing career, I ADDED FILM GRAIN to that first shot of Heather below, because it just FELT right in my soul! Then we definitely need to talk about the shots of them at sunset, out in the middle of the street… cause I basically wanted to “fave” them all. LOVED that these guys were up for anything, LOVE Heather’s laughing face, and LOVE that Heather herself wanted to do a Notebook themed shot, of laying in the middle of the damn street. Does it get any better!?

Bri + Craig

Adore these guys!! They had a showstopper of a wedding at The Legacy at Green Hills, and it was truly such a wonderful day! Love that venue and loved how these guys decorated for their big day. The ceremony shot and its combined image of Bri holding the hanky? So, during the ceremony, Bri lost it, got really emotional, and all smooth-like, Craig reached into his pocket and handed her a hanky, … and then Bri busted out laughing. No one had a clue, but we all laughed. Come to find out, Craig had a hanky made that was stitched with the words “Keep your shit together”…… Absolutely in love with that — one of those wedding day moments I’ll never forget, and I’m guessing Bri won’t either!!

Miranda + Sawyer

These guys made a date change due to Covid too, but oh so fortunately were able to still get married on their original date AND have what they hoped for later in the year — a bigger, beautiful wedding at The Hawthorne House!! Miranda’s joy is practically tangible and I LOVE it, andddd I love her!!! Miranda really wanted that shot of her, Sawyer, and their entire bridal party on the steps of the chapel, and with a bridal party their size… I was a bit nervous about squeezing everyone in there, but I’m so glad we made it happen! And all those FUN celebratory reception shots, love them!

And That’s the end of part one!

Hard to believe that’s only part one, huh?!! hahahahhaa *wipes brow* — stay tuned y’all, part two of recapping the weddings of 2020 is coming up!! Love every single memory I shared here!! So grateful for this career!!