tara and chrissy’s rock island lake club winter wedding was fantastic from start to finish. when tara originally reached out to me and told me she knew one of my grooms who got married at rock island lake club several years ago, i knew she’d be awesome and would be marrying someone else awesome. shaun and courtney (may she rest in peace) had a day filled with so much love and laughter and as i always say, ‘awesome people know other awesome people.’ i love that tara and chrissy weren’t afraid to break from some wedding traditions. they got ready together, they had a small private ceremony and they didn’t do a first dance. there is so much wedding industry pressure, but i love when a couple isn’t afraid to do what they want. 
‘i do, me too’ stickers…
anything is possible…
irish wedding vibes…
ore makeup design doing their thing…
the un-glamourous side of beauty regimes, hah…
chrissy’s mom watches on as tara gets her final spray for her windy rock island lake club winter wedding day…
live easy.
tara looking gorgeous…
chrissy looking gorgeous…
i love real laughter on a wedding day…
since it was quite cold out, i started with tara and chrissy inside which meant i had to work a bit more intimately with them from the start. usually, i like to give couples a chance to warm-up to being photographed since i like to capture them candidly. i love that they were able to trust me and to just roll with it.
i love this sweet kiss that chrissy gave tara. my couples know that i’m not into posing and i have an allergy to fake, so i love that they trust me so that i can capture the real moments of tenderness, laughter and love that happen…
when a wind gust came, both tara and chrissy had the same reaction, hah!
i love this shot that my assistant, kelsey davis, got as tara and chrissy’s moms walked down the aisle together holding hands.
no flower petals here… shamrocks for this irish st. patty’s day weekend rock island lake club winter wedding!
i love the fact that kids just don’t g.a.f. when it comes to wedding ceremonies. they are just real. 
tara and chrissy’s wedding vows were filled with lots of sweet, funny promises to one another…
that moment you are wife and wife…
all he needs for a party…
beers and bouquets… how irish brides do weddings…
nieces and nephews tossing shamrocks at tara and chrissy as they entered their rock island lake club wedding reception…
tara and chrissy skipped the formality of a first dance and went right into partying and with dj paul knox of sce event group, you know it’s going to be a good party…
tiny green beer mug necklaces…
i loooveee when kids get out there and own the dance floor like this little guy did!
i also love when they are still willing to cuddle up and give their moms some love on the dance floor…
usually weird shadows on ceilings annoy me, but this was too much fun…
tara and chrissy danced all night and with so much intensity…
when you party so hard your hair clip falls out…
chrissy’s face in the background is priceless…
entertaining little ones on the dance floor…
attempt at the dirty dancing lift…
from tara’s initial inquiry to me where i literally laughed out loud at her truth and sarcasm, to her thoughtful email telling me why her and chrissy would like to work with me and to their cooperation, realness and love on the day of—it was all such a blast with tara and chrissy and their friends and family for their rock island lake club winter wedding!
