LGBTQ

Rebecca + Alisha's Surprise Proposal at Olbrich Gardens

Rebecca surprised Alisha with a proposal at the couple’s favorite spot in olbrich gardens

Alisha may have suspected something was up, but that didn’t make the moment any less beautiful or emotional. Rebecca set up her camera against a rock to take a picture of the two of them kissing under the giant oak tree, as they have many times before, but just as they were done kissing, Alisha got down on one knee to ask Alisha to marry her (spoiler alert: Alisha said yes)!

We then proceeded to meander about Olbrich gardens, and I got to photograph these two amazing humans being deeply in love (have you ever seen such big smiles?!). It was a beautiful and tender day, and a BIG congratulations to Alisha + Rebecca on their engagement! Thanks for letting me capture this special moment!

—Sam

 
 

Michelle + James: A Romantic Spring Wedding at Olbrich Gardens

A queer love story for the ages

Michelle + James met in college prior to James’ transition and were friends for years before each realized they had feelings for the other, or that they were even queer (a tale as old as time in the queer community, amiright?) but eventually they both figured it out and the world is better for it! From a magical trip on a dinner train at a northern Wisconsin resort in the middle of a blizzard, to James’ enlisting Michelle’s help to plan what turned out to be the engagement proposal (surprise!), these two have been having adventures and being adorably in love for 12 years now!

Their wedding day was an unseasonably warm & sunny late April day and we were lucky enough to have magnolias in bloom at Olbrich just in time for couples portraits! The day was a beautiful mix of tradition and whimsy, and Michelle + James were able to celebrate their commitment to one another with so many friends & family members cheering them on! Their friends even put together a flash mob dance for the song Apt. by Bruno Mars & Rose´!

It was a joy to celebrate with Michelle + James! Help me wish them a big congratulations and enjoy the photos of their beautiful wedding day!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Olbrich Gardens

Officiant: Rob Anderson, Oso In Love Events

Hair & Makeup: Studio Z

Wedding & Engagement Rings: Jewelers Workshop

Bridal Gown: Veras House of Bridals

Groom Tux: Indochino

DJ: DJ Aaron Womack with Kuhl Entertainment

Florist: Daffodil*Parker

Desserts: Batch Bakehouse

Catering: Lao Laan-Xang

Wedding Coordinator: Rob Anderson, Oso In Love Events

Videographer: Ella Bella Productions

 
 

Erin + Ingrid: 10 Years of Making the World Better Together

Erin + Ingrid celebrated their 10 year anniversary surrounded by friends and family from across the globe

These two have had some amazing adventures both together and separately in the last 10 years! They met and eloped in 2015, the year same-sex marriage was legalized, and have spent a significant amount of their decade-long marriage abroad, working in Russia, the Ukraine, and other places along the way! After 10 years together, they decided that they wanted to have a belated wedding reception to celebrate their union with friends and family and adorable puppy Butter (now more than ever it’s important to celebrate queer joy and queer love) and so the idea was born to host the reception in their adopted hometown of Madison, WI!

The morning of the reception, we met at the Dane County Farmer’s Market to take photos with the couple’s close friends and so that folks from out of town could enjoy the farmer’s market (yay Stella’s hot spicy cheese bread!).

The reception itself was held later in the day at the gorgeous Goodman Community Center Iron Works building, and featured delicious all-vegetarian food and a picture-focused activity for guests to find pictures of themselves on the cocktail tables and write good wishes to the couples on the backs before placing the photos in a photo album (I LOVE this activity in place of a guest book!). The tunes were great (as they always are with Kuhl Entertainment) and there was so much joy and love to go around it made me a little weepy! (I’m a crier, what can I say?)

Enjoy the photos of this fun and meaningful 10 year anniversary wedding celebration, and help me wish Erin + Ingrid a great big happy anniversary!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center, Ironworks Building

DJ: Kuhl Entertainment (Greg & Ace)

Catering: Goodman Community Center

 
 

Joel + Justin: A Maximalist Wedding for the Ages

Joel + justin combined their love of food and their love of art to make for one absolutely spectacular wedding celebration!

These two met like most couples do these days; online. But their love story is anything but average, and they brought that energy into their wedding day in a huge way!

Joel + Justin are both foodies who love to travel. They wanted to throw themselves into creating the perfect celebration of them as a couple and their friends, family, and chosen family! You wouldn’t believe all of the details these two thought of unless you were there, but I’m going to try my hardest to give you some highlights! Justin made all of the hors d'oeuvres for their guests himself, showing a wide range of different flavors and cuisines, and Joel made all the desserts (of which there were multiple options that all look phenomenal)! These two also handmade all of their wedding favors, which continued the food theme, and had little goodie bags that their guests could fill with tasty treats from the favors table, including honey, sourdough starters, cotton candy, dog treats, flavored salts, ramen mixes, and more! I feel like these two need to open their own Rose Apothecary but for food ASAP!

Other non-food related touches include Joel’s artistic flair showing itself in a myriad of ways! These two had an art installation in the foyer of Goodman Community Center’s Brass Works building that doubled as Joel + Justin’s living room, complete with record player, antique TV, strategically placed books and chairs, and the piece de resistance, a painting Joel is making of he and Justin! Each centerpiece was also a maximalist enthusiast’s dream, being themed on different regions of the world, and pulling in so many fun elements! A picture is worth a thousand words, so make sure to check them out below because seeing is believing!

Joel + Justin’s dogs, Gus and Bobo, were there to celebrate with them too, for photos before the wedding, and to walk down aisle with them, and even participate in the ceremony (mostly by interrupting very cutely). Speaking of ceremony, Justin + Joel did their own spin on a tea ceremony, in which they served tea to their wedding party and Joel’s mother, and later served to the entire group of guests during the first toast!

Last but not last, these two folded over 1000 paper cranes to use as place-card holders and as a beautiful backdrop for formal photos!

“We [were] striving to have a wedding that [was] out of the box and different than any wedding that anyone [had] ever been to before. We as a couple have always said that we are anything but normal and we wanted our wedding/reception to reflect that. By utilizing our individual skills, we added touches of ourselves throughout the day.” - Joel

Enjoy the amazingness that is Joel + Justin’s wedding , and help me wish them a BIG congratulations!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Goodman Community Center Brass Works Building

Officiant: Shoobie Shirley (friend of the couple)

Jewelry: Wedding Ring Store

Suits: NL Suits

DJ: Midwest Sound

Florist: DIY by Joel

Desserts: DIY by Joel (donuts from Greenbush Bakery)

Appetizers: DIY by Justin

Catering: Upstairs Downstairs Catering

Dog Handler: Kibbles & Kisses

Decor Rentals: Velvet Rentals

 
 

Fall Family Portraits on Monroe Street

Aoife (pronounced ee-fa) and her family had a lovely family portrait session on monroe street

The weather may have been blustery, but Aoife and her parents James & Sydney still had a great punking around Monroe Street, ending with some delicious ice cream at The Chocolate Shoppe! (Don’t tell Aoife, but I ended up getting Peppermint Twist instead of Chocolate once our session was over). Enjoy these sweet family photos!

—Sam

 
 

Rae + Jesii: A Beautiful Fall Wedding Day at Lakeview Park

These two had a beautiful and chill wedding ceremony surrounded by friends and family

Want to hear something adorable? When Jesii (they/them) proposed to Rae (they/them), it was while playing a board game! These two were playing an at home escape room game ( EXIT games) and Jesii changed the last two cards in the deck to be a proposal, so when they solved the game, it was actually Jesii popping the question!

I love this story (and also have a soft spot in my heart for nerdy, queer weddings and board games) and was SO excited to get to celebrate with Rae + Jesii and their friends and family!

Enjoy the photos of this awesome couple, and help me wish them a big congratulations!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Lakeview Park in Middleton, WI

Officiant: Becca Kopchak (friend of couple)

Florist: DIY

Catering: Pancake Cafe

Wedding Coordinator: Brenda Koeller

 
 

Michael + Daniel: A Chic and Modern Wedding at the Tinsmith

Daniel + michael’s wedding day was as fun and elegant as the couple!

These two (and their friends and family) were the absolute sweetest folks to work with! You could see the love and absolute pure joy Michael + Daniel have for one another every moment of their wedding day!

Also, check out how adorable their dogs Penny & Frankie are with their little flower wreaths!!!! Move over Moo Deng & Pesto, these two are my new favorite icons!

Enjoy the photos of this gorgeous wedding, and help me with Michael + Daniel a big congratulations!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Tinsmith

String Quartet: Camerata Strings

DJ: DJ Femme Noir

Florist: Sunborn Gardens

Catering: Blue Plate Catering

Desserts: Kate’s Cakes

Wedding Coordinator: Piece of Cake Consulting

 
 

Mushroom's Senior Portraits at the UW Arboretum

This young adult has the best style

And the best taste in X-men characters! (I’m in agreement with Mushroom that Dazzler doesn’t get nearly enough love) It was such a joy to get to talk with them and their mom and grandma during their portrait session! Good luck with senior year, Mushroom!

—Sam

 
 

Cali + Cezanne: A Dairy-Loving Wisconsin Wedding Celebration

Cali + Cezanne got married in early september but wanted a wisconsin-based celebration with their midwest family and friends

And what a celebration it was! First though, I have to tell you the cutest thing ever, which is that before Cali (she/her) + Cezanne (they/them) starting dating, they were colleagues at work and Cali was trying to set Cezanne up with a friend. Good news for everyone then that Cali’s matchmaking efforts backfired, and instead, these two ended up together, and the rest is history!

Now onto the celebration! The wedding celebration was held at Seven Acre Dairy Company, which was absolutely the perfect venue for the festivities! The Wisconsin-themed wedding day was filled with small details that felt so homey and magical, and just wait until you see the outfit changes Cali + Cezanne had!

I am so honored that I got to celebrate with these two! Please join me in wishing them a big congratulations!!! Also, help me wish happy 90th birthday to Cali’s grandfather, who recently turned 90 and was surprised with a cake during Cali + Cezanne’s wedding celebration!

—Sam

Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Seven Acre Dairy Company

Hair & Makeup: Megan Steiner (childhood friend of the bride’s)

Wedding Rings: Wwake for metal bands, and blue band for Cezanne is from Nora Kogan

Bridal Gown: Della Curve Bridal

DJ/Band: Kuhl Entertainment, Greg Morrow

Florist: daffodil*parker

Desserts: Seven Acre Dairy Company

Catering: Seven Acre Dairy Company

 
 

2024 Magic Pride Fest

Magic Pride Fest was the event this Madison Pride Season!

I try to make Pride every year (as long as we’re not photographing a wedding that day) but holy smokes, this year’s Pride event was the most well-attended I’ve seen it! It was amazing to see so many folks living our their expressions queer joy! The event had more vendors and tents than ever this year too, and it was great to see so many familiar faces! We also got so lucky with there being some cloud cover and a little breeze, that it made for the absolute nicest day to celebrate! Enjoy the photos of this fun Madison event!

—Sam

 
 

2024 Sun Prairie Pride Fest

Sun Prairie’s Pride Fest was a celebration of queer joy

It was an honor to get to photograph the 3rd annual Sun Prairie Pride Fest this year! The event was so joyful that I was smiling from ear to ear the entire time, and not just because of the delicious watermelon popsicles that were available! Enjoy the photos of this awesome event, held at Sun Prairie West!

—Sam