It was cold as heck, so we split our time between Picnic Point with the dogs and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (sadly no puppies allowed there) and were able to beat the cold quite well and get some beautiful photos to celebrate their engagement! Help me wish a big congratulations to these two, and we can’t wait for their wedding next year!
—Sam
This family is made up of ex-spouses and their two kiddos, Leo & Adam, and being a person who runs a business and co-parents with my ex-spouse, I’m always so happy to see co-parenting situations where folks are putting the kids first and still working in positive family experiences, like these adorable family portraits with both of the kids’ moms! Enjoy these sweet and fun photos, taken in our studio on Madison’s East side!
—Sam
This is Charlie’s first family portrait session since he was welcomed to the family, and we couldn’t have gotten luckier with the gorgeous weather and beauty of the Arboretum! Enjoy these sweet family photos!
—Sam
You schedule an anniversary portrait session, just like Ash + Sarah! These two had a beautiful, crisp Fall day for their portraits at Pope Farm Conservancy, and we could not have asked for better weather or more beautiful surroundings! The sun was brilliant, the lighting was dreamy, and most importantly of all, Sarah + Ash were adorable and in love, which always makes for the best pictures!
Happy anniversary to these two!
—Sam
The spot their picked (Appleberry Farm in Cross Plains, WI) was perfect and so damn pretty you would not believe it (I think I’ve found my new apple-picking spot for Fall)! Enjoy the photos of this sweet couple, and help me wish them a big congratulations on their wedding!
—Sam
When I first met these two for Rebecca’s surprise proposal to Alisha (check out the photos here), I knew their connection was something deeply meaningful! From their palpable joy during their private vows to one another, to their beautiful smiles and excitement during the ceremony, to the adorable little sweetheart cake for two, this wedding day was perfect in every way!
Help me wish these two a BIG congratulations!
—Sam
Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!
Ceremony: Capitol Building, Madison, WI
Officiant: Jennifer Nashold
Jewelry: Jewlers Workshop
Dessert: Disco Cherry Bakery
Associate Photographer: Melanie Renee Photography (photos edited by Dutcher Photography)
It was obviously very kind of Stella to share her special day with her moms, and what a day! The weather was perfect, the decor lush, and there were small multicultural elements to the day that I absolutely loved, including lots of ceramic bulls (see how many you can spot)!
The wedding ceremony itself was bilingual, as Alba + Erika used both Spanish and English to communicate their vows to one another. The ceremony was short, but oh so sweet, and was immediately followed by a toast from Erika + Alba to their guests, but also very importantly, their fur baby Stella on the occasion of her 10th birthday! She was too busy rooting around in the garden to pay much attention to the toast, but got her fill of love, pets, and sunshine throughout the day!
After the guests departed for the Muskellounge for the wedding reception, we took some time for couples portraits, including photos of these two digging up a bottle of Wild Turkey that they’d buried in Erika’s mom’s garden (I honestly don’t know why it was buried, but I’ve decided to make up increasingly implausible stories in my head about it for the rest of my life), and photos of the two newlyweds and their girl Stella!
I can’t believe how lovely their wedding day was, and I am so happy to have been able to celebrate with these two! Help me wish Alba + Erika a BIG congratulations (and a great big happy birthday to Stella as well)!
—Sam
Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!
Ceremony Venue: Erika’s Mom’s Backyard
Reception Venue (not pictured): Muskellounge
Officiant: Alba’s Brother-in-Law
Olbrich Botanical Gardens is obviously one of the most gorgeous locations in Madison (and given how pretty Madison is, that’s saying something)! Gretchen (they/them) + Max (he/him) really leaned into the theme with flowers from the farmer’s market, picked up the morning of the wedding, and bright, bold colors for their wedding outfits and accessories!
The lovely and chill wedding celebration these two put together was not only ethically covid-cautious, but also built with neurodivergent comfort in mind, with a quiet area for people to hangout if they were getting overwhelmed, music that was on the softer side, and lots of things to keep hands busy at tables!
We’re so honored to have gotten to help these two celebrate their union! Help us wish them a BIG congratulations and enjoy the photos of their amazing wedding day!
—Sam
Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!
Ceremony + Reception Venue: Olbrich Botanical Gardens
Officiant: Carlie M (friend of the couple)
Wedding Jumpsuit: Torrid
Groom Suit: NL Suits
DJ/Band: Greg with Kuhl Entertainment
Florist: DIY from Dane County Farmer’s Market
Catering: El Pastor
Also, who doesn’t love a queer wedding during Pride Month? No one I’d want to be friends with, that’s for sure!
These two met during July of 2020 (what a time, right?) at Picnic Point for a COVID-cautious first date, and the rest is history! They returned to Picnic Point again for their engagement photos, which you can check out here!
The ceremony itself took place at the Madison Central Library (the fanciest of Madison libraries) and was bright, fun, and filled with music. I kid you not, as the wedding party members were coming down the aisle, the string quartet was playing a song I knew I recognized but couldn’t put my finger on, until at the very end, I realized it was an instrumental rendition of Fat Bottom Girls by Queen, and if I hadn’t been wearing a mask, you’d have seen me smiling ear to ear.
After the ceremony, we headed to the Capitol Building in downtown Madison for couples photos (Hanna + Kait were troopers through the heat though, which was considerable), and then off to State Line Distillery for the reception! And holy smokes, State Line Distillery was such a fun venue! We’ve never photographed a reception there before and it was awesome! Loved those Cicada murals too!
Enjoy the photos from this sweet and fun wedding day, and help me wish Kait + Hanna a big congratulations!
—Sam
Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!
Ceremony Venue: Madison Public Library (Central Library)
Reception Venue: State Line Distillery
Officiant: Pat Werk
Hair & Makeup: Beauty Unveiled by Tia
Wedding Rings: Soha + Aubree
Hanna’s Suit: Bindle & Keep
DJ: Andrew Larson of Saturn’s 8 Entertainment
Florist: Robert Eimstad (family member)
Desserts: Bloom Bakeshop
Catering: Flour Girl & Flame
Wedding Coordinator: Sarah Robinson of OSO In Love Events
Fun story; I don’t always get to meet the couples that I work with ahead of their wedding day, so it’s not uncommon for me to arrive at a wedding and not know what the couple looks like. I arrived at the Harvey House a little early for Matt + Matthew’s wedding, and I saw there was another wedding taking place in a different part of the same building. I walked around scouting locations for a bit, and when I came back a few minutes before the photography start time, I saw two insanely stylish gentlemen in bold suits looking awesome, and I crossed my fingers that they were the couple I was going to work with, and (as you can see from the photos below), they were!
If you’ve read any of my other wedding blog posts, you know I’m a HUGE fan of small, intimate weddings, and Matthew + Matt’s wedding was so utterly perfect that it cemented my love of small weddings even more. The food was divine (thanks Harvey House!) and the mocktails were perfect (chef’s kiss), but the real treat of the day was watching these two be so supported and loved by their friends and family. Right now more than ever, seeing Queer couples supported by their community brings me to (happy) tears!
Help me wish these two a BIG congratulations, and enjoy the photos from this beautiful wedding day!
—Sam
Here are the vendors that helped make their wedding day awesome!
Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Harvey House
Officiant: Pat Lundin
Groom Tux: Indochino
Florist: DIY
Wedding Bands: Chalmer’s Jewelrs
Desserts: The Harvey House
Catering: The Harvey House
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 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
