Faith & Corey's Wedding

First wedding of the year, friends! And it's of friends! Oh, it all works out. :)

This is the first wedding I've shot for friends since my very first one (shout out to Matt & Kim!), and I was SO excited. I was also so nervous, but I really shouldn't have been. I had such a good time and the pictures came out so pretty, which of course always happens when you have good looking and/or fun people to shoot. (Faith and Corey were, of course, both.)

I love these guys so much and I can and probably will write a novel about it. We all went to high school together, although their relationship is a fairly recent development (in terms of when we all were in high school--ten year reunion on the horizon, baby!). Faith was like my long-lost soulmate. We went to school together for like a zillion years but only discovered each other pretty late in high school, maybe our junior or senior year? I feel like it was some combination of English and journalism classes that brought us together, but the details are fuzzy. We lost touch after high school but were reunited a year or so ago through the magic of Facebook, when we discovered that we were, at the time, working across the street from each other. Can you believe that? Life is so funny that way. So we got together and had a delicious lunch at Rock Bottom, which I am in love with.

Corey, on the other hand, was the drummer in my high school boyfriend's band. Even in hindsight, they were surprisingly awesome for a high school band, playing a lot of rock covers at high profile venues such as the homecoming dance, After Prom, and Mongan's (which means nothing to you if you're not from Plainfield). I spent my entire junior year in Corey's basement, and it was probably one of the greatest years of my entire life.


And with that, let's jump in, shall we?

This is the gorgeous Faith right after she'd gotten into her dress. I believe she was smiling at her daughter. And seriously, I love that moment when a bride gets into their dress and they feel all pretty and bridal. AND don't you love this dress? I thought it was so unusual--I hadn't seen anything like it and it's so pretty.

Everyone knows how I love the mascara pics.

How cute is this? That's Mackenzie (fingers crossed on the spelling/capitalization of that!), Faith's daughter and bridesmaid extraordinaire. I love this shot of them getting ready together. :)

And speaking of getting ready, here's the Mother of the Bride, fancying up the flower girl! (Fancying up: totally a legitimate phrase.)

These shoes are amazing! Faith loved them and went with purple shoes for her wedding, a decision that I am all for. And if you can't tell here, they have an ankle strap. Love!

Oh, just a beautiful bridal portrait for your viewing pleasure. We got lucky because Indianapolis actually doesn't get that much snow (ESPECIALLY when you talk to the girl who's been living in Chicago-ish all winter), and it snowed for their wedding! So it was all snow and trees and a little winter wonderland backdrop for their wedding. Someone commented that all we needed out there was a baby deer and it would be complete. Word!

Oh good lord, this is going down in history as probably my all-time favorite flower girl/ring bearer shot. The combined cuteness here is just STAGGERING.

Jeff! Jeff was the bassist in said high school band. He and Corey have been friends since they were small children and it was so fun to hang out with him and his family at the wedding. Here, I snuck into the men's restroom (don't worry, I called out first) and made Jeff give me his best James Bond impression. Not bad, I say!

The groom! He's pretty important, I'd say, and I bet you were itching to get a good look at him, right? Here he is getting his flower pinned on and listening to one of the kiddos. Me and Faith's sister (and bridesmaid extraordinaire) were looking through the pics before the wedding and not letting Faith see (because we're mean), and we were ooohing and aaahing over this one.

I admit that I put this picture in for purely sentimental reasons, but seriously, I love it when friendships can last throughout the years, and Jeff and Corey both look so happy here, and I'm excited that I'm on the other side of the camera. It's like we're having a happy, old friends moment, and it's like ... if growing up I'd pictured how Corey's wedding day would be, I think this would've been it. Happy.

Mackenzie is totally an up and coming photographer--she was snapping away all evening!

OMG, that is the best face ever as he sees her coming down the aisle. I love it! And also, that's Chad, Corey's brother and best man. He was a senior when I was a freshman, so he was like cool and scary, and by the time I was at their house all the time, Chad was off at college. So we weren't as tight, but we also have become friends through the magic of facebook, and here's what I know--he's very nice, very funny, and loves some soccer. Also, funny sidenote, Chad and Corey's dad is some sort of real estate developer (I can never keep it all straight) and my parents actually live on Chad Ct., named after this guy right here. Corey Ln. is just around the corner. Pretty awesome, huh?

I think I'm going to have to declare this one my favorite. It's perfect.

And look at this! I love the cute scrunching of Faith's shoulders, and how Corey has an extra hand holding her arm because just holding hands wasn't enough. Seriously, these two are making me die of cuteness right now. I am SO excited that they found each other.

Can't you just feel the happiness radiating out of this photo?

All I'm saying is, THANK GOD this thing was not an actual part of the wedding. It was just a doll or something (I can't imagine that it has any real use, although I also can't imagine why anyone would want something this horrifying sitting around for show) that sat on a shelf in the pro shop. It is SO CREEPY. I swear, it looks like a real life nightmare. So, of course, I took a picture of it to share with all of you fine folks. I think for me, possibly the creepiest thing about it is its uncanny resemblance to Dustin Hoffman.

Cute cute cute cute cute! (By the way, I know I use that word a lot but I feel like there's no reasonable substitute for it. So if I want to communicate cuteness, I have one option and one option only.)

Alright, so I know the focus is soft here but who cares? It's such a great entrance. Seriously, the joy at this wedding was just so present it was almost physical. I want to go back and do this wedding again because it was just so happy. And because I got two pieces of cake. (I almost never get cake at weddings, one of the job hazards.)

This was taken during Chad's toast, which was probably one of the best Best Man toasts I've heard.

The first dance ... I believe they were trying to convince Mackenzie to come and join them, but she wasn't having it.

I don't usually love pictures of backs, but this one, I totally do. I think it says it all.

The father of the bride dance ... I was really into the composition of this one.

And finally ... a double fisting pic! New year, same love for people with two drinks at a time. :)


And there you have it! That was so fun, such a good wedding and fun to go back through and look at again. :) The gallery is up on my Instaproofs site. Congratulations, lovebirds!