Dalton and Jill had a beautiful August day for their wedding, which was seemingly much deserved after they endured . . . 2020. Need we say anything more? Oh, but we can. A global pandemic rescheduled their original date. A derecho that hit the area around their wedding venue extremely hard three weeks prior. They had hair stylist and makeup artist issues too. One broke their back. One moved across the country. Their officiant caught on fire and suffered some pretty nasty burns. As I said, praise God for the miracle that we were somehow healthy and available to photograph their wedding day! Wow!
They had both their ceremony and the reception at the Longbranch in Cedar Rapids. That is also where we started the day getting ready and transitioned into their first look. Their first look was priceless! Despite the swarm of State Farm folks that were stationed in the hotel, we apparently caught a minute of downtime and they were able to enjoy a relatively private and State Farm free first look together. Jill looked so cute in her tea length dress, which I think was such a nice choice for her. It sure dropped Dalton’s jaw. 🙂 She had these super cute shoes too, but she could hardly stand in them after a while. Kate Spade Keds turned out to be a much better option, and I was happy that she had those on hand! You could tell she was struggling, but Jill is so sweet that she would never tell you that she just needed to get those damn shoes off to let her puppies have a break and breathe.
After their first look, we loaded up and headed downtown for some photos with the wedding party. It was such a beautiful day to be outside, and their wedding party was so chill and easy to work with. We captured a variety of clean, modern looks and some more urban looks with aged character for the best of both worlds.
Speaking of the best of both worlds, the ceremony was set in the Longbranch ballroom reception space, and there was no need to flip the room afterward. Easy peasy. Their officiant, still wrapped up from his burns, did a nice job of delivering a message that was very personal to the couple and kept the guests entertained.
After that it was party time. The guests were treated to a great dinner and were able to learn quite a lot about Dalton and Jill’s college years during the toasts that were given. The dance floor opened up and there were mediocre dance moves all over the place. They may have been mediocre, but they were executed with commitment, and that’s all that matters.
Jill and Dalton, may your marriage commitment be everlasting and a blessing to you and your families. We wish you guys all the best and appreciate you having us along for your special day!
