Meet Ellen, you’ll adore her… I guarantee it And if you don’t… I owe you a million dollars.* 

OHHHHH how I love when brides wear non-white shoes A little pop of the unexpected…. people everywhere, all day…  “WHOA! WERE THOSE BLUUUUUUE SHOES I SAW?!” Okay… maybe that’s a bit of a lie…. but I KNOW they were all thinking it!

Meet Ellen’s younger sister Sarah She’s cute… and a big fan of the blog Doesn’t she look like Kirsten Dunst?! Yes, I know I know… I’m so good at the “what celebrity do you look like” game

Meet Brian (or at least meet the lower half of his face), he’s in the top ten nicest guys I’ve ever met…. and, I know a lot of guys. So yes… that’s a BIG deal He’s THAT nice. (Mike is in the number 1 position, but I may be biased )

HAAAAAA!!!!! This is HILAAAAARIOUS!!!!! If you’re not laughing yet then you haven”t notice the guy on the right and the quality of his bow tie.  They stood in line and had Tony, the resident boy scout, fix them I couldn’t stop laughing when editing through this series!

Ellen used to be a florist in Chicago… LOVING the flowers in her hair. Can’t wait for you to see the amazingness that were the bouquets

love.love.love.

If you were a bug watching this ceremony, this would be your view. ORRRR if you were a Mike photographing this wedding, this would also be your view….

YOU’RE MARRRRRRIED!!!!!!

I know… I knowwwww…. this composition looks familiar When Ellen saw that image she KNEW she wanted one similar… and because I don’t like to 100% recreate our past work (especially a shot so uhm… memorable…), I made this one a weeeee bit different I’m a fan!

YEAHHHHHHH!!!! GO TEAM WEDDING!!!!!!!!! I’m telling you, we’ve had some incredible color combos this year LOVING the navy and hot pink!

Mikey’s fave (…he’s so predictable …)

How GORGEOUS are these bridesmaids?! Two things. 1) At first you may have thought I was crazy with my Kirsten Dunst reference from above… but look at Sarah now with that big ol’ smile… THEY’RE TWINS! (second from the right). and 2) Notice Kristina on the right?

If I could do my wedding over again, I would absolutely have had guys on my side. See her there? That’s Brian’s sister… and also the “Best Woman” Tradition schmadition… Good for you Brian!

TOLD you the flowers were amazing! If you want peonies… and you want them to be this gorgeous… and you’re getting married in the Midwest… and you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg… get married in May

IT’S A DRIVE-BY TONY! Mike let him use one of our second cameras and he went to town with the photo snappin’! ….I caught him in the act…

WHOA! ARE THOSE BLUUUUUUE SHOES I SEE?! …you were thinking it, weren’t you?! Told ya!!!!!

OH HELLLLLL YES!!!!! I’m a fan. A BIG fan of this.

Ellen, you’re a stunner. K? k.

It’s reception time baaaaabies!

ABSOLUTELY my favorite

PARRRRRRRRRTY!

This makes me smile. That’s Ellen’s mom on the left… We get to photograph the best best best parties. Seeing this makes me want to turn on some GaGa and boogie…. at 9 in the morning. Who’s with me?!

 

……………………………

ST. LOUIS, Mo.

event planner & florist | Rachel & Amanda, Lucky You Productions
hair |  Melanie Wilson
makeup artist | Lauren Graf
church | St. John the Apostle and Evangelist
reception venue | An American Place
band | Arvell & Company
cake | Rosigliones
invitations & programs | Lemonseed & Co.
dress | Town & Country Bridal Boutique | Watters
bridesmaid dresses | j.crew
tuxes | Black Tie Formal Wear

……………………………

 

their songs:

First dance: “That’s How Strong My Love Is” – Otis Redding
Father/Daughter: “Unforgettable” – Natalie Cole

 

ellen+brian:

What was the most memorable moment of your day?
ellen: When the doors of the Church opened and I looked down the aisle and saw Brian and all the guests.
brian: When I took Ellen’s arm at the front of the Church after she had walked down the aisle.

What was your favorite detail?
This isn’t really a detail, but we loved the room where the reception was held.  It looked really, really beautiful with the architectural details and the stunning flowers.

Any advice for future bride/grooms?
Hire a planner! At least a day-of planner like we had.  Lucky You did a great job keeping everyone in line.  It was so easy and worry-free on the big day.  Also – get a band! A live band is so much fun.

Funniest memory from your wedding day?
ellen: Joking with Brian while we were waiting to be announced at the reception…watching funny dancers…taking lots of Bobbi and Mike photobooth photos…photographs at our last location next to the “questionable” building/garage/residence
brian: Seeing the first-try bow ties on the groomsmen

If you could do it all over, would you change anything?
More time to talk to everyone, dance, take pictures!!!

What was your favorite wedding purchase?
ellen: Dress! Bobbi and Mike!
brian: Tickets to Spain

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Spain!!! Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo, Madrid.  Mucho gusto! Mas vino tinto por favor!

 

 

bobbi+mike:

What was our favorite part of the day?
bobbi: 1. I adoooooored this bridal party. Seriously, my kind of people! Fun, nice, unfiltered, sincere and crazy. 2. Hanging out with Ellen and her bridesmaids as they got their makeup on. Seeing SO many familiar faces. I about flipped my poopy in excitement when I saw (past bbmk bride & groom) Mike and Kristina. 3. Photographing them in an unexpected part of town. I asked Ellen what she had in mind for photo locations. She said… “you know, I have zero preferences when it comes to that… I trust you entirely, just pick something you like” And that we did! Ellen & Brian, you two rock rock ROCK. 4. Shooting in the unboxed photo booth… what a FUN group! I haven’t been so great about blogging photos from that… maybe I’ll get on that next week! 5. Getting one of the sweetest emails from Ellen, after the wedding, before they’d even seen the photos. Seriously brought me to tears. I’ll share a part of it below.
mike: I’m actually blogging from 40,000 feet on a Boeing 737 en route to Florida for a wedding tomorrow (HOW COOL THAT I’M ONLINE?! OHHHH how I love AirTrain!). Anyway… Here is Mike’s current state. SOOOO… needless to say, we’re just gonna have to wait for his fave. Lucky for him, he’s even cute when ZONNNNNNKED out

Oh, and that email I told you about… here’s what she wrote that got me a bit choked up.

“I just have to say again how much we love you guys.  We are truly so happy that you and Mike were there on our big day to capture all of our memories.  It’s a very personal thing to have somebody photograph your wedding and I didn’t realize that until the actual day.  We feel like we have gained two new friends and could not be more grateful.

PS. In Spain we did lots of walking toward/walking away photos a la bobbi+mike… Brian even did a lying on the ground photo in honor of Bobbi – unfortunately I did not have another camera to catch him!”

You’re absolutely right Ellen, it IS a very personal thing…. and we take that honor quite seriously. After all, it’s one of the most intimate/memorable days of your life and we’re there to photograph it exactly as it happens, without being the creepy photographer in the corner. We try to photo these memories as though it had happend with no one else is in the room.  However, yes yes yes, once the moment has passed, I like to throw high fives As cheesy and cliche as this sounds… for us, it’s so much more than just our  job. So yeah… your email definitely made my month. Thank you thank you thank you.

Oh, and you DID ga
in two new friends, DUHTOWN!

You guys are the best… Really, the best.

Much love…

~bobbi+mike +

 

Me, with my hot tamale brides. OH HELLLLLL YES TO THIS!!!!!! Having a bridesmaid that was a past bbmk bride… It’s one of my favorite parts of the job

These two guys and I had an “emotion competition” in the unboxed booth. From left to right: happy | angry | scared. SERIOUSLY guys… SCAAAAARED?! THAT IS YOUR SCARED?!!? I clearly win! BY A LANDSLIDE! You clearly only have two emotions.

My famous leg move. I’m pretty sure this is why Mike married me.

Photographers, if you’re looking for your next pose idea…. We saw this out of the limo bus window as we were leaving the arch and I snapped a photo for future reference… You’re welcome.

Mike’s long flowing hair… He’s borderline Fabio!

+

*Offer only applies on Thursday morning between 8:00am and 8:01am during a hailstorm while the presidential motorcade is driving by you. Offer does not apply if you are a male, female or android. Offer not legal in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico or Zimbabwe.**

**We don’t have that much money anyway, sorry about your luck.***

***And if you’re still reading this, high fives to you.

****Exchange rate for one high five from bobbi or mike is equal to that of one million dollars.