Everything about this elegant, Kansas wedding at The Barn at Schwinn Produce Farm was perfect, from the very beginning. I don’t say that lightly either, it really was. I met Valerie & Isaac for dinner in the Fall of 2017 to see if we were a good fit for each other, and they insisted on buying MY meal, instead of the other way around. We were immediately comfortable with each other and hit it off right away. We did their engagement session at a farm out in Bucyrus, KS, near where Isaac grew up and it turned out to be one of my favorite sessions of all of 2017 (check it out here)!! I guess it’s only fitting that their wedding was one of my favorites, not only YTD, but so far in my career!

Valerie is a self-proclaimed daddy’s girl (keep scrolling to see their sweet daddy-daughter first look) and Isaac was described in the maid of honor’s speech as a Golden Retriever in a man’s body, which I thought was amazing 🙂 They met in school and in sixth grade, Isaac invited Valerie to go to the Demolition Derby with him at the Johnson County Fair. Though it was a fun time, their love story was cut short when Valerie “broke up” with him because he didn’t work up the courage to kiss her (ouch). Years later, while Val was finishing her senior year at Kansas State University, the two reconnected on Facebook. On their second “first date”,” he asked her to drive go-karts. Afterwards, he asked if she wanted to go to dinner and her response was, “let’s just go have a few beers and play darts!” It didn’t take long for the two to fall head over heels, especially while enjoying several cold ones with the company of classic rock music. When he dropped her off at home, you bet he kissed her good night.

A year and a half into their relationship, they purchased their first home together in Spring Hill, KS. They live there with their two fur-babies (Mya – German Shepherd and Tien – Weimaraner). Their home is also where Isaac asked Valerie to marry him just a day shy of their 3-year dating anniversary!

I told Valerie that if she ever gets bored in her career, she legitimately should become a wedding planner. She was so detailed, organized, and thoughtful throughout the whole thing. She literally thought of EVERYTHING and because of that, the day was so smooth! She also has amazing style and great craftiness as she made most of the decorations (Isaac helped with building all the signs too!). The day happened to be 75 degrees and sunny, the ceremony took place in a small grove of trees and the reception was in the gorgeous Barn at Schwinn Produce Farms, with a sunflower field in full bloom right behind it. With the help of her amazing day-of coordinator and fabulous DJ, everything stayed exactly on time throughout the whole day, which let me get all the photos that I had hoped to!

I challenged myself with lighting during this reception, and I think I finally found my sweet spot… plus the DJ’s up-lights in the barn (especially the ones in the loft) made a world of difference in getting bright, dynamic photos in a Very dark barn. I had 2 stands with off camera flashes set up to cross-light the dance floor with my transmitter on one camera, and then another external flash on my second camera with the MagMod Sphere for the quick group shots or angles that my light stands couldn’t reach. It got a little heavy carrying all of that around for hours, but it was SO worth it because I’ve never loved reception photos as much as these <3 If you’re a photographer/aspiring photographer and are scared of external flash – you aren’t alone, but once you get started it isn’t as scary as it seems. Reach out to me if you have questions, I would love to help because it makes all the difference in becoming confident in any lighting scenario!

Huge thanks to all the amazing vendors who helped make Valerie & Isaac’s dreams for their big day come true. I would recommend any of them in a heartbeat as this was one of the smoothest weddings I have ever had the pleasure of shooting!

• Venue: The Barn at Schwinn Produce Farm

• Flowers: Wild Hill Flowers

• Wedding Coordinator/Vintage Wedding Rentals: Sarah Enderle with Vintage Rentals KC

• DJ: Derek Hoffman with Levity Weddings & Events (formerly KC Mobile DJ)

• Hair: Perfect Details Salon & Spa

• Jordan Ward Beauty & Styling

• Cake & Cupcakes: Nothing Bundt Cakes

• McKenzie Phillips Events

• Bright Star Events

• Noe’s Jewelry

• Sam’s Liquor

• Johnny’s BBQ

• Kansas City Photo Booth Rentals