Rob and Maddie’s Wedding in Lakeville, Minnesota

10-2-2020

Rob and Maddie’s wedding was my first ever photographed backyard wedding in Lakeville, Minnesota! While I’ve photographed many weddings before, I had never photographed a wedding all in a bride’s own yard! Truthfully, I was super pumped to get creative on this, and I did not know what to expect, especially in COVID. At the time I photographed this wedding, I was still in college and I did not own a car. My mom drove me about an hour all the way to Lakeville, Minnesota to capture another love story.

I make sure to arrive early at weddings I photograph, and I was not scheduled to take pictures until around four, so I looked around when I first arrived. I ended up running into Maddie’s mom. She was a sweetheart, to say the least, and she told me what was going on, how they organized the house and yard to be able to have the ceremony and reception all at the same spot.

Let’s talk about how cute this is!

They set up a table with mini hand sanitizers, masks, and extra film for guests to use in the polaroid! Something so small and simple makes such an impression on presentation.

Maddie’s mom also showed me the reception tent after that, but I will show images of that later!

Getting Ready

I LOVE to see brides getting ready. I don’t know what it is, but when brides or bridesmaids get ready, there is a different kind of happiness in the room. Even if there are any problems going on, you definitely cannot tell! Look at these girls, they GLOWED.

All the feels

But guys— when I tell you, how IMPRESSED I was with the home venue wedding set-up. The house had such nice yards, and I ended up using both in Maddie and Rob’s wedding pictures. I used the backyard for the wedding party and family shots, and the front was for the ceremony! They had so many good spots to my surprise, and the fall leaves were paid actors.

The wedding party looked so beautiful!

After taking more pictures of Maddie, her bridesmaids, and some with the family, I headed back in to see what the guys were doing.

Taking pictures of the groom and their groomsmen is always an entirely different vibe. Rob and his men did not disappoint, and frankly, understood the assignment.

Let’s skip to the good stuff!!!!

The ceremony was to die for, and I almost started crying myself. The path that everyone walked through to the center of the aisle was longer than most venues I’ve been to, but it really gives the bride a time to shine. The crowd can see her come from a distance, and I think that’s better in love stories.

Maddie is so beautiful, and Rob is so in love with her. It’s precious.

SUNSET

The sunset was setting around then, and I notified Maddie on this information while planning her timeline. I was incredibly worried about this honestly, but these two were rockstars. Maddie and Rob were incredibly flexible with the time crunch, and actually ran out to take pictures of just them two. Even Maddie’s mom was in on it, telling the guests to go in while the wedding party is photographed altogether. The ceremony was Maddie and Rob’s first look, so I wanted to ensure they kept distance the whole time until the ceremony.

While sunset has some of my favorite images from Rob and Maddie’s wedding, there are more pictures to follow through that are worth scrolling down for!

Like I said, this backyard’s wedding reception is the cutest thing ever, and when I mentioned reception pictures would come later, I meant now!

Reception

Maddie’s mom told me she spent all morning setting up a tent up next to their house because it rained the day before. There were small wedding details, but just enough, and I told her she did a phenomenal job. Was I wrong? The food was a blessing too, but honestly, after photographing weddings, a bride could put McDonald’s on my plate, and I’d be so happy to have a McDouble as much as a steak.

AND LET’S TALK ABOUT THEIR WEDDING CAKE BECAUSE I AM OBSESSED

& That’s about it!

This was a smaller wedding due to COVID, and I have a huge respect for couples who have been planning their love stories in such a difficult time and situation. I can imagine why an ideal wedding can be as simple as your own backyard. I left thinking about ways that brides could save so much money. More importantly though, having a wedding in your yard is so intimate I think. It could be where you grew up for years, and to get married on its same property is a treasure.

Maddie’s and Rob’s love is a treasure, gives me all the feels, and I am incredibly thankful to have been a part of it! Another love story captured, and of all the smiles and details!!!!

I’m going to end this wedding blog post with a few more detail pictures to admire! Enjoy friends!