Adam + Kayla // Racine Fall Wedding // DeKoven Center Wedding + Roma Lodge Wedding
Adam and Kayla’s wedding day was a dream come true. They were married on an autumn day inside the charming St. John’s Chapel at DeKoven Center in Racine, WI, surrounded by their closest friends and family. I was thrilled when Kayla contacted me about 8 months ago to photograph her wedding. We had no prior connection, but we quickly became friends!
Kayla and Adam first met while attending school at Oakland University in Michigan. They both worked in the Housing department. While they didn’t talk much during their time working for the university, they got close after Adam moved to Madison to start his career. They had their first date at a park and upon Kayla’s graduate graduation from Kalamazoo, Adam took Kayla back to their first date spot for a final date before they moved to Stevens Point. Adam surprised Kayla with a graduation gift, but little did she know there was a proposal following! At the same location where they had their first picnic, Adam proposed. And as the saying goes … the rest is history!
The DeKoven Center was so charming and the perfect venue for a wedding ceremony. After privately reading love letters from one another, Adam and Kayla shared a first look minutes before the ceremony started. It was so sweet! I always recommend first looks to my clients, it can get rid of those pre-wedding jitters and it’s one of the few times you get to be alone with your future spouse on the wedding day.
Adam and Kayla chose to have an unplugged wedding ceremony, which I also highly recommend! The space was maybe the most interesting I’ve photographed in, with the guests facing one another on either side of the aisle. Kayla wanted to involve both her father and her stepfather in the wedding, so they both shared a portion of the walk up the aisle with Kayla, I thought that was so sweet. Following the ceremony, Kayla and Adam chose to take a few portraits around the grounds of the DeKoven Center before heading off to Wind Point Lighthouse for bridal party pictures.
They say it’s good luck if it rains on a couple’s wedding day, but I say that it’s even better luck that the rain stops and the sun shines in just in time for bridal party portraits! It was raining when I arrived at the Wind Point Lighthouse, and I had a few minutes to scout for ideal spots so that when the bridal party arrived we could get through our portraits quickly and get out of the rain. My weather app told me that it would be raining for at least another 120 minutes, so I knew that we couldn’t wait it out. But the most amazing thing happened…The moment the bridal party showed up, the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun began to shine down on us! I couldn’t believe it, it was a miracle! J
Adam and Kayla have the sweetest family and friends, and they knew how to have a good time out on the dance floor at the reception at Roma Lodge! While photographing the party in action, I also had so many good conversations with a lot of the guests – you know who you are! I love connecting with people at weddings, so thank you all for making that special for me. Kayla and Adam concluded the evening’s events with a sparkler send-off, which is always so magical to photograph and the perfect way to end the day!
Thank you, Adam and Kayla, for including me in on your special day. It was an honor to photograph your wedding day. You two are beautiful on the inside and out. I’m so happy that not only did I get to see you live out the most important day of your life, but also now I get to call you my friend for the rest of my life. Cheers!
