Dreamy Summer Oaks Golf Course Wedding Photos

A romantic and dreamy wedding day in Cottage Grove at the Oaks Golf Course

Melissa and Jeff have such a special love story. Like many couples planning a 2020 wedding, their dreams of having the perfect celebration with all of their friends and family preset were postponed twice due to the pandemic. Instead, on their original wedding date in June 2020 they chose to have a very small ceremony held in the backyard of their first home, which I had the pleasure of witnessing and photographing! A few months later, Melissa became pregnant and gave birth to their daughter Greta just two months before their big wedding celebration day in July 2021. So not only are they blessed with a beautiful baby, now they have the privilege of incorporating her into the wedding festivities. Grete will obviously never remember it, but how cool that she got to be a part of it all and be able to look back at all of the memories from the photos taken that day.

Bringing it back to Jeff and Melissa, their love story goes back a few years when they met while playing on a volleyball team. You can read more about them in their engagement blog post. 2019 was the year I photographed their engagement photos, which seems like decades ago when you think about everything that’s happened in their life since then and in the world itself! But it actually all sort of makes sense now because on that engagement session we were taken by surprise by a very strong thunderstorm while at the Union Terrace with no indoor location to run to except to a little awning from a nearby building with nothing to do but wait it out. It feels very similar to how we had to wait out the storms of covid before resuming some sense of normal life.

The photos speak a thousand words about the wedding day itself. There aren’t many words that can describe how deep these two individuals love go for one another. You can tell that parenthood has really strengthened their bond together. They kept almost everything they originally planned for on their wedding day intact, including reading their own vows. The vows felt even more special knowing that they were able to add an addendum to include promises involving little Greta!

Being a part of this family for over two years now feels surreal to say that we’ve arrived to this point. It’s bittersweet knowing that all the wedding festivities are now over, but I know Melissa and Jeff will always be a part of my personal and professional journey and I wish them all the success in continuing such a beautiful life together with their baby girl.

Vendors:

Photographer: Chaviano Creative
Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Oaks Golf Course
Floral: Klein’s Floral & Greenhouse
Cake + Catering: Carla’s Catering
Hair: Balayage By Billie
Makeup: The Tour Brush
DJ: Kuhl Entertainment
Menswear: Men’s Wearhouse