Gull Lake has two really cool wedding venues. This September wedding was fortunate enough to use both! Kellogg Manor House is a lovely place to be married, to get ready, and even to stay for awhile! The grounds are gorgeous. The home is stunning. And Gull Lake is always perfect. Dominic and Sarah chose this intimate location for their ceremony, and everything went just as planned with one incredible twist! 
While the men got ready, I photographed the rings – both outside, for nature’s appeal; and inside, for the deep and lovely scrolling woodwork. 
Aren’t the dressing areas so pretty? It’s such a perfect place to prepare for the rest of your lives together! 
The look on Sarah’s mom’s face here when she sees her daughter ready to be wed… priceless! 
Sarah had a few last moments with parents while Dominic and the men waited near the lake.
The vows were intimate, hand written, and lengthy. The bride and groom had spent months planning and rehearsing every word. Their stories to one another were what would make their wedding day memorable… or so they thought!
Near the very begining of Sarah’s vows, we could all see the weather was changing. The sky darkened, and the wind picked up, and in a matter of moments – thunder could be heard. While Kellogg Manor has the option to hold the ceremony inside in the event of rain, we had checked the radar, and honestly thought the evening’s storm was nowhere near us!
We were wrong. The rain began mid-way through Sarah’s vows. And she began to skip a line here and there to hurry through. Dominic, concerned for his family and the rest of the guests said, “we have to get out of here!” But our officiant, not to be daunted by a little thing like the weather, thought we could power through the ceremony and get them married even in the rain! What followed was a terrifically emotional exchange of rings with “I do’s” shouted over the cacophony of a thunderstorm and cheers of encouragement from the guests! It was AMAZING! 
We took longer than normal to dry out a bit before the formal portraits, but even so, the formals seemed less formal with everyone still damp from the rain. We just went with it. Dominic and Sarah (and their friends and family) were cheerful, joyous, and as celebratory as any newlyweds could want. I was suitably grateful to have this kind of fun to document, and the reception was a blast too! 
They danced to John Legend’s “All of Me” for their first dance, and their bridal party stood with arms around one another swaying in time to the music! 
As the rain continued, we did more indoor bridal party pictures. Typically, I don’t love “stand in a line”, stuffy, “team photo” type scenes for bridal party photos. However, I do think that an important aspect of any photojournalist’s job is documentation. A photojournalist ought to be able to artistically render the story of the day and also authentically document the people, places, and moments that the day contained. What makes these bridal party photos fun is the obvious intimacy, and complete candor of the quirky unexpected contrast of lounging casually in formal wear. It’s a bonus that this setting will forever remind the bride and groom of the torrential rain outside and the electrifying energy in the air!
The Father-Daughter Dance was emotional as well. (Butterfly Kisses). And as Sarah and her father shared a moment, Mom came to join them. Not to be outdone, Sarah’s two brothers also crashed the dance for the first “Family Dance” I’ve ever witnessed. 🙂
What gracious and good hearted people. They are kind and loving to one another. Perfect examples of the kind of intamacy that is built on friendship and desitned to last a lifetime! 
Congratulations Dominic and Sarah! Your love is an inspiration and a joy to behold! Yay!