After all that pretty, you would never believe Katie & AJ’s wedding week was anything less than perfect. However, our St. Louis weather was not kind to them.
Because Katie & AJ live out-of-state, we ended up scheduling their engagement session the Thursday before their wedding. It was calling for a little rain, but I’m one to push through it, so I wasn’t too worried…but as I drove to meet them the sky grew reeeeally dark gray/green and tornado sirens were going off. So we had no choice but to push their session to the next day (an already busy day of pre-wedding rehearsal & dinner). BUT as you can see looking at those pics, they didn’t let the stress get to them and we got wonderful shots. We had already paid our dues to the evil St. Louis weather gods, right?…
Wrong. The wedding day was 95 degrees with humidity…ok, we do expect that in the summer around here, but at least it’s not rain on your wedding day, right? Wrong again. The sun was shining all morning long until the reveal…a little cloudy, then rain droplets. We got about 5 minutes of shots before crazy downpour. Of course, the wedding party had Ubered to the park and we had probably 4 umbrellas between the dozen of us…nope I can’t make this stuff up…such good luck. We ended up at the Historic Soulard Farmer’s Market since it was the one outdoor overhang I could think of nearby (was the bustling Farmer’s Market still going on, you may wonder…well yes, of course it was. Were there some interesting individuals making comments to our bridal party? you bet)
So it’s still raining, we are trying to set up shots without people and the guys’ gray suits are drenched and spotted…even through their white shirts – they had to go dry off with the hand dryers. By this point Katie looked like she was doing all she could to hold it together and not have a little cry; I mean, this is not what most people hope for for their wedding day portraits. Was I stressed too?…of course. BUT I’m so glad that they had the courage to trust us and push through the outdoor portraits. I remember telling Katie that I thought she’d be really surprised with how well the portraits would turn out despite the rain…I hope she is <3
But all that stress (not the humidity though, of course) faded away once the sun poked back through and we headed back for a lovely ceremony and reception. Of course, as a photographer I always want the best case scenario, but I do admit that some of my best and favorite work comes from being challenged to change plans and create something unexpected. I like to give the behind-the-scenes that life is messy and imperfect; not always as it seems in the pics. But bottom line (and all that really matters) is that these two are so happy to have found their best friend in one another, and this is what the rest of their life together will be like – messy, difficult, unexpected moments mixed in and overlapping with all the wonderful ones…and all in all, so beautiful.
Design & Coordination: Events Luxe
Venue: 9th Street Abbey
Florals: Special Event Florist
Catering: Patty Long Catering