Rausch Wedding | Midwest Wedding Photographer
Shayne and I had been planning our wedding day for the last year. And let me tell you —what went down on the 30th was not like ANYTHING we had planned. Plus, I never imagined I’d put my own photographic touch on our union. But there were moments that made this day unforgettable (including a surprise ending!!) that I wouldn’t trade for the world….
So let’s start back at the beginning. We’d been planning for a year, and virus events finally forced us to make the difficult decision to postpone. We had already set up a new wedding date in August for a “formal” wedding (so I can actually wear my gown!), but for a million reasons I won’t get into, we wanted our marriage to begin in May. So plans for “wedding part one” began…
Wedding Portraits | © Noel Photography and Design
Honestly, with all else failing, I was just hoping we’d be lucky enough to get a “backyard wedding” at our new acreage. My very original wedding plan was to have an outdoor reception so we could roast marshmallows, and be on our property so we could plant a unity and memorial tree. But at the time back then we didn’t have our home place yet, and options here for outdoor reception venues were not available. We ended up making other arrangements, so marshmallows and trees became the silver lining of our micro-wedding.
May 30th was windy…BEYOND windy. But the rain storms we’d been getting all week settled down and the sun came out just in time for our vows. We said “I do” underneath the beautiful arch my Dad made, and planted a Weeping Cherry tree during our ceremony. This very important tree is to symbolize not only our new life together, but the “roots” of our families, and our loved ones who have passed on; Including my mother and all of our grandparents.
I was so tickled to be able to shoot a few detail shots for my own wedding day, and my amazing second shooter, Taylor, (who goes on weddings with me) did such a wonderful job with our couple portraits and ceremony. I hope you’ll all enjoy basking in the love of our big day “part one.” Be sure to make it to the end for maybe my FAVORITE detail of the night…our surprise!
VENDOR & DETAIL SHOUT OUTS
DRESS: Lulus.com
GROOM ATTIRE: JC Penny (SUIT), Kohls (TIE) & Amazon (Vest & Shirt)
PHOTOGRAPHER: Noel Photography and Design (Myself & Second Shooter, Taylor)
BRIDAL BOUQUET: Jeremiah Weeds Flower Farm (Peiper Neiman)
RINGS: Nebraska Diamond; Lincoln, NE (ALL Rings were from here.)
MAKEUP: Reflect Skin and Body (Jan Gilsdorf)
TREE: Campbells Nursery; Lincoln, NE
CAKE: Privately Done (Bride)
HAIR: Privately Done (Bride’s sister-in-law)
DECOR: Privately Done (Bride, Family)
OUR SPECIAL SURPRISE
Our families knew how stressed we had been putting together a last minute micro-wedding. And because of that stress there were so many “traditions” we threw out for this day, including the first dance. I was so bummed…So as a TOTAL surprise (and therefore lack of camera equipment being ready), our families blindfolded us and led us to our “parking lot” at our house. When we opened our eyes we found ourselves in a circle of vehicle headlights, surrounded by our loved ones. With our wedding song playing over a loud speaker they rigged up we had our first dance under the stars. (And don’t worry, if this doesn’t make you tear up, I’m already doing that enough for the both of us.)
A special thank you to our families for planning this unique first dance, and capturing some candid phone photos for us! This is truly a night we’ll never forget.
Cheers to being Mr. & Mrs. Rausch! We can’t wait to celebrate with the rest of our family and friends in August.
xo- Jen, Noel Photography and Design (and Shayne)
“Wait here…” Tank made sure we stayed put. | Phone Image courtesy of Taylor Sluka
Blindfolded | Phone Image courtesy of Taylor Sluka
Surprise!! | Phone Image courtesy of Taylor Sluka
First Dance | Phone Image courtesy of my sister, Jamie.
First Dance | Phone Image courtesy of Taylor Sluka
Noel Photography and Design
www.noelportfolio.com
402-768-1809 | jen.noelstudio@gmail.com