I honestly don’t know how I could even begin the words to start out Jill and Joe’s wedding day blog post. Nothing will ever come close to explaining just how perfect, joyful and just straight up HAPPY their day was. Not to even mention how close I got with these two from our first meeting at Starbucks in March of last year, all the way to this day. I’ve only known these two for less than 2 years but I felt like I was going into their wedding day already knowing what to expect. That it would be nothing short of amazing. The amount of thought these two put into their wedding, the people that were in it, the gifts they gave, the songs, the dances, the MOMENTS that happened, it was all so incredibly thoughtful and so THEM! As you scroll through and read everything I included, you’ll understand what I mean. I also don’t think I saw these two dancing at their reception with the same person for more than 5 minutes. They wanted to hug and talk and dance with each and every one of their guests that took this day out of their schedule to celebrate with them, and they wanted to make sure they knew just how much Jill and Joe loved them for being there. They sure do love their people, and they love them well! And one of the best parts about that, their people are JUST like them in a way of making you feel SO welcomed and included in everything! I got so many hugs this day from their family and friends, I felt like I was a part of their family! I will always remember during the reception, I was getting a big group photo together, and out of no where, Jill’s mom gave me the biggest smile and came out and just hugged me! It was like a hug that she was so glad I was there, and I just about cried!
The entire day was emotional, filled with so much joy, and trust me when I say, they had one heck of a party!!! Before I make this blog post a mile long, I’m going to just let you see for yourself and take a peak into their wedding. I have so many new favorites that I will continue to share forever and ever haha because I love them so much! Jill and Joe, I hope you love these just as much as I do and I seriously can not thank you enough for absolutely everything! Enjoy YOUR WEDDING BLOG POST, you two!!! ;)
Something that I absolutely love that Jill and Joe did for every single person in their wedding party was gift them with unique things that are personal to them and what they like. They wanted everyone to have a special something that was thoughtful, special and that they would use after the wedding day was over. They had 11 people in their wedding party, and that is A LOT of thinking for what to get everyone but they did it and I could just tell that everyone loved them for that! They also wrote hand written notes that were MILES long. Everyone commented on how long their notes were and how well thought out and written it was. They really took the time to pour their hearts into their friends cards to let them know how truly thankful they were to be standing next to them on their wedding day.
Ahhhh groom gifts. These always get me! Joe gave Jill a record that their first dance song is on (which btw, just wait till you read about that later on!). At the time, Jill didn’t say a word about explaining why she was bursted into tears and why this was so special. She just cried to herself, laughed, shed a few more tears and put it back in the box. I was dying to know the story behind it so I had to bring it up when I saw Joe later that day! So thoughtful!
One of my absolute FAVORITE parts of this morning was, even before Jill got zipped up into her dress (you can see the back is still open on the left ^) she started twirling around the room with the biggest smile on her face! She was SO giddy and excited to marry her best friend and it was the cutest thing to witness this moment!
There are three special parts on Jills dress that made me get emotional because I did the same thing to my own dress. She took pieces of her mothers wedding dress and had it attached to her own dress! There is a piece on the back that you see above, one on the V part in the front that you saw a few images above, and a layer of trim along the bottom that you’ll see later! I had a heart cut out of my moms wedding dress that was sewn into the underneath layer of tulle on my dress so when I see other brides do this too, I love it even more and know how special that is!
Jill I don’t think you lost this smile the entire day! You were just BEAMING with joy!!!
Daddy/daughter first look time! It got pretty emotional and it was hard to even hold back my tears!
SUCH a handsome groom! Joe was so chill and SO READY to get the day rolling and finally see his bride! There was not one bit of nerves in his body, or he was pretty good at hiding it if he was! Haha!
How COOL are these groomsmen gifts! Joe got personalized luggage tags to go with the bag and each one was filled with a note and a personal gift to each guy that was unique to them and what they like!
YAAAYYY! THEY’RE FINALLY MARRIED!!!! After the ceremony, they told me they wanted to spend a few minutes alone and read personal vows to each other and I just loved this idea! They were in that “just married” cloud 9 feeling and before the day started to pick up with portraits, family time, and partying, they absorbed some quite time outside the church and got to soak everything in that has happened so far!
OB.SESSED with their color palette and these florals! Jill’s favorite flower is a sunflower so there was no way she was going to have wedding bouquets without those in them! They were the perfect POP against the navy dresses!
Their friends were some of the silliest and most fun wedding party group I’ve got to work with! They were just so happy for their best friends and I had a BLAST all day with them! They made me feel like part of the pack and was so welcoming! Jill and Joe, you are so lucky to have these people in your lives that love you like they do, and I can tell from every moment of the day how much they do!
Ahhhh! Finally got these two alone for some hubby and wife portrait time! Their engagement session flashed before my eyes and I couldn’t help but get emotional! I remember it just like it was yesterday and how much fun we had! You can see it HERE! These two are unique in their own way. Just like everyone is! But there’s something different about these two. When I would put them into a pose, these two would not stand still! But in a good/funny way! They would sneak in a kiss, they would tickle each other and laugh, they would totally break out of the pose and do something hilarious to make everyone laugh! They just could not contain their excitement and joy and I just loved capturing the candid moments these two shared and they definitely made for some of my all time favorite portraits!
There’s that lace trim I mentioned before that came from Jill’s mothers wedding dress! ^
These two wanted to have a little twist to their introductions into the reception! Instead of being announced last like you would expect, they got announced FIRST, and I’ll explain why in a second! They thought it was a big secret that no one knew about but her sister, brother in law and I had a little surprise for THEM! They had no idea that confetti canon was coming and it was perfect! So the reason they wanted to be introduced first is because they wanted to be the ones to talk about their wedding party as they were entering the reception! They said that no one knows their best friends more than they do, so it only made sense that they could do the honors. They talked about their relationship with each person, how they met, fun facts about them and gave each person a giant hug before going to their seats! I have never seen this done before and thought it was the coolest thing ever! Add another tally to the board of how thoughtful Jill and Joe are!!! **cue the all the happy feels**
Their first dance song was “Kids” by Ben Rector and if you get a chance, go give it a listen. I don’t think there is a more perfect song for these two to share their first dance as husband and wife to. Joe took the time and created a video of photos from when they actually WERE kids, from their relationship and had the video playing while they danced all over the dance floor! They sure have some moves and it was so much fun to watch!
^ Joe pranked his mom by having Thriller start playing when she walked out onto the dance floor and the whole place started laughing!!
WHAT A PARTY! What a whole DAY! I cried actual tears when I got back into my car that night because of how happy I was for them and also that their wedding day was sadly over. I had the absolute privilege of getting very close with these two during their engagement and our journey together after they booked me to be their photographer and I just adore them so much! Jill and Joe, you two are so special and I can not thank you enough “thank you’s” in the world for how grateful I am to have been a part of this chapter in your lives and to also have gained two new friends! Thank you both for absolutely everything and one last time, CONGRATULATIONS! YOU DID IT!!!!! Love you both to the moon and back!!! Forever and ever!!!
