Brooke & Jake | Whimsical Woodsy Summer Wedding at Covenant Creek in Manhattan, Illinois

Brooke and Jake, where do I even begin with you two. You initially found me from a photo that I took that had your original wedding venue in it, but no thanks to Covid, you had a little change of plans and moved your venue to a different location. Even though this was not your venue, shout out to Centennial Park in Munster for bringing you two into my life! You have such big hearts for loving people, especially your family. When I sent them my “get to know you” questionnaire in the beginning of the process and each questions that asked about what they liked to do in their free time, share a little bit about their relationship, what they like to do together as a couple, what does a normal day and weekend look like for you, etc. - every answer involved being around both of their families and stated how much they are HUGE family people! After getting to know them through out the engagement, I was SO excited to finally meet these special people! (and they are right, GOSH their families are one of a kind) Brooke is also a special education teacher and has a huge passion for kids and helping ones with emotional disabilities and behavior challenges. If you couldn’t already tell, these two have hearts of GOLD and I was SO excited to be a part of their engagement and wedding day (and just become friends with these two!!)

Their engagement session arrived and I FINALLY got to meet them! Brooke arrived in the most gorgeous pop of red dress and it took place in the PEAK of fall so it was PERFECT! ( view their session HERE ) After just being around them after the first 5 minutes, I just knew these two were something special. They are such a down to earth, kind and loving couple and I could of hung out with them walking around the streets of downtown Frankfort all night!!

With the current crisis in our world, these two had to take on the challenge of moving their wedding to a different venue a few months before the big day, but thankfully were still able to keep their original date which was great!! They moved to Covenant Creek in Manhattan, IL and OH MY GOSH what a dream. It was fully outdoors (which I love!) and had the most gorgeous backdrop for their wedding day. Not only were the details, the location, the DRESSES, the florals, and all of the “things” beautiful, this wedding day was just full of emotion. Now remember when I said these two are huge family people ^^ , I finally got to meet them all and WOW. These two have some very incredible people in their lives. The entire day was centered around joy and laughter and just being together with the ones they love and that is truly what it’s all about. It was an incredible day and I’m so excited to share their wedding day blog post with you to give you a tiny peek into just how magical and emotional it really was. I am so honored to have been in the presence of their families and celebrate Brooke and Jake in every possible way that they should be celebrated! I hope you both love your highlight post just as much as I do and I had so much fun putting it together and reliving that day! Enjoy! xx

“Dad, missing you as I walk down the aisle. 08.01.20“ Brooke’s Dad passed away when she was very young so she planned out small details sprinkled through out her wedding day in remembrance of him. Her necklace has stones that were on her Mom’s ring, and she also wore a different version of her Mom’s veil from their wedding day. I loved the pearl beaded edging of it!

Brooke, I just love you! She saved the mint colored confetti packet that I include in my welcome boxes so she could have a confetti throwing picture on her wedding morning!

Brooke’s brothers and her stepdad are SO special to her, so she planned a “first look” for the 3 of her to see her for the first time in her wedding dress! The reactions from her brothers had me in tears!

Her stepdads words when he opened his eyes- “LOOK AT YOUUUU!” So sweet!!

These two decided to save the moment that they first see each other for when Brooke walks down the aisle, but she still wanted to do a little something before the ceremony so they did a “first touch” and it was the sweetest thing! They also wrote letters for each other to read and it was such a beautiful, quiet moment before the excitement of the day unfolded! It was quite the rainy wedding day, but these two didn’t let it phase them which I loved! No matter what happens on your wedding day, the important thing is that you two are getting MARRIED! And especially after the year we’ve had so far in 2020 AND the fact that they had to change their venue a few months before, these two were just so excited to finally tie the knot!

This was my first time at Covenant Creek in Manhattan, IL and it was just absolutely gorgeous! It’s a little piece of property tucked away in the middle of the country and was the perfect setting for an outdoor wedding! They have a beautiful ceremony area that looks out over a pond that is in the middle of a pine tree patch (which is probably my favorite part!!! just WAIT until you see the portraits we got!) It has such a woodsy and whimsical vibe to it and for someone who LOVES outdoor weddings (and also had an outdoor wedding myself!) this place was a dream!

Brooke had her two brothers walk her down half way, and met her stepdad in the middle for him to walk her down the rest of the way. It was SO special and there wasn’t a dry eye in sight. In honor of her Dad, she had the first chair in the front row reserved and had white roses placed in his seat. It was beautiful.

Her two brothers and her stepdad were the 3 men that gave her away to Jake and that was something that was so important and special to her!

THEY DID IT!!! I’m SO happy for you both after everything you’ve went through to make this day happen, and after a change of plans with your venue, you are FINALLY MARRIED!!!!

I’m SO SO SO obsessed with this photo location for the wedding party and bride and groom portraits!! It was such a saving grace because there was constant rain fall ALL day but this patch of pine trees was like a giant canopy umbrella for us! SO thankful for this spot that totally saved the day!

I was OBSESSED with the florals from this day! Kathy’s Florist did an amazing job! The greenery and white blooms are so timeless and classic!

Also, I am a HUGE yes yes yes to mix and match bridesmaid dresses! Her pink and gold mix of colors and textures was just stunning!!

When it was time for the Father/Daughter first dance, Brooke had something special planned. She shared her dance with the most important men in her life which were her uncles and her step dad. They shared a few moments with Brooke and then rotated in and out through out the song, and then ended the song with her sweet step dad. Everyone, including myself, were just in tears from how special it was to witness that. * SO many hugs to you girly *

Brooke TOTALLY iced her groom and it was the FUNNIEST thing!!! I just love how silly and fun these two are!

Brooke and Jake, WHAT a special, joyful, emotional, and memorable wedding day you had. I am SO HONORED that I was the one to capture it all for you and witness all of the special moments that happened. Your friends and family love you both incredibly and it showed so much! Hold on to them tight! I am so happy for you and a huge CONGRATULATIONS again!! YOU DID IT!!! Love you both!!