Amanda & Jon | Wedding Day

Warning:  I have a LOT to say about this particular wedding day… 🙂

There are some people in life that have a true genuine-ness about them.  They greet you with a hug, and treat you as if you’ve known them your entire life.  Amanda & Jon are two of those people.

From the night I arrived in Courtland, KS I felt like a part of the family.  The speeches given by Amanda & Jon at their rehearsal were so emotional and touching…I had tears in my eyes!  Saturday morning I awoke in my hotel room to a text from Jon, asking if he could drive me around and show me their hometown – and some spots they thought would work well for pictures.  Well of COURSE I wanted to!  In 14 years of shooting weddings I’ve never had this one-on-one time with the Groom!  Jon was more than happy to show me the town, and tell stories of growing up farming the land or antics as a high-schooler.  More importantly, each spot was perfection — all 10 of them.  However did I mention it’s sprinkling this whole time?

Jon drops me back at my car, and I head to the salon where the girls are getting ready.  There’s still the threat of rain, but the girls are perfectly happy relaxing and getting their hair/make-up done.  It starts raining harder when we are at the church putting on Amanda’s dress, but it doesn’t dampen her radiant smile.  Before I know it it’s time for their First Moment…and somehow the clouds are just GONE.  The ground isn’t soaked, and they have a beautiful moment together that I felt beyond-lucky to capture!

The wedding party jumps into the bus and we drive around to the various spots that highlight many things about Western Kansas.  Limestone, a very rare wooden-windmill, a covered bridge, and finally the biggest surprise of all for Amanda…SUNFLOWERS.  You see, she had been talking about these since the day we met for a consult.  But with the drought this Summer the sunflowers hadn’t fared so well.  When she went to the field with Jon (earlier in the week) it wasn’t a pretty sight.  So I kept this little piece of information under my hat, and captured her face when we turned a corner and she saw the huge field of blooms!

At the end of the night, I found the two of them to say my goodbyes…and we all managed to get choked-up!  On my drive home Sunday morning, I received texts from both Amanda and Jon wishing me a safe drive home, and welcoming me to Guam anytime I like (they are moving there soon).  Wow.  Thank you doesn’t seem to say enough…love you guys so much, and I’m thrilled you selected me to capture your wedding day.  You have a friend for life!

Enjoy their slideshow set to their first dance here!