NICOLE + JASON WEDDING

She is a small town girl from Illinois.  He is a city boy from St.Louis.  As fate would have it, they met somewhere in the middle in Alton IL one night.  Nicole is a bit shy, and was taking a little hiatus from dating at the time.  But Jason caught her eye.  Thanks to her sister in law, an introduction was made and the rest is now history.
2 years later to the day Jason planned anniversary pictures. A friend of Jason’s took their pictures at Salem Baum Church in Waterloo, IL. Jason knows how much Nicole love pictures and he wanted this to be a special anniversary gift. Meanwhile she had NO idea that he had a ring in his pocket the entire time! They had talked about getting engaged, but he brushed it off making her think it might be awhile because he “wanted to save up”.  As they were taking pictures, the friend told Nicole that Jason had his own pose that he wanted to do. She was confused…and as she turned around to look at him, he was down on one knee with her DREAM ENGAGEMENT RING and asked her to be his wife! It was the best day of her life.
On June 22, 2019 Nicole and Jason had another Best Day Ever!! Even though the day started with rain – a lot of rain – by the time they had to decide whether to move the ceremony indoors or not, the skies parted and the sun came out giving Nicole and Jason the day they dreamed of.  It was the perfect day for these two love birds and we couldn’t be more honored to have captured it and share it with you today!  Enjoy Nicole and Jason’s sneak peek of their wedding day!Nicole is so adorable.  Everyone loves her and you can see why in about 2 seconds.  From the moment Nicole and I talked about her day on the phone, I knew we’d be fast friends.  Nicole – you couldn’t have been more beautiful on your wedding day. Love looks so good on you! <3Jason is just about the nicest, likeable man you could ever meet.  He has the kindest smile, and authentic charm.  But nothing beats the way he treats Nicole.  He is so incredibly thoughtful to her and always ensuring she safe and happy.  In Nicole’s own words she shared with us about Jason – “He is so thoughtful, funny, caring, and he is an amazing dad. He has turned my simple life into my favorite adventure. I went decades without knowing what I was missing. He was worth the wait. I love life with Jason and cannot wait to spend the rest of my days with him!”The two had a perfect first look with a little help from some beautiful little gals.As Nicole mentions, Jason is an amazing dad to his beautiful daughter Layla.  But Nicole is also pretty incredible to her as well.  She treats Layla with such kindness and affinity, including her in as much as possible yet so respectful of her place in Layla’s life.  It was such a joy to get to see these 3 together and the strong bond they hold.During the time scheduled for wedding party photos it was still misting a bit outside, so we opted to stay dry indoors.  Luckily the Pour Winery had a great set up for grabbing some indoor shots of this great looking group!The florals for this wedding were mind blowing.  Probably some of my favorite ever, so be prepared for a generous amount of photos of them! <3She had a different spot at the Pour Winery for their ceremony, but the rains made it impossible.  However this spot ended up being such a perfect setting for these two to say “I do”.Nicole blocked out time for just she and Jason to get away from the hustle and bustle and have time with just the two of them right after the ceremony.  If you wonder why they have so many great photos, it’s due to the fact that she was so deliberate about ensuring time was carved out for it.  She’s a smart one. 😉And then, the perfect reception…So I’m obsessed.  That’s what Tina from The Special Event Florist will do to you. I still think about these cookies.  Not only are they adorable they were the best tasting wedding cookies we’ve ever had.And I can’t even with this dessert bar from the famous Blue Owl. Things like this are what a wedding photography lives for.  That and good lighting.  But mostly this.  lol.These two <3Luckily since it wasn’t rainy, we were able to take advantage of the golden hour as we had planned.  The perfect way to end the day!Mother Nature definitely provided the biggest apology for the beginning of the day by creating magnificence at the end. More about the day from the couple…

Most memorable moment of the day:
We really wanted an outdoor wedding, and the weather looked pretty good until the morning of. When I checked the weather app, I thought it was looking at the wrong city and date because the forecast had changed drastically overnight. The wedding day started off really rainy and nasty. We didn’t have much hope for an outdoor ceremony. Right before the ceremony, though, the clouds parted and the sky cleared, and the sun came out! The day and evening was gorgeous and the wedding was everything we dreamed of and more. We loved seeing everything come together and saying “I do” was the best feeling for both of us!

Funniest memory from your wedding day:
My dad doing a surprise hop-hop dance with me after just getting a knee replacement a few weeks before the wedding!

Songs:
“I’ll name the dogs” by Blake Shelton (first dance)
“Yours” by Russell Dickerson (walking down the isle)
“Drunk on your love” by Brett Eldridge (used in ceremony because it is one of our favorites)

Honeymoon Location: (the two are currently on their honeymoon as the post goes live!)
We have not gone yet, but we are going to Maui, Hawaii! We will be there for our 1 month wedding anniversary date, and also there for our 1 year proposal anniversary date! We love Island life!

Wedding Day Professionals that made the day perfect:
Ten Sixteen! Of course ❤️ (xoxo)
The Pour Vineyard – venue
Chris McMahon– DJ
Fish Eye Fun– photo booth
The Special Event Florist– floral arrangements
The Blue Owl– cake and desserts

And in case you need more (of course you do!) check out this beautiful video of more photos of their day!