Outside weddings. Here in the Midwest, they’re always a gamble. They’re some of our very favorite to photograph (hello freedom to capture from all angles!). But we’re not going to lie. We stay up watching the weather and back-up planning a month in advance. But you know what? All of that worry and stress isn’t worth it. Because in the end, you’re still going to get married. And you’ll still get to go home with your loved one and start your life together. At the end of the day, it will even create some of the most unique and memorable moments from your wedding day. We can pretty much guarantee it.

Brandie and Anthony got rain on their wedding day at The Elms. And we’re not going to lie, we may have been freaking out just a little bit when it started pouring as Brandie began her walk down the aisle. But you know what we love? That she just embraced it, and didn’t let it stop her from marrying the love of her life. And if we’re being completely honest? The sound of the rain coming down all around us during their ceremony just added to the romance of their day.

Romantic Rainy Wedding at The Elms

Getting Ready

Any words of wisdom for those still planning? My advice would be to hire a planner. We didn’t and that’s my biggest regret. I wish I had less stress on my wedding day. But other than that, just enjoy it. Try to relax and soak in every moment.

What do you wish you knew before you started planning? We wish we would’ve known that we could have had a wedding anywhere, really, and made it beautiful on a budget. While we loved our venue and are so glad we had it there…looking back, we wish we would’ve budgeted better and picked something a little more within our means.

Ceremony

What were your favorite moments from your wedding day?  We loved reading our love letters from one another before the wedding. It was such an intimate and beautiful raw moment. We also loved our first dances with one another and our parents. Our favorite and smartest thing we did was our receiving line! That’s a must!

Wedding Party Pictures

Best advice for a bride? Delegate, delegate, delegate! Don’t try and do it all on your own. Let others help relieve your stress.

Best advice for a groom? Smile and nod! Ha. But really…just be flexible and go with the flow and enjoy it all. And write her a letter to open on the day of. That was our favorite part!

Reception

Favorite splurge? Our favorite splurge was our photography (and no.. we’re not just sucking up lol). We are so excited to see all the photos and moments they captured! Even if we had it all to do again, we would’ve still spent the money for Rivas Photography. They were on it and so helpful the day of.

What’s next for you two? We plan to take our honeymoon in January to Bora Bora! And hopefully add to our family soon!

Congratulations Brandie and Anthony! Thank you both so much for letting us capture your wedding day memories! We can’t wait to see where life takes you next!

Book us for your Wedding:

To book Rivas Photography for your upcoming engagement session or wedding, please visit our contact page to send us a message. Or, feel free to check out our calendar to find our next available meeting time.