February 23, 2017 /

Children's Mercy Park Winter Wedding

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Friends, we have such a special wedding to share with you today. And please, bear with us. There are just so many emotions and feelings all tied up in Alyssa and Justin’s wedding day. We had the pleasure of meeting Alyssa last summer at the KC Weddings Bridal Spectacular bridal show in Overland Park. Everyone on our team immediately hit it off with her, and got so excited when she asked us to be her wedding photographer. Flash forward a few weeks, and we got to meet her fiancé, Justin. Justin is just as amazing as Alyssa. They’re both two of the kindest, warm hearted, selfless human beings we’ve ever met, and we always love spending time with them.

It’s a big understatement to say that these two have been through a lot together. Multiple members of their family have been very sick or diagnosed with cancer, all at the same time. Through it all, they’ve had each other’s backs. The day that Justin proposed to Alyssa they couldn’t have been happier. Finally! A very happy thing that both families would get to celebrate and look forward to! And so their wedding planning started.

The day we met Alyssa and Justin to do their engagement session they had received a bombshell. Justin’s dad had been diagnosed with cancer, and wasn’t expected to live very long. Earlier in the week, they found out that Alyssa’s sister also had cancer. We felt horrible, and of course asked them to reschedule their engagement session. Their response? They wanted to go through with it to take their minds off of things. A few weeks later, we got an email from Alyssa that they were going to be changing their wedding date from October of 2017 to January of 2017, so that Justin’s dad would be able to be at their ceremony.

Fall flew by, and January came along quickly enough. Alyssa and Justin’s wedding day couldn’t have been colder, but everyone at Children’s Mercy Park was in high spirits and so excited to celebrate this sweet couple. We were so happy that all of their family was able to make it in for their ceremony! It’s pretty safe to say that there wasn’t a dry eye all day long, even from our team, as Justin and Alyssa said their vows. Justin’s dad proudly watched his son from the audience, while Alyssa’s sister stood beside her as they said their vows. Afterwards, everyone celebrated with an amazing meal from the chefs at Children’s Mercy Park. Much later that evening, we met Alyssa and Justin at The Plaza for a few fun, winter wedding portraits.

A few weeks later, Justin’s dad passed away. Alyssa’s sister is still going strong, however, and for that we are SO grateful. It’s never, ever lost on us just how important and impactful the images that we create are. On Alyssa and Justin’s wedding day, we were so glad that Justin’s dad was feeling well enough to make it to his wedding ceremony. And in all of his pictures, Ray has the biggest smile on his face. Life and family are so, so precious. Never take them for granted. Despite the fact that a lot of our couples don’t necessarily look forward to the “posed family photos,” they wind up being the ones that pop up over, and over again, because everyone is happy and healthy, and all together.

Children’s Mercy Park Winter Wedding

children's mercy park winter wedding | Three pictures of wedding day details around the stadium.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A picture of a groom's tuxedo hanging in the main locker room at the soccer stadium.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Two pictures of a brides dress and beaded detail hanging in the window of a soccer stadium.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Picture of a groom sitting just behind a championship soccer trophy.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Five candid pictures of a bride sharing champagne with her mom and sister on her wedding day.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Three photos of a bride's wedding day bouquet, clutch, earrings and ring.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Two pictures of a bride finishing putting her gown on.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A picture of a groom reading a letter from his bride while sitting in a plush locker room chair.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Three candid pictures of a bride's mom and sister putting on her finishing touches.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Three candid photos of a groom putting on the watch that was a gift from his bride.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Two pictures of a bride showing off her wedding gown, fur stole, and bouquet while reading a letter from her groom.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Four candid photos of a groom's last minute preparations before walking down the aisle on his wedding day.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Three pictures of a bride and groom praying together before their wedding ceremony.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Photos of a groom drying his eyes as the bride's mom and sister walk down the aisle.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A picture of a groom waiting to see his bride for the first time as she walks down the aisle.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Four candid pictures of a bride walking down the aisle and her groom seeing her for the first time.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A picture from the back of the ceremony space showing the bride and groom saying their vows.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Four candid pictures of a bride and groom exchanging vows, rings, and completing their sand ceremony.

children's mercy park winter wedding | An intimate image of a bride and groom praying during their wedding ceremony at Children's Mercy Park.

children's mercy park winter wedding | An photo of a bride and groom sharing their first kiss as man and wife at Children's Mercy Park.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A candid image of a bride and groom celebrating as they walk down the aisle after their wedding ceremony.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Three candid photos of a bride and groom cutting their wedding cake at the reception at Children's Mercy Park.

 

children's mercy park winter wedding | A candid moment of a bride and groom clinking their champagne flutes after cutting their wedding cake.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Three candid pictures of a bride and groom celebrating with their friends and family at their private reception at Children's Mercy Park.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Two intimate pictures of a bride and groom embracing after their wedding ceremony.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A photo of a couple embracing at the top of a flight of stairs after their wedding ceremony.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Three pictures of a bride and groom with championship soccer trophies at Children's Mercy Park.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A photo of a bride and groom sharing a kiss in the Sporting KC locker room with championship trophies.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A picture of a bride and groom sitting at the interview desk in the media room of Children's Mercy Park.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A picture of a bride and groom sitting at the interview desk in the media room of Children's Mercy Park.

children's mercy park winter wedding | Two dramatic image of a bride and groom at the top of the infamous Plaza stairs and in front of the blue tile surrounded by Christmas lights.

children's mercy park winter wedding | A picture of a bride and groom at the top of the the Plaza stairs in Kansas City.

We are SO excited to celebrate Alyssa and Justin again later this fall at their reception, also at Children’s Mercy Park. We are even more thankful for the time that we’ve gotten to spend with these two, and that they’ve let us in so close to their family and hearts. Justin’s dad will be very, very missed, but we are so grateful that he was able to witness Justin and Alyssa saying their vows.

Congratulations, Alyssa and Justin, we are so happy for you, and can’t wait to celebrate again!

To see more from Alyssa and Justin’s Wedding Day, click here.

You can also check out their engagement session here.

 

Contact us to book your session or wedding:

To book Rivas Photography for your engagement session or wedding please visit our contact page to send us a message!

Book us for your Wedding:

To book us for your upcoming engagement session or wedding, please visit our contact page to send us a message. We can't wait to hear about your big day! Having a destination wedding? We LOVE to travel and have the perfect wedding photography package for you. We would LOVE to hear about your adventure!

I'm So Excited!
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