Hot pink was the color of the day for Sarah and Dan's wedding on March 14th.  Bridesmaids dresses, flowers, reception lighting - they even both had hot pink shoes to wear at the reception!  What a fantastic color for photos.  The pink light at the reception at Mad Art posed a bit of a challenge for me at first, but in the end I think it made some really cool ambient lighting for their dancing photos.  The ceremony was at First United Methodist in St. Charles, which had some pretty great light of its own with all those big windows.  Add in the sunshine and warm weather (slightly unexpected in March), and let's just say it was a good day for shooting!

I stayed until the end of the reception to catch the couple's exit, which was pretty entertaining.  As a surprise, Sarah's mom rented a vintage police car to escort the couple from the reception to their hotel.  They even had a police officer handcuff Sarah and lead her and Dan out to the car - they were both a little shocked, but I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it! 

Thanks to Kelly Park for doing a fantastic job second shooting with me for the day.  You can view more photos in Sarah and Dan's SLIDESHOW HERE.  Congrats to the new Alvarezes!

Melissa and Chris live in Chicago, so they actually booked me for their wedding before we met.  When I did finally meet Melissa, she told me that once she saw on my blog that I am a yoga instructor she knew I would be a good fit for them.  And when I saw her doing yoga in her hotel room before getting dressed for the wedding, I knew they were a good fit for me :) 

Since both ceremony and reception were held at Mad Art, we had initially made plans to take photos in Soulard and Lafayette Park.  But anyone who was outside on Saturday knows it was crazy hot, and no one wanted to get into a car and go stand in the heat for photos (my camera was even sluggish.)  So instead we did all the portraits at the venue, popping in and out of the AC when the humidity became unbearable.  I think we got some cute images, and no one melted - I'll call that a success!

Check out the SLIDESHOW HERE to see more images.  There was so much emotion all day - from tears on both bride and groom during the ceremony to hysterical laughter during the many many toasts - it made for some great images.  Thanks to Von for shooting with me.  Congrats to Melissa and Chris - I hope they enjoy their two week honeymoon in Spain!