Lizzie and Brad get hitched

So Lizzie asked me back in March or April if I'd help out taking pictures at her wedding, first for the guest book pics, and second as a back-up to the actual photographer, a girl from our church named Katherine. Of course I said yes; there's nothing better than getting to take pictures at a wedding without the stress of actually being the real photographer!

(Sidenote: I could probably never be a wedding photographer. I'm pretty sure the stress of having someone's wedding pictures in my control would be way too much for me. I'm happy enough taking backseat pictures.)

But the very first thing I thought of when Liz asked me was, "Excellent! There's a fun wedding picture project I've been wanting to try!" (See link for project original.)

Lizzie was not impressed with wedding picture projects. "Do whatever you want," she said. "Just make sure to focus on the guest book pictures."

I assured her I could do both. In fact, the guest book pictures where what I needed for my little project anyway. She still didn't sound enthused.

Well, the project came out 10 times better than I expected; hopefully Lizzie will finally understand why I wanted to try this so badly-- it turned out so darn cute!!!

If only I could have gotten Liz and Brad against the same backdrop as everyone else, it would have been perfect. They were just too busy with the whole getting married thing to come out for a mini photo shoot. Oh well.

Since I was outside taking guest book pics for the forty-five minutes before the ceremony, I didn't get too many pre-wedding pictures other than the couple here of Liz's shoes, and her bridesmaids doing some last minutes primping.

How cute are those fans? The church has no air conditioning, so the fans were a major necessity to making it through that ceremony- for everyone involved, not just the bridesmaids. :)

Here's some of the test shots Brittany (my co-guest book photographer) and I did with our fun brick wall background and the fans.

Getting ready to go in...

The ceremony!
It was so hot in there, I couldn't handle it; I went back out to the foyer to grab shots of little things like the basket full of fans for the guests, the picture of Liz and Brad that everyone was signing, and the guest book itself. And since I was already out there, I was in a prime spot to catch the newlyweds coming out the door.

Reception time! We all headed down to the Lakeside Community Center (Britt and I stopping at McD's for 79 cent cokes along the way- did I mention it was HOT and we were DEHYDRATED?)

Here's some fun shots of guests, family members, and our gang of friends enjoying the appetizers before the wedding party arrived.

Jarrod and I. Look at him with his stylish new glasses!

Jesse and Lily. Jesse talked with me at length about the myriad of problems that could be possessing the White Demon. He's such a great friend.

Virginia with the newly-turned-one Lucy Goosey! If you can't tell, Virginia's about to have a kid herself; it's hard to tell because she's so stinking little and cute still!

DJ Jarrod rocking the tunes.

Ryan Poole... posing for a picture?

This is one of my favorites: Can't you just see the thought bubble over Lucy's head? "Get your own cracker, buddy."
Weston Stecklair, Cassie Labbe, and- look at that!- David Stuckey jumped into the frame too!

The wedding party arrives; looking stylist in sunglasses and rocking out as they are introduced. Here we've got Nathan and Genisee, who I'm sure were probably the most fun couple out there.
Jessica and Mikey wait to make their grand entrance, with flower girl Gwen waiting in the wings.

Lizzie was just the cutest bride ever. She just had this goofy smile plastered on her face for the entire reception.

The flowers...

More Lucy. (I can't help it- she's too cute not to photograph!)

Jess and Gwen at the wedding party table.

Genesee and Brandi.

Michelle, Lizzie's youngest sister, and Bethany, one of her good friends. (Can I just say it really makes me feel old that I've known Bethany since she was in fifth grade? And I was in my last years of high school at that point?)

And finally, what wedding is complete without the circle of dancing high school girls? Complete with a younger cousin in pink trying to keep up and looking adorable in her Mary Janes.

And that was Lizzie's wedding. Well, what I saw of it anyway. I had to leave right before the first dance to make it to Mandy's bridal shower in time.... which I still haven't blogged about....

Coming up next: Mandy's bridal shower!