I mentioned in my last post that this weekend was a crazy one. I had two gorgeous weddings and I’ve been trying to get previews out as quickly as possible for both of them. I’m so excited to show you my favorite images from Mary Ellen and Adam’s Topeka destination wedding. Not only did we have a gorgeous sunset, but we also had so much time to play around outside and get some gorgeous images!

The wedding took place at her family member’s gorgeous home in Topeka. I was completely blown away by the property surrounding the house. When I’m told it’s a private property wedding, I usually think it’ll take place in an intimate backyard setting. Thankfully when Mary Ellen hired me, she sent me pictures of the location because this private property wedding was unlike anything I had ever seen. The property included two lakes, which was basically encompassed by an entire gated community for this one house. My favorite part of the property had to be the infinity pool. Although I came close to falling in on more than one occasion (I wouldn’t have been too mad about it since it was 90 degrees), it was well worth it to get some gorgeous reflections in the water.

The entire wedding celebration was actually a destination affair. With the exception of her aunt, no one from the family lives in the area. Mary Ellen and Adam live in California. Several family members live in Oregon. I talked to a couple different guests from Texas and Canada. Adam’s family is even from New Zealand! All their closest family and friends came into town for their destination wedding in Topeka, Kansas.

Everything about the day was just so incredibly perfect. We were expecting a thunderstorm, but were given a beautiful sunny day. I actually asked Mary Ellen a couple days earlier if they had a plan for if it rains. Her response, “Get wet.” Best response ever. Thankfully we didn’t need to go with her backup plan though.

To Mary Ellen and Adam, thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your beautiful day. I love how much you value photography and allowed us to have a bit of fun. Your sparkler/smoke bomb exit photos are probably my favorite photos ever and I can’t see how anything will top them. Thank you so much for spending time with me a couple days before your wedding at Wells Overlook Park so we could mess around with smoke bombs and thank you for letting me be creative in your portrait sessions!

Here’s your full preview! More to come shortly!!

Venue: Private Property

Floral: Carmel Bechtel

Hair and Makeup: AW Wedding & Co.

Catering: Engroff Catering

Gown: Demetrios Bridal Gowns

Rentals: Ultrapom

Videography: Baysinger Films

Photography: eGolden Moments

– Hear from the bride –

Share your inspiration and the atmosphere you’re creating for your wedding:

Elegant, classy and fun!

Share how (or why) you chose your wedding venue(s):

Because it’s beautiful and my auntie lives there!

What is your most valuable piece of advice you can share with future couples planning their wedding?

Spend the time in advance to make some lists or spread sheets on Google.doc or whatever is easiest for you with all the things you need to get done. Be very detailed. This allows for easy check-off as you move forward and making sure you are keeping yourself on time. It’s been so helpful to me and is keeping me much more organized then if i tried to just do it all in my head.