I’ve been looking forward to Sabrina and Steve’s wedding since I met them last year in the midst of a crazy downpour. We quickly planned out an assortment of engagement sessions – the first of which was a quick 15-minute snow session for their save the dates, and then once the weather had warmed up and we could take advantage of the city skyline downtown – and it only fueled my excitement (as you’ll read about if you scroll those posts)! Their love is something out of an old fashioned romance – filled with twinkling eyes, dancing without music, and kisses stolen at every available moment. Their wedding celebrations mark my third time photographing them and each time gets better than the last. It’s a bittersweet end to the last year of getting to know them, but I will keep my fingers crossed that our paths will cross again!

Sabrina and Steve, like all of my 2020 brides and grooms, have encountered unending challenges with planning a wedding during the COVID pandemic. Every couple has had a different approach – some of my couples have rescheduled for next year, others have had small, private celebrations with larger receptions (or even full weddings) next year, and others still have opted to simply elope. As we approached Sabrina and Steve’s wedding date, the city of Indianapolis fell under new guidelines to help further protect Marion County residents from coronavirus. This put a halt to their original (and even their adjusted) plans. But there’s nothing that could put a damper on the excitement these two have for life, for one another, and for their wedding, and they hit the ground running. Each time I talked to them, they sounded just as excited as before – they weren’t going to let anything get them down.

They moved their celebrations to their home, added to their vendor team, and personalized everything from their dinner choice to the candy bowl. The whole thing quickly fell under a dreamy haze for me – there’s nothing I love more than a personalized and sentimental wedding, and a backyard wedding during COVID takes the cake. Because above all else, more than anything, I wanted to photograph these two dancing together in their kitchen. Through our sessions together, I quickly learned of their love to dance together (most commonly, while in the kitchen cooking together) and while we incorporated dancing into all of their sessions and photos, shooting their wedding in their own backyard meant we’d be able to steal away into the kitchen for a bit. And we did. And it was every bit as magical as I imagined it to be. And this time, there was even music playing.

Your first house will always be a special place. But your first home, where you got married in the backyard with your closest family and friends, where you ate New York style pizza from a food truck in memory of your Central Park engagement, where you danced in your kitchen as newlyweds, will have a greater place in your heart than you could ever imagine. And everyone there with you, myself included, will always keep a little bit of that tucked away in their own hearts. This is what weddings are made of. Couples in love and the things that matter to them most.

So to you, COVID pandemic, I thank you. For bringing me the most magical and meaningful wedding seasons of my career thus far. And to you, Sabrina and Steve, thank you for having me through every up and down (and loop-de-loop) this past year has brought. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect day to celebrate your journey and it will be a story to live on forever.

VENDORS & GOODS

Ceremony & Reception Venue | Holtsclaw Residence

Additional Locations | Newfields Gardens & Ironworks Hotel

Wedding Coordinator | Jessica Dum Wedding Coordination (Megan)

Rentals | A Classic Party Rental

Gown | Gretchen’s Bridal Gallery

Suit | Lee’s Custom Tailoring

Florist | Violets are Blue

Hair | First Look Beauty

Makeup | Kate Shaw Makeup

Catering | The NY Slice

Bar Service | Poured to Perfection

Cake | Taylor’s Bakery

Transportation | Antique Limousine of Indianapolis

Videography | Clark Videography

Invitations | Minted

DJ | Sound Advice DJ’s

Officiant | Jeff Wraley

casey and her camera is an Indianapolis Wedding Photographer specializing in family, couple, lifestyle, elopement, and wedding photography for Indianapolis, Indiana and the surrounding areas.