I’ve always loved writing, so it’s no surprise that I’ve always loved blogging. It’s something I always get excited for – it means the gallery is nearly finished up and sneak peeks are coming, but it’s also a chance to relive all of my favorite moments from a session or wedding. It’s an extra step in my workflow, and one that can take a chunk of time, but it’s so natural to me and worth every minute of time spent. It’s a highlight reel that can be easily shared with family and friends and I love having a chance to write from my perspective as an outside observer of all of the moments I am so lucky to capture.

Every once in a while, I’ll have writer’s block by the time I get to the blog. During business season, it can be a few weeks from the time I shoot to the time I get a moment to sit down and blog. For Hannah and Nathan’s Neidhammer wedding, I already knew what I was going to write about by the time I was loading my car at the end of the evening. I was so excited about it, that I called my husband on the drive home and had him text me notes so I wouldn’t forget by the time I got a chance to blog. Lucky for me, this time it happens to be only just over a week ago that these two got married, so I hardly need my screenshot of notes to jar my memory.

First up, I love the Neidhammer. It’s everything that speaks to my style – historical architecture, dramatic lighting (both natural and artificial), spaces that can be open and grand when needed, or tight and intimate when the time calls for it. For this wedding, everything was in one place – in the building, and aside from sneaking off outside for some super quick sunset portraits, we utilized all of the sweet spots located within the venue. Which meant Hannah never needed shoes. When I shot her details, I photographed two different pairs of shoes – one of which you won’t see in these photos (or even in her full gallery), because they just didn’t seem to ‘fit’ with everything when I photographed them. I took a quick shot, but ultimately left it out of the gallery because, well, she never got them out of the box after I packed them back up. The pair of shoes you will see she slipped on during her getting ready and then immediately took them off. It just didn’t feel right for her. I an 100% in support of barefoot brides and when I later asked her if she’s usually barefoot, I don’t think I even needed her to answer. It just felt right. Even as they danced down the sidewalk and in the sand across the street at sunset, no shoes were needed and it was just perfect.

Nathan might just be one of the most thoughtful and talented guys I’ve met. Both Hannah and Nathan are sweet as can be together, but Nathan is a reminder (as more than one person at their wedding put it) that ‘there are still good guys out there’. Not only did he build their cake and cupcake stand, their arch, and their live-edge guest book to be turned into a bench later, but he also made Hannah’s ring box. But it gets even better. Nathan’s woodworking talents seem to run in his family as he takes after his Grandfather, but the real sentiment comes from Hannah’s ring box. I didn’t know this while shooting Hannah’s details, but just felt that the ring box was part of their story, so I included it in several shots. I didn’t know that Nathan had made it, but it was another thing that just felt ‘fitting’ as it was made of wood. I learned during the speeches, when Cole pulled out the ring box during his speech, that not only did Nathan make it, but he made it out of a spindle from the balcony where they had their first kiss. It’s a fairytale ring box.

Hannah and Nate wrote their own vows to one another, and as they read them aloud to each other Hannah choked up while talking about her parents and their love for one another. I met her mom as all the women arrived to get ready for the day and met her dad when he poked his head in after Hannah had gotten dressed. It was clear from the start that this family has a strong bond, but as Hannah talked about how she never thought she’d find a love as great as her parents’ love until she found Nathan, I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the place.

And finally, the icing on the cake for me, was the unplanned mother-daughter dance. Hannah’s mom brought her dancing shoes and spun Hannah around the floor to one of her dad’s favorite songs as the night got started. Nathan told me later that there’s always dancing at their family dinners, and Hannah shared that their parents love to dance and that her sisters were in show choir. There’s always music and laughter and movement in their home and there was no shortage of it during their wedding, either. I asked Hannah afterwards if she and her mom had planned it, and while it wasn’t, I think this should be a new wedding tradition. They cleared the floor as they spun and moved in symmetry, anticipating each other’s moves.

The night ended with sunset photos, and while the sun had already dipped behind the city skyline, we had just enough light to play with as they danced along a sand path that seemed to have been made just for the two of them. To Hannah and Nate, thank you for having me along to document these memories for you. Congratulations to you both!

VENDORS & GOODS

Venue | The Neidhammer

Gown | David’s Bridal

Dresses | David’s Bridal

Tuxes | Men’s Wearhouse

Florist | Town & Country Flowers & Gifts and Country Hearts and Flowers

Hair | Indie Hair Design (Allison Rutledge)

Cake & Cupcakes | Two Chicks Whiskey Business

Catering | Nameless Catering

Officiant | Indy Get Married LLC

DJ | The Family Friendly DJ (Kurt Wallace)

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