Finally a new wedding up here! Sorry about the lag, but there were so many incredibly cute little details at this wedding that the idea of choosing photos for a blog was overwhelming me. But, I managed to narrow it down to a somewhat reasonable number to share with you. However, first you must indulge me…I have a story.

When I was a little girl (settle in people) I loved storms. I had absolutely zero fear of death by tornado, hurricane, lightening…you get the drift. I wasn’t worried about hail pulverizing my car or my basement flooding. But with age comes the realization that life is pretty darn fragile. And that big (although I still find them cool) storms might actually be a wee bit dangerous. Which brings me to April 24th…Lilly and Mike’s wedding day.

Lilly was an absolute TROOPER. A lesser bride may have been brought to tears based on the 100% chance of rain in the weather report. But we totally made the best of it! They romped around and even had a pillow fight in the hotel room. But I’ve now digressed from the story. Let’s move onto the ceremony which was at the lovely Jewel Box, but will henceforth be referred to as the Giant Glass Box of Death. On my way to the Giant Glass Box of Death I hear a radio report for tornado warnings. It’s telling me that I should be in an interior room of my house away from…can you guess? Windows made of GLASS. But not this courageous wedding party! We were headed straight for an entire building made of glass!

As the wedding party began the procession, the rain began to slam into the Giant Glass Box of Death from all sides…drowning out the musical stylings of the string quartet to a mere whisper. By the time Lilly made it to the aisle, not only was hail hitting the Giant Glass Box of Death at speeds around 60 mph, but the music was now completely gone and the Box had sprouted a good 50 or so leaks so guests popped umbrellas. As Lilly and her father, smiling and laughing at the unbelievable situation, proceeded down the aisle a giant crack of thunder made everyone gasp and tornado sirens began to blair though the roaring of ice pellets smacking into glass. Although I began to fear for my life, I couldn’t help but crack a smile and chuckle to myself. The timing of that storm’s arrival and Lilly and Mike’s wedding could not have been any more perfect. Not even 10 minutes later, the sun peeked it’s way out from behind the big black clouds.

People often assume that as a wedding photographer I am going to have good stories to tell. And I do have a few. I’m always the entertainment at the bar table. But I have to thank Lilly and Mike for adding one more kick ass story to my wedding repertoire! I will never ever forget you!

Did I mention how beautiful everything was?! Thanks to the fabulous Rachel McCalla at Lucky You Productions, every last detail was perfectly attended to. Lumen looked fantastic and it was obvious with one glance at the dance floor that everyone had a fabulous time. I would be remiss if I didn’t give a big shout out to Ryan Gladstone for filling in as my second shooter for this wedding while Kristie is on maternity leave.  He braved the storm and me being a little crazy for an hour or so.  Congrats you guys!

St. Louis Wedding Photographer Liz Sloan L Photographie

Heya handsome…

Love this little montage of them seeing each other for the first time. Check out Mike’s face.

Pillow fight. Mike let Lilly win. Didn’t want to mess up her hair. So considerate!

The photo on the right is actually after the ceremony…you know, when the sun came out! Doesn’t it look like a beautiful, peaceful sunny day?

The placecards were made of paper with seeds. Guests were instructed to take them home and plant them!

Gnomes.

Lumen at night.

And this is what happens when that Journey song plays…you know, the one that was played at the end of the Sopranos? I’ve noticed this phenomenon at quite a few weddings as of late. Rock on you two…rock on.