Allison Marie Photography Blog by Allison Roen, Des Moines area wedding photographer

Brad and Erin couldn’t be an ounce cuter. I knew their wedding would be adorable because all they did during their engagement session was giggled together! Their wedding was beautiful, full of joy and excitement, totally stress-free! It was a perfect August day for a wedding. I had never been to Egnacio’s Church in Cumming, Iowa…and it’s now one of my favorites! It used to be a Catholic church, but was purchased by a woman who transformed it into a quaint wedding chapel. She also built an addition to her home, which functions as the bride’s dressing room. I am eager to photograph another wedding there; it was beautiful! This was my favorite place to photograph the bride getting ready, because the light was gorgeous! No matter what a room looks like, the light either makes or breaks the photos…contrary to what many people think! 

Erin’s lovely, simple hairstyle was done by the ladies at Bella Salon & Day Spa. This next photo is one 0f my absolute favorites from the day!!! Everything about it is so pretty – her fresh makeup, her hair, her expression, that one curl of hair going down to her shoulder, the PERFECT light! Mmmm This was such a sweet moment. Erin thought her grandpa was unable to make it to the wedding because of his Alzheimer’s, but he showed up to surprise her! And what a surprise it was! She and her mom were flooded with tears of joy, and her grandpa was all-smiles, and as cute as could be! I wish I could spend a day with this gentleman and hear all about his life story!
They had me create a guestbook out of their engagement photos, and it was a hit! Their super cool cake was created by Cake Me I’m Yours: Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Sammons! You are a wonderful couple, and I am blessed to have been able to photograph your day!

Katie and Jim…two of my favorite people! I wrote a little bit about them when I posted their engagement photos – click here for a refresher! They were married on July 17th at Valley Church in West Des Moines. It was a long, beautiful, worshipful wedding! Some weddings are very traditional, and some are very unique…and Katie & Jim’s was totally “them” if you know what I mean! Every detail of their ceremony was so reflective of their personalities and relationship. Laughter, seriousness, worship songs, prayer surrounded by friends and family…it was a memorable wedding! Here are some of my favorites from the day: 

How many women does it take to lace up the back of a dress?! Jim & Katie’s first look was one of the sweetest I’ve ever seen. Jim came in and stood at the end of the aisle completely speechless. He just stood there with a flabbergasted expression on his face for so long…and then passionately said, “WOW!!!!!” And then he cried and walked toward his beautiful bride! SO sweet!
Katie, you’ve got poise!! After Katie & Jim had their private time together, Katie had a few minutes to spend with her parents. I’ve never seen this before, and I love this idea!! Rather than bubbles or flower petals, they had their guests throw streamers at them while blowing kazoos! Hundreds of kazoos all at once…those things are loud! Such a fun idea! At the reception (held at the Forte Reception hall, a part of All Play in downtown Des Moines), rather than clinking glasses to get the Mr. and Mrs. to kiss, the guests had to come up to this mic and sing a song with the word “love” in it. Guests loved this! These are Katie’s mentors and coworkers from school (Katie teaches vocal music): They gave the bouquet away to the couple who had been married the longest, and it went to this adorable couple! This photo makes me smile each time I see it…don’t you just want to spend a day with them to hear their story and learn all about them?! These are Katie’s grandparents, and they are actually quite famous as the couple who played piano at Mayo Clinic. Have you see the youtube video? If not, check it out here! Congratulations again, Katie and Jim! Your wedding day was perfect, and I am SO thankful I got to be a part of it!