Hailey and Brady's Wedding at Stonegate Glass Chapel

Fall Into Me And I'll Catch You, Darlin

Readers, I’m in such a dilemma. Sometimes I love the audio recap format of a wedding and other times I think the written word fits best. For Hailey and Brady, I decided to go back to the written blog post!😍 Hailey and Brady got married at Stonegate Glass Chapel on August 12th. The morning of their wedding, storms barreled across the midwest. It was pouring. So much so that I contacted Brady to confirm that his original plan was still in motion. Brady planned to start his day at Ozarks Shooters. A shooting range directly across the highway from their venue. He told me they were going to go for it and hope for the best! His gut must have known things were going to work out. When we arrived, temperatures were perfect with a slight rainy drizzle. Even though it was still slightly raining, I was all for it!! The midwest was being hit by a massive heat wave and the rain felt like the biggest blessing. Alex and I stayed at the shooting range for a bit, then hopped into our car and headed back across the street to the venue.

The bridal suite was full of people all there to help Hailey get ready for her big day. I went to work on her details. Since there was so much going on, I would often switch back and forth from details to special events in the room. The first special moment happened when her grandmother walked in to present Hailey with a gift. A typed out written note and sentimental item to be wrapped around Hailey’s bouquet. Hailey had all types of unique details: her grandmother’s ring, her mother’s crown, earrings, perfume, pearl bracelets, blue shoes with ribbon, and a necklace. She chose a special person to help her carefully put on each item. One of my favorite moments from this time was when she presented her flower girls with a gift. The two flower girls could not have been more different. One was all about the experience, the other one was very unsure. The older flower girl was so excited to be presented with a tiara. She had the biggest smile on her face and immediately put it on top of her head. The younger flower girl was not as excited about the gifts 🤣. However, she did seem to like the makeup box with the first letter of her name. I call that a win!

Meanwhile, Alex was busy photographing the groomsmen getting ready. With all that was happening, I honestly have no idea when they arrived! The important part is that they did make it there eventually and that meant that the first looks would begin soon. Hailey chose to have a first look with her dad. Alex and I brought her dad down to the chapel. A quiet space that would give them time to have a moment together. One of them knew to have tissues at the ready because before I knew it, they both had tears and passed the tissue back and forth to dab their eyes.

Now it was Brady’s turn. He put on his finishing touches in the form of star wars themed socks. One side had a picture of the mandalorian and the other side had the word “groom.” What Brady didn’t know is that this upcoming moment would be a bit of a surprise. I had to strongly warn Alex not to ruin the moment because he struggles with secrets so much. Hailey had requested to do a fake first look with their friend Jordan. Jordan dressed up in a floor length white gown and walked up to Brady. Poor Brady was probably so nervous and it must have been quite the shock to turn around and see Jordan rather than his bride. 😂 But it made for quite the smiles!!! I promised Brady that the next person he turned around to see would be Hailey and we moved to a new location in preparation for the moment. In Brady’s hand, he gripped a letter he had prepared to read to Hailey. As Hailey walked up behind Brady, she gripped a letter she had written to Brady. As they saw each other for the first time and embraced, Alex and I took a step back to let them have a moment together as they read each other their letters. This was probably the only moment they had alone together ❤️.

Brady announced that he was finally “free!” Now that he had seen Hailey, he could walk around the venue with no worries. The last first look was with the groomsmen. It took some time to get everyone together. We lost some groomsmen and had a minor detour with putting on boutonnieres. After the groomsmen saw Hailey for the first time and gave her a hug, we went straight into wedding party pictures. We marathoned through the wedding party and then took family pictures. Hailey and Brady were such troopers! I let Hailey know I was going to run up to the reception hall and she excitedly said she wanted to see it too! I absolutely adored her cakes. Instead of a combined three tier cake, she had three individual tiers. It looked stunning! Hailey, after you left, I might have photographer failed a bit since I was so hungry for a snack 🤣. As I was eating a clif bar, Hailey’s sister came in to announce that they were doing prayers before the ceremony. Alex and I immediately dropped what we were doing to head back down to the getting ready suites. Alex went to Brady and I went to Hailey. It was now time for the ceremony to begin.

As Brady entered the chapel, the imperial march began to smile. If you’re unfamiliar with Star Wars, follow the link to have a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYMETt578MM. Like Alex and I, almost all the guests knew it and smiles erupted on everyone’s faces. Alex and I have some cousins who would have been obsessed with this moment. The next stars of the show were the flower girls. I wasn’t sure how this moment was going it go, but both flower girls rocked it! They even did multiple walks down the aisle. They were so excited. After laughs and smiles, the chapel doors re-opened for Hailey. I have had many brides concerned about doing a first look because they want to wait until the ceremony. They don’t want to ruin the moment. I will tell you this, I don’t think a first look ever takes away from the ceremony entrance. There is a special energy that happens when a bride and groom see each other at this time and I think it is magical either way. This was certainly the case for Brady as I peeked over to see his reaction to seeing his bride. Sometimes I even tear up!! Their ceremony was absolutely touching. They had an exchange of rings and a cord of three strands ceremony. As a surprise, Hailey’s dad came up to give a speech that no one knew about. I don’t think there was a dry eye anywhere. 😥 They sealed their marriage with a kiss and headed back down the aisle to celebrate with a receiving line and bubble exit. Funny photography backstory here, what I haven’t mentioned yet was how high the humidity was. 😂 This was the type of day that the second you walked outside your glasses would fog up. This poses a potential challenge for camera gear because it fogs up the glass so bad you can hardly take a picture. To be able to photograph the exit, I hid a lens outside the chapel during the ceremony 🤣. It worked like a charm though and these photos are some of my favorites!

The end of the ceremony officially kicked off the reception events and Hailey and Brady had so much fun planned. They entered their reception and went straight into a choreographed first dance. I was super impressed. There were so many key moments from here that I decided to put them all in a grid for better viewing! There was a prayer before dinner, father daughter dance, bouquet toss, garter toss, cake cutting, shoe game, and a special performance from their two good friends Jordan and Karmyn. The biggest event of the night happened when they snuck off during dinner. Hailey had a second look planned along with a haircut. That’s right! Brady’s mom is a hairdresser and cut her hair for a new look into the reception. Brady, I think your mom was a little nervous since she broke every rule she’s ever learned in order to get Hailey back to the reception quickly 😂. Hailey’s new look was so fun! She had a satin floor length long sleeve gown. She took off her tiara and replaced it with a shoulder length veil complete with a pearl covered bow. She got rid of her shoes and replaced them with barefoot sandals. I LOVE it!!! I wish we had more time for photographs in that dress. 😍

Our time together ended with a sparkler exit surrounded by their wedding party. When we headed back inside Alex may have snuck a few dancing shots as the dance floor officially kicked off! Hailey and Brady, your day was incredible!!! I can’t believe you made so many amazing moments happen. Thank you so much for giving Alex and I the opportunity to capture these memories. I wish you both the best!!