Saly and Loren’s Wedding at Spring Creek Estates

Updated: Jan 5, 2023

"I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need"

Saly and Loren’s Wedding Day had arrived. It was a warm fall day. Low wind. Tree tops shining yellow, orange, and green. Spring Creek Estates is nestled into the country in Republic, MO. The venue obtained a new owner a year ago and it is coming back to life! If you love nature, this is a venue you’ve got to check out ❤️. Such a calm and relaxing atmosphere, I love it! This venue has a house a short walk from the ceremony and reception hall that serves as the getting ready room for both the bride and groom. This house even has a fully functioning kitchen! (Something that comes in handy on wedding days.) When Alex and I arrived at the venue, we were told to find Elaine. Elaine was the day-of wedding coordinator and a longtime family friend of the bride's mom. By fate, we immediately ran into her upon arrival. As we were chatting, Amy, the bride’s mom, came to greet us too! She navigated us back to the getting ready house. As she showed us around, we officially ran into Saly! Her hair and makeup was done and she looked stunning! All that was left was to get into her gown 😍. I wished her congratulations and she started showing me all the details that she would be wearing on her big day.

This part of the day made me smile so much! Saly had two potential wedding dresses. That’s right, two! 😂 She didn’t officially decide which one she was wearing on her wedding day until the day of. You’ll never believe this either. The dress she chose was more of a last minute purchase that she made online. If I didn’t know, I would have thought she ordered it months in advance. It fit like a glove and looked stunning. Next were the shoe options. On the floor near her gown was a row/pile of over 5 pairs of shoes. I forgot to count the exact number 😂. She also made the official decision on shoes the day of. A blush pair of high heels with rhinestones. After I gathered all of her things, we went to gather Loren’s from the groom’s side of the house. We found his bag and grabbed his cufflinks, shoes, and boutonniere. I loved the grooms flat-lay that I created for their wedding day. But I might have laughed out loud later in the day when I found out the suspenders I used for the picture were not even going to be worn by Loren at all 🤣 Photographer fail. It does make me feel better that the groomsmen are though, so at least it’s somewhat related.

After details, we took a photo of all the bridesmaids in their matching PJs and then they scattered to put on their gowns. While they were getting ready, I went to spend some time with Loren. He was almost fully ready. Before we went outside to take pictures, he had his mom put the final touches on his hair. We gathered all the groomsmen outside and they took a celebratory shot of fireball. Sending the groomsmen back inside, I took some portraits of Loren and went back to Saly. she was officially in her gown! I brought her and her mom outside while they put the final getting ready touches together. Zipping up the gown, securing her shoes, and adjusting jewelry. Next was the first look with her dad. As Saly tapped his shoulder and he turned around. His eyes widened in in disbelief. They embraced for a hug and he told her how amazing she looked. ❤️

The time for Saly and Loren’s first look arrived. We decided to have it up at the alter to give space for friends and family to view from a distance. Positioning Loren, Saly walked up behind him. He turned and a smile broke out on his face and they embraced for a hug. I think they felt slightly awkward with the audience they had watching them 😂, so we headed to the tree line for some portraits. Starting with a quick picture on the swing. If there’s a tree swing, I can’t resist!! After these pictures, Saly and Loren requested a break and we left them to have some time before we did wedding party photos. Time passed quickly and the ceremony approached. When Saly and Loren returned, we made our way back to the tree line and did wedding party as fast as possible. We even got a fully wedding party shot with all the littles looking at the camera!!! That is a photography win!

The wedding party hid in the venue as guests arrived. And the turnout was huge. Almost every chair was full and many guests stood in the back. The large barn doors opened and the wedding processional began. The barn doors closed and the music changed. I flipped my camera around to capture Loren, but realized that it was not Saly and her dad walking down the aisle, but the flower girl 😂. I think many quests made the same mistake I did, but we were ready for who was next. The doors closed and opened again and Saly made her appearance. As they met at the altar, the guests took their seats. Saly and Loren met at a bar, so it was only fitting that they do a celebratory unity shot during their ceremony! Followed by an exchange of rings and sealed with a kiss. They were now husband and wife!!! While I was photographing Saly hug and celebrate right after the ceremony, I saw her eyes widen at something from behind me and break out into laughter. I turned around and the youngest ring bearer was walking solo into the venue with his pants down around his ankles. His mom quickly scooped him up and the moment was done! A moment that Saly said, “made her wedding day” 🤣. Kids are the best sometimes!

Family photos followed the ceremony and we were ahead of schedule. Everyone made their way into the reception space and Elevate kicked off the reception by playing a game to determine which table would get food first. A guest from each table was chosen and formed a circle by each sitting in a chair. The DJ would instruct them to find a common item and while they were scrambling to find the item, the DJ would take a chair away. After each consecutive scavenger hunt item was found, the circle began to shrink until only one table guest remained. The last item was a heel. As I watched, two women almost fell over trying to rip their shoes off their feet to give it to the two remaining players. 🤣 As the winner was announced, dinner was served. As I ate with Alex and McKenzie (the videographer), I noted the sun was just in the right position. I shoved a few bites of food in my mouth and ran to get Saly and Loren. So glad I did, because they were my favorites from the night!! Those fall trees and light were stunning!

Guests were still eating when Saly and Loren returned, but it was almost time for the party to start. Speeches were given by Saly’s sisters and Loren’s younger brother. After speeches came the cake cutting. They had two jars to collect money for either the bride or groom. Guests put money in the jar during the reception and whomever had the most money by the time of the cake cutting get to smash cake in the others face. Saly was awarded the winner. Loren took off around the corned and out the door while Saly burst into laughter. When he returned, Saly smashed a handful of cake into his face. Guests erupting into laughter along with her. Saly and Loren planned to dance for a short amount of time outside of the main reception for their first dance. Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden began to play and they quickly embraced for a bit and then decided to cut it short. They both chose to have short and sweet dances for Saly and her dad and Loren and his mom. Loren made me laugh when he started dancing with his mom during a random love song and said, we can just do this for pictures 😂. No one will ever know. Sometimes it’s good that pictures don’t have sound.

The main reception events had been completed and Elevate was ready to kick off the party. They started the dancing with their Snowball game. They play a song and each time they say snowball, someone on the dance floor has to run and get another guest and bring them back to the dance floor. From this point onward, it was a party! More and more guests joined in which kids ran in the background. Saly’s mom had a surprise performance to Thriller mid way through all the dancing. As time passed, I spotted a group of people surrounding Saly. Each trying to figure out if there was a bustle on the dress. After several minutes of failed attempts, Slay gave it up and headed to change out of her dress. Returning in a pair of black sweats to be able to dance better and more comfortably. Shortly after, elevate mad the announcement for guests to head outside for the sparkler exit. OK, I’m a little in love with this picture. This shot feels like it encompasses their personalities and you can feel the joy off the guests!! LOVE it!!! As the sparkers went out, Saly made the announcement that they were headed to the Roost for their afterparty! While my time with Saly and Loren was done, I can only imagine the fun they continued to have!!! Saly and Loren, I had the best time. Thank you for letting me capture memories of your special day ❤️❤️❤️