So I finished up my busy season with one of my favorite weddings of the year!  Last weekend was Brett & Ashely's wedding ceremony in Russell, Kansas.  I have to admit, a lot of times when someone tells me they are having an outdoor wedding I think "oh NO.."  I've been to quite a few outdoor weddings that have either ended up indoors, or terribly hot or windy outdoors.  Not to mention as a photographer we're always concerned about lighting, and the sun being as bright as it is can sometimes be a challenge to work with.  However this past Saturday was a magnificant day.  It was in the upper 60's with just barely a breeze and beautifully sunny skies!  Not to mention this couples choice of decorations were just fantastic.  Before I get to the sneak peek,  here is a little about the couple:

BRETT & ASHELY MAI - OCTOBER 18, 2014

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU GUYS FIRST MEET?

We met in our hometown of Russell, Kansas.  We had always seen each other around but officially met in 2002-2003 through, Brett's sister and one of my best friends since high school, but we didn't start dating until 2007 after we went to a George Strait concert with a big group of friends.

HOW DID HE PROPOSE?

Brett invited a group of our close friends and our parents over on New Year's Eve to play board games and to ring the new year together. Some of us decided it would be fun to meet a few more friends at a local bar, but before we could, we just HAD to play Monopoly. It took a little (ok a lot) to talk me into playing a game that normally takes hours to get through. So we all gathered around the board game and everyone picked a game piece. Everyone knows I always want to be the hat so I put the game piece on the board. He took it away and said "You can't have the hat, but you can have the ring" I said "NO, I don't want to be the...Wait what??" As I looked down, I saw the most beautiful ring ever and realized he was down on one knee! Come to find out, almost everyone there was in on it in some way. He thought of everything! It was so perfect!

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO FUTURE BRIDES AND GROOMS?

We worked together and made a cake/cupcake stand, benches and many other items for our wedding. It took a lot of patience and time but we wanted to put our touch on as much as we could. Get the big items (ceremony/reception venue, DJ, photographer) booked first. All the smaller things are easier to decide on after that. Use the help offered to you, even if it isn't until the day of. Things will go wrong and won't be exactly what you had in mind, but in the end it will be beautiful and no one but you will know. Don't stress about the small stuff. Ask questions and don't assume everyone knows what you want and how you want it. It goes fast so hold hands as much as possible, dance and be sure to have fun!

Vendors:

Cake - Simply Devine  - (I taste a lot of wedding cakes in my profession and this was the best one I've ever had)

Dress - A Timeless Tradition - Ellis, KS

Flowers - From Hobby lobby, bride and sister in law put them together theirselves!

Head table decorations - Wedding Connections - (Again one of my favorite vendors)

And on to the sneak peek: