One of my favorite parts of a wedding day is walking into the bridal suite for the first time. The best part? Finding the leading lady of the day and giving her the biggest hug! Why? Because all my Rachael Leigh Brides are simply the greatest people and by the time I walk into that room on to celebrate her wedding day, we’ve pretty much become lifelong friends! It’s such a sweet reunion in light of the best celebration and most special occasion! Saturday was no different and seeing Kate with her hair all done up and makeup just freshly finished was a sign that it was finally the day that her and Wes would become husband and wife! And what an occasion it was! The weather was so much more favorable than their rainy day engagement session a year ago, but the fun, well there was a ton of that to go around! You can’t help but have a whole lot of laughter and experience so much joy when you’re celebrating the union of two of the most genuine people while getting to meet their best friends and family! Am I right?

Wes and Kate got married at Polen Farm on Saturday and what a day! Their color palette made me swoon from the moment I laid eyes on it and Kate’s dress! Let’s just say I exclaimed it’s beauty about a thousand times and was reminded of it each time I knelt down to perform my duty as “honorary and semi-professional dress fluffer” and photographer! Everything came together so beautifully and the style just matched the estate feel of their venue so well! Polen Farm is one of my favorite wedding spots in the Dayton area because I’m a little partial to it’s southern charm and how easy it is to photograph! Aside from all the visual things that made this wedding beautiful, I think the most memorable had to be the interactions and moments I had the chance to witness. From the hype music and joy filled getting ready spot where the bridesmaids cheered on their girl and there was no shortage of laughter to the sweet moment when Kate’s mama was helping her into her dress! And I can’t forget the sweet moment Kate arranged for her brother to see her all dolled up for the first time! That’s when the tears really started to form and fall! But I think that the most memorable for me was the first look Wes and Kate shared! Along with the typical emotions that come from a groom catching the first glance of his bride, these two decided to also share handwritten letters to one another expressing their love! Wes even wrote a little poem of sorts for Kate and it was seriously the sweetest! If you couldn’t tell, I could just gush over the moments that were filled with tears of joy and tears from laughter!

I could continue to rave about these two all day and I absolutely loved being the one to document the moment they’ve literally waited years for! It was so fun hearing the different versions of their love story from their family and their college friends! Their romance both began and blossomed while they were in college and so many memories and jokes were shared from those years! I’m pretty sure I already dished out their story details in their engagement session post, so I’ll just link that here because if I began talking about that, too, well you’d be here a lot longer!

The most beautiful thing that I’ve come to love about weddings is the reminder that it’s not just a day. A wedding is a culmination of a whole lot of days already lived and it is the start of a commitment to a whole lot more days lived together! It’s day one of a journey and a promise to walk alongside each other through thick and thin! Wes and Kate, I’m so honored to have been to the one to document your day one! And to have made some sweet friends along the way! I’m beyond excited for both of you and can’t wait to continue to cheer you on in the days ahead!

Enjoy scrolling through the images from their beautiful, fall wedding! As usual, my favorites list was a mile long!!