Rainy Summer wedding at Starved Rock Lodge, Utica, IL

It has been a couple years since we had a rainy wedding at Starved Rock, but this summer has been crazy! Thankfully it didn't rain all day so we were able to make it work to get some outdoor pictures. Sadly it was too muddy for us to hike too far at Starved Rock, but honestly, just around the lodge creates so many great pictures.

Adam & Kristen chose Starved Rock for their wedding and it suites them so well. They are avid outdoors people and love to fish and hike with their dogs. So they took the weather in stride and were up for anything. Not only that, but they are just about the sweetest people on earth. Adam's smile looking at Kristen just melts my heart and Kristen is such a caring and sweet person. It was so fun to hang out with them for the day...even if Adam did get this song in my head:

We are hoping to take on an associate photographer next year but are still working out the details. I will post her pictures in another post. So these are pictures by Seth & Mary.

Typically the bride or groom gets ready in the Hennepin Room which isn't the most gorgeous of locations. But I tend to shoot tight in those situations. Stephanie, our associate, had Kristen step in the hall to get her veil and that was super pretty by the windows. Then we took off to meet the groom on the patio. I love this spot. You see it a lot in our shoots but the stones and the trees and the lodge are all so pretty. Especially on days like this when it was threatening rain and sprinkling on us all day!

The plan was to hike to St. Louis canyon but the radar was showing rain so we opted for a cheat spot. But even that was sooooo muddy we couldn't even get that far back. So we took one picture and headed back to the lodge singing Moose Alpaca Moose Moose Alpaca....

So we had the wedding party under the overhang and we stood in the sprinkling rain. But then boom, it starts to pour so we head inside. I tell people that it's a great spot for pictures and I stand by it. We took some in the lodge with the moose (had to) and by the fireplace while it poured outside.

So since we had planned to hike, but the weather didn't cooperate we had an hour extra in our timeline. We ended up just letting everyone hang out and have a beer and relax. But once the rain passed we snuck away for just a couple more photos in this little entrance way. I swear there are so many little hidden spots that are perfect for pictures.

Time to get married!

A quick picture with their babies and it was time to party!

The Walk Ins was the band and they.were.fantastic. Seriously the best band I've ever seen and at the top of my list for favorite DJs too. Very rarely do I add DJs to my list, but these guys were amazing.