Diane and Carl were married at the Country Bluff Wedding Chapel on Saturday, Dec. 20 in the middle of a very picturesque Wisconsin snowstorm. Friends and family drove long distances, filed into the chapel brushing the snowflakes off their coats and shaking off their boots, and filled the room with warmth and love and music. It was a beautiful event.

I am a complete sucker for dads who get emotional when they first see their daughters in their wedding dresses, so I’m going to start with this image of Diane and her father.

The flower girl’s dress was actually made from Diane’s mother’s own wedding gown, which Diane’s grandmother had made.

Carl, right, offers reassuring words to his best man, Steve. In the mirror is Carl’s very sweet and supportive daughter Kari.

Diane has been friends with her maid of honor, Connie, since third grade. She knew exactly what to do.

And the dress in action: The incomparably cute flower girl, Katie, and ring bearer, Carter. Look at his expression! Love it.

By the time the ceremony started it was dark outside, but there was such a beautiful warm light coming from the altar.

Diane had the idea to give every guest a candle as they entered. When the time came to light the unity candle, they started at the back of the chapel and passed the flame forward, from candle to candle, as Diane’s young neighbor played “Silent Night” on the viola.

After the kiss, a baby in the back pew let out a wail, as if on cue. Diane thought that was pretty funny.

What it looked like outside as everyone left for the reception at the Baraboo Arts Building.

Carl lined up these smashing red boots right behind the wedding party table, just waiting for the moment he could change into them and his jeans.

Diane did many of the decorations herself, including table centerpieces with fresh pine (that she had Carl go trim near their cabin!). It looked gorgeous.

In their own little world during the first dance.

During the next dance their families came out and joined hands in a circle around them, closing in closer and closer.

Diane and Carl, thank you so much for welcoming me to be part of your celebration with your loving family and friends. Congratulations on your marriage - here’s to many happy years ahead!

Barb and Bob were married Saturday at the charming Country Bluff Wedding Chapel just outside of Baraboo, a refurbished 1882 church now used exclusively for weddings.

I shot their engagement photos in July and knew they would be a fun, relaxed couple - and that their marriage was one not only of two people who love and respect each other, but a marriage of two families.

Barb is a strong and creative mother who orchestrated every little detail of the wedding herself, from tying the ribbons on the programs to the making the cakes. Yes, the cakes. She pulled it off with grace and made it look effortless.

Here she is tying Bob’s parents’ own delicate wedding bands onto her bouquet, for her “something old.” Such a neat idea.

Barb is tall and has an amazing figure, and she pulled off these shoes like nobody’s business.

This little guy, by comparison, was considerably less happy to have his shoes put on - even though they were Chuck Taylors!

Barb was so busy getting everything else ready for the big day that she forgot to buy the veil she had picked out. An hour before the wedding she rushed down to Specially Hers in downtown Baraboo, where she had bought her stunning dress, and they hooked her up. While having her dress laced up, Barb looked in the mirror and said, “I kinda feel pretty.” So sweet.

They packed every pew with people who loved and supported them through their journey to this day. The ceremony was intimate and beautiful.

The mothers and grandmas were having way too much fun pelting the newlyweds with rice.

I snapped this one quickly and without flash while Barb was being bustled at the reception. The exposure wasn’t perfect… the subject was. She looks so old Hollywood.

The party was at the Baraboo Arts Banquet Hall, a refurbished Ringling Brothers building along the Baraboo River. Barb and her family decorated the entire space and it was gorgeous.

Barb surprised Bob with a groom’s cake decorated like the Jeep he’s had since high school. That woman was a SuperBride.

Barb’s dad gave an emotional toast honoring not only the newlyweds, but all three of his children and their spouses and reminding them that marriage takes work, and they are nothing without each other.

The couple hired Universal Sound, a Madison-area band, to play live music at the wedding reception. They rocked everything from Bob Seger to Johnny Cash and got the little kids, the teenagers and the grandparents out on the dance floor - and kept them there. Here Bob takes a turn with his spunky mother.

In the matron of honor’s speech about the depth of love between a husband and wife, she said, “Everyone deserves to be with someone who thinks you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to them.”

Barb and Bob, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your day, and congratulations on finding the person who knows you’re the best thing that ever happened to them.

This weekend I got to be part of an amazing and intimate wedding at Devil’s Lake State Park between two people whose love for each other was absolutely palpable.

Tara and Pon.e knew each other in high school, then drifted apart before meeting one day on the street a decade later.

Both had been through a lot in their time apart, Tara said, and didn’t take anything for granted. Especially each other.

The wedding party stayed at the super charming Devil’s Lake Resort, a family joint that unfortunately is closing at the end of this season.

Both Tara and Pon.e are incredibly stylin’ individuals, and though the wedding was small every detail was vintage and romantic and perfect.

Check out her veil:

And her dress, which her mother made from hand. I made her do some twirling to show off the effects of the petticoat underneath:

Tara and her very talented mother:

And doesn’t Pon.e look dapper?

Every couple I’ve worked with has been happy on their wedding day, but Tara and Pon.e took the crowns for being the most outwardly joyful. They honestly looked this thrilled every moment of that day:

Getting married just feet from Devil’s Lake during peak color season probably didn’t hurt, either. Here’s Pon.e watching his lovely bride come down the aisle:

The ceremony was short and very sweet:

And after it became official:

Their reception in the lakeside Rock Elm Shelter celebrated how they bonded as a couple over camping, and included a chili cook and more adorable details. Here are their custom rings:

Of course they had fabulous taste in music, and they filled the lodge with Etta James for their own slow dances, and played the favorite love songs of all the important people in their lives. Oh, and they swing danced. Those kids could cut a rug.

Pon.e told me he predicted a year ago that his wedding day, a mid-October Saturday in Wisconsin, would be 75 degrees and sunny. It was, exactly. I said he might have a future with the Farmer’s Almanac. “Nah. You know what it is?” he said. “The power of love.”

Kara and Justin met their first semester at college and have been together for a decade. More than once during their Twin Cities wedding day did I hear a friend or relative say, “It’s about time.” But I think the anticipation of the day made it even more special.

They were married at The Church of St. Mary in Shakopee, a gorgeous 1865 church seeped in history.

Justin was so sweetly nervous to marry this amazing woman. Here he is getting some advice from friends before she arrived.

Kara did not want Justin to see her until she was walking down the aisle, and despite the close quarters at the church everyone went to great lengths to make sure it happened.

The priest insisted Kara and Justin memorize their vows, which didn’t really seem to put Justin at ease.

One of the bridal shots before the ceremony. Isn’t she gorgeous?

Her gown was stunning, too.

Just thinking about her dad before the ceremony brought Kara to tears. When I saw those church doors swing open and the sunlight stream in just as they entered, I got a little choked up, too. Dads will do that to me every time.

Likely some of the cutest ring bearers, flower girl and junior bridesmaid ever. Here they are, letting loose before the bridal party arrived at the reception:

The reception was at the Shakopee Ballroom, which is unassuming from the outside but really has an amazing dancefloor. The seating horseshoes all the way around it, so there isn’t a bad seat in the house. The happy couple during their first dance:

Kara and Justin had such strong, fun and supportive group of friends who were there for them throughout their relationship and on their wedding day. They even ended their bridal party dance with a group hug — with the little ones trying to stake out a spot on the outside.

Congratulations, Kara and Justin — clearly it was worth the wait!

Welcome to the shiny new Christina Beam Photography website! Thanks for dropping by.

It’s been a fabulous year of lots of happy pictures – beaming brides and grooms, grandparents and babies, missing-teeth kids, and everything in between.

I’ve been to more weddings this summer than I’d been to in the rest of my life combined, and I teared up at every single one.

Recently I had an old friend from my days as a journalist ask me what I see in wedding photography. He just didn’t get it.

So I told him this story.

» Continue Reading…