Trailside Event Center Wedding | Lauren + Jesse

Lauren and Jesse had an awesome central Illinois wedding with a reception at Trailside Event Center on the chilliest day in March!

Luckily, we had access to the gorgeous house you see below, which made things super easy for us during the first part of the day. After their ceremony at Northfield Christian Fellowship, we hopped over to Trailside Event Center in Peoria Heights for the reception! I’m a sucker for industrial accents and those exposed ceilings, so it was such a treat to spend the evening there! After a super quick portrait inside (again, so cold outside), we left them to party the rest of the night away. Check out some of my favorites below!

Reception Venue: Trailside Event Center

Formals: Cloud Nine Boutique

Cake: Trefzger’s

Let’s make something amazing!

Downtown Peoria, Illinois Engagement Session | Kylie + Carson

Kylie and Carson’s little family is so supremely sweet, and I’m beyond stoked to have the privilege of covering photo and video for their wedding in 2022. Their morning downtown Peoria engagement session was a last-minute addition that I’m so happy we were able to fit in!

The light and the humans in my camera were absolute magic. Peep some of my favorites!

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Cozy Wedding in Peoria, Illinois | Kaitlyn + Trey

I’m so honored that I got to shoot Kaitlyn and Trey’s lovely Peoria, Illinois wedding. We started at the Mark Twain hotel, a Peoria staple, where Kaitlyn and her party got ready. We then visited Trey’s grandma’s home for the ceremony, and moved on to the gorgeous Waterhouse event space in the downtown MAXAM building for the reception.

Kaitlyn and Trey are such a good hang, and amazing folks. Together, they own 460° Pizza so, if you’re in the Peoria area, go show them some love!

As always, stretch that scrolling finger to see some of my favorites below!

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Chelsea + Mason - Peoria, Illinois Wedding Photography

It was so much fun shooting Chelsea and Mason’s Peoria, Illinois wedding! Well, we also did some stuff in Pekin, too. Chelsea and Mason are highly special people and, as evidenced by their engagement session, hanging out with them is always an adventure. If you need a refresher, we spent half our time wandering around a trailer park playground at sunrise trying to find the entrance to a trail we saw online, only to realize it was a quarter mile up the road. We also learned the story of a man named “Bad Chad.”
Anyways, regarding their wedding, this was one of those classic COVID-weddings that we’ve all grown so accustomed to and that I have grown to totally adore. The small size, the subdued tension, and the joyous, intimate celebration at the end of the day make for a really special wedding. Chelsea and Mason had all that and more!
We began the day getting ready in separate locations, Mason at his family's home, and Chelsea at Grace United Methodist Church in Pekin. Fortunately, this is also where the ceremony was to be held, so we were able to get a lot done in a short amount of time. We met up with Mason and the gang at Mineral Springs Park (commonly called the Pekin Lagoon) for their first look and some quick portraits before they had to jet back to the church to GET MARRIED!
After the beautiful ceremony with some super-sweet vows, we skipped on over to the Peoria Riverfront for a few more shots before sunset. Oh, by the way, Nikki Erin Films was with us every step of the way doing video. She’s a rockstar and produces amazing work.
The reception was at Alexander’s Steakhouse in Peoria and, on top of some amazing food, the party was so special and alive! I can’t thank Chelsea and Mason enough for trusting us with their wedding day, and if a full-blown event is soon to come with tons of lovely folks, know that we’ll be there to capture that, too.
Be warned, there are a lot of smiles below… 👇

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Kaitlyn + Trey - Peoria, Illinois Engagement Session

Engagement Session at Laura Bradley Park in Peoria, Illinois

We had a blast running around Bradley Park in Peoria, and I couldn’t be happier for Kaitlyn and Trey! I went to high school with Kaitlyn and we sang in our school’s Madrigal choir together, so we go way back! Currently, Kaitlyn and Trey own and run a totally awesome pizza restaurant called 460 Pizza. If you’re in the Peoria area, check them out!
As if they couldn’t get any cooler, they were troopers throughout this entire session. It was 25°F, after all! This leads us right into the sub-blog, or, the blog within the blog, if you will. How to survive a sub-freezing engagement session!

Tips For Surviving Your Chilly Engagement Session

• Hot Hands! You know, those little bags of mobile hand, saving heat? Use them, love them, keep them on your person. I picked up about 20 packs of them the morning of this session, and they were a WELCOME addition to those moments when we were walking from place to place. To all my future clients, I got you covered!!!

• Donuts! They don’t keep you warm, and they may freeze by the end of the session, but they still taste good and I got a dozen for the three of us as treats after the shoot. We had leftovers, and I ate so many!

• Easy-on, easy-off jackets! Dress warm enough under the jacket that you won’t freeze to death, but choose a jacket with a zipper rather than buttons. Throw some hot hands in the interior pockets, and with a quick zip, you’ll be on a train to warm-town in seconds. We laugh in the face of hypothermia!

• Coffee. Useful for your sanity on any normal day, useful for keeping yourself warm during a sub-freezing engagement session. This one is a no-brainer.

And there you have it! Scroll on down and enjoy a few of my favorites from Kaitlyn and Trey’s session!

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