Amanda + Mike Wedding

Congratulations to Amanda and Mike! This month, these two celebrated their marriage in a special ceremony and reception with their family and friends. Amanda was beautiful and Mike looked dashing. They had their ceremony and reception at the beautiful Andre's Carriage House at the Fox Run golf course.

It was a very special afternoon for them and their family. Their twin daughters — Harper and Olivia — were the flower girls, who road into the ceremony in a stylish wagon, pulled by Amanda's daughter Katie, and Mike's daughter Cloee was Amanda's junior bridesmaid. During the reception, Amanda's dad shared a beautiful toast to his daughter and they also celebrated Mike's mom completing chemo and everyone sang happy birthday to his dad. It was also special for Ashley, Amanda's sister, and Matt, Mike's brother, who were the couple's matron of honor and best man, respectively. It was so beautiful seeing the families come together and the sweet moments Amanda and Mike shared with their daughters — all four of them.

This wedding was also special for me. And as Mike's cousin, I was so excited to be able to capture this special day in their lives! And a few years ago (I'll just say that I was in college!), I photographed Matt (Mike's brother) and Shannon's wedding ... and things really have changed since then. Back then, I was shooting on a crop sensor camera, and now, this was my first wedding shooting with a full-frame mirrorless camera (the Dederts got to skip my non-digital full-frame days!). For Matt's wedding, my mom was my "second," and she shot on film, and now I have my wonderful husband Jared (who I'd only known, sort of, for a year) by my side. Matt and Shannon have a sweet daughter, and so do Mike for that matter! What hasn't changed, though, was the wonderful feeling of family and comrade among everyone who was there. There was so much love and happiness throughout the entire day that was so incredibly special!

I'm so excited to have gotten the chance to celebrate and be a part of Amanda and Mike's big day. It was so wonderful and everyone was so amazing. We couldn't be happier for Amanda and Mike and their life together!

The golf course was a great backdrop for Amanda and Mike's photos! And they look so happy! I'm so glad they were able to plan a fall wedding with beautiful weather and foliage!

I am in love with their first look! Amanda's expression as she taps Mike on the shoulder, and then how adorable she is when he sees her for the first time! She's stunning, so his expression when he sees her is perfect!

We got so lucky because right as we started pictures, the sun moved behind a cloud, and then behind the pillar on the Carriage House, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten such a great shot with their wedding/reception location in the background. This is one of my favorites! (And, if you look closely, you'll notice they have an audience in the window!)

I absolutely love this picture of Amanda and Mike! It might be their smiles! :)

I also really love all of the details on Amanda's dress. It really was amazing!

Another favorite. This one feels very GQ to me! So serious, but they look amazing!!

There was this little pond/drainage area right behind the Carriage House, and it was such a sweet little backdrop for their pictures, with the pretty trees and beautiful golf-grass!

Another favorite!

I love how the trees in this one bend in on them, and sort of frame them really pretty!

Awe!

Everything about Amanda's look was beautiful. Her dress, of course, and that beautiful hair piece. And those flowers! EPIC! She is stunning. Beautiful inside and out.

Look at these two! So classy!

I really love this blue suit. Mike looks so dapper!

This wedding party was amazing! Not only were they all so nice, but they were all so helpful, especially later when it came to get getting the twins to smile and look in the general direction of the camera!

They really did a great job with these colors. I love the girls' rose and that pretty blue! Such wonderful coordination!

Aren't these lovely ladies awesome! I love how much Amanda's eyes pop in this picture, too!

We also added in Amanda's daughter, Katie, to some of her wedding party pictures. It was so wonderful with all of the girls together!

You can't not do a fun picture! And these ladies had fun! I love the leg pop!

The guys really do look so dashing !

Before the ceremony, we got this wonderful picture of Amanda and Mike's families together.

The Carriage House had a beautiful wood interior with some awesome lighting. Amanda and Mike picked a wonderful wedding and reception location!

Congratulations Amanda and Mike!

While the staff moved out the ceremony seating, we got a couple of quick photos of the bride and groom outside just as the sun was setting.

Ashley's matron of honor toast for her sister was so sweet! It was beautiful!

Amanda and Mike didn't want a big audience for their cake cutting, and it was so intimate and lovely. There was no cake face smearing, but there was a lot of cake eating! :)

The couple did share a first dance in front of their guests, and it was so lovely!

Amanda and Mike played the shoe game, which is always so much fun! They had a great time, even if they didn't always pick the same person for the DJ's question! :)

Congratulations Amanda and Mike!