Dragonfly Photography
I think the thing that first caught my eye about Alexia and Mark was their love for family. Alexia and I first started chatting over Instagram, I believe with her very kindly and patiently explaining her family’s tradition of mushroom hunting to me. Now to be fair I’m sure there’s a really great name for this and half of you who grew up in the Midwest know exactly what I’m talking about or are silently judging me for my lack of mushroom hunting knowledge. But in my defense, I am from Southern California and although I did spend my summers frolicking through Western Michigan we most certainly were not digging up mushrooms…
Do you dig mushrooms?
At least I know they don’t grow in trees… My expertise was apples. I’m still a champion pie eater. *Please note no actual championships have been won exactly, but I eat them like a “champion” so it’s basically the same thing.
Anyway back to Alexia and Mark, we had chatted back and forth a little bit and I was simply fascinated not only by their amazing ability to go forage for fungi. See what I did there? 😉 But her general love for the people that she had surrounding her. She’s also a budding photographer herself, so we had lots of fun conversations long before we ever chatted about their own wedding.
That feels like ancient history at this point because It’s hard to remember a point without Alexia and Mark in our lives, and that’s a very positive statement.
Just the other day they came in for holiday portraits and walked in with a new blend of local coffee for me. For a full picture, at the end of their wedding day, she handed me a curated basket of some of the best parts of her hometown in Wooster, Ohio. Knowing that I am definitely a city girl and was not familiar with where they lived she took the time to visit some of her favorite local vendors and pick up some fun things for me to try.
That’s just the kind of caring and thoughtful people she and Mark are.
Knowing that you will not be at all surprised to know that that is exactly the kind of care and thoughtfulness that she put into every aspect of her wedding day. Her wedding day was a little bit different than some of our other weddings, and it’s hard to describe why. When Gina and I were talking about it I think the conclusion that we came to was that it’s very rare that we have a wedding that is so beautifully pulled off but yet was created by so much of the couple’s community themselves. The way that they sourced their wedding professionals was pretty neat actually, and I guess props to living in a small town with a great community around you.
But none of that would have come together if she hadn’t have had a clear and specific understanding of exactly what she wanted to see on her wedding day and been able to communicate that really well, all of which she did.
Her beautiful springtime wedding at Thunderhead Pines wedding venue could not have been on a more gorgeous day. Her colors represented her personality, bright and cheerful but perfectly put together at the same time. 😜
Mark was so excited to see his bride on their wedding day and their first look was truly one of the most emotional and lovely. We always tell couples that they will have as much time as they need for their first look. The first look is a moment where you can laugh or cry or hug or just stand together and take the moment in with no pressure no one telling you what to do and no one tapping their watch.
Mark and Alexia almost pushed us to the edge of that, however, because their first look was so beautiful and so long that we actually had to step in at one point and start steering them towards portraits in order to stand time for the wedding day. It makes me chuckle, and get excited for the many years of happiness they have together.
They chose to exchange vows at their home church which they’re both actively involved in, and then come back to the venue and celebrate in a beautiful outdoor reception.
They laughed as much as they cried. They enjoy the people around them. And their friends and family clearly displayed how much they are deeply loved.
It was a privilege to be a part of such a delightful day, and an even bigger privilege to be a part of their lives. Maybe they’ll even take me mushroom hunting sometime. 😉 Just kidding, I think we’re going to stick with Apple picking around here.
