Meredith & Kalen! South Bend, Indiana Wedding Photography

“If you can’t run, you crawl. If you can’t crawl– you find someone to carry you.” – Joss Whedon

It’s very possible, that if I were getting married next month, I would make MANY of the same choices in wedding things that Meredith and Kalen made.  But Ronald and I aren’t doing that again ;).  So instead I’ll just stick to showing you photographs of their awesome day!

I love how they put their unique spin on each different aspect of the wedding and the reception, and if it didn’t fit them, it didn’t need to be included in their day.  Good job you two!  My favorite things about their wedding: the red flower that we got from a passerby on the walk to our portrait spot, Meredith’s love bracelet, New Day Meadery bottles/drinks (remember their engagement session?  New Day is where they got engaged), Meredith Tattoo’s [duh], barrette from Meredith’s Grandmother (her beautiful mother sewed her veil into it), the amazing passionate prayer at the beginning of the service, and Kalen’s awesome blue suit.

Additionally, their bridal party was really great.  Their church is located just south of downtown South Bend, and while it maybe was a bit of a walk, I’m so glad that we squeezed in some amazing portraits around that location!  They are some of my FAVORITES!  Seriously love them.

And love you guys!

~Maike

ps: Special thanks to Stephanie Kime for second shooting two in a row with me!

*obviously the two on the left might be just a bit better at looking crazy than the two on the right ;)*THIS guy!  You guys, if you haven’t tried Pitt’s in Mishawaka, you MUST.  I don’t even really like bbq, but their food was SO AMAZING.  Seriously, go here! The mac’n’cheese was AMAZING.

Hair : Amazing Matron of Honor, Kim

Make Up : Absolutely amazing Matron of Honor, Kim

Florist : Lemler in the South Bend Farmers Market [Dayla was so easy to work with!]

Ceremony : Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, South Bend [bride and groom’s home church]

Reception Venue : The Brick, South Bend

Sound/Lights : The Simple DJ [Tony, bride and groom’s friend and great DJ]

Cake/Cookies : Mini Delights Cupcake Shop in Elkhart [Ashley. Gosh the cupcakes were YUMMY!!!]

Catering : Pitts BBQ, Mishawaka [Robert made the food memorable]

Dress : Nancy’s Bridal, Indianapolis [Watters]

Shoes : INC International

Bridesmaid Dresses : Nine West at Macy’s & Eliza J at Nordstrom

MUSIC:
bride & groom first dance : Make it to Me, Sam Smith
father/daughter dance : Just Breathe, Pearl Jam
mother/son dance : Forever, Audra Mae

BRIDE & GROOM Q&A:

Most memorable moment?

M: Getting to see how handsome Kalen looked in his snazzy suit. It was nice to get to see just him during such a chaotic day.

K: Seeing Meredith walking down the aisle and seeing the huge smile on her face.

Advice for future brides/grooms?

M: Focus on the one you married. Love every aspect and decision you made!

K: Take the timeline as a rough estimate. The timeline won’t happen, no matter how hard you try.

Funniest memory?

M: Trying to release rows and thank everyone for coming after the service. Kalen kept getting on me for not rotating the aisles and I was too excited to pay attention. He’s good at keeping me in line and grounded.

K:  During the wine box ceremony, Meredith wouldn’t let me help her up the stairs and said “I got this” and Pastor Taylor jokingly asking if I was sure I wanted to marry her. Meredith is clumsy…

If you could do it all over would you change anything?

M: The day was perfect. I would not change a single vendor. But I would only change the size of the reception. We had no time to enjoy ourselves and talk to loved ones.

K:  Keep family close and try to work out any past baggage. A marriage is about joining of family, not loss of family.

Honeymoon?

We went to Old Mission Peninsula, MI. We had a wonderful time! Old Mission has wonderful wineries for way less than Napa Valley, CA or Sonoma, WA. The views were gorgeous and the wine tastings were fun and delicious! It was a nice and adventurous way to end such a busy week.

Lastly, are there any other vendors that you LOVED and want to give a special shout out to?

I know this is our photographers blog but…I have to give the biggest shout out of the wedding to our photographer! She was beyond amazing. She was patient, sweet, SO accommodating! She was up for anything (even driving to Indy for photos :) She radiated love for what she was doing the entire time. When she showed up for the wedding day, I felt as though a friend had shown up to take photos! That alone made the day easier and more enjoyable I could not be happier to know such an amazing person and photographer!

I also have to say that we were incredibly blessed to have the vendors we had. They all did their part and were a kind of wonderful we didn’t expect.