Sammi and Dan! Indianapolis, Indiana Wedding Photography

“That’s when she stepped out of the ether
Right when I was ready for a dance
She said “I don’t know what I am doing, either
But I know when to take a chance” – Dawes

When I pulled up to the wedding venue [shoutout to White Willow Farms!] Sammi and Dan were both outside chatting with, I think Sammi’s dad.  Very chill, very go with the flow, very low stress.  And guys, that pretty much set the stage for the entire wedding.  These two just wanted to be husband and wife!  That was the goal.

Sammi was perhaps the most laid back bride I’ve ever had, and Dan is just delightful.

After their first look, they wanted to do personalized wedding vows, just the two of them and their parents and the officiant and a select few other important people.  This was SO beautiful.  My February wedding at The Speak Easy did something like this too, and I’m here for it.  I LOVE first looks, and this just adds in this beautiful, intimate, sacred space into the day that I’m obsessed with.

This wedding was HOT, and Leah and I wore masks pretty consistently the entire day [we totally rocked that look with some pretty XXOO masks I found at a Indiana Etsy shop].  But the sky was SO blue, and had magnificent puffy clouds.  The corn was SO green, and definitely higher than the ‘knee high’ thing.  And there were horses in the field nearby.

Things I loved about this wedding: the chillest bride and groom ever, the super delightful bridal party and how they went with my strange ideas [I mean, we did jumping photos during their engagement session, so we had to make a FEW strange poses, obviously], Sammi’s dad’s accent [he’s Australian], Sammi’s brother, the man of honor, helping her get her shoes on, the hand written notes to not only their family [they shared them with them after their personal vows], but to every guest who came to their wedding [I’ve never seen this done but LOVE it].

You two are so so delightful.  I’m so grateful you hired me to photograph your beautiful wedding day and I’m glad we’re real life friends too.

Cheers!
~Maike

Hair/Make Up : Hanna Oden

Flowers : The Flower Boys (we did their workshop, so they taught us how to do the flowers and Sammi, her mom, Dan’s mom, and 2 bridesmaids created the pieces under their direction)

Ceremony/Reception Venue : White Willow Farms

Music : Jared Wade Entertainment

Cake/Cupcakes : Taylors Bakery (cake) & Furaha, A Joyful Cakery (cupcakes)

Catering : City Barbeque

Brides Dress : Blue House Bridal

Brides Shoes : Rothy’s

Bridesmaids Dresses : David’s Bridal

MUSIC:
bride & groom first dance : Never Gonna Say Goodbye, Dawes
father & daughter dance : Father & Daughter, Paul Simon
mother & son dance : 93 Million Miles, Jason Mraz

BRIDE & GROOM Q&A:

Most memorable moment?

S: Dan and I did a private vow exchange with just our immediate families prior to the official ceremony. I absolutely loved exchanging our own written vows and having a little bit of private time together before the ceremony.

D: The first look. After the craziness of the week, seeing each other for the first time after getting ready and knowing it was real was my most memorable moment.

Advice for future brides/grooms?

S: It will all come together in the end! Even with the uncertainty of a global pandemic, our day ended up being exactly what we wanted it to be. Relax and try to soak in as much as you can in the days leading up to the wedding and the day of.

D: Take time to enjoy it. My big take away from the wedding was how much I was able to enjoy the day.

Funniest memory?

S: My brother’s toast…he can be a bit of a jokester, so I was very curious about what he was going to say. He nailed the humor and managed to throw in a bit of sentiment too.

D: Watching the dance floor jam up during Gangnam Style and realizing all of our friends know the dance.

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

S: Nope!

D: No!

Honeymoon?

We are delaying our Hawaiian honeymoon for a year due to COVID. We went to Beulah, Michigan for several days after the wedding and loved it! We spent time hiking Sleeping Bear Dunes, biking, exploring beach towns along the M-22, and relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.

Any others vendors you want to give a shout out to?

You! We have loved working with you and have been so impressed with all of our photos so far. We can’t wait to see the rest!

White Willow Farms was absolutely wonderful to work with. The beauty of the venue really made the wedding!

DJ Jared Wade was a great master of ceremonies and was extremely thorough in making sure he had a plan in place that fit with our vision.

We also loved working with Something Wonderful, who did the wedding dress alterations.