Allie and Lorenzo! Indianapolis, Indiana Engagement Photography
You guys know that I have a studio now, right? Well, I do, and the last two years one of my studio sharers was Molly! She’s going to be a guest at Allie and Lorenzo’s wedding, so she passed my name along as a possible wedding photographer for them, and I’M SO EXCITED TO BE PHOTOGRAPHING THEM IN OCTOBER!
yay.
Thanks Molly!
I met up with Allie last winter, when we did a special shoot with her grandma, and Allie in her grandmothers wedding dress [guys, I did a sneak peek on instagram; it was SO delightful]. Chatting with Allie, I asked how grandma was doing, and she said she’ll be coming to the wedding [hooray!]
And as far as my first impression of Lorenzo being the engagement session, I’d say that Allie has chosen well in a life partner ;).
We wandered around Broad Ripple a bit, then we went to Holiday Park [where like, 800 other photographers were also grabbing that golden light]. Allie’s parents brought their doggy for some shots, and had a lovely time hanging out, getting to know each other, and making beautiful photos of them before they are husband and wife.
So yay for awesome hats. Yay for fall colors. Yay for cute doggies. Yay for fall weather. And YAY FOR LOVE!
Can’t wait for your wedding!
Cheers!
~Maike
Kristen and Omid! Indianapolis, Indiana Intimate Rooftop Wedding
“…I’ve looked forward to this day for years, And while all good days must end, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life, Side by side, with my best friend.” This is the last stanza from the poem that Omid wrote for me when he proposed :)
You guys have probably already seen my sneak peeks of this beautiful, small spectacularly intimate, delightful wedding. And I’m so excited to show you more. I was only with these 4 humans and one doggo for a couple hours, but those couple hours were SO delightful.
Back up, Kristen and Omid hired me right after the pandemic craze hit Indiana in the spring. It was at the point of life where we thought for sure everything SHOULD be back to normal by September.
Obviously, things aren’t quite back to normal yet, so as we inched closer and closer to their wedding date, they made the super hard decision to postpone inviting their friends and family out to celebrate their love with them.
BUT THEN…. *drum roll please*…. Kristen was like, “What if….” She told me they still thought they wanted to get married on their original date, but weren’t sure if they would do the Monument Circle like their original plan, or a park, or some other idea. I pitched the idea of me coming over to get photos of them getting ready, and maybe them helping each other get ready since it was going to be so small anyway.
And obviously, they went the rooftop wedding, which was SOOOO perfect for them. Turns out their apartment has a west facing rooftop area, accessed by their bedroom on the third floor, and it was PERFECT.
Some things about this wedding. Officiant/Omid’s best friend Phil, talked about how Omid is one of the best hosts ever, and I completely agree. From the moment I was wandering around outside trying to find the entrance to their apartment, Omid was SO kind and thoughtful and an exceptional host. Then, when it came time for the ceremony, Omid and Kristen ducked down in the line of the laptop camera, and took time to introduce everyone to each other that had gathered to be part of their ceremony virtually.
At one point, when we were chatting before the ceremony, I asked Kristen, since they had known each other since high school, if they per chance had gone to prom together. Her response was, “No. I wish. It would have been SO great.”
Daisy is the doggo/flower girl. How precious is she?
Farrah is the witness, and was looking out for me the entire time [before I had to say we needed to fix whatever, she was ON it].
It’s Persian culture, after your wedding vows, to feed each other a taste of honey, to start off your marriage with sweetness. How lovely is that?
So, was this what they initially had envisioned? No, I don’t think so. Was this so special and beautifully matched for these two? I don’t know them well, but from what I do know, I’d say “YES!”
Kristen and Omid, I’m so glad you found me, and hired me for your wedding! I love these images SO much, and I’m excited for next years shenanigans as well.
Cheers to beautiful, intimate, spectacular pandemic season weddings!
Cheers!
~Maike
Hair/Make Up : Meg Rubadue, Fox & Pearl Salon in Fountain Square (“she’s the best”)
Flowers : Emily, Blooms by Wildwood (“also would recommend!”)
Ceremony Venue : At our home on our deck <3
Brides Dress : BHLDN by Anthropologie
Bridesmaid Dress : : Lulu’s
BRIDE & GROOM Q&A:
Most memorable moment?
K: Our wedding plans changed several times this year because of all of the craziness that is 2020. When we finally decided to have a very small ceremony on our deck I wasn’t sure how it was all going to pull together, and if it was going to be as romantic and intimate as I had hoped. My favorite moment was walking out onto the deck and seeing Omid standing under the arbor. It was just a moment where I paused to take a mental snapshot because everything turned out better than I anticipated. It made me have a very real moment of being present where everything else disappeared, and I realized that I was finally getting to marry my best friend.
O: Having my best friend officiate our wedding and speak about us, reading our vows to one another, and saying our I Dos!!
Advice for future brides/grooms?
K: The smaller the wedding, the better. Even the smallest of weddings take a lot of coordination and organization, and if you’re planning your own wedding like we did, the fewer details you have to manage the more time you have to focus on how awesome of a day it really is.
O: Never let the wedding planning process overly strain your relationship. Planning weddings is inherently strenuous because its a big process and families are involved. However, you should always remember that the wedding is for you and your spouse, and your happiness and memories should take precedence.
Funniest memory?
K: The funniest memory was when Phil accidentally gave Omid a glass of simple syrup to drink instead of water. The look on Omid’s face when he realized he swallowed a mouthful of pure sugar water was absolutely hysterical (and kind of made me want to barf).
O: When our dog, Daisy, stood perfectly by us as we were saying our I Dos, almost as if she knew exactly what was going on.
If you could do it all over would you change anything?
K: Nope. I loved everything about it.
O: Nope!
Honeymoon?
Because of COVID, we decided not to take a honeymoon this year. Hopefully we’ll be able to go somewhere fun next year!
Any others vendors you want to give a shout out to?
You! You were so awesome to work with and made us feel really comfortable though neither of us have ever had professional photographs taken before. 10/10 would recommend! I also loved Michelle at City Nail Bar. She did an amazing job on my nails and gave them that little extra “something” that they needed :)
Aryan! Indianapolis, Indiana Newborn Session
“For all the things my hands have held the best by far is you.”
Welcome to the world Aryan! You guys, meet Aryan and Purva and Vivek! Babies are amazing. Baby Aryan was a champ for his session! He slept beautifully, only cried a little bit, and, if I do say so myself, photographed spectacularly.
I will say though, momma Purva and Grandma [Dadi (did I get it right?)], are the ones with the golden baby touch during the shoot.
Maybe you already know this, but babies, especially newborns, sort of do their own thing. Which means newborn sessions are a bit different than other family sessions. We basically schedule around them. If they’re not liking being on their stomach, we try to convince them with some shushing, and patting for a few minutes, but then we re-arrange and do something different. Same if they’re getting fussy, and need a new diaper or to take a snack break or just some rocking to get comfortable and sleepy again. We’re flexible and wait on them to be ready for their close up.
All that to say, as adults, we generally like having control, and newborn babies just sometimes take that control away, and we have to take a break, or do something a bit different, and that is TOTALLY okay.
So if you’re reading this, and looking at these delightful photos with Purva and Vivek’s little one, know that it took some time, and there were breaks, and EVERYTHING was totally fine. Don’t feel like you need to apologize or feel rushed during the session. Waiting for baby to be ready to go is definitely a part of a newborn session.
Also, Aryan’s grandparents were around, so we totally added them in for a few photos! How special, right? Also, if your grandma can make chi chai tea like Aryan’s grandma, she’s invited to all the photoshoots we do together :).
Thanks for welcoming me into your house guys! Your child is so delightful and I’m honored to have been a part in photographing him during his first weeks of life.
Cheers!
~Maike
*the above image, you guys, I’M OBSESSED! I just can’t. It’s so beautiful, and all the hands, and ugh. So good.
