Indianapolis couple Amy & Devin are MARRIED! These two were wed a few days ago over the weekend in Southwest Michigan (in St. Joe, MI) at The Veranda at Lake Michigan! We’ve been getting to know Amy & the love story of these two for 8 months since January/ winter of the 2021 Global Pandemic! Amy is a lawyer down in Indianapolis and we were able to Zoom video chat with her (with a cardboard cutout of Devin in the background) in early winter and we chatted about wedding plans, ideas, how the two of them love going to major league baseball games in Chicago & Cincinnati, how she and Devin during the 2020 Pandemic loved driving a few hours up from Indianapolis to St. Joe, Michigan’s beaches to be able to unwind (telling us that his mom & brother live there & which their favorite beaches are), and when/ if all of our parents had been vaccinated yet within that first month of vaccination roll-outs! Due to how rapidly everything has changed and evolved this year you’d think we video chatted about this YEARS ago-! Luckily we were all able to get vaccinated this winter & spring (as did most of their guests), so their 2021 wedding didn’t have to change dates at all and they were able to stick with their original date-! (This was exciting to say the least)! Without further adieu, let’s start their wedding day flashback-!
Though Amy’s family lives in Nebraska, some of Devin’s family lives in Elkhart, IN near us, and they live in Indianapolis, these two opted to have their wedding in their happy place (and where Devin’s mom & brother live): St. Joe, Michigan by the beaches of Lake Michigan (at The Veranda at the Whitcomb)! Amy & Devin have been together for 7.5 years and got engaged a couple years ago on an adventure to the Grand Canyon & Las Vegas in 2019, so they were more than ready to get married after years of being engaged (and opting out of trying to have a wedding in late summer 2020). On the day of their wedding this weekend these two got ready separately: Amy in an AirBnB in Benton Harbor and Devin in a hotel in St. Joe, Michigan! When we arrived Amy had already had her hair professionally done and was starting her makeup, so we began with photographing her (before heading out to capture photos of her dress outside)!
Devin was set to head to the hotel an hour later, so Jason began his day photographing their wedding invitations and their rings in the AirBnB before heading to the hotel to capture Devin & his groomsmen getting ready!
Amy had a few bridesmaids & they and her moms were amazingly helpful tweaking logistics with the bus & flowers throughout the afternoon while Amy got her hair & makeup done!
Over at the hotel Devin & his groomsmen arrived about an hour later than planned (due to some suit issues/ fiascos caused by the suit company messing up multiple orders/ sizes), so everyone had to get ready extremely quickly before prepping Devin to head out to his First Look with Amy at the beach close to their wedding venue!
All of the bridesmaids all wore matching zip-ups and enjoyed a bit of wine before Amy’s initial preparations were ready! She and her mom Zoomed Amy’s grandma who is in her 90s to see her on Amy’s wedding day as well.
Devin quickly got dressed so he could head over to his First Look ASAP!
Back at the AirBnB Amy’s mom helped Amy get into her wedding dress! The dress looked lovely and her mom continued on helping her get her necklace & bracelet on. Her bridesmaids helped her get her shoes on too and even held a mirror up so that she could put her earrings on!
The final touch to Amy’s prep was getting her veil on and her bridesmaids once again did a fabulous job!
Amy partook in a sweet First Look with her dad, then he drove us over to the beach for Amy & Devin’s pre-ceremony First Look on the dunes at the beach of Lake Michigan (by their wedding venue)!
We had pre-scouted spots for them, so Devin was up in his place out on top of the dunes awaiting Amy and (after removing her shoes) she headed out to surprise him! Amy tapped on Devin’s shoulder and these two had their big First Look reveal!
Once wrapped up at the beach (also taking ALL of their bridal party portraits & wedding portraits), we all headed a minute back up to their wedding venue!
Once there we noticed that most guests were seated at the ceremony out on the rooftop & the bridal party lined up on the steps up to the roof.
Once the time came Devin then made his way up the aisle with his dad and brother (both groomsmen)!
And then it was time! Amy headed up the aisle with her dad to greet Devin under a flower arch there on the roof looking out at Lake Michigan!
Devin is a bit shy and doesn’t like being the center of attention, but he was beaming when he saw Amy!
These two had a relatively short ceremony, but they still had all the trimmings of a proper wedding ceremony!
Soon it was time to exchange vows and these two had each other laughing and tearing up throughout them.
Once the vows were over these two exchanged rings and….
…like that they were married! These two had their First Kiss and headed down the aisle a married couple after 7.5 years together! Once the ceremony was over these two headed down the steps and right out of the building & into Devin’s convertible!
They drove around the block a few times to the cheers of their guests, then headed back up to the roof for their group Family Portraits while the rest of their guests headed downstairs to the indoor-outdoor Cocktail Hour! ((They had chosen their venue for Covid safety because their reception (though covered) was almost fully outdoors with the venue not having walls & being more of a patio outside on the first floor))!
We captured all of their family group photos for them up at their ceremony location/ on the 2nd floor of their venue i.e. the roof, then released all of their immediate family members for Cocktail Hour!
We also made sure to capture some of just the two of them before they were more than ready to get out of the sun on this summer day!
Earlier in afternoon we had already captured their Bridal Party Portraits just a minute away down the hill on the beach/ dunes/ lighthouse of Lake Michigan, so we’ll share those here!
Amy & Devin formally each had 2 Bridal Party members, but also each had one honorary member as well (so 6 total)!
Sadly Devin’s Best Man contracted Covid-19 just 4 days before their wedding, so he couldn’t make it at all. Instead Devin’s dad stood in as Best Man and they also brought along a cardboard cutout of Devin’s best friend’s head to pay homage to his buddy/ original Best Man!
Devin’s dad was a wonderful addition to the bridal party and we were so happy to have him! After we wrapped up the bridal party portraits, we captured some fun requested photos of the bridesmaids running through the flocks of seagulls, then we let them get back into the bus!
We had also captured Amy & Devin’s newlywed portraits earlier in the afternoon, so we’ll again share those here!
We started with these two up on the sand dunes enjoying the 77 degree summer day! These two were good sports as we were not able to find any shade for them to stand in at that time of day (though we did provide them with a ton of shade from our reflectors that we held over them at many different points).
Though we didn’t get a ton of time for photos of just these two newlyweds, we loved the moments we got to photograph just these two together up on the sand dunes, beach, and by the lighthouse there just a minute from their venue!
Once we wrapped up photos of them on the dunes, we captured some final portraits of them down by the lighthouse on the beach!
Here we mainly captured photos of the two of them separately, then we let them go head back to the bus for air conditioning and the quick 1 minute ride up the hill back to their venue!
While we were off taking portraits of these two, their guests were on the 1st floor of their venue and outside enjoying Cocktail Hour!
We love how wonderful & safe their whole wedding day felt with everything pretty much being outdoors with the wall-less venue, ceremony outside, & portraits outside! It was one of the most outdoor receptions we’ve ever photographed in over a decade as well (as it was more opened than the giant tent receptions).
At their reception these two also included a candy bar, photobooth, and more! The kids loved grabbing some candy from the candy booth during Cocktail Hour for sure!
Soon enough after Cocktail Hour it was time for their wedding reception! The bridal party was announced onto the dance floor & then Devin & Amy took the stage!
These two headed to their table immediately after and it was time for Amy’s dad to greet the guests! Amy’s dad did a great job greeting all of their wedding guests and told some great stories about Amy! He had Amy tearing up, Devin & Amy laughing, and did a great job welcoming everyone to the reception!
Next up as salads were served Amy’s Maid of Honor and then Devin’s brother gave their speeches/ toasts! Amy’s Maid of Honor told heartfelt stories of Amy and of how she & Devin were a great match and Devin’s brother gave a short, sweet toast in the place of Devin’s missing Best Man!
After the speeches the rest of dinner was served!
Once finished with dinner Amy & Devin headed around quickly to table greet their guests!
After some table greeting these two secretly & quietly cut their cake! Since Devin doesn’t love being the center of attention they opted to not bring the cake out to the middle of the dance floor, rather cut their cake on the dessert table behind the DJ. Devin got the last laugh by smearing frosting on Amy’s nose, then these two had a sweet kiss.
Following cake cutting these two enjoyed their First Dance during sunset/ dusk!
After their First Dance Amy then enjoyed her Father-Daughter dance with her dad (who seemed to have a great time enjoying this dance with his daughter). Devin & his mom followed with their Mother-Son dance and Devin had his mom cracking up in between hugs!
With that the formal events of their wedding day were over and Open Dance began!
These two had a Money Dance competition early within Open Dance and we’re still not sure who won (we think it’s both of them)!
Guests enjoyed their little Photobooth, their candy station with locally made candies, their Late Night Snack of popcorn & pies and cakes, and outdoor games out on the grassy patio!
Folks enjoyed Open Dance all through the night!
Outside in the garden area folks enjoyed cornhole, jenga, and more as well! These two even had wedding day coloring books for the kids!
Everyone got down on the dancefloor and Devin requested a good dance to The Chicken Dance (wherein all of their guests circled around them and danced in a circle)!
It seemed like everyone made their way to the dancefloor at some point in the night!
Earlier in the day & at the end of the night we’d captured many photos of their rings together and we always like to close out the Wedding Teasers blog with those, so enjoy!
Congratulations to you two on your wedding and start to your marriage, Amy & Devin! These two headed out on their honeymoon a few days after their wedding TODAY, so we hope you two are enjoying your cruise & travels in GREECE tonight & throughout the next 4 or 5 days-! We hope you two get a lot of relaxation on your honeymoon this week after the hectic wedding planning, wedding weekend, and Pandemic in general-! We’ll continue editing your wedding along with others over the next month & will send you along the Proofs gallery in a month, so enjoy these Wedding Teasers in the meantime!