Last October Heather and Nick had their Brookside Country Club Wedding on the most picture perfect October day!  Since they had their ceremony planned for outside all eyes were on the sky but the day was the absolute BEST for a wedding!  I’ve been doing this now for 11 years and it seems that mid-October has some kind of magic on its weekend days because it always seems that those are the best days I have all year long for a wedding.  Anyway, as you’ll see below, it was perfection.

What was also perfection was Heather and Nick themselves.  If you watch their video I’ve linked in the vendor list (do! it’s so fun!) you’ll see just how much these two were smiling all day.  Heather’s smile lit up the whole room and it was a joy to photograph!  Nick just kept giggling and smiling all day long as well.  They were an absolute joy to work with.

Finally their families were nothing short of amazing!  They were SO much fun and Heather’s Dad especially captured my heart as he reminded me a lot of my Dad (who also traded in the fancy shoes at my wedding for tennis shoes once the reception was underway).  I’m still smiling when writing this because they made me happy.

Thank you both so much for trusting me to photograph your beautiful day!

Bridal Gown: Maggie Sottero via Abbott’s Bridal & Formalwear / Cake: Cory Potts (Bride’s Brother!) / Ceremony & Reception: Brookside Country Club / DJ: Russell Sound Lab / Florist: Dougherty’s Flowers / Makeup: Makeup by Rachel Lynn / Videography: CMVideo (see their wedding video here!)

The guys all got ready in a room near the reception ballroom.  This little guy was SO DARN CUTE he stole the show all day long!

This is why you have a bridal party – someone is needed to help you get dressed!!

Heather dove into her dress and magically didn’t mess her hair up at all!

I wasn’t kidding when I said these two were grinning and giggling all day long!

Heather and Nick opted to not do a first look before their ceremony but Heather decided to do one with her Dad and it was the cutest EVER.

The light was AMAZING on one of the roads leading to Brookside and the ladies were game to walk a small bit to get beautiful portraits.

Not only do I love these gowns but the bouquets by Dougherty’s Flowers are AMAZING!

How cute is this flower girl? The cutest right?  Her flower crown is amazing!

Heather was a beautiful bride!  Again, check out that stunner of a bouquet!

The girls went in and got hidden away and the guys came out for their turn on the road.

I really really loved the blue suits with the red ties.  Such a good look!

These kiddos were SO DARN CUTE!

How pretty is this for an outdoor October wedding?

Heather and her Dad paused for a moment before finishing their walk to Nick to start the wedding ceremony.

Nick got a bit emotional when he saw finally locked eyes on Heather.

See what I mean about how beautiful of a day it was for an outdoor ceremony?  This spot is so pretty – you can see for a distance and all the leaves looked gorgeous as they were just starting to change!

They do!

From this moment on they are man and wife!  Congrats!

People often ask if I’ve ever photographed large bridal parties.  Of course I do!  While this isn’t the largest (that one was 16 on each side with 4 junior bridesmaids and a TON of kiddos) this is on the larger side.  Not a problem!

One thing that was nice about being able to get their bridal party photos out of the way early was that after a few quick full bridal party photos we were able to spend the rest of the time just doing couple portraits while the bridal party celebrated in the cocktail hour.

The light was gorgeous!

Nick is an excellent dipper!  All night long he kept dipping and kissing Heather and I was all about it!

Their reception was set up so beautifully!

One of my favorite things about Brookside Country Club weddings is that there is a lot of outside space where guests can go and get away from the noise inside if they want to visit with one another or just enjoy the night air.  I’ve yet to attend a wedding here where there weren’t at least 20-30 people outside at various points in the evening!

Heather and Nick had a cigar bar set up near the firepit and it was a huge hit!

Inside the ballroom was stunning but first I have to show off this awesome seating chart!  So creative and fun!

Inside the decorations reflected their navy and cranberry red theme with a few other pops of color.

I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS CAKE!  Not only because it’s beautiful but because Heather’s BROTHER made it AND the macarons!  He had the perfect ones on the cake and more back with the cookie table.  I did sneak one and OMG IT WAS SO GOOD.

See what I mean about the dipping and kissing??  Nick is a pro!

After that amazing entrance they got on with the toasts – there were quite a few but they were all lovely and perfect!

Their cake cutting was… eventful!  Heather mostly missed Nick but he didn’t miss at all.  I’m still giggling.

Of COURSE at the end of their first dance they had to bust out another perfect dip-and-kiss!

Their parent dances were super sweet and full of smiles and love.

Russell Sound Lab kept the dance floor hopping all night long!  Even Heather’s Grandma got in on the action and danced with Heather for a bit!

This reception is brought to you by Bud Light!  Just kidding but the photo bomb of that bottle cracks me up but I loved this photo too much to let that product sponsorship get in the way!

I used my phone case for this photo and I loved how it turned out – isn’t Heather’s ring beautiful??