Wedding Spotlight - Erin & Mikie

 

One crazy day in my life I walked into freshman year of high school and met a boy soon to be my best friend for the next few years in American History class. Good old Glen Este High School (may it rest in peace). That was... about 15 years ago give or take. Ugh I feel old now. Anywho... this crazy nerdy hilarious individual soon built a little birds nest of affection in my cold little emo heart. We were the best of friends. Fast forward to 2017. Mikie and I still had a friendly facebook conversation every now and again and I was happy to see he had gotten engaged to a woman I could only describe as incredible.

Erin contacted me about a month before the wedding date. I had offered Mikie a discounted boudoir session for his soon to be bride but never spoke about shooting their wedding. She told me she had a friend planning to shoot the wedding but wanted me there to work it as well. I was thrilled to say the least. 

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I got to the getting ready space early. Erin was inside a quaint house owned by her family and her girls were getting makeup slathered on them. We all laughed and talked as I got some gorgeous getting ready shots. Erin seemed like she had her nerves in check for the most part but her eyes gave away her anxious excitement from time to time. It was the cutest thing. About half an hour into it, I decided to walk next door to where the guys were.

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Mikie and his boys were playing pool, drinking aged bourbon (or whiskey I know nothing of the difference), and having a relaxing boys day it seemed. Erin's son Cooper ran around with the big boys being about as adorable as they come. You could see he idolized his soon to be bonus dad. There was so much adoration in that child's smile and the happiness in the room was palpable. I took some shots with my camera and then made fun of the groom a bit (as usual with the long time friendship) and made my way back to the main house. 

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I gathered up the girls and we headed to the back area of the house to another building. A funeral parlor owned by Erin's family. It was... creepy as all get out... I'm not going to lie. But it made for some gorgeous photos. The open spaces and old feel of the building were beautiful and almost made me forget it was a funeral home. Until one of the bridesmaids asked if I wanted to see where they embalmed people... nope... I'm good right here thanks. Erin made it fun though and I'm pretty outgoing so aside from the cold chills of ghosts walking around helping (duh) it was actually a very pretty place. 

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The ceremony and reception were at Pattison Park in Batavia, OH. Everything was perfect. The weather was gorgeous and the venue was small enough to be intimate and large enough to be accommodating to the whole guest list. My buddy from high school was teary eyed as his immaculate bride walked down the aisle. They were a perfect pair together standing at the gazebo. You could see the world go fuzzy around them as they stared into each others eyes. It was beautiful. Yes, I cried just a little bit. 

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The whole day was amazing. Bridal portraits at sunset, fun at the reception, Cooper stealing the spotlight during the first dance... I can't say enough how much I loved being a part of their wedding day. 

Now I have another great friend. Erin is one of the most genuinely sweet and funny people I have ever met. I adore her, cooper, and Mikie. Their family is what most wish they could build. Congratulations Erin and Mikie. Love you both!!