Taylor and Donnie vowed forever in an intimate ceremony at The State House Inn in Illinois Capitol just days before Christmas. They, along with Donnie’s little girl, Simi, spent the day roaming the downtown street of Springfield with me capturing the love in the crisp air!  The beautiful florals, elegant green hues and the hints of cranberry created the most breathtaking background for their ballroom nuptials.

I met Taylor over 5 years ago when we were college teammates. We spent hours on hours together and when I have the privilege to work with old friends I can’t help but reminisce! While there are too many stories to share, I remember one so clearly and I shared it with her the day after her weddings while we had breakfast (way earlier than any of us wanted to be awake) It was our freshman year and we were in Pensacola, FL for a tournament over spring break. We went to a tiny junior college but were fortunate enough to get a spending allowance while we were there. ALL WEEK we vowed to not buy sodas at restaurants, water only. We said we were trying to be healthy but I think the truth was that we wanted to save our money! On the last night, we splurged and ordered sweet teas from Hemingway’s. To this day, it was the best sweet tea I’ve ever had!

When they contacted me about photographing their wedding day I was so honored! And so relieved that I still had their day open!

I asked Donnie how he and Taylor met and I loved the simplicity of it. They had met at the gym. After a while, he decided to approach her and asked her to hang out. And like most love stories, the rest was history! Donnie, Taylor, and Simi are the most beautiful little family and I couldn’t be more happy for them and their new life together!

Enjoy looking through their collection of sneak peeks and leave them some love in the comments below!