A Jaunt Over to Lake Geneva
Nestled on the Western tip of Wisconsin's Lake Geneva sits a romantic slice of rest and relaxation called The Abbey Resort. The hotel and spa grounds extend right up to the lakefront, providing guests access to the water and generous amounts of green space. Pulling in on this wedding day revealed the lure of this spot, as the morning of the wedding held a vintage wooden boat festival right in the resort's own marina. The entire parking lot was littered with gorgeous old school speedboats putting in before they are set up for viewing. I already knew it was going to be a day full of charm right then and there. The ladies were spread out in their getting ready room, with 2 meeting rooms at their disposal to lay out dresses, set up the hair and makeup corner, and a table full of breakfast accommodations. The gents were, and true to what I've seen of the Midwest fashion, stuffed into a smaller hotel room with the essentials package: a cooler of drinks, a table full of sub sandwiches, and golf on the television.
Bucket List Moments Between the Forest and Lakefront
The bride decided on a simple first look with the groom at a small gazebo overlooking The Abbey Resort's waterfront and marina. Gentle laps of water against shore provided a soundtrack for the couple to get lost in and take a breath together before their ceremony. The ceremony space itself was a (second!) gazebo on the back end of the property that backed up to a dense stand of old growth trees. As a photographer always looking for the photojournalistic touches, the long shadows and dappled nature of the Midwestern afternoon glow in the ceremony space gave a lovely nudge into atmospheric territory. The gazebo itself, where the setup for the unity candle ceremony was laid out, had a white rose and hydrangea floral accent that complemented the moss covered shingles and cottage-y vibe. This whole space seemed to be the best kept secret for a natural, calm feeling wedding. The bustle of the party could wait while two lives joined together amongst the coolness of the grass, the whisper of foliage, and kisses of warm sunlight. No better or worse than being wed in the middle of Milwaukee, just a different pace.
A Minefield of Dappled Light and Unexpected Visitors
During the ceremony I was a touch worried about that dappled light, as hot spots can spotlight random people and things that aren't the focus of the image, but this is one of the few times where the tree cover gave beautiful swathes of light and shadow instead of polka dotting the faces of guests and the wedding party.
Side note- this is the first time I had a snake slither down the center aisle and through the seating. I didn't catch a photo of the snake, and waited patiently for some sort of reaction from guests as our visitor slithered over and around shoes and seats. I had that photojournalistic sixth sense that reminded me of waiting for the right moment during street photography or project work sparking in the forefront of my mind. Surely, something was about to erupt in the crowd. To my (small) disappointment, none such reaction came and I assume the snake crept on out of the wedding area. The things they don't prepare you for with an outdoor wedding!
And then the second "first" for the day- during the outdoor reception the bride surprised our groom with a special musical treat. No, not the live jazz trio vamping on "All The Things You Are." Apparently the groom had always talked about seeing a live bagpipe player, and in a grand fashion that bucket list item had been set to be checked off. In a roaring wall of sound and pageantry, the bagpiper played his way into cocktail hour and then marched the entire party into the spacious reception hall. Between this personal touch from bride to groom and the unplanned visitor in the ceremony, I think this day wrapped up to be a beautiful example of how the little additions transform a wedding day from cookie cutter to one of a kind without need for a huge production.
If you want to see more weddings with that special touch of greenery and dappled light, look at this multicultural wedding at the Garfield Park Conservatory!
