They got Married at the Cider Gallery in Lawrence, KS ⋆ Award Winning Kansas City Photographer

At the last moment, Adrienne asked me to accompany her to a wedding taking place in Lawrence the last weekend of May. Since I graduated from KU a second generation jawhawk- I am very familiar with Lawrence & love a reason to spend the day there. As with most of her weddings, Adrienne was excited for months leading up to the big day. But this one was just a little different… Adrienne met Allie and John at the very beginning of their courtship through her clients (now friends), the fabulous Gates/Calderon clan. Before she actually met the pair, she’d heard was how kind and beautiful Allie was while John was known to her as a witty but charming multi-media artist. Leading up to their engagement session, Adrienne was a little nervous about photographing another artist. But very quickly she realized John is a pretty hilarious guy, and Allie was truly just as sweet and kind as everyone had claimed. Their session was fun and they made it easy to create beautiful images. Fabulously fun couples in love make for great time AND amazing images!

Now we all knew that Allie she was attempting to pull off this amazing wedding at a new venue without a planner- which is NOT for the faint of heart! However Allie’s planning put some wedding planners to shame. If we could, we’d share her spreadsheet that laid out every vendor, their contact information and a schedule of the wedding weekend. It was functional and beautiful! Not only did Allie plan the whole thing, but she was at the Cider Gallery first thing in the morning to execute most of it herself! She planned her own perfect day, and it was just that- perfection.

One of our favorite moments from the day happened at the beginning of the ceremony while Allie was being escorted down the isle by her father. As they walked in, Allie’s gorgeous embroidered and beaded veil caught on the hardwood floor!! Allie’s reaction, captured in some of the images below, seemed to like a signal for her to mentally transition from wedding planner to bride. It was like we could see it happening – she smiled her beautiful smile, her shoulders relaxed… Joy spread across her face. Allie’s future mother-in-law, Kathleen, picked up her veil and carried it down the remainder of the aisle. A genuine, unplanned happy accident. When Allie laughed, you could hear a sigh of relief from the crowd- everyone relaxed & laughter erupted.

The whole day was just so sophisticated and warm and lovely. From the white twinkle lights donning a huge tree in the courtyard where everyone gathered for cocktails, to the charming photos of Allie and John’s pup that graced every reception table, everything was so thoughtful. John’s artwork hung throughout the Gallery. Friends and family laughed and danced and toasted the happy couple. Allie and John’s day couldn’t have been better. We were honored to be there to capture it in images. Thank you for including us in your day, Mr. and Mrs. Sebelius!