Alex & Lisa | Great Mills, Iowa | Duncan Ballroom

Alex & Lisa are two of the sweetest people you will ever meet. They are crazy about each other and their love is so evident. One of the things that really sweetened this wedding was how much they involved Lisa’s mother. You see, Lisa’s mother passed away from cancer 3 years ago. Her father and mother had a beautiful marriage and Lisa, as any bride would, wanted her mother to be with her on her wedding day. From the moment I arrived until the very end of the evening, her mother was included. She wore her mother’s jewelry; her father even gave her a locket that morning that carried her mother’s photo. She had a special locket on her bouquet that contained her mother’s and father’s images. Her first look was in her mother’s memorial garden where her ashes remain, and she posed with her mother’s wedding photo. The groom carried a special memorial bouquet down the aisle during the seating of the parents and placed it in a special spot just for her mother. The entire reception was decorated with photos of her mother and father. As a wedding photographer, I can honestly say that I have never experienced a more precious wedding, and as a mother myself, I have never been so touched by the love that this family still carries for this woman. To top it all off, the love between Alex and Lisa is truly precious. The way he looks at her and the way that she melts into him. The officiant went over a questionnaire that he had them fill out during premarital counseling, and I actually got teary eyed listening to their responses about their love for each other. I feel that with the loss of her mother, after watching her father fight desperately to save her, it sweetened their love all the more; they know how precious love is and how short time can be.