Erika and Conner had the most perfect Saturday in September for their modern Fort Wayne wedding at Union 12, where they pledged their lives before their loved ones. Their day was full of laughter, joy, and a surprise appearance from their puppies!
.jpg)
Erika and Conner first met over four years ago while Erika was living in Florida and Conner was visiting. They matched on a dating app, so they met up on a beach while he was on vacation. Once he headed back to Ohio, they continued to stay in touch through social media until Conner told her that he wanted to come visit her again, and they have been inseparable ever since.
After getting engaged in October, they quickly started wedding planning, and Erika found out her dream wedding venue wouldn’t be available for a wedding date until 2021. They didn’t want to wait that long to get married, but with COVID-19, Union 12 had a cancellation the weekend after they originally planned to get married and they quickly made a venue and date switch to have the wedding of their dreams.
Union 12 is such a stunning venue, with touches of rustic modern throughout all the spaces on their property. It is a custom designed and built venue, and I was so honored to get to photograph in such a beautiful space. Erika did an amazing job with the decor to accent the space with touches of mauve throughout the decor, place settings, and florals.
Erika and her bridesmaids started their day getting ready in the bridal party suite. As Erika finished up her makeup and got into her dress, it was so fun getting to be a part of watching the day become real in that moment for her. Tears welled in her eyes as her mom helped her into her dress, and she looked absolutely stunning! Conner surprised her by bringing their pups for a few photos, and they were able to hang out with Erika while she finished getting ready.
For their first look, Conner was waiting for Erika by the pond under the shade tree, and when he turned around and saw his gorgeous bride, he had tears in his eyes seeing her for the first time. After that, the day was filled with pure joy of getting to finally marry their best friend. Their ceremony was incredibly sweet, and like that, they were pronounced husband and wife!
I love when couples get a lot of built-in time to just relax and enjoy their wedding day. It seems funny to say that, but the wedding day goes by so quickly and the timeline can be so packed. I was so thankful that Erika and Conner had a lot of pockets of time to be able to escape back to the bridal party suite to just enjoy time with their friends on such a special day.
During the reception, Erika’s maid of honor Sabrina and Conner’s best man and brother Nick gave incredible toasts that had their guests laughing and crying throughout their speeches. When Erika and her father Glenn shared their first dance, I lost it! It was all I could do to hold it together, as Glenn cried while holding his only daughter on her wedding day.
Toward the end of the evening, we snuck Erika and Conner out for some fun sunset photos, my favorite part of the whole day. By this time, the day is winding down, couples have gotten to eat and drink and are married, and they can relax and enjoy some photos with their new spouse. Erika and Conner were such a dream to get to work with, and they looked absolutely stunning all day long. Both of them along with their families had the best hospitality and made sure we were completely taken care of throughout the day.
Erika and Conner, thank you so much for choosing me to photograph your amazing wedding day. It was such a joy and honor to be part of this milestone day in your lives, and I wish you both nothing but the best as you grow in your marriage and love for one another. Here’s to many happy years together! Enjoy your sneak peeks.
