traveluncommon

Another thank you today goes out to Lisa & Chris! This couple and their entire group of family & friends were simply fantastic. Hospitable, warm, easy-going and very friendly! It was a great wedding weekend and I am thankful for the experience!For me the wedding weekend started off at the hotel in Downtown Dubuque Friday afternoon when the bus came to pick us all up for the trip to Darlington, Wisconsin for the rehearsal ceremony. After an hour-long drive and some great conversation with Dale (the bus driver & Green Bay Packers fan) & Chris’ parents we arrived at the church. The rehearsal went surprisingly fast and we were soon back on the bus to head to our next destination: Shullsburg, Wisconsin. The home of Shullsburg Cheese and the Brewster Cafe where the rehearsal dinner took place. Although I was invited to have dinner with the guests, Dale & I grabbed a bite in the next room and make some new friends out of the Brewster’s staff including the owner who makes a mean cheeseburger! After dinner we all hopped on the bus and Dale took a sleepy group of passengers back to Dubuque! Once at the hotel the wedding party, Chris’ dad and a few other guests headed to the hotel lounge for some video golf, cigars, billiards and great conversation to round out the evening! The next day I skipped the bus and drove back to Darlington for the wedding. Everything went smoothly and my couple was married! After the guests had left and a casual 45 minute formal session (felt like less) we stopped for some outdoor portraits before heading back to Dubuque. The reception was at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. I found the staff to be very friendly and accomodating (not that I asked for much, but, you can tell these things fairly quickly …whether or not the staff wants to be there). It was fun to explore the museum, see the animals and do my part to document Lisa & Chris’ wedding weekend! Kudos also goes out to the DJ whose name escapes me and whose card I lost somewhere in my car! Once I dig it out I’ll post his info because I really enjoyed the way he & his assistant worked! By 11:PM the reception was a bit thinner but still going strong when I called it a night, said goodbye and hit the road for the 90 minute trip back home. Although I was not contracted to do so I found myself wishing I had booked the room for a second night so I could have refreshed and headed out with some of the group who were going to visit other Dubuque night spots after the scheduled 11:30 reception end. It would have also been nice to have been there the next morning for gifts and brunch at the hotel. Experiences like this past weekend are what confirm my desire to exclusively shoot entire “wedding weekends” as opposed to “wedding days”. It’s a chance to get to make new friends, help my new friends, shoot lots of pictures and present a comprehensive set of images that represents the entire wedding weekend!