“Everyday is Valentines Day when you’re in love with you best friend.”
👆🏻 This is a phrase Taylor and Lexi have used to describe their relationship over the years.
Talk about coincidence when they decided to host their intimate wedding in Springfield on Galentine’s Day / Valentine’s day weekend.
If you’ve looked around the blog- you know these two are not strangers to RMP. 🤍
Last spring we did their engagement session around downtown Springfield.
Needless to say I was thrilled when they came back to me for their elopement!!
Planning this Intimate Springfield Wedding
Though they originally intended to get married at the Sangamon County Courthouse, T&L came back to me in planning process after realizing how ugly the ceremony room was. They were curious to find another an alternate Springfield venue.
I realized there was a brand new fun, aesthetically pleasing local business that opened in Springfield. I did some research and came back to T&L with some ideas.
We decided on a new plan for their day:
- friend brunch / getting ready at their house
- wedding portraits & personal vows in the Illinois State Capitol Building
- intimate ceremony with family & friends at Vondra Social House
- leave for their long Valentine’s day weekend in NYC!!
This checked all their boxes- they wanted to hang out with their friends, have a very simple ceremony, have some really high end pictures, and spend their time together in New York City for a little mini moon.
Galentine’s themed getting ready party
Although the ceremony was to be short, Taylor and Lexi still asked some good friends to be in their wedding party. Everyone was invited to get ready with at their cute bungalow, which was decked out in Valentine’s Day decor.
When I arrived, Taylor was showing us that Lexi had surprised her with a homemade Justin Bieber music video. Lexi and her sister spent a few hours filming and putting it together, it was such a funny surprise.
Their friends / wedding party surprised L&T with a handmade scrapbook of photos from different times throughout their lives and handwritten letters to them.
The house was so full of people and love!!
Taylor is all about the details, and make sure the house was decked out! She ordered a lot of cute details from Etsy. The links to everything is at the bottom of this blog.
Yes this was a REAL cake!! Done by Incredibly Delicious.
Time for the first look!!
In October, I photographed Trevor and Calitin’s wedding at Lincoln Memorial Gardens. Trevor & Taylor are siblings! Taylor was a bridesmaid for her little brother’s wedding.
For T&C’s wedding I got to meet Taylor and Trevor’s family. So it was extra special to hang out with the Aker family again!!
Wedding Portraits at the Illinois State Capitol Building
After the first look we headed to the IL State Capitol Building for photos!!!
We ended photos with enough time for T&L to read private vows. They did not want to do that in front of everyone else (valid) so they opted to do it alone. It was a really sweet moment.
We took a few more photos and headed to Vondra for their intimate ceremony!!
Their Intimate Wedding at Vondra Social House in Springfield
We left the Capitol Building to meet friends and family at Vondra Social House for their intimate wedding ceremony. This was extra special, as Taylor’s brother Trevor, officiated!!
Once the ceremony was over, we did group photos, and then they changed into super cute, just married sweats, and drove to catch their flight to New York.
Taylor and Lexi had booked a Hudson riverboat cruise on Valentines Day in New York and their intimate wedding in Springfield was the perfect way to send them off.
It was so so fun to have all their loved ones there for photos too!!
If you’re wanting to plan something small like this- I would love to help! Fill out my contact form & tell me about your vision. 💌
Vendors
- florals: Peachmoon Florals in Springfield
- cake: Incredibly Delicious
- dress: Selkie
- suit: Generation Tux
- rings: Helzberg
- ceremony: Vondra Social House
Details / Favors
- Baby it’s you banner – FunCult Etsy
- Love, New York, Illinois State, Sending Love, Wedding & Halloween postcards – LouPaper Etsy
- Lottery Ticket Favors – SheilaKittsPaperie Etsy
- Custom matchboxes – PicturePerfectPapier Etsy
- Decor candles w/ funny sayings – LoomWicks Etsy
- Pin hand fans – liushuiyy Etsy
- Guest Book playing cards – laMoonStudio Etsy
- Temp tattoos – SocialBDesignCo Etsy
- Bridesmaid proposals – TheSpecialEditionCo Etsy
please let me help you plan your elopement!!
Tumble a little deeper down the blog hole:
9 Large Wedding Venues in Central Illinois That Aren’t Barns
Sunset LGBTQ+ Engagement Session
Elopement Portraits at the Illinois State Capitol
All love is welcome & celebrated here.
Rachael Marie Photography values inclusivity and will never discriminate against your gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, body type, or abilities. You are wonderful, beautiful, and loved here.
Worried about how I'll react to your weird family dynamics???
My friend, people do NOT scare me (thanks to 5 years in the classroom with middle schoolers ((yes, middle schoolers))).
Hi!! I'm Rachael! Former teacher turned photographer- here to guide you through planning your special day.
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