Ali & Sam | Pier Wisconsin Tent Wedding & Cathedral of St John Ceremony Photographer

Ali & Sam are the kind of people who carry their emotions close to the surface. They are big-hearted and do things passionately – and my new favorite phrase totally applies to them: Happiness Finds Happy People and man oh man – these two are happy. I adore how that happiness is so obvious in these photos, how it seeks out and wraps up their friends, how it includes everyone around them, how it makes everything a little shinier, brighter, warmer, lovelier. They’ve been together a long time and they know each other through and through, but still, I got the sense they couldn’t have ever imagined how much in love they would feel on their wedding day. Ali’s parents and Sam’s mom saw that too, their siblings talked about it and I felt it. At the end of the day I also felt rather like family; I cried with them when Sam’s brother talked about their dad so recently passed and I marveled with the bridesmaids at the custom gown Ali wore – made for her by Sam’s mom, no less. I clapped when they entered their reception like star basketball players on an NBA court and I prayed for them when the priest at the Cathedral blessed their new union. I did not, however partake in the traditional brandy toast offered by Ali’s dad (which as the photos will show turns out to have been a smart taste decision) but I did laugh at the collective gasp and rush to water glasses that followed. I loved their style, their horse and carriage transportation choice, their ability to be in the moment, their laughter and sense of tradition. And, very simply, that’s all because to know Ali & Sam is to know what real happiness is.