Meghan & Austin’s Awesome Outdoor Wedding at Century Barn in Wisconsin!

When I first met with Meghan she kept saying that she wanted a ton of candids and natural photos. I hear this at most wedding consults that I do, and luckily I love candids and natural photos too! I have to say that I think this is pretty much why people hire me. I don’t like stale photography and I see the whole wedding day as one of the most emotion filled days of your life. For Meghan and Austin’s wedding, I was lucky to have Sharon from SV Heart photography 2nd shoot with me for the day. I LOVE her and her work. We had too much fun at this wedding! Meghan and Austin’s beautiful wedding lent itself easily to candids and natural photos, including those below. I hope you’ll agree! Without further ado..

Meghan and Austin’s Wedding in their own words

Where was your wedding?

Both our ceremony and reception were at Century Barn in Mt. Horeb, WI.

What were your deciding factors in choosing your venue(s)?

We wanted to be outside, so we could feel summer elements.
We wanted the wedding in the country without all the noise and busyness of the city.
Affordability. With Century Barn, we liked the option of being able to bring in your own alcohol, catering company, and flowers. This made it much cheaper.

What was the most enjoyable part of planning your wedding?

Meeting my photographer! Also, setting up the day before and watching the wedding all come together.

What was your greatest challenge in planning your wedding? What did you feel least prepared for?

There is sooo much out there about weddings, that it can be overwhelming when searching for invites, ideas, etc. Also keeping to a budget was hard because we wanted to make our wedding awesome and personal, and that can cost money. It was also a challenge to make sure that our DJ understood and supported everything that we wanted.

If you wrote personal vows, will you share what they were?

It was hard enough getting out the standard vows during the ceremony due to nerves and emotions. We chose to share our personal vows to each other when it was just the two of us after the wedding.

If you had an unlimited budget or simply could redo your wedding day, would you have done anything differently?

I would have a life coach there to tell me not to drink as much and to remind me to take a chill pill!

I think this picture perfectly captures the beauty of their outdoor wedding, and their love for each other!

What memory stands out most from your wedding day?

The ceremony and the beautiful sunset.

Which moment(s) are/were you most excited to see in your wedding photos?

Austin and I right after the wedding, the sunset shots, close family photos.

I love hugs, even photographing them!

What resources helped you in planning your wedding?

Friends and family helped. We also checked out a few wedding checklists.

Do you have any advice for people planning a wedding?

Think about the big picture. Don’t get worked up about the little details. Remember that your wedding day is only 12 or so hours. Make them all count. Take it all in and enjoy the moment. Try not to let anything get you upset.

Nikki Hanson is my friend and she is so so fun and an absolutely amazing photographer! She could not photograph this wedding because she was the maid of honor. So glad she trusted me to photograph her best friend’s wedding. That is a big deal to me!

Any funny moments to share?

It was a very warm day, and I used a hunting knife to cut out the netting in my dress because I was SO hot.

How did you calm your wedding day nerves?

I had a big breakfast and was able to enjoy all the steps leading up to the big walk down the aisle. After that I just remembered to smile and eat dinner!