Destination wedding: Small town Illinois! | Cleveland Wedding Photographer | Scott Shaw Photo

Ellen and Seth’s Wonderful Wedding

What a nice little town this sweet couple chose to live their lives and Ellen teaches math at the local high school. When I drove to the city limits and saw the city limits sign saying “St. Anne population 1300” I thought the choices might be limited. While scouting around I was very happy to see the Coke mural on the side of the town store. I went inside and found they did have some vintage Coke for a photo I wanted to do later. I also found some great metal buildings with lots of character.

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Ellen and Seth’s faith and kindness are obvious the moment you meet them.

We talked on the phone beforehand and I felt like I’d known Ellen for years.
It was such a comfortable conversation. While I didn’t know her, I did know her father,
Charlie. We went to college together and he called to say he wanted the best wedding
photographer there was and I was the one. He let me know how much he loved his daughter
and that he wanted the best for her always. As a father I totally understood that.

It’s great when people understand the value of great photography.
The common spiel is when the flowers are dried up, the dress is put away, the food eaten,
etc. the photography is what you will have to relive the memories of the day. And to share
with friends and family that weren’t able to be there or even born yet. I have to admit it’s
accurate-not that I’m biased toward the visual document I would provide or anything!

Just imagine one day showing your photos to your children
or grandchildren and having them be amazed
at how young you looked back then!

I love being a wedding photographer
and knowing that I am there
to document the beginning of a new family.

Now on to the rest of the photos!

Ellen wore her mother Karla’s dress with just a few modificiations,
mostly around the shoulder area.

This pearl necklace is over 75 years old and was worn at the wedding of Ellen’s great
grandmother and other women in the family over the years. I love it
when there are traditions like this at a wedding.

Mother Karla was finding it difficult to clasp so father Charlie came in to help.

Next up was sister Theresa who found success!

The family’s faith is very important to them
and Charlie prayed with the ladies before the wedding.

Meanwhile Seth was getting ready with his best man, Caleb at the First Baptist Church of St. Anne.

Love this moment of dad looking on just before the ceremony starts.

Seth’s reaction at first seeing Ellen was such an emotional moment.

Seth’s siblings Hannah and Jeremy sang the “Marriage Prayer” by John Waller.

Fathers Charlie and Tim have been important in the couple’s lives and together
they prayed a blessing over the marriage.

This first kiss was a bit longer than most I see. I love when that happens!

As a wedding photographer being part of quiet moments is such a special thing.
Ellen and Seth stole another kiss before greeting their wedding guests.

A friend’s MG replica made for a great getaway car.

After the family portraits we were off to explore the village of St. Anne.
It was founded in 1850 by a French Canadian Roman Catholic priest
(that later converted to Protestantism) and friend of Abraham Lincoln by the name of Charles Chiniquy.

As I said I love old buildings where time has created a patina
that you can’t fake. The green on this one was amazing.

I loved the industrial look of the nets and tubing and trucks at the
Douglas Net Company in St. Anne so we did some photos there as well.

One of my favorite things to do is find unique locations for photos.
I love the challenge of working to find graphic backdrops
that aren’t like what many people shoot.
There is nothing wrong with gazebos and brick walls of course but
I like to expand the choices whenever possible.

I often hear from bridal parties that they have been in so many weddings where the
wedding photographers had them all do the same thing
and they appreciate my different outlook on the photography.

The cake topper was from Seth’s grandparents wedding in 1963. His parents used it
and now Seth and Ellen were using it. Isn’t it so classic?

The couple had plenty of games and fun in store for the reception at the
Kankakee Civic Auditorium next to the Kankakee Historical Society.

Instead of clanking against glasses to make the couple kiss
they chose something unique.
Guests would come up and pick a dare to get the end result.

Friend Katie did some push ups.

Bridesmaids Hannah and Crystal did the “Hokey Pokey”.

Don’t forget Ellen is a teacher so we had to get something with this old stone area at the Historical Society.

The garter was placed on a football and helped it soar over those trying to gain a height advantage.

Is the Shoe Game a midwestern thing? It’s funny to see this in action.
They swapped one shoe each, someone asks questions and to answer the bride
and groom hold up the shoe of the new spouse or their own shoe.

They called it “Who Dun It?” and some of the questions were
“Who has jumped off a bridge?”, “Who is a super big Star Trek fan?”
and “Who dented his/her parents care with a golf ball?”.
I filled out the paper and think I was about fifty percent correct.