Barn at Schwinn Produce Farm Happy Candid Surprise Wedding

Joel + Jessica :: An Unexpected Ambush Wedding

Mike + Julie 09.05.2017 Weddings 0

What do yard games, a WWE Championship belt, the words “ambush” and “wedding”, and the movie Beverly Hills Cop have in common?

If you didn’t know the answer was Joel + Jessica’s wedding day, you might want to work on your deductive reasoning skills 😉 Surely, after seeing their Engagement Session you knew something epic was coming, right?

This was one of THE most fun weddings to document! Why?? Because it left us feeling like we’d won at Wedding Bingo (or Yahtzee if you like boring games like that). Don’t believe us? Let us explain.

We love real. We know, we know… not a grammatically correct sentence… So you could look at it as “We love real [fill in the blank].” We love real moments… we love real emotion… real people… when it comes to weddings, we love real. (Stay tuned for a fun blog post on this topic soon). This is why we instantly fell in love with Joel + Jessica and their vision for their day.

When Jessica first contacted us, one of her only questions for us was was how good we were at documenting people playing yard games. Ummm, action shots are what we were made for! We noticed she was focused on people and not things, that was so refreshing to hear! And come on, who doesn’t love a good giant game of Jenga or Bocce Ball? As if this wasn’t enough, they were also quick to tell us they didn’t want a lot of posed photos, but more candid. Yessssssss… Oh, and they were going to surprise their family and closest friends with an “ambush” wedding ceremony. A wha?? (More on that later, we promise.) We knew pretty quickly we were going to be devastated if we didn’t photograph this wedding!

Before we get to the ambush ceremony we’ve got a pretty good list of things to explain. The details that go into a wedding day are important. Couples spend a lot of time considering decor, dresses, flowers, etc. for their day. Details are what make a day really come together. It’s great when these details have special importance to the bride and groom. We LOVE it when they have a dash of the unique! Unique details were the cornerstone for Joel and Jessica’s day. Below you’ll see a picture of Jessica wearing a WWE Championship wrestling belt. Why? She and her dad LOVED watching wrestling together when she was younger. So, of course, there was no other option than to adorn that WWE for that special first look moment with her dad. For two who love to laugh together, they are equally sentimental and that belt sure did help keep them giggling at such a tender moment. Then, during the Father-Daughter dance, in the middle of their heartfelt dance together we saw her whisper to her dad, “You ready?” as they each threw on sunglasses and the same Detroit Lions jackets that Eddie Murphy wore in Beverly Hills Cop. Again, their favorite movie to watch together. Oh, oh, oh. Be on the lookout for 2 life-sized Joel and Jessica cut outs. Seems like the perfect touch for a photobooth, right?

So a bit more about the surprise ceremony. Family and Jessica’s besties were all present for what was supposed to be a same-day rehearsal for the “ceremony” happening later. The only souls to know about this ruse were the Joel and Jessica, the officiant… and a couple of lucky photographers. Holy crap you guys. The butterflies in our stomachs were off the charts. We can’t even fathom Joel and Jessica’s jitters! As you can imagine, the shock and joy that overwhelmed everyone when Jessica announced the plan was EPIC! Then, Jessica’s dad walked her down the aisle, a close friend conducted a short and heartfelt ceremony… but, no first kiss. They wanted to save that for the rest of their family and friends who were arriving later. How cool is that?!

Gahhhhhh! There is so much to love about this couple. They are two people who truly get each other and compliment each other in some really cool and beautiful ways. Joel and Jessica: we have loved telling this chapter of your story and are so thankful our paths crossed! Your day is one we’ll never forget. Thank you for making us part of it! P. S. Thank you for the pizza selfie!

Blessings~MIKE + JULIE