Stephanie and Ryan’s Indiana Summer Backyard Wedding last month was one I won’t soon forget. That weekend, Tanner and I photographed two weddings, which definitely has potentially to be a little exhausting. But their summer backyard wedding was the exact opposite! Their day was so comfortable and relaxed thanks to their friends and family! Especially when Steph didn’t have to tell any of them to bring their chairs to the reception! Seriously, that was a proud moment! The first time I met them in person was at their France Park Engagement Session just 3 weeks before their wedding! Cutting it close, I know!! But that just meant that they had all the poses and cues fresh in their minds!

Steph & Ryan met while they were working at separate banks! Steph was the “floater”, which is basically an employee that works at multiple branches when needed, when she was assigned to work at Ryan’s branch. She still remembers the first time he walked through the door. Commence the butterflies. For the longest time, she was beyond nervous to even talk to her future groom. And after getting to know Ryan, I can kind of see why! He’s an intimidating dude! He’s got a strong personality at first, but as soon as you talk to him, you realize how sweet and funny he is! For Steph, it really was love at first sight!

After three years of dating, they took their next step! Ryan and Steph are super adventurous people! Particularly, the LOVE scuba diving! They took a vacation to Honduras while they were still in the boyfriend/girlfriend stage…. and Steph actually had no idea that Ryan was going to propose. She thought it was just a causal trip to Honduras! Haha! During one of their scuba expeditions, Ryan popped the question while they were UNDERWATER! I’m sure Steph shot right up from excitement! Fast forward 3 years from that and we are here on this gorgeous day in Indiana, where it all began!

The day started in a Ryan’s beautiful childhood home where hair and make-up was done! The guys hung out at Harry’s chocolate shop that morning, and the girls had a quiet, relaxing morning. I could hear the birds chirping as I hung the dress on the window, the warm breeze was rustling the leaves outside, and Ryan’s mother was rocking her grandson to sleep as I photographed the bridal details. It was the calmest morning I’ve ever experienced.

And then the guys came back from Harry’s and it was like doing a complete 180! All of a sudden, we can’t find the marriage license, Ryan’s shirt needed ironed, groomsmen were running back and forth trying to find anything and everything, the reception still needed set up, and the list goes on! As hectic as their morning became, I think it was fitting for them. It was a pretty good testament to their family and personalities!

As we got closer and closer to the first look, I could tell Ryan was getting more and more stressed out. We just needed to get him outside to see his bride and everything would be smooth sailing after that! And smooth sailing it was. Right before we got Ryan in place, he asked if I could grab him some tissues. Let me tell you, that really caught me off guard. I did not peg Ryan to be a groom that would cry at all during their day! I ran upstairs, grabbed the whole box of tissues, and asked Steph how she was doing one last time. With their closest friends and family watching from the balcony, it was time for their first look. That moment was by far one of the sweetest moments we’ve ever photographed!

Like I said before… it would be smooth sailing after the first look. And smooth sailing is really a huge understatement! Their entire day was completely laid back. With weddings, a lot of times the day can just feel “go, go, go” when all you want to do is take a step back and relax. Not only did Steph & Ryan have a those quiet moments to themselves, but they didn’t even need them! Their entire wedding was basically just one big relaxed moment after the next! And their summer backyard wedding was one of our favorites for that very reason.

Stephanie & Ryan, your friends and family are VERY lucky to have you in their lives. You are two of the most genuine and down to earth people that we’ve ever met, and your summer backyard wedding reflected that to a T! We are so beyond happy that we got to be there to witness the beginning of your next big adventure. Thank you a million times over for being so incredible. We hope this new adventure together gets better each and every day! Your laughter is contagious and we absolutely loved being surrounded by it on your wedding day! Cheers to many, many, MANY more decades of love and happiness!