On the very last day of 2016, one of my favorite gals in the whole world married the father of her beautiful baby girl and the love of her life! We all gathered that morning at the Dayton Memorial Church for her early afternoon winter wedding. The church was decorated from top to bottom with candles, wreaths, pine trees, and poinsettias! Love and holiday cheer were definitely in the air! And lucky for us, the weather was cooperating! We didn’t see any snow that day, but we did see sunshine! And that’s a trade off I’d take any day of the year!

During Marisa & Matt’s ceremony, I couldn’t help but tear up at the sight of her in her wedding dress, especially when her best friend Gabby (who came all the way from North Carolina!) sang “A Thousand Years” to Marisa and Matt! And then of course I teared up again when her brother Nate played them an original guitar piece! I was a little worried that all of my crying would get in the way of taking pictures! It wasn’t just me though! There wasn’t a dry eye in the entire church. But, as they walked up the isle together, finally as husband and wife, I couldn’t have been smiling more!

After their afternoon reception, the three of us went to this beautiful little field out in the country for their newlywed portraits! This was absolutely my favorite part of their wedding day! They finally got to be alone with each other, the sun was shining, and Matt finally got to act like the goofball that he is, which only made Marisa show off her amazing smile even more!
Marisa & Matt, your New Year started off the best way imaginable! I love you both SO much. You are both wonderful parents to your baby girl and I can’t wait to see your family grow!