Ashley & Samuel’s Autumn Prophetstown State Park wedding was truly memorable and extremely special to me. These two have been friends of mine for over 10 years, so when Samuel finally popped the question after so many years together, it was obvious that there wedding would be amazing. They kept their engagement a secret from their family for a few months in order to really enjoy that time together as fiancés, just the two of them (something I would totally consider doing)! And when they asked me to shoot their autumn Prophetstown State Park wedding, it was a no brainer. But it was especially wonderful because they asked me to shoot it in a more photojournalistic style with a more moody edit. Something I had been considering doing for yeeeeeears.

We started their day with a morning hike with their closest friends and family members. That’s something I’ve always wanted for my own wedding, and to see it happen in reality was wonderful! It’s such a calm way to start your wedding day; feeling the wind and the warmth of the sunshine, hearing the birds sing and the rustling of the trees… truly a magical beginning to any day of the year. Before we knew it, we were headed back to their West Lafayette downtown airbnb to begin hair and make up.

Ashley had the most gorgeous color scheme for her autumn Prohpetstown State Park wedding, but not only that, she had the bair hair & make up artist in town: Hali Kanitz! We’ve all been friends since freshman year of high school, so once again, Ashley sprinkled some extra special magic into her wedding day. Speaking of magic, let’s just to Ashley & Samuel’s ceremony.

I arrived a little bit early to photograph their reception details. The wind had picked up quite a bit and the moon was fully visible even before the sun set. All of this made for a beautiful combination for their ceremony. In their vows, they spoke of their past, present, and future. They shared both laughs and tears during this time. And before too long, they shared their kiss as husband and wife. And the rest is history, immortalized through photographs.