Sarah and Jack are absolutely lovely humans who were surrounded by adoring friends and family on their unseasonably warm February wedding day. The bride’s mom had been married in a blizzard almost 30 years ago leading her to by wedding insurance, probably insuring that her daughter’s wedding day would be gorgeous.

The bride and groom met at a party while attending Ball State and while on a cruise Jack asked Sarah to marry him with a Tiffany & Co ring. Months of planning led to this day at the elegant Ritz Charles in Carmel, Indiana.

The wedding party got ready at Hyatt Place. The hotel is so close to the venue that they share a parking lot. We started the day photographing the details while the bridal party laughed and chatted in matching pajamas while getting hair and makeup ready. The bride’s fragrance of choice for her wedding day was “I Do” by Anthropologie.

The groom’s details are important too. He pinned this photo of his late grandfather into his suit so that he would carry him with him on this very special day.

While the Ritz Charles offers multiple beautiful ballrooms for a wedding day celebration the couple chose the chapel for their ceremony and the stunning Garden Pavilion for their reception. The Garden Pavillion allows for so much natural light, it’s a photographer’s dream.

Sarah and Jack wanted to see each other before the ceremony so we had a first look on the patio outside of the pavillion. The photos tell the story better than any words I could write.

Because the couple chose to do a first look we had time to do the bridal party photos before the ceremony.

The ceremony was held in the chapel and the officiant was the bride’s cousin. During the nuptuials the couple chose to have a ring warming ceremony. The wedding rings were passed between the members of the wedding party, as they held them in their hands they imbue them with their love and blessings for the couple so that when the couple puts them on they will carry the positive energy of their loved ones with them.

After the ceremony we took a few photos with the couple.

We came into the garden pavillion for the first dance, cake cutting and dinner.

The parent dances.

Speeches by the maid of honor and the best man.

The couple chose to have an anniversary dance, this is a tradition where couples of all ages are brought to the dance floor. As music plays the DJ dismisses couples from the dance floor based on the length of time they have been married until only the couple married the longest remains dancing.

We left as the bride and groom celebrated on the dance floor before leaving for their honeymoon cruise the next day.

Sarah and Jack’s wedding day was made possible by this incredible vendor team:

• Ritz Charles provided the venue, catering and cake.
• The fabulous Corinne Keller at Altard Weddings provided planning and day of coordination.
• Florals were provided by Gillespie Florist.
• Brian Jackson was the DJ.
• Hair and make-up were provided by Beauty by Macy.
• The dress was from Belalis Bridal.