Jill & Derek | Decatur, IL Wedding Photographer

Fabulous.

That is the one word I would use to describe Derek & Jill’s wedding day! The forecast was calling for rain all day…and it never rained a drop! It was the perfect day. It was perfect in every single detail. They worked so hard on all of the wedding planning and it definitely paid off!

I met up with Jill & the girls at the hair salon & then followed them around through the day. Will, my second shooter, met up with the guys at the church. We then all headed over to the Millikin homestead for their first look. The leaves were so beautiful & their may have been a little leaf fight involved while we were there! 🙂 We then went back to the church for the family photos & then the ceremony. The pastor did such an amazing job of making the ceremony so personal for the two of them. I think everyone was a bit teary eyed! After the ceremony, Jill & Derek loaded up into their stretch VW Beetle (LOVED this car) and we headed out for some photos of just the two of them. I was so grateful for the time with just the two of them…it allowed us to get a lot of beautiful photos! Jill & Derek know how to work it for the camera! 🙂 After rocking out their portraits we then went to Millikin for their reception. They decorated it in a Hollywood theme & it was hands down one of the most fun receptions I’ve ever been to! Everyone loved thier candy bar & their guests had so much fun at the crazy booth!

I had the hardest time narrowing down which photos to put on the blog…so I opted to do a slideshow, too!

Before I get to the slideshow, I wanted to share with you the vendors that Jill & Derek used to make their day so wonderful! (thanks, Jill, for taking the time to answer these!)

Wedding planner–none…my mom and I did everything ourselves!!
Hair–Lindsey Sykes-Smith at Signature Salon (Molly and Jenny helped with the bridesmaids’ hair)
Makeup–Jodi Manley, a family friend, did mine and Molly at Signature did the bridesmaids’
Florist–Judy DeBouck, owner of Judith Marie (She was the florist and decorator!)
Church–First Christian Church, Decatur, IL
Reception–Richards Treat University Center, Millikin University
Cake–Heavenly Delight Cakes, Neoga, IL
Invitations/Programs–Chrissy Spurlock at Giggles, downtown Decatur
Dress–Maggie Sottero, purchased at Michelle’s Bridal in Urbana, IL
Bridesmaids’ dresses–David’s Bridal
Tuxes–Groom’s tux rented from Formally Modern in Chicago, IL & All other tuxes rented from The Brass Horn, Decatur, IL
Musicians–family friends sang at the reception, Jodi Manley and Chris Riley; Julie McClarey played the piano
DJ–DJ David Lee with Party Time Productions
First dance song–Sea of Love by Cat Power

What will we remember the most from our wedding day? The amazing time we had at our reception (i.e. Crazy Booth and CandyBar!) with all our family and close friends there to celebrate…and trudging through who knows what to get some awesome pictures of Derek and I after the ceremony. 🙂 Also, we will never forget the extremely touching and personal ceremony that our pastor performed.

Funniest memory from our wedding day? For every wedding that our pastor performs, he takes the groom aside a few minutes before the start of the ceremony and hands the groom a handful of kleenex for the groom to keep in his pocket in case the bride becomes emotional and needs to wipe away tears. Well, for our wedding our pastor did the same thing with Derek. Little did the pastor know what the kleenex would be used for…his tears, not mine! During the pastor’s message, he began to cry, (which is very uncommon). In a moment of brilliance, Derek reached into his pocket, pulled out the kleenex and passed them to our pastor. It definitely lightened the mood, but will be remembered forever as a very sweet and tender, yet funny moment.

What was our favorite detail from the wedding day? The socks that the groom, groomsmen and dads wore!

Any advice we would give to our future brides and grooms? Don’t get caught up in all the small details of wedding planning AND don’t stress on the day of the wedding. Who cares what the weather will be like or if the bridesmaids’ bouquets begin to fall apart. What will happen will happen, yet you will still be married at the end of the day…no matter what. 🙂 (This was the best advice I followed on my wedding day!)

Would we change anything if we did it all over again? No. We wouldn’t change a single thing. Everything, (including the weather), turned out perfectly!

Where did you go on your honeymoon? We snuck down to St. Louis for a quick 3-day getaway immediately following the wedding. In December, we are heading to Negril Beach, Jamaica for the “real” honeymoon. 🙂

Enjoy the slideshow from their day!!!