Get ready for me to gush about Jackie and Alan’s wedding day at Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery, because that’s what this post is going to be. Their day was one of my favorite weddings ever; I can always tell it’s a fun wedding when I have the thought “I wish I was a guest at this wedding” — and I had this thought at least five times during their cocktail hour alone!!

Jackie and Alan were already married back in the fall (they did a surprise elopement dinner with their friends, how cool is that??) so this day was all about spending time with their loved ones and doing things the way they wanted. They chose not to have a bridal party, so Jackie got ready in the morning with her mom and the vibe was so relaxed and chill when I walked in; one of my favorite photos of the day was her face when she looked in the mirror after getting her makeup done too. Alan was also popping in and out of the hotel room to get ready himself, and then they did their first look right in the room! I loved seeing his reaction of first seeing her with a wedding-day face of makeup done and veil on, sans dress, in addition to seeing her fully ready during their first look.

We took the first set of bride + groom photos around downtown Iowa City and on the Pentacrest where my favorite purple bushes on campus were in full bloom just in time for us! After that, we headed to Jackie and Alan’s house a few miles away, where we took photos in their backyard where their own apple tree was blossoming. We also had to get Susan (their cat!) in some photos just like we did for their engagement session. The beautiful part of them already being married was that instead of taking all of these photos during the cocktail hour, they got to mingle with their guests outside at Cedar Ridge on the most beautiful spring day of the year.

My three favorite moments of the day were:

Hanging out with Jackie while she got ready and seeing her reaction to her makeup for the first time / seeing Alan’s reaction to the same (this is kind of two but shhh)
Jackie created the most beautiful display of old family photos where she had a photo of everyone in the family on their own wedding days; siblings, her and Alan on their elopement day, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and even great-great grandparents. The moment that Alan’s parents and grandparents saw the display was amazing.
The anniversary dance, where Alan’s grandparents who have been married for over 60 years were out there the longest.

** Honorable mention was when I got to try their dessert; instead of cake, they had the best cheesecake ever (I had two slices, I won’t lie) with a full cheesecake bar of toppings. It was DELICIOUS.

To wrap up this blog post, I have to share the text Jackie sent me this morning:

“I have to tell you, he grumbled so much about having a professional photographer. He told me as long as I thought it was a good idea, it was fine. He has really, really changed his tune after seeing the final photos. He absolutely loves them.”

A happy groom is a happy Marissa, so this text made my day!! Scroll down to see my favorites and the amazing vendors from the day

Hotel / Getting Ready Space: Hotel Vetro

Makeup Artist: Tricia Lake

Venue: Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery

Dress: Vintage Chic Bridal Boutique

Wedding Planner: White Ivy Events

Cheesecake: Costco (had to!)