Amber & Sam | Concordia Lakefront Wedding

*Special thanks to Chris O'Connor from O'Connor Photography for letting me photograph Amber and Sam's wedding along side him. Chris, thanks so much for your kindness and generosity, I appreciate it more than you know.

Knowing where to start Amber and Sam's story is a tricky thing,  they've practically always been together and I've pretty much witnessed their whole entire relationship, so summarizing just how amazing they are is practically impossible.

Amber has been my lifelong friend and I've always admired her gentle and patient spirit, she's extraordinarily kind and has a special way of making everyone feel loved and valued. Sam on the other hand is kind of a goofball and kind of a little crazy, BUT he has the same way of making people feel loved and welcomed - they bring out the best in eachother.

It was a cloudy morning but all signs of gray disappeared as the day progressed - we were left with nothing but blue skies, fluffy clouds, and the the type of wind that makes your hat fly off - perfection. Friends and family came from far and near to celebrate with Amber and Sam and it was a truly happy occasion.

I have so much I want to say about their wedding day, but somehow whenever I let my fingers hit the keys of my laptop it comes out all wrong. I'm currently sitting here at my desk and spinning around in my office chair trying to put into words just how beautiful June 5th was. Somewhere around rotation 75 I figure I'll never be able to do it justice - it's like one of those stories that's just not as good unless you were there. My sincere hope is that these photographs help to narrate a little bit of all the love and joy that was present on their wedding day.

Amber and Sam, Thank you. Thank you for allowing me be a part of your special day, thank you for encouraging me and for putting up with all my dorky tendencies,  but most of all thank you for standing for truth and being an example of what a godly relationship looks like, I'm grateful for you both. 

Much love, 

Carley

Amber's Grandmother passed away when Amber was really young but she left Amber this Cross necklace for her to have on her wedding day and she carried it wrapped around her bouquet. Such a special heirloom.

I'm not a very emotional person but when I saw Amber in her dress for the first time I had one of those moments where my nose gets all crinkly and my eyes get a little watery - I get that way when I see people win olympic gold medals, watch the opening sequence of "Up" and when I see people radiating pure joy. . . All the feels.

The two sides of Sam.

Love, love, love this!

These twin flower girls - cannot. get. over. them!

Amber, you are simply stunning, oh my word!

I always try to work against what I know so I purposely take at least one blurry image because they invoke a dream like vibe. This shot was taken several minutes before Amber walked down the aisle. It's imperfect and different from what I normally do, but that's why I like it.

Guys, this view <3

This is my favorite part of of every wedding.

Disclaimer: I take zero credit for the following image and would like to let it be known that it was not my idea. All I know is that I heard my name being yelled and looked over to see this. . .

Those shades though, classic.

This is Sam's Grandpa's car, I'm guessing  that it's an Impala or something cool like that, but that's not important, what's important is that Sam drove Amber to Prom in it back when they we're in highschool, who would've thought that a few years he'd drive her in it on their wedding day.

At the end of the day my hair was a complete wind blown mess, I was sunburned, sweaty,  and  exhausted, but I wouldn't have changed a thing because nothing else makes me feel quite as alive or as happy as photography does. 

Leave some love for Amber and Sam in the comments below!

Xoxo

-Carley