From St. Louis to Chicago and Back Again

Erin and Matt live in Chicago, and she first found out about us through a mutual friend (thanks, Jen!). Because they were up there and we were down here, we handled all of our communications over email and phone. We did not actually meet her until a month or so before the wedding when her and her mother Joan came to the office for the pre-wedding meeting. When a mutual friend knows two other people pretty well, they usually are pretty good about knowing when these people will hit it off pretty well…this was definitely no exception. Once we sat down started chatting, we knew we were all going to get along very well. Erin and I had a ton of things in common (one big one being that she is a photographer herself), so it did not take long before we were rattling away on such various topics as music, art, and pinball. We met Matt on the day of the wedding, which we have not done in a long time. But, it worked out just fine…he was pretty comfortable with us right away (or, at least he seemed to be…heh).

We started the day at Erin’s parents’ house in Carondelet with her, her bridesmaids, and her family. They were having a great time laughing, listening to Wilco, and drinking Stag (the official beer of the Bauer family, I was told with extreme seriousness). We went from there to the ceremony which was just around the corner from the house. We headed to the beautiful Carondelet Park after the ceremony to do the photos after the ceremony, and it was again a perfect fall day with amazing colors. We spent about an hour there and headed back to the family house, where most of the wedding guests were having a pre-reception party. Everyone was eating and hanging out and just having a great time. One of the highlights was when all went next-door so Matt could regale everyone with him playing and singing “Tiny Dancer” on the neighbor’s piano. It was great, and everyone got into it. Another really funny moment was when we discovered that a guest who was sitting at our table for dinner had his own little cake. We found it a little odd, so we had to ask what it was all about. Apparently, he had made a bet with Erin about train schedules which he won. His reward? He got his own personal cake at the wedding. Erin picked the photo for the cake, which was him kissing a T-rex. She even came by to help him make the first cut in the cake…hilarious.

It was a great day, and we had a wonderful time with everyone. There is no substitute in life for great family and great friends, it was very clear that Matt and Erin have these in abundance. Thank you so much for trusting two people you had never met and having us along for your day!

Joel

Written by Joel Conner | St. Louis Wedding Photographer