Conner Photography - St. Louis Area Photographer for wedding

Last weekend our wedding was a bit of a drive away for us, but it was definitely a drive that was worth it! We were contacted by Stacie a few months ago about being the photographers for her and Cory’s wedding, and even though many getting-close-to-last minute inquiries are on days we are all ready booked, we happened to be free for this one. Their wedding and reception were happening near Columbia, MO, and even though it was a 2.5 hour drive each way, we love working out of town. I don’t quite think it was far enough away to call it a “destination wedding,” but it still counts as outside of the St. Louis area…I think. 😉

Because of the distance, we had never actually met with Stacie and Cory before the big, which always adds a little bit of nervousness about how we will all work together. But, there was nothing to fret in the least. Stacie and Corey were amazing. They were such a sweet and friendly pair that we felt right at home with them almost instantly. They were both a little nervous beforehand, as many people are, but the anticipation and excitement in both of them was so endearing. Cory was pacing a bit…Stacie was on the edge of tears regularly. Every time I see almost-brides or almost-grooms like that is always makes me smile…reminds me how it was for me on Shannon’s and my day. I instantly felt a kinship with Stacie, because she very much reminded me of a good friend of mine that was always like a little sister to me. But I digress…the ceremony was very nice. They did have one request that in all my years photographing was completely new. One of the groomsmen handed me this wall clock, and Cory told me that they wanted a photograph of the exact moment that they became husband and wife. It took a few minutes to figure out how we would make this (seeing as how this moment is accompanied by a certain kiss, which is a fairly important moment), but we made it work. Although, the time on the clock as in the photo, honestly, should probably be noted as “kiss +2 seconds.” Well, and that was the second one, actually. The pastor (Stacey’s father) actually announced them as husband and wife about 1/2 way through the ceremony. Just to be safe…we have the photos of both moments (+2 seconds, of course).

After the ceremony, we did the a bubble exit followed by family and other in-church formals. Miraculously, we actually were ahead of schedule by about 20 minutes (which almost never happens), so I was able to spend a little extra time with the ecstatic couple by themselves. I wanted to do some nice slow-exposure atmospheric photos in the sanctuary, and in my occasionally-over-artistic-nerdiness, this included blowing out the candles in the heart-shaped candle holders on the stage….each of which contained about 24 candles. Cory was a great sport and assisted me with the task. After blowing out a few, I realized that if I went that route I might end up passing out from lack of oxygen. So, I went for the tough-guy “pinch the wick” technique, and Cory followed suite. It was quite effective, although it did lead to getting quite a bit of wax on ourselves. But, it was definitely worth it…it yielded a few great photographs.

The rest of night went very well, and we had a wonderful time. Cory and Stacie are such a great couple, and it was so obvious that they were made for each other. We love our job…it’s always an honor to start out the day as hired strangers and end the day as part of someone’s most important day. Congrats again to Stacie and Cory! We know you will have an amazing journey together, and thank you for letting us share it with you. God Bless you both.

Stacie and Cory

wedding photography

Stacie and Cory Central Missouri Wedding