Kendra and Mike | Phipps Botanical Garden Wedding

“Sounds like you may just want to roll the dice!” I say to Kendra as she is checking the weather forecast in between getting ready stages on her wedding day. What started as a foreboding forecast of 90% chance of thunderstorms all day, slowly dwindled in percentage as the afternoon wore on. When your ceremony and reception are planned to be outdoors in the lovely gardens at Phipps, it may seem questionable to roll the dice and keep them outdoors instead of switching to the indoor rain plan. But when we looked outside we saw shining sun, and the forecast *just* took a 180-degree turn; there was a better chance of sun than rain. Kendra made the call. She decided to keep the original plan and have everything outdoors. It was the right thing to do. Especially if you have been dreaming of an outdoor garden wedding from day one.

The day could not have been more perfect. Kendra and Mike just radiate when they are around each other. They are so full of love and laughter, every stage of the day was light-hearted and magical. They found a way to make each other laugh in their vows, when taking pictures, when cutting their cake. It is a match made in musical heaven. Both Kendra and Mike love music, and they found meaningful ways to add fun musical touches into their day. Musicians played during the ceremony and reception. Mike’s brother is a phenomenal opera singer, and sang a lovely piece during the ceremony. During the reception, the video booth turned into a karaoke machine, and the entire dance floor was singing along together. How truly sweet and special!

As the clock struck 11PM, the reception ended, the band played their last song, and the skies opened up. It poured the first rainfall of the day. Everyone was still under the tent, safe and dry. Except for Barry and me, who were in the garden cleaning up equipment from Kendra and Mike’s end of the night shot. Good thing we are fast runners…

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