KELLI AND ANDREW {KALAMAZOO MICHIGAN WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER LOFT 310 KANLEY CHAPEL}

Kelli and Andrew’s wedding at Kanley Chapel on Western Michigan University’s campus was just perfect…..and their reception at LOFT 310 was beautiful and turned into one fun party!!  So many smiles, hugs and laughs all day. Kelli and Andrew have such a sweet love story and I asked them to share it for this blog post of their wedding. Who doesn’t love reading a good love story!! So enjoy looking through the images and you read their story. I am so thrilled to have been chosen to be their wedding photographer, I wish them the very best in Minnesota and hope they look me up when those gorgeous babies come in the future!! 🙂

• Please tell us your love story….how did you meet? Did you date right away? How long have you been together?
  Andrew and I met over 7 years ago when we were juniors in High School. We went to Silver Bells in the City with a group of friends and spent most of the night talking and getting to know each other. After a few months of friendship, Andrew asked me to go out just the two of us. He surprised me by taking me sledding and having banana splits at Big Boy (still one of our favorite things to do). After that night, we started dating and began our journey of long distance. He spent 4 years on a basketball scholarship in Illinois and I stayed in Michigan for nursing school. After graduating, Andrew took a job in Minneapolis adding another year and a half to our time apart. These years have been difficult but filled with lots of memories including trips to Chicago, basketball games, hours of train rides, overnight Uhaul trips, countless dinner and movie dates, and falling more and more in love with each other. We always said that if we could make it though this we could make it through anything. 7 years later, we are getting ready to spend the rest of our lives never having to be long distance again.I feel so blessed to have Andrew as my partner in life. He is more than I could have ever wanted in a husband and I thank God each day that he brought us together.

• Was there an official proposal? 
  Because of the number of miles that separated us; my visits with Kelli often coincided with holiday’s or days off from school. And in March of 2015, it was no different, Kelli had spring break while I was in my first year as a Universal Forest Products Account Manager. As we had done so many years in the past for spring break, we planned a trip somewhere special … in 2014 we headed south to Nashville, but in 2015 we looked in state to the mountains in northern Minnesota at Lutsen. Neither of us had ever skied before, so we were both looking forward to the adventure. When I picked up Kelli at the airport on Thursday; little did the love of my life know that this “adventure” had much more in store than just watching me fail miserably on the slopes. After a few blunders performed by yours truly; we had a blast skiing. With a wonderful dinner and a full moon to follow, I was able to persuade Kelli out on the lake shores of Lake Superior. With it being a bit of a cold night, I held Kelli tight and told her that I love her more than life itself. I told her that she is going to make a wonderful mother one day and an even better partner in life. And really, what more could a guy ask for, right? I got down on one knee and asked Kelli to marry me. Well, the rest is history!
• What characteristic to you love most about each other?
  What I love most about Andrew is his drive and determination in everything he does. He never does anything halfway, whether its work, school, basketball, or loving me, he gives it all he has. He inspires me to really live life to the fullest and go for my dreams. Kelli is by far my better half. She is so kind, thoughtful, and considerate of others and I have always admired her for that. Kelli truly cares for the people in her life and I am no different. I love how much she loves me.

Instead of a “first look” they did a “blind prayer”….holding hands not seeing each other and praying together before they said their vows. I LOVE this, and so wish I did something like this when I got married….what a wonderful sacred memory for the two of them.

•  What was the best memory of your wedding day for each of you?
  Our wedding was the absolute best day of our lives! From getting ready, to the ceremony, and the reception it was everything we hoped for. Kelli: My favorite memory was when we read our personal vows to each other. I had been a little nervous to speak in front of all of those people but when the moment came, it was as if we were the only people in the room. It felt like it was just the two of us, in this perfect moment of pledging our lives to each other. I had a few moments of tears but made it through without a problem. His vows made me feel so loved and so happy to be standing there with the man of my dreams. I am so blessed to call him my husband:) Andrew: The wedding weekend was by far the best weekend of my life. Everyone made it such a special day for Kelli and I. To say that I have one memory that could be deemed my favorite memory of the wedding day would be impossible. I could say it was seeing Kelli for the first time as her dad walked her down the isle; I could say it was our first kiss; or I even could say it was our first dance together and all of these would be true. But honestly, my favorite memory from the wedding was the collection of smiles that I saw on Kelli’s face all day. Being able to see how happy she was that day was by far the best memory a guy could ask for.

• What is your biggest accomplishment together so far? 
  Our biggest accomplishment in our relationship so far has been staying together through everything over the past 7.5 years. We were high school sweethearts and realized that we were going to have to be apart for a while. We always said that if it is meant to be, then it will be, and we will do everything we can to make it work. And we did:) After 4 years separated by college in two different states, and then another 2 years of Andrew moving to Minnesota for work, we made it! We have been together through thick and thin and couldn’t be happier to finally have our home together.
  A special memory I have is when Andrew told me that he loved me. We had only been dating for 3 months but we both knew that we loved each other. Andrew is the most romantic man I have ever met, and of course he wanted to make this moment special. He called me at midnight and said that he was outside of my house. He was standing in the road with a bouquet of flowers and the biggest smile on his face. He finally said he loved me and I was happy to say that I loved him too. It was a perfect moment.

• Please list the top three priorities in your life as a couple together now. Things you will strive for together each day….
  1. To always have God at the center of our marriage. We want to grow in our relationship with each other while also growing in our faith.
  2. Constant communication
  3. To be partners in life, and putting each other and our marriage above all else.

• Any advice to other bride and grooms out there?
  Our advice would be to really be in the moment. This is the best advice that we were given before our big day and we would relay it to all brides and grooms. It can be easy to get swept away with all of the planning and stress but you don’t want to look back and say you missed out on really enjoying the day. Things will fall into place and the most important thing isn’t the food, or the DJ, or the programs, it’s that you are marrying your best friend.