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January 7, 2014

Kristin + David | A Winter Wonderland Wedding | Gurnee, IL

Every bride dreams of their wedding day being magical.  And when Kristin told me they had set their wedding date for January 4 up in Gurnee, IL, both of us agreed that snow falling during the day would be amazing!  And as we watched the weather and saw snow here and there we kept getting excited but didn’t want to get our hopes set too high.

Well, the weather kept getting colder and colder and the night before the wedding we were a little worried about just how cold it was going to be and how strongly the wind would be blowing.  However, when we woke up and the day progressed, the snow wasn’t just falling, it was dotting the air around us with big puffy and slowly falling flakes… all day long.  To say it was beautiful would be an understatement.

Kristin’s excitement for the day seemed to feed everyone around her.  No matter what the weather was doing, she and David were getting married and nothing else mattered!  As her bridesmaids buttoned up her dress and placed her veil in her gorgeous dark hair she looked out the window and couldn’t believe how beautiful it was!  Her eyes lit up more as I told her it was time to go see David for their First Look… cold or not, her excitement and joy kept her warm just long enough to fall into the arms of her groom for him to keep her warm the rest of the day.

Kristin and David, it was a JOY to spend your wedding day with you, to share your excitement, your tears of happiness and having our dreams come true for such a BEAUTIFUL winter wedding!  We love you both and are excited for this journey you now get to walk together.  Thank you for letting us capture your first day as husband and wife!

I used to not be a lace kind of girl… but in the last few years it has won me over.  And the lace sleeves on Kristin’s dress were to die for!

As was her bridal bouquet!

David is a pretty subdued guy and many told us that it’s tough to get him to smile for photos.
But as you’ll see, when Kristin is around, he can’t get the smile off his face.

Kristin, you’re not just beautiful, you are STUNNING.

And then it was time…

As I was walking Kristin to meet David, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and excitement pouring out of her.  My tears started to come and I hugged her because she was about to see her best friend and spend the rest of the day with this man who soon would become her husband!

It was one of the sweetest and most beautiful First Looks I’ve ever had the privilege to capture.

Simply put, you two make my heart melt.

Ben got SO MANY amazing shots!!  And this is one of my favorites.

The black suits, the red, the gold… it all just popped with the snow falling around them!

Oh these girls… they were so brave to face this cold and never complained once!!  Thank you guys for braving the snow because it was totally worth it!

I love this one that Ben got of the sweet flower girl!

Oh my heavens… so in love with this.

Again, the colors!!  I love the different dresses… and the tights!  Just one more reason to drool over Anthropologie’s catalogue.

After wrapping up with the wedding party, we let them head back to the church while Kristin and David braved the cold a little longer for more portraits.
I mean really… you two are so amazing.

Wedding days tend to fly by… so the fact that they had a couple of hours together before the ceremony just gave a little more length to an already short day.
Before we knew it, it was time for the ceremony and for Kristin to walk down the aisle.

I kind of want those lights to hang in my house year round…

As they lit the unity candle, Kristin’s friend and bridesmaid, Emily, played the harp and her friend Andrew played the violin.  It was beautiful!

Love her excitement!  They’re married!!

We were able to head over to the reception hall to get photos before the guests arrived and I’m so glad we were able to photograph Kristin’s hard work before friends and family filled the room.  It was a beautiful place to celebrate!

I just adore their logo!

The snow flake table numbers could not have been more perfect!

Hot chocolate and coffee bar!

In lieu of the traditional clinking of glasses to get the couple to kiss, guests came up to tell stories or give toasts and then the couple would kiss.

Needless to say there was lots of laughter and maybe even a few tears.

Kristin is one talented lady, but as her dad and a few of her brothers got up to play Yellow by Cold Play, it was easy to see where she gets her creativity from!

As we took Kristin and David outside for a bread during the reception, the snow was still gently falling and with all of the lit lampposts around it truly felt like we had stepped into Narnia!

I’m not sure if Kristin’s mom, Kim, and David’s mom, Mary, coordinated their dresses or not, but the blue was stunning on both of them!
And their dads (Brad and Bob) both looked quite dapper too!

We need to be better about getting a photo of us with our couples… it was easy at this wedding though because we’re friends with David’s family so we put his brother’s to work!  Thank you Joel for taking this photo and thank you Micah for holding the flash!

Congrats again, you two!!

 Ceremony | Lakeland Evangelical Free Church
Reception | Viking Park Banquet Hall
Dress | Eva’s Bridal Shop, Allure Bridal
Bridesmaids | Anthropologie, BHLDN, Adrianna Papell
Groomsmen | Men’s Warehouse
Flowers | Balmes Flowers
Wedding Cake | Friend, Gracie Dalgaard
Band | Brad, Erick, Peter & Scott Anderson, father and brothers of the bride
Videographer | brother, Sean Anderson
Catering | Maravela’s

  1. Taylor says:

    Sabrina, you and Ben are so talented! I love the after reception shots in the dark and snow – AMAZING!

  2. melissa says:

    I think that I was introduced to your blog after you took David & Kristin’s engagement photos, and I have loved seeing your work since that time. You captured their wedding so beautifully!

    I haven’t been able to attend family weddings the last eight years due to living overseas, so it’s extra special to see the chronology of a cousin’s special wedding day.

    Congratulations Kristin & David!

  3. Ford Family says:

    Breathtaking photographs!
    You’ve captured the joy of the moments… and it is palpable.
    Have been a fan of Kristin’s style for many years and it’s so exciting to see it all come together so beautifully!
    Congratulations Kristin & David!
    May this day be just the beginning of many many years of happiness!

  4. Carrie Logan says:

    My favorite of yours EVER. Wow. Incredibly captured, friend. Their day and night portraits are so elegantly breathtaking, that horizontal black and white with her dad as they walk down the aisle is STUNNING, the cakeeee, and their sweet picture perfect (literally) sparkler exit… so much to love. You should be so very proud! XO!

  5. Katie says:

    absolutely stunning Sabrina!!!!!! ahhh the snow makes it all so perfect!

  6. Mia says:

    Now I want to renew my vows with James…. it was all so beautiful!!

  7. Gayle Driver says:

    Oh, my! The snow pictures are to die for! Amazing, Sabrina! You did an incredible job. Just breathtaking!!

  8. Charlotte Jennings says:

    GORGEOUSNESS to the MAX!!!!

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