Alanis Morisette once sang a song about all the “bitter little pills” that exist in the world and included  “Rain on your wedding day” as one of them. Let’s face it, for most people, rain on a wedding day is a bummer.  Most of the time we have to adjust schedules, adjust expectations and work with what we’ve got.

Well, Sara and Phil’s wedding is proof-positive that with a plan, a willing and open heart, and trust in your photography team you can have wedding photos that are anything but bitter, despite the rain!

Their charming first look photos with their clear umbrellas and their wedding couple photos taken at the Garfield Park Conservatory photos rank right up there with some of my favorite photos EVER.  Seriously after looking at them, you might hope that it rains on your wedding day too 🙂

Sara and Phil married exactly four years to the day after their first date. Their first date, you ask?  Well, if you asked their family they would tell you that they met in a grocery store. That was the story they initially told everyone…until the truth came out. Sara and Phil swiped right on love and that’s when their story started.  Yep, they are a Tinder success story! ::LOL:: How AWESOME is that?!!

What was great about Phil and Sara is they never let even the idea of weather bother them, even when they were planning their wedding. They were focused on the fact their wedding day was going to be beautiful because everyone they loved was going to be around them. They made plans for everything “in case” and rolled with the flow because Sara felt strongly that the most important thing was getting married, and that their guests had an amazing time.

Once we got to the Garfield Park Conservatory I felt like a kid in a candy shop. What an AMAZING space. Sara chose Garfield because she loves the peaceful vibe; she actually takes yoga lessons there too!  There are a million places to photograph in this expansive space. There are beautiful flowers, of course, but also palm trees, ponds, mosaics, and even some freaking giant cactuses! Chicagoland brides; put this place on your list for photos!!

And let’s talk about Sara’s flowers. They’re made of wood!!  She loved the simple design, so she found them online and ordered them and then arranged them. I was totally blown away, they were just perfect.

They chose the Greenhouse Loft as their wedding venue because it was a fully customizable, raw canvas to plan their wedding in. Phil’s a bit of an architecture buff, so he loved the industrial yet clean look of the space. Sara loved the floor to ceiling windows, and so did we (natural light for the WIN). As they exchanged vows in the fading blue light, the entire building was illuminated and it was just perfect.

I love when couples really live their day, and Sara and Phil certainly did. Nothing ever felt forced or contrived, and the wedding party was pure fun all day. When we left the wedding that the dance floor was crammed, people were living it up and it was the best rain on a wedding day ever.