Lukas + Hannah : A Springtime Wedding in LeClaire

I know that I’ve expressed how much it means to me when a past couple refers their loved ones to me. But sometimes, I don’t think that I express that well enough. As a photographer, I am let into some of the most intimate parts of your lives. I whole-heartedly strive to not just snap photos, but to create a whole experience for my clients that is so amazing, that they can’t help but share it with their friends. Hannah and Lukas found me through a word of mouth referral from some of my longest, and dearly loved clients.

Rewind a few years to when I was a newbie photographer, and my (now) friends Jess and Alex were tying they knot. They were some of my very first wedding clients, and because of this I will always remember them as some of my most loyal clients, who believed in me WAY more than I believed in myself at the time. These two have cheered me on from the beginning, to a point that I started calling Jess my “hype girl” and we joked about her coming to wedding expos with me. Jess and Alex were kind enough to share my name with one of their groomsmen, Lukas. Fast forward a few years, and I was blessed enough to be chosen to capture Lukas and Hannah’s wedding day.

Lukas and Hannah met playing sand volleyball. They recently moved away from the Quad Cities to Washington State for work, but decided to come back to their hometown of Leclaire to get married, surrounded by their family and friends. And let me tell you did those family and friends SHOW UP. It was a packed house—like we could barely move. But these people were so ready to celebrate this amazing couple as they became husband and wife.

Their wedding took place at the Riverview Lodge, which sits on a hilltop overlooking the Mississippi River. They chose a beautiful and bright color palette, which was perfect for the sunny Spring day that they were gifted with. The weather was mild, with a light breeze coming off the River. Hannah and her bridesmaids pieced together their own bouquets at Cody Rose Flower Co. in downtown Leclaire, and the personalized touch from a local flower shop was the perfect touch to an already beautiful day.

After the ceremony, we hopped on over to Downtown Leclaire. Little did we know, there was a festival going on down there, and there were people EVERYWHERE. They were hooting and hollering as Hannah and Lukas walked the streets, and we were lucky enough to be able to make their portraits work beautifully, even with the massive amounts of people that were crowding the streets.

Aside from them writing their own vows, my favorite part of the day was the father-daughter dance. I’m not going to pretend this part of wedding days isn’t super difficult for me in this season of my own life, after losing my dad last Summer. But instead of letting this get me down, I use this as an opportunity to capture the BEST possible moments of parent dances, knowing full well that they will be some of the most important photos later on. One of my favorite photos from my own wedding was taken when I was dancing with my father. I was crying and clinging to him, he was holding me, and let me tell you, the whole image is just so symbolic of how I feel now that he isn’t here and I’m clinging on to his memory. I can tell that Hannah and her dad have this same special type of relationship too. These two were two peas in a pod. Joking and laughing together, and crying together. Father-daughter relationships are just so special, and I was blessed by witnessing this moment between Hannah and her dad.

I have no doubt that Hannah and Lukas are going to build a life even more beautiful than their wedding day. These two perfectly compliment each other: they are both kind, driven and they love to laugh together. If you ask me, this is a beautiful foundation for a loving and long-lasting marriage, and I am so thankful that I was able to witness the very first day of it.

xoxo, Courtney