Emotional Military Wedding photos by Alyssa Parker Photography

Usually I meet the bride and groom before their wedding day, but in this situation, both Colleen and Joe are in the military so Colleen’s mom, Deb, was put on planning duty. When Deb reached out to me, I was extra honored when she asked if I was available because she said that Colleen had not asked for anything specific when it came to the vendors and decor, but the one thing she did ask for is for me to be their photographer. I mean, that has to be the nicest, biggest compliment ever!

I didn’t really know what to expect when meeting Colleen and Joe for the first time on their wedding day, but I’ll tell you what, they are the sweetest individuals and THE cutest couple. It did not take long to warm up to them and honestly, they are so madly in love that it was really easy to take photos of them! At one point Colleen would say stuff like “You can tell us what to do” or “do we look awkward when we kiss” and my response was “Just keep doing what you’re doing, because I love it all!”.

They flew in Friday, their wedding was Sunday, and Joe would deploy for 8 months starting Monday. So, they were focused on each other and did not take one moment for granted. They wanted to do a first look before the ceremony so that they could have a few moment alone with each other. Brookstone Golf Course had a beautiful little private area that was perfect for this! And then, we found a little spot on the other side of the parking lot that overlooked the gorgeous foliage and the light was just perfect for more bride and groom portraits and a few family formals.

The ceremony was at St. Joseph’s Church. It was a full mass ceremony followed by a sword arch exit, which was so fun!

After more formals photos at Brookstone, the bride and groom once again showed just how caring they are and told my assistant and I to make sure we eat some appetizers! They were so thoughtful to take time, in between talking with all their friends and family to tell us that. The reception decor was so beautiful with all the fall colored florals, the pie table with buckets of apples, and the flag pin wedding favors.

The reception was unforgettable. It started with speeches from the father of the bride, the best man, and then the maid of honor surprised them with a video recording of her speech, since she wasn’t able to attend due to her military duties. After dinner, Joe and Colleen shared the sweetest first dance as husband and wife. I mean, this whole day was so emotional (especially after I found out that Joe was deploying the very next day), but this moment had me really tearing up. And the tears kept rolling as Colleen and her Dad danced to “always stay humble and kind” which, I couldn’t help think “wow, what a perfect song for Colleen. In the few hours I’ve know her, it’s obvious that she is super humble and kind.” And then Joe and his Mom danced to “93 million miles” by Jason Marz. One a line from the song is: “wherever you go, you will always get back home”. How could you not get emotional listening to this song and seeing the love between and mother and her son?? I’m getting all choked up again as I write this! After these emotional dances, the party started, and Colleen, Joe, and all their friends and family danced like there was no tomorrow. Ah! What a day this was.