Studio Noveau Blog

Ceremony: Allen Centennial Gardens

Reception: Lake Windsor Golf Club

What an absolutely fun day!  Stephanie and Derek were married last week at Allen Centennial Gardens in Madison.  What a sweet couple!  Derek is in school to become an officer in the US Navy and Stephanie couldn’t wait to be his Navy wife.  My day started with the girls getting ready at Stephanie’s house.  The entire wedding party was so wonderful… thanks for a great day, everyone!

Their ceremony was gorgeous, and one of my favorite parts was their friend who officiated their ceremony.  I quote him: “By the powers vested in me by www.officiant.com, I now pronounce…”  I kid you not.  He said that.  He also made a point of saying that he was not an expert on love (just ask his girlfriend!)

I’m not entirely sure why this picture cracks me up as much as it does, but I love it.  They were just so goofy and sweet together!

The flower girl, Derek’s baby sister, totally stole the show.  She kept getting stopped by people who told her how adorable she was.  I love that this guy with the mohawk couldn’t stop gushing about how beautiful she was… it was quite the contrast between the little girl and this man!

Special thanks to the veil “fluffer” and the wind for helping with these next shots.  I couldn’t decide between them.

Off to the reception… fantastic venue!  The room was beautiful, the food was excellent, and the high spirits of all the guests definitely added to the great night!  How great is this cake?  They cut the cake with Derek’s sword from his naval service… that’s the gold thing in front of the cake.

I promise this is completely candid.  I had about 10 seconds before this little boy was told to move, but the look on his face as he gazed at the cake… priceless!

Please pay particular attention to this cake topper.  It reminded me of a mullet… business in the front, party in the rear.  :)

Bonus points if you can spot me in the picture.  Fisheye lenses are awesome, but it was hard not to get my feet…

One fun thing at this reception was a trend that I love.  Rather than kissing when guests clinked their glasses, Derek and Stephanie asked that the guests sing a song with the word love in it.  Let me tell you that I have a LOT of fun photos of this, but this is my favorite:

The dance was a blast. They had so many college friends there and everyone was ready to par-tay!

Steph and Derek, congratulations!  There are more photos posted on the Studio Noveau Facebook page, and I’ll let you know when I’m finished editing the rest of your images.  Everyone else, don’t forget to become a Facebook fan of Studio Noveau for advance previews!

Bride and Groom: Lisa and Rick

Ceremony: Gates of Heaven, Madison, WI

Reception: The University Club, Madison, WI

Dress: Lynn Lugo

DJ: Playlist Event Music

Cake Baker: Carl’s Cakes (my favorite in Madison… and that’s who I used for my wedding!)

Photographer: Studio Noveau, of course!

Lisa and Rick… both professors and lovers of medieval culture.  Of course they had to incorporate their affinity for history into their wedding ceremony and reception.  From the programs to the ceremony “lesson” on marriage written by Lisa herself (and approved by Rick), this day was full of color, details, and fabulous people!

For starters, I have been in love with this ceremony venue since I was planning my wedding nearly two years ago.  This is The Gates Of Heaven in James Madison Park of Madison, Wisconsin.

Programs and flowers… how fun are these?

I can’t express enough how much I love live string music, especially at weddings!

How cute are these flower girls?  :)

Down to the Union for some more pictures!

Reception:

Their first dance was choreographed… a fox trot!

Two ring shots in this post… I couldn’t decide between them!

Lisa and Rick, congratulations on your marriage and beautiful day.  Enjoy your time in Greece!

CAKE FOR COMMENTS!

Hello Friends, Family, and Clients!

Tomorrow, July 18th is my birthday.  (And it’s also client Bridget’s birthday!) This year, I thought I’d try something different.  Here is my birthday wish: please leave a comment below this post that says one of three things:

1) One fun memory you have of me OR

2) One of your favorite pictures that I have taken (posted on the blog or website) OR

3) Your favorite birthday memory.

Because I’ve been so blessed with great family, friends, and clients, I’d love to give back to those who haven’t been as fortunate for me.  For every two comments left for this post during the next week, I will donate a birthday item to the local food pantry in Viroqua.  Items I may donate include cake mix, frosting, candles, or something similar.  Please help me reach my goal of 25 donated items (50 comments).

Thanks for a great year!  (Photo of me below was taken by my good friend Jess on my birthday last year.  Thanks, Jess!)

Chris and Cathy are awesome.  Seriously.  I knew they would be fun clients after Chris and I became Facebook friends and his status had a quote about Chuck Norris.  

Anyway, because we live over three hours apart, scheduling an engagement session was a challenge.  But we made it work!  On July 4 (Cathy’s birthday), we met in Kenosha at the Kemper Center for this great, early morning session.  It was a beautiful day and they were so great to work with.  And all I can say is that I hope I’m this happy after being with my hubby for 13 years as these two have been after dating for 13 years!  All it took was one funny face from Chris and they’d both start laughing- it was great!  They have already seen some of these pictures that I posted early on Facebook, but I thought it was time to share them all with you!

I had to try out my new fisheye lens on these next two shots!

Have a great weekend everyone!

This post is part 2 in a couple ways:

1) I already posted a preview of a preview

AND

2) I’m going to start their official preview with their reception.  Mostly because I love their venue and they were so much fun, but also because it was hard to narrow down favorites!

So I give you: Heather, Brandon, and families… at The Pedretti Party Barn in Viroqua.  Seriously, how wonderful is this place?  It has a vineyard, a cool old barn, beautiful scenery, and even an old stone church across the road.  Photography heaven.  

 And one last final shot… just because I love this one!

How many of you have Facebook pages?  Well, I know I do!  How many of you have blog “stalkers”?  I know I have those, too!  :)  It’s always funny to me when I meet people either at weddings or just “out and about” and they tell me that they have been secret blog stalkers for weeks, months, or even the loyal ones that have been around for years.  Yes, those extra special people, my stalkers, have been coming out of the woodwork more often than not lately, so to this I say:

It’s time for you to show yourselves!

The Challenge: if you are fan or even a semi-regular stalker of this blog, please join me on Facebook!  Heck, even if it’s your first time and you like what you see, I’d love to be your friend!

If you are up for the challenge, you can find the Studio Noveau page by doing a simple Facebook search.  If you are really adventurous, feel free to look for my personal page.  If you search Rebecca Eby, I’m the one that comes up under the La Crosse network.  Just make sure to leave a message with your friend request so I know who you are!  I don’t talk to strangers… unless they identify themselves as fans of Studio Noveau!  :)  

So what will you gain by becoming a fan/friend?  Well, let’s see.

1) My friendship.  (Duh.)

2) First hand notice of new posts here on the blog

3) Insight to my life… awesome friends, goofy family, and even news about my dogs.  (The latest… they eat lettuce and carrots.  Weird.)

4) I’ll have to think of something more exciting to offer my friends (sort of like a bribe), so when I do think of something, you’ll be among the first to know!

See you there…