NICK + KAT

CHURCH OF ST. PATRICK WADSWORTH MERCANTILE HALL BURLINGTON WEDDING:

MELISSA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY: NICK + KAT

“Urban feel. Small town love.” The motto at Mercantile Hall in Burlington couldn’t resonate more true for my own life.

While taking the bride & groom’s picture, a super cool retro truck pulled up behind us. The driver practically hung out the window to excitedly say: “Hey guys!” Turns out, she was the waitress for their rehearsal dinner the night before. There were a group of locals enjoying a cup of coffee outside a storefront. Looking like this is their morning routine for decades. I musta stuck out like a city slicker as they were quick to jump up and insist they show me the gems of their town to photograph for the wedding. They did. And they were right. They knew “the good spots.” Turns out, the real gems weren’t the century old architecture, or ivy covered walls. It most positively were the people. From my pre-wedding “Pleasantville” “local tour” to the crew at wedding venue, Mercantile Hall being so down to earth, you felt like they were the type that'd invite strangers over for drinks on their porch to cool off on a hot summers day.

It’s a thoughtfulness that doesn’t happen nearly as often in the city. (And an attribute that I dearly value in my life.)

Had me ready to pack my bags and move on out to Burlington Wisconsin. Mostly not kidding.

While most couple's are itching to scoot out the door and get the show on the road to their ceremony, Kat and Nick

pulled me aside to show me a box. A box full of custom made donuts just for me based on flavors I randomly talked about loving while on the phone a year ago. And it's not like they had all the spare time. As if wedding planning amidst a pandemic wasn't hard enough. They had some pretty heart shattering events occur really close to their wedding day. So what do they do? They thought of others. All the way down to making their photographer a box of donuts.

Kat & Nick.

Besides the fact that your wedding was in the cutest little town ever. Besides the fact your ceremony is in my actual favorite looking church in the country. Besides the fact that you had a canned ham camper bar that I've looked into finding for the past year. And it wasn't merely the custom box of donuts you made for me that made me fall in love. Truly, you guys are resilient, joyful, genuine, and THOUGHTFUL people. There's no way I could possibly capture the full beauty of your gorgeous souls. I'm so grateful to have been able to capture it. Thank you for allowing me to! From the bottom of my coffee cup, I adore you!