INDEPENDENCE GROVE LIBERTYVILLE ILLINOIS WEDDING: CHICAGO WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER: MELISSA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY: ZACH + HAILEY

Leading up to a wedding there's a lot of planning questions. Lots of where's? When? And with who? They're the logistics that help us have our ducks in a row come the big day. It's sort of our first draft of how you think you want your wedding day to go. There's almost always some sort of list of family photos that are to be taken and a somewhat new trend is to have a first-look with one's dad. (or significant figure in one's life.) I'm all for it but what often happens is for whatever the reasoning, it's crunch time (because scientifically, the clock ticks faster once your wedding dress is on. Go ahead, prove me wrong. ) (:

and those moments are fleeting. My favorite part of this wedding was how much the bride & groom genuinely wanted to be around their family. It wasn't just "now we do family photos" and then we're off to wait for the ceremony in the bridal suite with cocktails (and that's ok if they did!) But no, they stayed and hung out. They hung around, even shortly before the ceremony to be with their family. I love that.