March 1, 2020

Fall Iowa City Wedding at Rapid Creek Cidery | Mr and Mrs Sharp

This fall Iowa City wedding at Rapid Creek Cidery was a bit of serendipity.  Previously, I had organized a styled shoot with Emily at Soiree (which you can see here) and through that, Stephanie found me!  She said she was envisioning what her wedding day would like and opened up our shoot to see exactly what she had been planning in her head.  Same color scheme, same flowers, same vibe.  So she contacted me and saying she thought it was meant to be for me to photograph her wedding.

Stephanie and Chase are such a fun couple.  Their day was so relaxed, even though we had an unexpected rainy day.  I woke up early and bought all the clear umbrellas at the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids Target locations so we could be prepared.  Luckily, the rain cleared in time for the ceremony and only sprinkled a bit during group portraits.  What a gorgeous day this turned out to be!

Venue: Rapid Creek Cidery

Florals: 1-800 Flowers/Flowerama 

Stationery: Watermark Corners, Designed by the bride

Chalkboard welcome sign with gold lettering, surrounded by burgundy mums and a flatlay of invitation sweet with greenery.

The bride designed all of her stationery herself.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

Close up of wedding invitation

Dusty pink high heels with crystal earrings and a closeup image of custom printed menu cards at a place setting.

Close up of the couple's wedding rings sitting in the bride's bouquet on top of a burgundy dahlia.

Photo of bridal bouquet full of burgundy and cream flowers and bride's dusty pink shoes. Close up of the bride's ring framed by her shoes and her bouquet.

1-800 Flowers/Flowerama killed it with this bridal bouquet!

A wide shot of the reception venue with metal industrial chairs, farmhouse wood tables, candles, and runners of greenery adorning each table.

Close up details of the table decor, showing runners of eucalyptus and cloth white napkins at each place setting with a custom menu card.

White wedding cake with gold icing accents and burgundy flowers. A wider shot of the dessert table including apple pies and cupcakes.

The dessert table featured apple pies from Wilson’s Orchard (where Rapid Creek Cidery is located) and local favorite, Molly’s Cupcakes.

The bridal gown hanging in a row with the charcoal gray bridesmaid's dresses with decorative hangers in the bridal suite.

Close up of mom's hands buttoning the brides dress. The bride smiles over her shoulder nervously.

The bride's sister smiling as she watches the bride get ready.

Proud big sister watching Stephanie get in her dress.

The bride peeks over her shoulder in the mirror to look at her dress with a smile.

The bride smiling in her bridal suite as she gets ready.

The bride's father smiles as he catches a glimpse of the bride for the first time.

Even if you don’t schedule in a first look with Dad, I always try to catch his expression when he sees his baby girl as a bride for the first time.

The groom poses for a photo with his hand in his pocket and slight smile. The bride poses with her bouquet looking at the camera from the side.

Close up of the groom's burgundy tie and white boutonniere.

Bride walking down a paved walkway to her groom as he faces forward waiting for her to tap him on the shoulder. He turns and smiles as he sees his smiling bride for the first time.

First looks are a great way to still have a special moment of seeing your bride if you are choosing to schedule portraits before the ceremony.

The bride and groom embrace after seeing each other for the first time.

Black and white image of the groom carrying the bride's train as they walk through the grass with their backs to the camera. The orchard is in the background.

black and white image of the couple standing among apple trees in the orchard, holding hands.

The bride and groom kiss as they stand framed in a row of apple trees.

bride and groom posing together in the apple orchard

bride and groom posing together under a giant willow tree

I could photograph under this willow tree every day and it would never get old.  So dreamy and romantic.

I love when couples want to include their furry family members in their wedding day! Even if they don’t want to cooperate…

Wasn’t Stephanie such a beautiful bride?

 

Rapid Creek has a gorgeous outdoor ceremony space.  My favorite part is that it is nicely shaded for guests and the path is paved, which helps for those with mobility issues.

It’s always so dramatic watching the bride walk down the long path to her groom.

Shooting from behind the couple allows for some beautiful angles of the ceremony.  This is always discussed beforehand so there are no surprises and the couple can choose if they would prefer I stay behind the guests.  Whatever approach is chosen, I am always discreet and stay as “invisible” as possible.

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