STARVED ROCK UTICA ILLINOIS WEDDING: DESTINATION WEDDING: MELISSA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY

"May I introduce to you for the first time Mr. & Mrs. Mortlock!" From that point on, you could count to maybe 100 until the sky opened up and we were rained on like I've never been rained on at a wedding. (And I've done weddings with tornado sirens going off. ) (: The ceremony site which was stunning and overlooked the gorge/canyon and the water was not so close to the Starved Rock Lodge wedding reception. It was maybe a 5 minute walk or a 3 minute hustle run. A groomsmen saved the day (and my equipment) by grabbing my gear and throwing it in his truck. He circled back to pick up any of us that just jumped for any sort of shelter we could find. I was so wet that my clothes were still wet at the end of the reception and my hair still wet the next morning. Literally a shower. Water and a state park means there's sure gonna be some mud. We heard there was mud by some of the canyons we were going to go to for photos but when we got there, it was a legit flowing small waterfall. So what do you do? They kinda picked their destination wedding location based off these iconic cliffs but we could use a small canoe to trek these paths. I never want a couple to have any regrets so I said I absolutely will do any and all that they want to do. So we tiptoed on any random log we could get to and prayed that we (especially the bride!!!) wouldn't fall in. In hindsight, maybe a dumb decision but man was it worth it!! We had the place to ourselves! What? No one wanted to be shin deep in the mud pit? (:

These two are brave, and I'm not just saying that because they went for a scenario that truly, not many, if any, would do. They have a good perspective on what matters. Nothing makes them light up quite like each other, their cutie son, or maybe Star Wars. (: May the 4th was definitely with them.