For August, the weather on their wedding day was surprisingly cool. I mean, it was still warm, but August is typically the hottest month of the year in Iowa and this year has been strangely cool in comparison. Kristen and the ladies were on the second floor in the church, in a room filled with cozy chairs, music playing through someone’s iPhone, and windows that looked out over the street below, filled with people enjoying Saturday’s nearby farmer’s market. Veritas Church in Cedar Rapids is very industrial and it made me so excited because I’ve been longing for a modern-industrial wedding location for years.

Chad & Kristen met in 2015 on a mission trip in South Carolina. At the end of the summer, they went their ways, her back to school at Iowa and he back to Minnesota, but it didn’t take long for him to make a trip to Iowa to see her. “We hadn’t seen each other for over a month since the mission trip had ended,” she said. “We had just been talking on the phone and FaceTiming so I was pretty nervous. When he got here, he got out of his car and gave me flowers and had this sweet video he had made for me right before he had left South Carolina the month before.” Chad added, “I asked her to be my girlfriend the second I got there.”

They dated long distance the remainder of that school year and then last summer, he moved to Iowa City to be closer to her. “I knew Chad was special since the day I met him. But it wasn’t until [last] summer that I for sure knew he was the one. He had just moved down to Iowa City and while the transition was a little shaky of being in the same place for the first time, there were just some moments that I was like, ‘Wow, he came all the way here just for me and I can’t imagine life without him.’ He is so selfless and caring and while I can’t pick out one definite moment of when I knew, it just kind of happened.”

Chad had known for a long time, perhaps giving him more reason to uproot his life and move to Iowa. “On my birthday about half a month [after meeting her], I wrote her a note about how I felt and that I knew she was the one.” He gave that note to her the day he proposed.

And their wedding day was filled with all the anticipation and joy of two people finally starting their lives together as husband and wife. Their ceremony was filled with their love for Jesus and their respect for each other. It was a beautiful start to their marriage and it was an honor to not only witness it, but document it for them.

The commentary provided by Kristen’s sweet grandma’s was so fun to listen to as they reminisced about their own wedding days and the difference between then and now.

The back of Kristen’s gown was so stunning and the dress fit her so perfectly!

We went to a nearby park for photos and this was the first time that day Kristen and Chad saw each other. Their first look was so sweet and filled with the most tender, genuine moments.

After their wedding at Veritas Church, we drove to the Celebration Farm for their reception.

Kristen & Chad, I wish you all the blessings in the world as you begin your marriage. The wedding day was just the beginning–and what a beginning it was–and it only gets more wonderful and more meaningful from there.

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Photography: Emily Crall Photography

Florals: E’s Florals

Cupcakes: Scratch Cupcakery

Catering: Dostal Catering

DJ: Twisted Mics Music Entertainment

Makeup & Hair: Salon Voche 

Paper Suite: Wedding Paper Divas

Bridal Gown: Stella York from Bucci’s Bridal

Maids’ Gowns: David’s Bridal

Suits: Men’s Wearhouse

Ceremony Venue: Veritas Church

Reception Venue: The Celebration Farm, Timber Frame

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