Kelly and Aaron | Jeremy Lawson Photography

Kelly had all kinds of happy, excited emotions on her wedding day. She was ready to marry her fiancee Aaron more than anything!

Her maid of honor showed her some yoga moves to help deal with the nerves. I didn’t know humans could bend like that.

Kelly’s mom watched as Cory from Karma Salon worked on her daughter’s hair.

The dress was hung up and waiting for Kelly’s bridesmaid to finish up with the bride’s makeup.

The time was here!

Kelly slid into her dress and the other bridesmaids attended to the details.

Kelly’s mom, dad and stepmom couldn’t believe how gorgeous Kelly looked.

Perfect! Kelly was ready to walk the aisle.

Meanwhile, Aaron was having a good time getting ready with his guys.

His best man proposed a toast after Aaron made a joke at his expense.

Salud!

Aaron grabbed a quick drink with some of his groomsmen and then left to go meet up with Kelly for the first time.

He was briefly distracted when he met this giant in the parking lot.

Aaron took his place at the designated meeting spot and began to wait for his bride.

Luckily he didn’t have to wait long. Kelly was there before we knew it, and was Aaron ever glad to see her.

We set off to take some pre-ceremony photos.

We made the journey over to Joliet’s Union Station…

…where the rest of the bridal party met up with us.

It was love at first sight for this bridesmaid.

Who knew we could have this much fun with an abandoned grocery cart?

Next up were some shots on the drawbridge.

All these photos made us work up a thirst.

Kelly and Aaron knew just the place to go to.

The bride was calling the shots that day.

Here’s Aaron’s sister and brother-in-law. I shot his sisters wedding a few years back! It’s always nice seeing familiar faces.

Kelly distributed the shots and everyone downed them in honor of the couple.

Kelly luvs her some champagne.

The wedding party finished their glasses of bubbly and headed out to the party bus.

It was getting close to the ceremony time…

… so the bus took us straight to The Haley Mansion where the ceremony and reception were staged.

The grounds at the mansion are beautiful, and Kelly, Aaron and I took advantage of the backdrop for photos… once they were done with their make-out session.

While we were shooting in the gardens we ran into the flower girls, who were all dolled up and ready for their duties.

The ring bearers were there, too, trying to stay out of trouble.

With everybody rounded up, Kelly and Aaron took to their respective rooms to take care of a last few details before the ceremony.

Aaron’s brother-in-law made sure everyone stayed in line for the ceremony.

The time had arrived! Aaron took his place at the altar, smiling ear to ear as Kelly walked down the aisle.

Kelly’s proud father walked her down the aisle and gave her away.

Kelly’s mom and grandmother settled in as the ceremony began. I really love this shot!

Kelly’s maid of honor was at her side through the ceremony. Aren’t the bouquets gorgeous? All the flowers were done by… well… All Flowers by Marisa.

I loved that the skylight lit up the ceremony area.

Kelly and Aaron shared a laugh with their guests during the vows.

Her dad and stepmom enjoyed the joke.

Kelly’s mom had a good laugh, too.

With rings and vows exchanged, Kelly and Aaron sealed the deal with a kiss. Congratulations!

Aaron and I had a little fun with the videographer, Ben Mahoney of Leap Weddings, after the ceremony. He forgot to collect Aaron’s mic… so Aaron gave Ben a little message.

Kelly’s grandmother and the other guests made their way to the cocktail hour.

I got some good pictures from the peanut gallery, too.

What a ham.

And I shocked a few of the other guests!

Kelly’s stepmom and the other family and friends were enjoying each other’s company along with drinks and hors d’oeuvres that were prepared by the mansion’s staff.

A budding photographer!

These photos are of the couple’s adopted dogs. They are huge supporters of animal shelters, and asked for donations instead of gifts. The American Cancer Society and West Suburban Humane Society benefited from Kelly and Aaron’s generosity.

People from all over the world love Kelly and Aaron. This guest came all the way from Thailand!

This heart was used at Kelly’s grandfather’s funeral. Kelly was very close to her DaddyRule and wanted to make sure he was represented and remembered during the day.

After cocktail hour the guests all found their seats for dinner. While being served, Kelly’s dad took the microphone with a few words in honor of his daughter and his new son-in-law.

Here’s Aaron’s twin brother getting ready to make his speech. This Michigan Wolverines fan bet our bride (a dedicated Iowa Hawkeyes supporter) that if the Wolverines won the Michigan/Iowa game that day, Kelly would wear a Wolverines jersey during his speech and vice versa.

Turns out, Michigan lost that day. Moral of the story: Don’t bet against a bride on her wedding day.

Kelly will drink to that!

With speeches wrapped up, Kelly and Aaron share their first dance as a married couple.

Then Aaron shared a mother/son dance with his mom…

…and Kelly did the same with her father.

Here’s Kelly, posing with a family tradition that comes in the form of a rubber chicken. I asked Kelly to elaborate: “Nobody is totally sure about the history of the Linder Chicken. We know it started with my grandma and her sister many many years ago. At some point it started being passed between NY and Chicago. More recently it’s been every year. Two years ago we started a scrapbook and that’s being filled by the chicken holder every year. That chicken has been all over the world with various family members. Including Iraq with my cousin Mark!” Fun!!! I was happy to meet the Linder Chicken!