Sioux City Wedding Photographer | Kelsey & Shawn

Shea McGrath Photography

Photographing Friends Weddings

It can always be a little tricky photographing a friend’s wedding. I want to capture all of the moments and be there to do my job – to document their wedding day. But many times I find myself tearing up during the ceremony or first dances. I laugh during the toasts. I catch myself listening to their vows instead of photographing them, because I care about this person. There have been several friends weddings that I have photographed over the years. However, 2018 seemed like the year of all my friend’s weddings, and it started with Kelsey and Shawn!

Kelsey and I met in elementary school and we became good friends somewhere around middle school/high school. By the time we graduated, we were really good friends. Kelsey is my oldest friend and we have now known each other for twenty years now! We have seen each other date dumb boys in high school, get our hearts broken, go off to college, make mistakes, become successful, and go on new adventures. No matter what point we were at in our lives, we always made time to see each other when we were in our hometown, visit each other in our new places, and we always made time to have fun.

I was so excited to meet Shawn after Kelsey told me about him. She said he was perfect for her. After I met him, it was blatantly clear that they really were perfect for each other.

Their First Date

Kelsey and Shawn met in Omaha in the Old Market. Old Market is a neighborhood full of restaurants and bakeries, cute shops, art galleries, and cobblestone streets. They met for a couple drinks at a brewery in the Old Market, then walked around the quaint neighborhood. They ended up at an outdoor table at Spaghetti Works for dinner and talked until nearly 3 in the morning!

How He Proposed

Shawn surprised Kelsey with an impromptu trip to Las Vegas for the 4th of July. They went out exploring that night and around midnight they stopped at The Fountain of the Gods in Caesar’s Palace. Shawn asked a woman to take their picture standing in front of the fountain, but what Kelsey didn’t know was that he actually asked the woman to take a video. As Kelsey was standing there smiling for the camera, Shawn got down on one knee and surprised her with the proposal!

Their Wedding

Sioux City Wedding Photographer – First, the girls started their day getting ready at Bespoke Salon in Sioux City. After hair and make up looked flawless, we went to the hotel for lunch and to start getting dressed for the big day! It was raining that morning, so Kelsey and Shawn decided to have their first look inside Sunnybrook Church where they were going to have the ceremony. After their first look and some bridal party and family portraits on the alter, it was time for the ceremony! It’s always such a beautiful thing witnessing one of your best friends say her vows to her new best friend, as well as hearing him say he will cherish her, love her, and take care of her forever.

After they said their vows and sealed it with a kiss, it was time for the party to begin! We all got on a party bus and rode around Sioux City, blaring music, singing, dancing, and celebrating Kelsey and Shawn until it was time for the reception! For those of you that don’t know, Kelsey’s mom is an incredible wedding planner and decorator. The minute Kelsey got engaged, I am sure she started planning her wedding that very second, because the detail at their wedding reception was impeccable. Her mom asked what Kelsey envisioned for her wedding and she said, “pink and sparkles”. Their wedding reception was full of pink and sparkles, delicious homemade desserts, lots of laughter, happy tears, and some fun dancing!

Congratulations, Kelsey and Shawn!!! I wish you all the best in your new life together as husband and wife! A big thank you to the following vendors for making this day incredible for The Millers:

Vendors

Salon: BeSpoke Salon

Hair: Amy Dvorak

Makeup: Kylie Bumann

Wedding Planner: Audrey Kinyon (MOB)

Hotel: Hampton Inn and Suites

Ceremony Venue: Sunnybrook Church

Reception Venue: Sioux City Country Club

Food/Alcohol Caterer: Sioux City Country Club

Officiant: Jeff Thelander

Florist: Landra Zortman & Audrey Kinyon

Wedding dress: David’s Bridal

Tuxedos: Tip Top Tux

Rings: Greenberg’s Jewelers

Wedding Dessert Bar: Elaine Tucker (Aunt of the Bride)

DJ: Sound Extremes

Transportation: Travelplus

Wedding Invites: Audrey Kinyon

Photographer: Shea McGrath Photography 

Second Photographer: Jacob Tolley

I still photograph weddings all over the midwest!

For those of you that don’t know, even though I reside in Denver, I travel to the midwest a lot for weddings since I am from Iowa! I still take wedding clients for weddings in Sioux City, Omaha, Des Moines, Iowa City, Minneapolis, and Chicago. Click Here to get in touch or email me at shea@sheamcgrath.com and tell me about your wedding!

Shea