Rylee + Gage

September 19, 2026 · Copperfield Terrace · Plainview, Minnesota

I don't think I'll forget Rylee and Gage's wedding day anytime soon.

September 19 was cold. Really cold. And rainy. It wasn't the kind of September day you picture when you imagine a wedding in Minnesota. I think we all spent at least a little time wishing the weather would change its mind.

But looking back at the day, I actually think the rain became part of what made it so memorable.

There was something about arriving at Copperfield Terrace with the rain falling and the air feeling more like late October than September. Everything felt a little slower. A little quieter. Everyone was bundled up and trying to stay warm, but there was still this excitement in the air because it was their day.

And that's what I kept noticing throughout the day — how much Rylee and Gage were surrounded by people who genuinely love them.

As a photographer, I spend a lot of wedding days watching. I'm constantly looking for the next moment: a look, a laugh, a hand reaching for someone, a parent getting emotional, two people quietly taking everything in.

But sometimes I find myself putting the camera down for a second and just watching.

I had a few of those moments with Rylee and Gage.

The way they looked at each other. The little interactions that probably didn't feel significant to them in the moment. The way family and friends gathered around them. Those are the things that remind me why I love photographing weddings in the first place.

And then there was the rain.

We couldn't pretend it wasn't there, so we just embraced it. We worked around it, waited for breaks when we could, and made the most of whatever the day gave us. There were cold hands, wet ground, umbrellas, and plenty of layers — but there was also laughter.

Honestly, some of my favorite wedding photographs come from days that don't go perfectly.

Perfect weather doesn't make a photograph meaningful. The emotion does.

Rylee and Gage gave me plenty of that.

There was something really special about photographing these two. Not because everything went exactly according to plan, but because it didn't need to. Their wedding day wasn't about creating some perfectly controlled version of a wedding day. It was about being together, celebrating with the people they love, and making memories in the middle of whatever September 19 decided to throw at them.

And I think that's what I'll remember most.

Not that it was cold.

Not that it rained.

But that, despite all of it, there was so much warmth there.