Anderson Japanese Gardens, Rockford, IL Wedding Photography | Phil & Kelly

Anderson Japanese Gardens, Rockford, IL Wedding Photography

Well, apparently I post long wedding posts now because this is the second wedding in a row where I just can’t cull my favorites down to less than 200 images! Oh well! ;)

If I had to pick a word to best describe Kelly and Phil’s wedding day, it would be “SURPRISE!” Every single moment of their day was chock-full of specialness, and everyone was surprising everyone. Here’s a list of things I can think of just off the top of my head: Kelly surprised her mom and dad separately with gifts; Kelly’s mom surprised Kelly with a gift; Phil surprised Kelly with a gift, and vice-versa; Phil used pop-up cards to surprise Kelly with her gift and during the ceremony (both cards matched the Japanese Garden theme); Kelly’s sister & sis-in-law did a special musical speech; Kelly is a dancer, so Kelly & Phil, and Kelly & her dad planned special choreographed dances for their guests enjoyment; The groomsmen had a specially choreographed dance; Kelly’s friends from Stagecoach Theater planned a special song during the reception…aaaaaaand I *think* that’s about everything. WHEW!! Phil, Kelly, and their families are deeply sentimental and worked so hard to make their day special for everyone involved. It certainly paid off!

Before I jump into the pictures, I wanted to add that I photographed Kelly’s sister Katie’s wedding back in October 2017 (and their newborn pictures last December!!), so it was wonderful to be back with this crew again!!

PICTURE TIME.