Lauren and Chris tied the knot in Davenport Iowa on July 8th. It was a hot and sunny day but everyone was in good spirits. Not only did the Bride and Groom look fantastic, they were affectionate towards each other. The family and friends were enjoying the day and each other. As a Wedding Photographer this is so helpful when capturing great photographs.
The Bride and Groom live in New Jersey but the Bride’s family still live in the Quad Cities. Chris’ family is from Jersey and all his family and friends came here for the wedding. There had to have been over one hundred who came here from the East Coast! They were very complimentary of the hospitality in Iowa. One groomsman who suffered a fall here went to a local hosplital and was amazed at the kindness and sympathetic care he received. He said things are different in New Jersey. Okay, enough about how nice we are here…
This wedding was so much fun! The people were great to work with and the venues looked fantastic. I had a lot of friends at this wedding so it was a great day for me personally. The ceremony was at Grace United Methodist Church in Davenport, after which we went to VanderVeer Park for some casual outdoor photos and then The Stockade Bar in the East Village. Finally we proceeded to the reception at the Davenport Radisson Hotel.
The wedding ceremony was nice…short and sweet, the air conditioner worked very nicely indeed…thank God! We did formal photography after the ceremony and still had time to hit the park and the Stockade before the reception. I always try to get the formal photography done very quickly and everyone involved was happy to get them done fast. We ended up with many great formal shots. Lauren and Chris were great at the park. The semi-formal shots moved quickly, which was good because of the heat. After a few shots with the whole wedding party everybody headed back into the trolley provided by Quad City Trolley from Bettendorf Iowa where I believe there were “refreshments” available for those on board. After some quick bride and groom photos we rolled to the Stockade which also had refreshments. It was a nice big bar that was jam packed with family and friends of the wedding party. This was most definitely a wedding “party” if you know what I mean. It was cocktail hour at the Radisson when we arrived and people were having a good time.
The reception as a whole was a blast. Tim from Black Tie Entertainment was the helmsman of the musical ship. He did his job beyond anybody’s expectations. A great DJ makes all the difference in the world! The place looked fantastic, the food was excellent, and everybody enjoyed themselves to the max. This was a group of dancers. They kicked it all night long.
I just love a good wedding!
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The guys have it so much easier
Chris looks relaxed before the ceremony
Watching his Bride walk down the isle
Lauren happily arrives at the altar
The first kiss of the day...with many more to come
Bubbles in the air
Bubbles in the eye
A walk in the park
Everybody hide the beer behind the trees
A quick casual shot of the Newlyweds
Lauren looking fantastic
Quad City Trolley awaits
The Father of the Groom enjoying himself at The Stockade
The grand entrance on the grand stairway
Cocktail hour at The Radisson in Davenport
A beautifully decorated cake...a beautifully decorated room
Let the party begin
Sweeping her off her feet
Brotherly love
Secrets
A joyful moment
A heartfelt moment
Tim "The Boogie Man" Schaver
Get Down!
Get funky!
Gettin' busy
Gettin' a text message
Brian Barkley
Your Quad Cities Wedding Photojournalist