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Baylee + Nick | The Landing Barn | Taylorville Wedding | Illinois Wedding Photographer

Weddings

June 30, 2021

Looking back on Baylee and Nick’s beautiful rustic wedding at The Landing Barn in Taylorville, Illinois I can say there was plenty of emotions, sweating (cause the temps were pushing 100), and tons of laughs! These two have surrounded themselves with many family and friends who know how to keep things light and fun, which was perfect for their modern barn wedding! Baylee and Nick, along with their two boys, Hunter & Tanner, celebrated as a family and officially became The McGees!

Baylee was an absolute vision as she was helped into her dress by her mom and best ladies, who all wore lovely teal dresses. Her simple, yet stunning dress had a gorgeous beaded bodice and tulle skirt. All of the girls had a pop of color with bright yellow sunflowers bouquets, which looked amazing with the teal! Nick and his guys wore gray suits and couldn’t be outdone by the ladies so they added some teal to their attire with matching ties and pocket squares. And no rustic look would be complete without shotgun shell boutonnieres!

Nick had been absolutely adamant that he did not want to see Baylee before she walked down the aisle. Yet, Baylee and Nick’s best man, J.C. (who is a past LWP Groom) had come up with a different plan. The two hatched a scheme to have J.C. surprise Nick dressed in a wedding dress!!! If you know J.C. this is totally his personality, and bride Baylee was totally on board. So they talked Nick into at least doing a “First Touch” with Baylee, which consisted of them holding hands around a corner and just talking to one another instead of seeing each other before the ceremony. Well this gave us the opening for J.C. to sneak in for his prank on poor Nick. However, leading up to the big day, Baylee and J.C. were finding it hard to find a cheap wedding dress for J.C. to wear for his surprise. So I stepped in! I just celebrated my 12th wedding anniversary and I never had my wedding dress cleaned!!! I know, terrible, right?! But, this gave me the opportunity to lend my dress to J.C. for his hilarious moment! And boy was it worth it! Without any clue from groom, Nick, his best man crept down the hallway and grabbed his hand and the entire time Nick thought it was his bride!! Until Nick asked “Baylee” if she was ok and J.C. finally revealed himself in MY wedding dress! Nick lost it and couldn’t stop laughing (and cussing a bit!) It was definitely a memorable experience! The photos (and YES there is video from this moment if you haven’t seen it, go visit my TikTok page) were absolutely hysterical and I had to keep it together so I didn’t ruin it all! Afterwards, we did let Nick have the moment he thought he was getting originally with Baylee happen and they both died laughing at what just occurred! It was priceless!

We also took the opportunity before the ceremony to get some photos done separately with Baylee and her girls and Nick and his guys in the super hot, and muggy afternoon. The bridal party were all troopers especially after there had been some rain in the morning making humidity and where we could go on the property limited so we didn’t get Baylee’s dress muddy. And before we knew it, it was time to get these two married! The ceremony was moved inside of the barn due to the rain, but was still absolutely beautiful! Nick took every second in of Baylee walking down the aisle towards him and shed a few tears upon her arrival with her dad. The nuptials were lovely complete with faithful messages, a sand ceremony, and a sweet kiss before they were pronounced husband and wife!

We then headed back outside for some more photos with the entire bridal party together as well as the newlyweds! For me personally, it was a joy to see so many familiar faces in the bridal party standing next to this sweet couple! Again, J.C. the best man and his wife, Megan, who stood as Baylee’s maid of honor are a past LWP Couple and they are besties with Baylee and Nick! Even one of my upcoming wedding couples, Ellen and Matt, I found out were friends with the couple and so it was amazing to be surrounded by all of these wonderful faces! Small world for sure! Before heading back in for the reception we had some time for photos of just the new Mr. & Mrs. McGee! These two together are just adorable and so laid back. They were up for any suggestion I had and I’m so glad we had most of the day without any rain to capture some fantastic photos!

At the reception, everyone was excited to watch the main events such as the first dance, father/daughter, and mother/son dances. Baylee and Nick even got into a slight cake fight after they cut their first piece of cake as a married couple. I think Baylee might have won! But, one of the sweetest moments was when Nick and his grandmother took to the dance floor in an emotional moment! I’m not sure there were many dry eyes in the place after watching them together. And luckily to my amazement, we actually got a sunset!!! The blanket gray skies had me a bit worried, however the sun popped out and gave us a phenomenal show! It was breathtaking to get Baylee and Nick out for sunset photos! The couple also finished the night with a few sparklers! Love ending a wedding with a little spark!

Baylee and Nick are an incredible couple and I have loved every moment working with them and their family! Congrats again to the new Mr. & Mrs. McGee!

Warm Regards,