Amanda laughed her way through the entire day. That’s not an exaggeration or padding for a blog post, it’s just what happened. She was smiling in the getting-ready photos, smiling walking down the aisle, still smiling well past midnight on the dance floor.
The day started at Allen Centennial Gardens, a University of Wisconsin classic tucked on the edge of campus, and ended at the Memorial Union after a walk back along the lakeshore path with half the wedding party in tow. If you wanted one wedding that captures Madison, this one gets close.
The gallery below moves from the ceremony at Allen Centennial Gardens through the walk back to campus and into the reception at the Memorial Union: golden hour by the lake, portraits under the archways, and the reception on the top floor with Ladies Must Swing filling the room.
The walk between venues turned into one of our favorite parts of the day. Amanda, Tony, and a good chunk of the wedding party made the trip from the gardens back to the Union on foot, along the lake, in no particular hurry. Unplanned stretches of time like that tend to photograph better than almost anything scripted.
We’ve shot at the Union plenty of times, but this was our first wedding on the top floor, and the space earns its reputation. High ceilings, archways, the kind of architecture that does half the work for you. While everyone waited to be announced, Amanda’s sister sat down at the grand piano in the front room and started playing. The two of them ended up singing together, an unplanned little moment that’s exactly the kind of thing we’re always hoping to catch.
Golden hour took us down to the lake. The terrace was packed, so we walked out onto the dock instead and had the whole thing to ourselves, tour boats passing behind them the whole time. We do this thing with couples where we hand them a quiet prompt to talk through together instead of posing for the camera. It gets them focused on each other instead of us, and that’s when the real photos happen.
Amanda’s niece and nephew ran the reception the way kids always do at weddings, completely off script and thoroughly entertaining. We could have filled the whole gallery with just the two of them.
The band deserves its own paragraph. Ladies Must Swing, an eighteen-piece all-women swing outfit, played most of the reception before the DJ took over, and the room turned into an actual dance floor the second they started. Tony wore his suspenders and bowtie the entire night and never stopped moving.
Amanda’s bouquet was one of our favorites this year: thistle, big dahlias, roses, nothing too tidy about it. The bridesmaids matched the mood in deep green floral dresses, more garden party than typical wedding party, and it worked. The ceremony itself stayed cloudy most of the afternoon, which we’ll take over full sun at Allen Centennial Gardens any day, and the sun broke through right in the middle of the vows. The treed path at the back of the gardens gave us a few quiet minutes for portraits before the guests caught up.
They served Babcock ice cream right after the ceremony, while everyone was still mingling. Orange custard chocolate chip, if you’re wondering, and it went fast.
The back balcony at the Union might be our favorite part of the whole building. It looks out over the square toward Science Hall and the library, and it’s one of the better spots for guests to step outside, get some air, and watch the afternoon go by before the reception picks up.
Most UW Madison wedding we’ve shot yet. We’re comfortable saying that.
Thinking about getting married at the Union? We wrote up everything we’ve learned working in that building in our Memorial Union wedding venue guide, and there are more places we love in our roundup of the best Wisconsin wedding venues.
Florals: Avant Garden Florist, Sarah Geboy
Band: Ladies Must Swing
DJ: Geoffrey, Celebrations Entertainment
