Over the past year I have learned that running a business comes with many great learning opportunities in all sorts of aspects. Last fall, I was contacted by Rachel Tatge of Top Shelf Weddings. She was seeking out Madison wedding vendors interested in donating their services to an eco-friendly wedding event that will be featured in this year’s Green Day event. I was immediately intrigued and offered an engagement session to the lucky couple. To my delight and surprise, Rachel responded by asking me if I would shoot the ENTIRE WEDDING! When she explained that the wedding will happen the very same day as the Green Day convention, I jumped at the chance right away. What a wonderful opportunity to gift my services to a good cause while challenging myself to become a greener business!
If you haven’t been to Green Day in the past, I highly encourage you to attend this year on April 17th- you will learn all sorts of new tips and tricks for being greener and more earth-friendly in your everyday life. You’ll also get to visit my booth at the event, and if you’re there at the right time you’ll see the wedding broadcast LIVE inside the Monona Terrace!
Now on to the fun stuff… Engagement photos! Right away when I met Kelly and Mike, I knew we were going to get along great. They both have an exciting passion for green practices and local business- something we should all incorporate into our lives whenever possible. In fact, Kelly even asked me to come visit the bridal boutique that is donating the re-purposed wedding gown that Kelly will be married in. A photographer’s opinion is always nice when considering your gown, wouldn’t you think? Anyway, the fun continued with Kelly and Mike a couple of weeks ago when we met in Madison for their engagement portraits. We decided to incorporate the local florist who is also donating their services: J. Kinney Florist on Monroe Street. We met with Jane prior to beginning the photographs, and she showed us some local flowers that will be available for the wedding. Going with local flowers that do not need to be shipped in from out of state reduces the carbon imprint of your wedding by eliminating costly travel and use of fuels.
J. Kinney’s shop is just adorable! We began by scoping out some of the cute little scenes that are set up all around. This lampshade behind Kelly & Mike is made of leaves!
Every inch of the store is covered in colorful, playful decor and accented by lovely florals. These poses are a tad traditional for my style, but they really worked well for the scene with the adorable antique rocking chair and the busy background.
Kelly’s engagement ring was created by The Jewelers Workshop here in Madison. What makes it eco-friendly? Recycling! I was amazed as Kelly told me all of the things that these guys do to preserve materials and reduce waste- right down to sending their carpeting and the paper towels they dry their hands on back to the refinery to have all of the gold dust stripped out of it and prepared for use again! WOW! And the diamond is over 100 years old, too. The engravings around the side were created just for Kelly & Mike…if you look closely, they included the letters “IV” in the design. That stands for “Isle View,” the name that the couple has chosen for their lovely home.
I’m not USUALLY a rings-on-flowers kinda gal, but given that we were in the floral shop with all these colorful blooms…it was fitting. 
Here is some of the lovely local freesia that might make its appearance on April 17th. So colorful!
Meet Iris, the J. Kinney Kitty. She’s a sweetheart! We captured this cute image of her watching the goings-on from her perch on the store’s current display in the window… A cozy-looking bed surrounded by plants. Great spot for a nap!
We thought it was such a great spot that I asked Kelly & Mike to hop on up for a few shots.
This shot didn’t QUITE work as I’d planned…oh, sun. You are a blessing AND a curse sometimes! But I still like the fact that we got J. Kinney’s signage in here, as they’re a sponsor of the wedding and therefore very important.
After saying good-bye to Jane & Iris and thanking them for the use of the beautiful shop, we stopped next door at Barrique’s to wait for sunset to get closer. We figured that an engagement session is a good excuse for a glass or two of wine, and Kelly & Mike picked up…guess what… THE ISTHMUS! We paid homage to the Isthmus in this shot, as a thank you for making this wonderful event possible!
No peeking!
We headed on over to Kelly & Mike’s lovely home on Madison’s West side. They live right across the street from a nature preserve, and on top of that they have this beautiful willow tree in their backyard! How stunning with the afternoon light!
Across the street, we found this beautiful birds nest that emerged after the snow melted off the branches. I thought it was a nice, rustic background for one more shot of Kelly’s one-of-a-kind ring:
With the sun quickly dropping behind the horizon, we had to work fast to get some sunset shots in. Oh, lovely light!
I just love this shot of the two of them… They look so peacefully happy together!
This next shot is hands-down my FAVORITE image of the day. I love it so much that I’ve found the couple one more wonderful donation: A CANVAS WRAP! And an eco-friendly one at that! Pixel2Canvas is a great company whose owner I met at WPPI last week (a professional photography conference held annually in Las Vegas). She was so excited about the event when I told her about it that the first words out of her mouth were, “Can I donate their canvas?!” Um, how could I say no to that? SO, congratulations, guys…you’ll be receiving this GORGEOUS image as a gallery-wrapped canvas to display in your home! Pixel2Canvas uses OBA-free printing and their stretchers are from reforested wood that is grown in the US. How wonderful!
As we began the walk back to Isle View, I caught this wonderful moment… The happy couple walking hand-in-hand towards their home together. Sigh!
To Kelly & Mike: I cannot express how honored I am to be a part of your wedding day. I am learning so much about being earth-friendly in my business! I’ve had a wonderful time getting to know you, and I can’t wait for your wedding…just one month away! I will forever remember this unique experience!
To keep up with Kelly & Mike’s adventures in eco-friendly wedding planning, PLEASE visit their blog and leave some love!! They are diligently documenting all of their experiences and spotlighting all of the local vendors making it possible.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT KELLY & MIKE’S ECO-FRIENDLY WEDDING BLOG
For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!
by Mandie Haberman
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