I have such an adoration for people who let themselves feel things deeply, probably because I am one of them. Give me the happy tears, the enormous laughs, the hugs that linger a little longer than expected, and the dancing like no one else is in the room.

Makayla and Sam are those people. Fellow members of the Big Hearts Club. My kind of people. They love openly and aren’t afraid to let the people around them know exactly how much they mean to them. Maybe that’s why I’m sharing a little more than I usually do here. They allowed themselves to be connected not only to each other and the people they love, but to me as their photographer too. They let me in.

And something really special happens when that trust is there. I wasn’t standing on the outside looking in. I got to experience the day alongside them, and because of that, the photographs feel especially alive to me. When people aren’t holding back or worrying about how a moment looks, I get to photograph how it actually feels. And with Makayla and Sam, there was so much to feel.
Makayla and Sam have been doing life together for a long time. Since middle school, actually. They’ve grown up together, know each other’s families as their own, and somewhere along the way collected a whole lot of people who love them fiercely.

The skies opened through cocktail hour and dinner, but inside Daniel’s Vineyard, no one seemed to mind. Glasses clinked, conversations flowed, and laughter filled the room while rain danced against the windows outside. By evening, the storm had left behind a soft pink haze and towering clouds that made the vineyard glow. Guests wandered onto the balcony to watch the sunset before heading back inside for another trip to the dance floor.

The Crystal Terrace was nearly empty when Brian turned around for the first time.

Afternoon light poured through the towering windows as Alyssa walked toward him for their first look. It was one of the quietest moments of the day, tucked away inside one of downtown Indianapolis’s most beautiful rooms before the celebration swept them away.