Grain Exchange Wedding: Candice & Ramard!

You could call Candice and Ramard “do-it-yourselfers”. They are self-made people who have yet to be hindered by the concept of a limitation. Their Grain Exchange wedding was no exception. To start off, they had a band from Atlanta, a DJ from Milwaukee, an amazing self-directed R&B video featuring the two of them and their five sons. Then, using copious amount of uplighting, they revealed that Candice will indeed be delivering their sixth son soon. This guaranteed that it was a sparkle-infused reception that everyone will be talking about for a long time.

This was actually the third wedding-related event we documented for Candice and Ramard. Back when the weather was much nicer, they had us capture their Wedding Party Proposal Party at Cafe Hollander on the East Side. The night before the wedding, we got to shoot their rehearsal and dinner as well! It’s always a treat when we arrive at a wedding already knowing some of the key players and that was certainly the case with Candice and Ramard. Since our goal is always to blend in and tell a very natural story, having this familiarity already in place is a huge asset.

Not that this group needs a lot of ice-breaking. From the moment we first spent time with this wedding party months ago, they had each welcomed us into the fold with all the warmth we could hope for. With a wedding party this size (29 people including the bride and groom), that’s a lot of love. It was great to meet the other 200+ guests and find the same qualities in them. None of this was a surprise to us as Candice and Ramard are two of the sweetest people we have had the chance to work with.

Despite the many people filling up two separate getting ready rooms the morning of the wedding day at Potawatomi Casino and Hotel it was nice and relaxed. We had plenty of time to document the hair and makeup process as well as find creative ways to photograph Candice’s dress, Ramard’s Rolex (a gift from Candice) and each of their extremely sparkly shoes.

Art Below Zero made this amazing ice sculpture and Bartolotta Catering provided these delicious desserts featured at Grain Exchange!

Double Platinum brought their LED lighted dance floor and took this Grain Exchange wedding to the next level.