.:elizabeth & billy:.

Sometimes it feels like a small, small world. What does one tiny PR firm in St. Louis have in common? Their employees are super cool cats and many of them seem to like hiring us for their weddings. You won't find any complaints here. Billy is employee number four from the firm to hire us to do his St. Louis wedding.

Elizabeth and Billy are really awesome together. Sure, everyone says that but I promise this time. Elizabeth and Billy really are great together. Some (by some, I mean me, Mallory) may even use the word adorable to describe their relationship. (And as a side note, if you are a dude and are reading this don't ever take offense if some other gal calls your relationship with your fiance/girlfriend "adorable". It is a total compliment!) When we did their engagement shoot awhile back in St. Louis it was so less like a photoshoot and much more like a hangout session with new friends. Elizabeth and Billy are some of the blessed few that hold the reigns of their lives loosely and have learned to laugh at themselves. The two are super laidback and ridiculously sweet (seriously, RIDICULOUSLY sweet). Hardly a moment passes before at least one of them gets a huge grin on his or her face. They are just a delight.

Elizabeth and Billy were married on a stormy, warm day full of tornadoes on New Year's Eve. (So weird, this Missouri weather.) We arrived in St. Louis to be greeted by a mechanical voice stating "Seek shelter immediately. Seek shelter immediately." I thought perhaps we should heed the advice of this robot man voice but, of course, Brian being Brian, he decided we should book it to Elizabeth's, where we were to be starting the day in about an hour, rather than seek shelter. So with a whole lot of prayer and a leery eye at the darkening southwesternly sky as we drove towards Elizabeth's apartment, we started our New Year's Eve celebration in a more adventurely fashion than usual.

Needless to say, we arrived alive at Elizabeth's and the weather even calmed enough that the gals ordered pizza a bit later. After the tornadoes cleared the area (no worries, it stayed south of us!) the sky brightened up and it became absolutely beautiful for taking photos! We started at Art Hill, where Billy originally proposed to Elizabeth a year ago, and did their "First Look." (For more on why this is AWESOME, visit our post on Megan & Ben from this summer here). I LOVE First Looks but this one had to be one of my favorites. You'll have to check them out below. Elizabeth and Billy got a few moments not only to themselves, but it was a chance to start getting excited about their day together. The beauty of togetherness!

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. They had their gorgeous ceremony at St. Ambrose on the Hill where Billy's priest came back all the way from Belize to officiate. The party then moved to The Rialto Ballroom where we set up a photobooth in the old (non-working) elevator. Their guests could then hang out on the balcony during the not one, but two sets of fireworks displays. When the time came for the New Year to begin, the staff passed out horns and hats fitting of the celebration. The best part? Elizabeth and Billy forgoed (or would it be forwent?) traditional wedding cake in favor of frozen custard and cookies and, thankfully, shared with their guests. We couldn't think of a better way to bring in 2011!

Elizabeth & Billy's official colors were silver and black but they accented everything with purple and red. Which meant the bridesmaids could get creative in their shoe choices. Love it!

Billy's brothers share something funny (and, likely, totally appropriate) with the rest of the guys.

Elizabeth's cousin, Jen, is also a photographer. She was in on Billy's secret proposal at Art Hill a year ago and was awesome enough to capture the whole thing on her DSLR. She couldn't do the photos since she was the matron of honor but we hope we did them justice!

Billy's brother, P.J., helped Billy put on his suspenders and then apparently demonstrated to the rest of the guys how suspenders were to be put on. We won't show those photos.

Elizabeth gave all of the bridesmaids matching handmade necklaces that were adorable!

Jewelry is always chosen last minute!

The Art Hill reveal!

Totally teared up like a sucker the first time I came across this photo.

Union Station. Look aloof. Or awesome. Either one is fine.

It started sprinkling outside just as guests began arriving to the wedding but no one looked grumpy!

See what I mean by breathtaking?

They still couldn't help but wear goofy grins as they stared at one another during the ceremony. Too adorable!

During toasts. One of my favorites.

Happy New Year!

Maureen helped coordinate the day. We discovered she is also good friends with the couple whose wedding we'll be doing in St. Louis in February. Such a small, small world!

Can't bring in the new year without sparklers, right?

The groomsmen all wore Irish hats at the reception in honor of Billy's Irish heritage. Pretty nifty, huh?

Thank you, Elizabeth and Billy and thank you so much for letting us share the day with you and your amazing attendants. Between the groomsmen's funny antics (Brian has told me stories that I shall not repeat online) and the bridesmaids' ridiculously huge hearts and great tales of fun, we ended the day feeling completely honored to have been a part of it all.

Isn't love grand?

Hugs and all that stuff (Our favorite photo from the photobooth we set up at the wedding),

Mallory (& Brian)