Erin’s Pavilion
We headed out on a Friday afternoon to a pretty, new wedding spot for us – Erin’s Pavilion at Southwinds Park in our capital city of Springfield. The event, rehearsal before wedding day for Cole and Liz. Wow, what an impressive place! The pavilion’s a very new addition in Springfield’s park district, opening in 2010. The facility, named after Erin Elzea, who passed away at 17 due to an enzyme deficiency. Her father Butch helped by donating money and creativity in erecting the pavilion as an ongoing memorial for his daughter.
Before I talk more about the wedding, I have to babble more about the awesome venue Liz and Cole chose!
Open and Inviting
Friday night visit to Erin’s Pavilion was our first. It’s bright, airy and perfect for events. The design of the building and surroundings blend with special features making it both environmentally friendly and beautiful. Water glistens and native flowers grow along with many shrubs. Pathways meander the area along with a few special attractions for children near the pavilion created a whole new attraction. And a few insects buzz around, of course! Liz and Cole planned and received an outdoor wedding with an indoor reception. But bad weather would not have made a difference as the ceremony could easily move indoors and still feel outdoorsy.
The reception hall features huge, gorgeous windows overlooking the lake. Thus creating a perfect backdrop for sunsets (something we definitely used to our advantage!) Also, many rooms line the building providing small and large spaces of different gatherings. This isn’t just a place for weddings but for many other events, too.
We think it’s one of many perfect wedding spots in Springfield, you can check out more about them at their website, Erin’s Pavilion at Southwinds Park.
Liz and Cole
We’ve worked with Cole’s family for many years — starting with a phone call about taking some photos of him and his sisters, Shanae and Hannah. They wanted a surprise Christmas present for their parents. Since those beginnings, Cole has gone on to being instrumental in his father’s business. He became a candidate and then a member of the Dewitt County Board of Supervisors. He’s now also serving on the Board of Education.
His sisters Shanae and Hannah merged their talents in horse-riding and became a nationally-known duo of trick-riders in the rodeo world. We captured images of them early on, riding like the wind. If you want to see some really cool things about this duo, check out their website.
So, of course, we were thrilled when we got the call from Cole to capture his wedding with this awesome young lady he had met in the midst of everything. Her name is Liz. And a awesome addition to the family we already knew. She fits in perfectly.
Rocky
I must mention their son, who played a role in their wedding day. Rocky. We’ve been lucky to get to know him since before he was even born — and working with Liz and Cole on photos of his first year. Complete ham, of course. He had a crazy day, going from arms to arms to arms. You can see some of the photos of the lucky parents and Rocky soon after birth here.
Wedding Day Images
Liz and Cole, their families and their guests were a pleasure to work with on this day. You could see everyone thoroughly celebrating their wedding. So, let’s talk about their beautiful day!
It starts off with Liz and her gals at the Comfort Inn and Suites getting ready for the wedding. We found one of Clinton’s hair specialist’s Stephanie Beck Blass of Shear Paradise working on their hair. And she was joined by Shaenae and Hannah — to my surprise! From trick riding to makeup and hair stylists. Wow.
Actually, words won’t do the day justice. How about a few photos instead?
Beautiful, Breath taking Photography and Couple. We are so Proud and Thankful here at Erin’s Pavilion to host the wedding and reception of Cole and Liz. Congratulations!
[…] a few people ask about the lead photo at sunset of them with the birds at Erin’s Pavilion (here). Not the technical details behind it, but the why of it and what we actually call it. We call […]
Great work. Photographs are really awesome!