Kyle & Kaitlyn | Dairy Farm Engagement Photos
Kaity and Kyle booked me as their Wisconsin wedding photographer the night they got engaged. I'm just as humbled by this now as the moment they told me this detail. That is a compliment I won't soon (or ever forget). -- As I hopped out of my jeep, I was greeted by low moo's, an old red hay barn, and a glowing sunset. I met Kaity and Kyle for their Ontario, Wisconsin in classic farm country. Their session began with swinging on childhood swings, and ended with us going out for a classic Friday night fish fry in small town Wisconsin. Hands down, Kaity and Kyle have one of the most fun filled relationships I've ever seen. When you meet these two you'll become instant friends. That's just how welcoming they are. They are 100% real. And they are 100% head over heels for each other. So buckle up buttercup. Kaity filled me in on the details of their relationship and you are about to experience a wide range of emotions while reading their backstory (I didn't change a single word- this is ENTIRELY her story telling). I'll bet you one Wisconsin Friday Night Fishfry that you'll be both crying AND doubled over laughing during this light-hearted read.
Kyle and I never had that moment that others have when they see each other across a room or on social media. Kyle and I are the 3rd generation of a long story of friends. Our grandparents were a bar-running, card playing, and Vegas going group. They started the whole thing, so we need to give them the credit they deserve for our "meeting". Then our parents (my dad and his mom) were roommates. They lived in an apartment above my grandparents' bar (the bar you guys joined us for fish after our engagement shoot) in Ontario, W. They were the wild kids. Most of their stories are not ones Kyle and I are still hearing be told over and over again. These stories are filled with drunken scandals and this weird one involving "pony underwear" that we still don't understand. Their friendship continues to this day.
Then come us; the kids of the kids of the beginning. Even though I don't remember "meeting" Kyle, I do have a treasure of memories of us. The earliest memory I have is from our elementary school days. I was probably only 5 or so and Kyle had to be around 8. Kyle would wear a Mountain Dew ballcap that I had made my mission to take from him (thrilling game, I know). We did this same routine of me chasing him, taking his hat, then him chasing me to steal it back. One of his friends, I assume Glen (one of our groomsmen) tripped me when I had Kyle's hat and told me to leave him alone. I started crying in the dirt (because, duh) and little blonde-headed Kyle came over and helped me up. He took the hat from me and put it back on his head before turning to the boy saying "It's okay, I let her chase me." Then he turned to me and said "give me a ten-second start," then ran off. The story isn't glamorous, by any means.
We didn't have a "moment". Our relationship has turned out to be more of a slowly warming up process. There was never a time in my life that he wasn't really gone. We went to the same school for our whole childhood. Our families spent most summers camping together, enjoying Memorial Day parties and wandering around the 4th of July festivities in Ontario. That went on basically until I went to college. Then Kyle and I started dating other people and we would only see each other on the occasional Chinese food runs and when he would come into the restaurant I worked at for ice cream. He owes me approximately $265 from all of the free strawberry shakes I would give him. This is tricky and has a long backstory. Basically, I had ended a 3-year relationship and moved back home. I would hang out with Kyle at the bar he worked at almost every night; spending my time drinking coffee and doing the crossword at a small town bar after work. I was going back and forth with my ex and Kyle was dealing with his own life issues, so we were "great company". In December of 2015, Kyle had his military ball and asked if I wanted to join him. I was still dealing with my ex at the time and initially told him no. Then, probably 3 hours before the dinner was supposed to start, I texted Kyle and asked him if the offer was still open. I went shopping, grabbed the first dress I saw off the rack and got ready with about 15 minutes to spare. We ended up having a great time and had to keep explaining to people our "relationship" since no one could understand that at the time we were just friends. Even though initially it wasn't a "date", we considered it the start of us beating the "friend zone".
Our "big moments" are probably boring to others. Our first kiss was in a bowling alley that he worked at after his friend, Louis, asked us "So are you we making this thing a thing or not?" Kyle moved in a few months after we started dating. I told him I loved him in our tiny apartment. He had spent over an hour hanging shelves for me after my OCD tendencies had him move, then straighten, then move them again. We found out we're pretty good at being with each other when we had our first, and only, fight in IKEA. We were stupid and thought to go through IKEA after an early 5-hour flight and zero caffeine was a good idea. It wasn't. We ended up screaming at each other over a dresser decision. It lasted all of 15 minutes and now we find it hilarious. We don't recognize many "big moments". We love them all the same.
And if you haven't seen their Wildcat Mountain State Park wedding yet, you're missing out on a stunning outdoor wedding, "I Do" high fives, and mountains of donuts.