Amanda and Peter’s Wedding at Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake, Illinois

Amanda and Peter’s wedding was so much fun! From their lovely Ceremony at St Gilbert Church in Grayslake, to their spirited and joyful reception, it was a pleasure to photograph. Here’s a Q&A with the Couple, and then on to some photos!

Looking back, what where some of your favorite parts or moments of the Wedding day?    
Peter : Standing at the altar, watching Amanda walking down the aisle. She looked absolutely stunning. That’s was my favorite moment of the day. Before that , I always felt a wedding was too much work for a too short period of time. But at that moment, I suddenly felt that everything was worth it.

Amanda: My favorite moment of the day was actually after the ceremony , when Father John introduced us to everyone as the new Mr and Mrs Murphy.

Amanda: It’s my bouquet. I had two little photo charms and pinned them to my bouquet. The photos were of my father who past away several years ago and my dog Pipi who died earlier this year. Having their photos on my bouquet made me feel they were there with me on the most special day of my life.

We really didn’t have any clue until we picked the venue. Byron Colby Barn has a very strong styling of its own and we just followed it. We both enjoy the simple barn feeling and it worked out pretty well. Of course we got a lot of ideas about the detailed decor on Pinterest which Amanda is addicted to.

When you ask your two year old nephew to be the ring bearer, you would get some funny moment like this. At the ceremony right before our little ring bearer was supposed to walk in, he totally lost control. His dad had to catch him and carry him on the shoulder to walk down the aisle. He was crying, everybody else was laughing. It was very dramatic.

DO THOSE SILLY DANCES! Before the wedding we were told by many people don’t put silly dances on the music list. One of Peter’s sisters told me she would use the Chicken Dance as the restroom break. On the other hand the elder members in the family wanted this music. We decided to not put them on the “must play” list but if anybody requests them at the reception, they can have it. So we did the Chicken Dance, Polka and some other silly ones. And they were FUN! Even the sister who commented about the restroom break danced to all of them ( maybe because she was already pretty drunk by that time ) !

We haven’t but are going to. Since most of Amanda’s family members and friends are in China, we are going to have another wedding in China. We are planning to go on our honey moon after that. In terms of location , it’s gonna be either Palau or Maldives.