From Mission Trip To Marriage
CATHOLIC WEDDINGS
Andrew & Emily's Catholic Wedding
September 12th, 2026 | Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church | Gilman, Minnesota
From A Mission Trip To Marriage
Some love stories begin with a first date.
Emily and Andrew's began with a seven-hour bus ride through Peru.
Back in January 2019, Emily and Andrew each signed up for a two-week mission trip to Chimbote, Peru through Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church. They belonged to the same church and may have crossed paths before, but they didn't really know one another.
That changed somewhere between Lima and Chimbote.
Emily and Andrew ended up sharing a bus seat for seven hours on the journey to where their mission work would take place. They talked the entire way—about anything and everything—and by the time they arrived in Chimbote, they had become quick friends.
And, as it turns out, that seven-hour conversation was just the beginning.
Over the years, Emily and Andrew's story has taken them through home remodeling projects, trips to Florida, motorcycle rides, mission work in Guatemala, work changes, a new home in the country, and countless little moments in between.
Then on Sunday, February 8, 2026, Andrew proposed to Emily at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church—in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
A Catholic Wedding in Gilman
Fast forward to September 12th,2026, Emily and Andrew gathered with their family and friends at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Gilman, Minnesota to begin their marriage.
The morning was filled with anticipation.
Because Emily and Andrew chose not to have a first look, there was an extra sweetness to those final moments before the ceremony. Emily spent the morning with her bridesmaids, Andrew with his groomsmen, and the two prepared separately for the moment when they would finally see one another at the altar.
They instead did the sweetest "first touch" and exchanged personalized letters to each other. It was so intimate and so sweet to witness each other chat with eachother, share the cutest memories and spend some time with each other without seeing each other before getting to the alter.
The moment they became husband and wife.
There is something uniquely beautiful about photographing a Catholic wedding Mass.
The day is filled with beautiful details—the dress, the flowers, the church, the rings—but those things are ultimately secondary to what is happening at the altar.
Emily and Andrew weren't simply celebrating a wedding.
They were entering into the sacrament of marriage.
Surrounded by the people who have loved them throughout their journey, they exchanged their vows and rings and stood together before God.
There were prayers.
There was the Eucharist.
There were quiet moments of reverence.
And there was the joy of realizing that after seven years of adventures, ordinary days, mission trips, home projects, and everything in between...
they were finally husband and wife.
Just Married
After the Mass, Emily and Andrew walked back down the aisle together for the first time as husband and wife.
And then came the portraits.
These moments gave them a chance to step away from the excitement for just a little while and simply enjoy being married.
To laugh.
To look at each other.
To take in what had just happened.
To have a few moments that belonged just to them.
And, of course, to celebrate the fact that they did it.
A day filled with faith, family & joy
The celebration continued at the Best Western Kelly Inn in St. Cloud, where the tone shifted from the reverence of the church to the joyful celebration of their marriage.
There was laughter, dancing, family, friends, and all of the little moments that make a wedding reception feel like a true celebration of the people who brought a couple to this point.
And I think Emily and Andrew's wedding day beautifully reflected their story.
Faithful. Adventurous. Joyful. Ordinary in the best possible way.
Because their love story wasn't built in one grand moment.
It was built over seven years.
On mission trips.
On long bus rides.
On motorcycle rides.
In a home in the country.
During a pandemic.
Playing Sequence.
And in all the little moments that slowly became a life together.
From Peru to the altar
Emily and Andrew's story began with a mission trip to Peru.
It continued through friendship, dating, adventure, uncertainty, ordinary life, and seven years of growing together.
And now, their story continues as husband and wife.
For me, that is what makes wedding photography so meaningful.
I'm not just photographing how a couple looked on one particular Saturday in September.
I'm photographing the beginning of the next chapter of their story.
The prayers.
The people.
The laughter.
The tears.
The quiet moments.
The sacred moments.
The joy.
All of it.
Emily and Andrew, thank you for trusting me to document such an important chapter of your story. It was such an honor to witness and photograph the beginning of your marriage.
Here's to a lifetime of adventures—and all the beautiful ordinary moments in between.
Planning a Catholic wedding in Minnesota?
Your wedding day is more than a beautiful celebration. It's the beginning of your marriage—and your photographs should preserve the moments that make that beginning meaningful.
As a Minnesota Catholic wedding photographer, I document Catholic weddings with an emphasis on beauty, genuine emotion, and the sacredness at the heart of the day.