ilana natasha photography

Friendly reminder: you don’t need kids or anything resembling a traditional family in order to have family portraits done.

I have opinions about lines.

DMV lines? Mostly necessary. Dinner lines? If it makes sense! Sparkler lines? Oof. Those can be pretty dang cute, or painfully contrived. Receiving lines? I think they’re emotionally deflating for the surge of feelings that happens during a wedding ceremony 90% of the time. There are plenty of other ways to carve paths for people to express their happiness for the couple without the rigidity of a neat and planned greeting.

I bet if this guy had to wait in a line to hug his brother and sister-in-law, this photo wouldn’t have been as fun. The dog on the other hand chose to wait for the perfect time cuddle-gratulate his people during their first dance.

Weddings don’t need to follow the imaginary rulebook of weddinging. If they did, I would quit. I’m into ecstatic chaos.

This guy gets it.

Who is one of my favorite people? .cassidy.photography. What’s one of my favorite things? Photography. It’s always a good day when you get to work alongside your friend as their second photographer on a stunning September Saturday.

Good ol’ rock paper scissors to determine who goes first.

💕

Hot Summer G**s. July 28, 2023 🪩🏳️‍🌈

Part 3 of 3: Bean!

Fast forward a few years, a pandemic, a handful of moves, some significant life changes, but most importantly, some q***r magic brewing in Jac’s belly ♥️

Part 2 of 3: Jac!

During Sasha’s 30th birthday gathering in her backyard in July of 2019, I saw Sasha kiss a person that wasn’t Sheena. I soon found out this new human was Jac, an incredibly intelligent and big-hearted human who was dating both Sasha and Sheena 🥰

Jac and Sheena met at a farming convention, and Sheena soon introduced Jac to Sasha. Sheena and jac continued dating but the three of them also had a relationship.

The concept of non-traditional relationships wasn’t entirely new to me. I had read about polyamory and other non-traditional relationship structures, as well as having dated someone who identified as poly (though I tried to make them fit in the monogamous box at the time). Seeing poly in practice? That was absolutely new to me. So when I saw Sasha kiss Jac while Sheena was probably Sheena-ing the grill, I became curious about how the hell it all worked. Did it actually work?

It turns out Sasha, Sheena, and Jac had a beautiful, caring, and intentional relationship where they were able to show up for one another with respect, love, playfulness, and open and honest communication.

They did all of that while confidently owning who they were and how they loved. Their existence as individuals and in relationship expanded my understanding of the different forms love can take.

Part 1 of 3: Sasha, Sheena, and East Mifflin.

Do you remember that feeling as a child when you saw the neighbor kids playing outside, but you were too shy to ask to play with them, so you just caught glimpses of their fun through your windows?

That’s how I felt when Sheena + Sasha moved in across from me on east Mifflin in the spring of 2018. I would catch snippets of them having friends over for cookouts, laughter, and fires, and as a recovering shy kid, I hoped they’d wave me down one day to say hi and fulfill my shy kid dreams of becoming close friends with your neighbors.

On June 23, 2018, after photographing + ’s memorable wedding, I went back home to backup their photos and play approximately 8 minutes of guitar before meeting my friend Jenn at the Caribou for a post-work drink.

On our walk back home around bar time, one of the humans from across the street waved me and Jenn down. We joined Sasha in her front yard, and I instantly regretted not building up the courage to say hi sooner to my new neighbors.

After an hour of learning about each other, Sheena, dressed in her tighty whities, a white t shirt, and bed head, pushed open the screen door to the front of their house and and said,

“It’s after 3 am. Are you coming to bed?”

I forget how the night ended, but I remember eventually making the 12 second walk back home feeling excited to have met Sasha, and being intimidated by Sheena.

After a few small hangs, Sasha invited me for her backyard birthday celebration on July 4th where I got to partake in all of the fun I used to catch from my quick glimpses earlier that year.

Sheena’s intimidation factor began to wear off and my appreciation for her began to grow as I saw how deeply Sheena loved Sasha, and how much she cared for the people around her. Entering their backyard was like stepping through a portal to a community of humans I didn’t realize existed in Madison.

Sasha and Sheena were the q***rdos I hadn’t realized I had been missing in my first 30.5 years of life.

My inquiry form: I support everyone’s right to marry the person they love and choose to not work with any vendor who discriminates against a couple based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Does your wedding venue support LGBTQ+ weddings? (required if inquiring about wedding photography)

Pete’s response: Our party venue (Tinsmith) is lgbtq+ friendly and our dance party is going to be VERY gay.

ilana: VERY gay? I’m in.

Groomsman: Hey! Could you please take my picture? I want something for tinder.
#608

Cat dads, Johan + Austin.

When your wedding day coincides with an abortion rights rally a few steps from your venue, you show up.

, I began to write about the things we’ve experienced together in the 14 years we’ve been friends, but I realized I have to get in the shower so I can make it to your wedding earlier than on time. Plus, you know I get puffy eyes when I cry, and I’d rather save the rest of my tears for when I get to be there to photograph you and . Thank you for being one of my most reliable, honest, supportive, organized, kindly blunt, perfectly punctual (we all need someone to balance us out, eh?), and accepting friends I’ve been so lucky to have. I’ve admired you since the day I met you. It brings me so much joy and and comfort knowing you’re choosing to partner with Alex, someone who is as equally as impressive as you. I love you and I can’t wait to celebrate and document today ❤️

🎵 What goes up, must come down 🎵

4 years ago, Toria, Milap, and I unintentionally trained for their wedding day during their Lake Monona engagement session. That February afternoon foreshadowed their wedding so accurately. Warning: Milap broke his hip. If you want to see how, swipe left 🙂 Thanks to for braving it out and photographing that moment. When Toria found out 20 minutes before her wedding ceremony, she was calmer than I thought was humanly possible (eh em, she was clearly born to be a surgeon). Thankfully, I think 99% of the guests at their wedding were also doctors, so they examined Milap after the ceremony, determined he wasn’t going to die, carried on dancing, and Milap graciously lent his crutch to their wedding party to use as a limbo stick.

Daylight saving time countdown: 39 days.