Anderson Japanese Gardens Wedding, Rockford Wedding Photos // Jay+Matt

Last weekend, Jose and Jay, two Fox+Ivory’s lead photographers were onsite to capture all of the best moments in an epic Rockford wedding. In Illinois you never know what to expect of the weather in October, for Jay and Matt’s special day they had it all! The day began with drizzling rain that turned to high winds and sleet followed by the first snowfall of the season. It is said that rain on a wedding day is good luck, I guess that means that Jay Jay and Matt are a seriously lucky couple! The lovely couple and their groomsmaids got ready together at the Holiday Inn in Rockford then made their way over to the truly amazing Anderson Japanese Garden. With the magnificently manicured landscaping and beautiful grounds the Anderson Japanese Garden is without a doubt my favorite location to shoot this year! In a beautiful ceremony Jay Jay and Matt exchanged vows and tied the knot in front of their closest friends and family. The celebration picked back up at the awesome Hoffman House where the couple and friends danced late into the night. We are super excited to share some of our favorite photos from the day, we hope you love them as much as we do! All of our best to the happy couple.

Fox + Ivory left my wife and I with a lasting impression. From their involved and inclusive planning, to their encouraging and considerate assistance, and ultimately their stunning production of our wedding's signature moments, we could not have asked for more. The week prior to our wedding, we conferenced with Jay and nailed down our schedule ensuring that we would capture every photo that we wanted. On the day of the wedding, we met a multitude of friendly and talented photographers and videographers. They were kind, organized, and reflected the energy we felt going into the day. The day went without a hitch and, while we took a lot of photos and video, we never felt distracted or pulled away from our wedding party. The quality of the photos was top tier and the video also summarized our day perfectly. We highly recommend Fox + Ivory to anyone who wants the best photography experience for their wedding.

Ben Meza

2023-01-14

I HIGHLY recommend Fox and Ivory! We had the best experience with them. Hiring a *talented* and skilled photographer for our wedding was incredibly important to us. I spent a tremendous amount of time researching and I am so glad that we went with Fox and Ivory. We chose Jeremy as our photographer. He was AMAZING!! He was on point the entire day. Incredibly professional, talented, and fun!! Several things I want to mention: Your final gallery will have beautiful photos that are professionally edited. They do not slap a filter on your pictures or edit the saturation so much that the photo clearly looks edited. I LOVE our pictures. They look like us. If I could go back in time, I would have splurged to have Jeremy beyond the 8 hours included in the package we went with and/or a second photographer. Last thing. Jeremy was worth every penny we paid and more. I cannot recommend him or Fox and Ivory enough.

Gina

2023-01-05

Jay was awesome to work with. He handled dealing with some pushy people well and focuses on what we wanted. He communicated well in advance, confirmed what was happening and when, and made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. Highly recommend

Jade Rogers

2022-12-23

We initially engaged Fox & Ivory to shoot our wedding after our venue raved about their relationship with them. Throughout the wedding process, the team at Fox & Ivory (Jay, specifically) was so wonderful to work with! Everything from our initial phone call to scheduling our timeline to being paired with our photographer, to the day of, and ultimately receiving the final photo/video products was very professional and handled with extra care. In the months leading up to our wedding, we had several calls with Jay, in which he answered infinite questions and provided his expert opinion as we planned the details of our wedding. Weeks before our wedding, we learned that the suburban downtown in which our venue was located would be blocked off due to an outdoor festival and that the photoshoot locations we had in mind would be unavailable. The team and Fox & Ivory did not see this as an issue at all and quickly calmed our nerves by coming up with numerous back up plans, all of which resulted in gorgeous photos! We were paired with Peter as our day of photographer and he was excellent at capturing the candid, meaningful moments, as well as the party, and was really helpful in making the posed, emotional photos feel natural and comfortable. At times our bridal party and families were less than cooperative and Peter was quick to reel everyone back in and effortlessly managed tricky family dynamics! We chose not to do a first look and so the time between our ceremony and reception was crucial for getting all shots that we wanted and Peter took this very seriously and worked with us to efficiently capture everything we could have dreamed of! Peter and the two videographers he had on his team worked seamlessly together, helped us create a fun and relaxed atmosphere, and ultimately delivered beautiful photos and video. We would highly recommend the team at Fox & Ivory to any couple looking for a wedding photographer, or anyone looking for a fun, reasonably priced photoshoot.

Sara

2022-11-10

Jeremy was wonderful to have be apart of my best friend's wedding in October of 2022. He put the whole group at ease about photos and was never pushy with timing or location of photos. He was a joy to work with and we are so grateful!

Chloe Overstreet

2022-10-25

As a professional photographer myself, selecting a team to capture my wedding was a big decision. I am so glad I chose Fox + Ivory, and I highly recommend them. Jose and his team were super easy and enjoyable to work with on my wedding day. While they captured all kinds of beautiful moments, I never felt like the day was consumed with posing for photos (instead of enjoying the event). They did a wonderful job capturing the various shots that I requested (like my daughter spinning in her pretty dress) as well as creating unique and memorable scenes (like my step daughter blowing bubbles while my husband and I danced). The still images contain moments and memories we will cherish forever. The highlight video was all that and MORE. Wow, what a beautiful job. Every time I watch it I am left grinning from ear to ear. Thank you for being so awesome at what you do. I KNOW it's not easy, but you make it look like it is.

Lauren McLeod

2022-10-21

Our lead photographer Nisa was incredible to work with. I've always felt insecure in front of the camera, but she made me feel so confident and calm that day. I was worried I'd feel like a celebrity with cameras flashing in my face all day, but the Fox + Ivory team must have invisibility cloaks. They discretely captured all of our candid moments and allowed me to feel fully present on my wedding day. Our team of photographers and videographers felt like old friends. The whole team was fun, professional and responsive throughout our whole engagement. We cannot thank them enough !

Kristin Bolek

2022-09-07

If you want an organized, fun-loving team of photographers on your wedding day, Fox + Ivory is the vendor for you! We discovered Fox + Ivory on The Knot. After reviewing their amazing portfolio, I filled out the Contact form on their website, and Jay reached out to me with confirmation of availability and package information. We selected a 9-hour, 2-photographer package, and Jay paired us with Jeremy. Jay provided us several tools to better design our photography plan, including a questionnaire to build our day-of timeline (which was EXTREMELY helpful) and a worksheet with our notes detailing the different types of pictures we wanted taken. We also completed two planning phone calls—one with Jay, one with Jeremy—to further discuss the game plan as well as any questions we had. Working with them on our wedding day was great! Jeremy and Tom arrived right on time and easily worked with us, our groomsmen, bridesmaids, family members, and day-of coordinator to capture all our getting-ready photos. Pictures were taken in a candid, comfortable manner; we all had lots of laughs when attempting both serious and silly photos; and they were very patient with us even when we ran slightly behind schedule. They were very open to our ideas and we definitely appreciated all their suggestions too! At our venue, they were incredibly considerate with our group as we took photos outside, letting us take breaks from time to time to avoid the heat and bugs and for me to get off my feet. They were also super patient when we gathered up family for portraits following the ceremony. We can’t wait to see our photos but we’re certain they will turn out perfect! My husband and I recommend Fox + Ivory for your photography needs!

Taylor Rusen-Tunk

2022-07-10

In our search for the best wedding photos, we reached out to over 15 photographers, and Fox + Ivory easily stood out from everyone far and above. In the span of over two years, from the first email to receiving the full gallery, Fox + Ivory was nothing short of incredible and efficient. The team is extremely communicative, friendly, professional, enthusiastic and genuine. Due to the pandemic, we rescheduled our wedding and communicating with Niki made the process smooth and worry-free. We felt extremely lucky to have had Peter & Jay as our photographers. Peter & Jay were incredibly personable, patient and skilled shooters. They were terrific at guiding, adjusting on the fly, making everything just flow well and very down to earth as if you were age-old friends. Our gallery was terrific and you absolutely cannot go wrong with Fox + Ivory for one of the most important aspects of a wedding.

Eddie Moy

2022-07-06

The Fox + Ivory team has to be hands down the best photographer/videographers in the business. They did full coverage for our wedding (photo and video services) - and we couldn't be happier! We were fortunate to work with a number of folks from their team and, I have to say, it is almost unbelievable that they can have so many talented, genuine, fun, and professional people all in one place. Their process was organic and fun - they made the staged photos enjoyable, and did an exceptional job of capturing all the special, un-staged moments. They did amazing job of preserving all the key parts of our wedding. All of the photos are stunning - our wedding album is full and every page is more beautiful than the last. And the videos - the coverage film is wonderful, and we cannot stop watching the highlight video. The editing and stylistic choices feel so personal to us. It's amazing. Even beyond the wedding day itself, this team lives and breathes weddings. They were happy to offer recommendations for other vendors, were conscious of our schedules for getting planning calls coordinated, and just really understood what our vision was (they even learned how our cultural wedding ceremony would work so that they could best place themselves). You can see plainly from the joy they bring to the wedding day and the high quality product they deliver, Fox + Ivory have a passion and a talent for their craft. I would recommend them for any event you may need them for. Thank you all for making our day so special and giving us the ability to remember it forever!

Vasiliki Valkanas Sposito

2022-06-02