A Purple-Themed Wedding at Lone Summit Ranch
Lone Summit Ranch, located between Lee’s Summit and Lone Jack, is an elegant country retreat and a Midwest wedding photographer’s dream. The property is expansive, with beautiful trees, open spaces, and several ceremony locations to choose from. The tree-lined entrance opens up to a beautifully manicured estate, and the reception hall features a gorgeous stone fireplace and space for up to 350 guests.
I love all of my weddings, but John and Hadley’s wedding at Lone Summit Ranch is definitely one of my favorites.
A Purple Wedding from Start to Finish
Hadley started the day surrounded by her girls in the bridal cottage. She looked absolutely amazing in her wedding dress, surrounded by purple details that carried throughout the entire day. Her bridesmaids and flower girl looked beautiful in their violet dresses, while John and the guys cleaned up pretty well themselves in black suits with pops of purple in their bow ties and vests.
And yes, I may be a little partial to a purple wedding!
Hadley and John decided not to see each other before the ceremony, which meant having my second photographer, Lori, was a huge help. Lone Summit Ranch is such a large property that we could photograph the ladies and gentlemen at the same time without running into each other.
While I photographed Hadley and her girls around the property, Lori took care of John and the guys. It made the morning run smoothly and allowed us to get a lot of great images before the ceremony without giving away the surprise.
Favorite Photography Locations at Lone Summit Ranch
There are so many great places to photograph around Lone Summit Ranch. Some of my favorites include:
The tree-lined entrance
The deck off the reception hall
The Lone Summit Ranch truck
The gate at the front entrance
The water fountain in front of the bridal cottage
The carriage house
The old silo and barn
The pond
With a property this large, there are plenty of options for portraits, and we can move around and create a variety of looks without having to leave the venue.
A Sea of Purple
Hadley and John’s ceremony was decorated with gorgeous florals from Licata’s Flowers. Purple was definitely the theme of the day—and Hadley took it seriously! Guests were even asked to humor the bride by wearing any shade of lavender or purple that they could find.
The ceremony also featured a string quartet, and Hadley and her dad made their entrance in a horse-drawn carriage. The weather couldn't have been better, and seeing a whole crowd of guests dressed in shades of purple was pretty spectacular.
Portraits Around the Ranch
While the guests enjoyed cocktail hour, we took care of the family formals and then had some fun with John and Hadley around the ranch.
This is one of my favorite parts of a wedding day. Once the family photos are finished, we can slow down for a few minutes, explore the property, find some beautiful light, and let the couple just enjoy being together. Lone Summit Ranch gives us so many opportunities to do that.
A Fun Reception and a Special Surprise
The reception was beautifully decorated and featured a live band that kept everyone on the dance floor.
During the toasts, Hadley’s dad surprised everyone by getting up and singing to the newlyweds. I’m sure that is one of those wedding-day memories John and Hadley will talk about for years to come.
And then there was the cake—a gorgeous six-tier wedding cake that looked almost too pretty to eat!
The night ended with a sparkler send-off, giving us one last opportunity to capture John and Hadley surrounded by their friends and family.
A beautiful ranch, a horse-drawn carriage, a string quartet, a six-tier cake, a live band, and an entire wedding party dressed in purple… John and Hadley’s Lone Summit Ranch wedding was definitely one for the books.
