Gmartel Photography

Gmartel Photography Photographer based out of Madison, WI.

Dinda and Geron, a few favorite frames. •••Vendor Dream TeamGrant Martel | Madison, WI & Chicago Wedding Photographer Mi...
07/21/2026

Dinda and Geron, a few favorite frames.

•••

Vendor Dream Team

Grant Martel | Madison, WI & Chicago Wedding Photographer
Miriam Events Co | Lydia Turino
Milwaukee Airwaves
Feisty Flowers
Koru Ceremony
1841 Farms & Vineyard
Chicago Wedding Photographers
Food & Cake Wedding Films
Rolling Pin Bake Shop

Why do you want to have a wedding?It’s one of the first questions I ask couples.Most of the time the answer revolves aro...
07/08/2026

Why do you want to have a wedding?

It’s one of the first questions I ask couples.

Most of the time the answer revolves around family, presence, and wanting the day to feel true to who they are.

A wedding can snowball into a production so fast but the photographs that mean the most usually come from the parts of the day that were never performed.

The images that hold depth can’t be faked or scripted and more often than not, they’re found in the answer to that question.

That answer tells me what needs to be protected.

What needs to be given space to expand.
What to listen for.
What to move toward.
What to leave untouched.

The goal is never to make images that are beautiful but rather to find beauty in the parts of the day that are already meaningful before I ever lifted a camera.

Sometimes a wedding day feels like more than a wedding.It feels like an entire community gathering around two people, no...
06/30/2026

Sometimes a wedding day feels like more than a wedding.

It feels like an entire community gathering around two people, not just to celebrate them, but to reflect back all of the love, care and energy they have sowed into others.

Ashly and Chris were surrounded by that kind of love. The kind that doesn’t happen by accident. The kind that comes back around because it has been given freely

again and again and again.

A special one to witness.

•••

Vendor Team

Photo: Grant Martel | Madison, WI & Chicago Wedding Photographer
Additional Photographer: Madison Documentary Wedding Photographers
Planning & Design: Brooke | Wisconsin Wedding Planner
Venue & Bar: Foundry 45 | Wisconsin Wedding & Event Venue
Video: Ward 3 Media
Catering, Linens, Rentals: Flavors of Grace
Bridal Bouquet: Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse
Florals: Something Borrowed Blooms- Premium Silk Flower Rentals Charlotte Collection
DJ: Enclave Light and Sound
Stationary: Basic Invite
HMU: Bridal & Event Hair & Makeup. Milwaukee • Phoenix • Destination
Dress: Vera's House of Bridals
Bridesmaids: Amanda Osinski
Suits: SuitShop | Wedding Suits & Tuxedos

Life lately, April. I recently had a conversation with a couple at a wedding, they’re expecting their first child at the...
06/18/2026

Life lately, April.

I recently had a conversation with a couple at a wedding, they’re expecting their first child at the end of summer and asked me about parenthood. They asked if I had any advice, I think I said something along the lines of try to live in the now because that kid is going to grow up way too fast, cliche but true.

What I didn’t share with them is that having children is the most rewarding but difficult thing I’ve ever done.

Some days feel like drowning. Everything arrives at once and you’re just trying to keep your head above water long enough to make it to tomorrow. Then the house gets quiet and you’re left alone with the guilt of where you fell short, the anxiety of whether you’re doing enough, and the promise that you’ll do better tomorrow.

Sometimes you do.

Sometimes you don’t.

Other days feel like winning the lottery. You look around at the ordinary moments unfolding in front of you and wonder how life could possibly get any better than this. You recognize that one day these little hands won’t reach for yours, and these small voices won’t call from the next room.

Parenthood seems to exist in that tension.

Exhaustion and gratitude.
Overwhelm and joy.
Wanting the day to end while simultaneously wishing you could slow time down.

It’s a balancing act that never quite feels balanced.

Life is short, and the season of watching your babies become little humans is even shorter.

The best I’ve come up with so far is to forgive quickly, stay present when you can and hold on tightly to the right now.

Because before long, it becomes the thing you miss the most.

Last weekend with Finley and Andy, some favorites frames.
06/14/2026

Last weekend with Finley and Andy, some favorites frames.

Cameil and John got married last weekend, here’s how it felt.•••Vendor Dream Team
05/15/2026

Cameil and John got married last weekend, here’s how it felt.

•••

Vendor Dream Team











Raindrops and wedding dresses. A day that’s frequented my mind over the years. •••This was one of the first weddings tha...
05/07/2026

Raindrops and wedding dresses.

A day that’s frequented my mind over the years.

•••

This was one of the first weddings that shot with me and proved how valuable it is to have homies in this industry. Psyched to make some more art this weekend with him.

The Harris Family For the first few years of my career I made an effort to not shoot any family work, I think I had this...
05/05/2026

The Harris Family

For the first few years of my career I made an effort to not shoot any family work, I think I had this notion that it had to be a hyper perfect representation of infancy, of beginnings where no one knows what’s happening and life is chaotic. Trying to fake perfection in that realm is nearly impossible, it’s stressful for everyone and to be completely honest, it just doesn’t make me feel anything.

I had a realization shortly after, I’ve been approaching that work wrong. If I document families in the same way as my own then I bypass all of the falsehoods and I am able to create imagery that feels like real life because it is.

Life is messy, especially when you have children. To show the truth will be immensely more impactful to the family as they age and grow.

Honored to be returning to this little family as they continue writing their story, thankful for the gift that is allowing me to document as they are.

Photographs for your children and theirs, legacy at the forefront.

A trip to see my grandparents.Photography for me has always been about preservation, I’m incredibly fortunate to have th...
05/04/2026

A trip to see my grandparents.

Photography for me has always been about preservation, I’m incredibly fortunate to have these two still in my life but I am not a stranger to how fleeting time is.

I want my children to have a record of who their great grandparents were.

How they made tea every single morning.

How much my Mimi loved her flowers, how great of an artist my Papa was.

How we would spend afternoons on their front porch, talking and laughing at the kids.

I want them to hear how they laughed.

I want to show them how much love they shared with them, how distance in a car couldn’t change that.

Document your life, it’s worth the effort.

Photographs from and for the heart.

How it felt, an excerpt from Hannah & Zach’s day at the Tinsmith.
05/02/2026

How it felt, an excerpt from Hannah & Zach’s day at the Tinsmith.

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Waunakee, WI
53597

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