Exceptional Wedding Series IX

I decided to start a new blog series this year showing some of my favorite things from each of the weddings I photograph. Since I love to focus on creating a unique wedding experience for each of my couples and pride myself on sharing their personalities in my photos, this blog series has been a great way for me to showcase these unique details. I am sharing something specific that stood out to me from each wedding which I thought was special to the couple. One of the details that stood out to me at Ally & Kevin’s wedding was Ally’s veil and how it was handmade by her family. I thought this was so special that I wanted to make sure to feature it on this blog series! So, I asked Ally a few questions about her veil!

Who made your veil?

My mom, my Aunt Sue (my mom’s sister) and my older sister, Kelly!

How did they make the veil and how long did it take them?

“After falling in love with a veil I had tried on the day I found my wedding dress, I was told the price of it and it was unfortunately way out of my budget.  I was trying to think of ways I could make it work – cutting the cost elsewhere/sacrificing something else I might want to spend more money on, etc. but the thought of spending so much money on something that was clearly way outside of my budget never sat well with me.  While I was having those thoughts, my mom immediately started taking pictures of the veil and was like, “I can either look for something similar at a much cheaper price point or make it for a fraction of the cost. What do we have to lose?”  So as time went on, we never found anything remotely similar at a cheaper price point and my mom was eager to take on a project so she said she was going to make it.

My mom and her sisters are the craftiest people I know and my sisters and I have always been around either helping them with their projects or just admiring from a far so I wasn’t surprised she life-lined my aunt and my older sister to help.  My mom reached out to her sister Sue, who is wonderful at sowing, and ran the idea of making a veil for me past her.  Without hesitation, my Aunt Sue invited my mom to her home in Michigan the following weekend where they would go out on a fact finding mission and learn how to make a veil.  Without knowing as they went walked into a sowing/fabric shop where they would see what type of lace they needed for the veil’s details and what type of material they would need for the veil itself, there happened to be a veil making class going on with one seat available remaining and my Aunt Sue jumped on it!  Seriously, what are the odds.  During the week following, my mom and sister hand cut two different types of lace to make up all the floral detail on the veil and spent hours doing so – ask our hairdresser!  My mom was cutting the lace while at a hair appointment!  After cutting out hundreds of floral patterns from the lace, my Aunt Sue made the trip in to Pittsburgh, and all three of them set up shop in my parents basement for three days straight and hand sowed each piece of floral lace to the veil.  I think they only took one break and that was to watch the Game of Thrones finale.  They identically replicated (if not better!!) the veil I had originally set my eyes on for a fraction of the cost – however I think they would now say that they understand why the veil had cost so much in the first place after all the work and energy they had put in to it!  And I would agree without a doubt.

How special was it to knowing family helped create something for you for your wedding day?

Knowing that my mom, my older sister and my aunt put in so much time, selflessly, to help create something so special for my wedding day truly meant more to me than the veil itself.  The veil was just the extremely beautiful cherry on top!  But the end result was remarkable and I think they could make a business out of it!  However, they might charge what the cost was of the first veil we drew inspiration from!  It’s a piece that my family – my sisters, any of our future daughters or maybe daughter-in-laws – will be able to use if they chose for years to come and really adds to that sentimental piece that I think every bride wants to have on their wedding day.  They certainly did that for me.

Exceptional Wedding Series VIII

I decided to start a new blog series this year showing some of my favorite things from each of the weddings I photograph. Since I love to focus on creating a unique wedding experience for each of my couples and pride myself on sharing their personalities in my photos, this blog series has been a great way for me to showcase these unique details. I am sharing something specific that stood out to me from each wedding which I thought was special to the couple. During Danielle & Brandon’s ceremony, I remember hearing how Danielle’s parents were also married in the same church. I thought this was so special that I wanted to make sure to feature it on this blog series! I asked Danielle a few questions about this!

When was your parents wedding day?

My parents got married on June 15, 1985. Their reception was actually at LaMalfa, too! However, LaMalfa was in a different location back then!

Did you always know you wanted to get married at the same church?

I grew up attending St. John Vianney, so it just felt right. It's right across the street from my parents' house, so we usually just walk over! When I pictured my wedding day, I truly couldn't picture it anywhere else. Father Johns, who officiated our wedding, has been a priest at St. John Vianney almost my whole life. Everything about getting married there just felt right. Brandon isn't very religious, so I'm so incredibly thankful that he was on board for a big Catholic wedding!

How did it feel knowing you were walking down the same aisle as your mother did for their wedding day?

In the weeks leading up to the wedding, we actually watched my parents' wedding video quite a few times! It was really fun to see our family members in their 80's best, and for my parents and grandparents to reminisce about that day! It was really special, and we wanted to incorporate a lot of the same elements into our ceremony. (Minus the giant mid-80's poofy sleeves on my mom's dress.)

Anything else you want to note about this?

I've grown up with a very tight-knit family, so there was so much about this experience that was so special to me. I'm also so glad that Brandon gets to experience that now, too!

Exceptional Wedding Series VII

I decided to start a new blog series this year showing some of my favorite things from each of the weddings I photograph. Since I love to focus on creating a unique wedding experience for each of my couples and pride myself on sharing their personalities in my photos, this blog series has been a great way for me to showcase these unique details. I am sharing something specific that stood out to me from each wedding which I thought was special to the couple. Whitney & Chase had a few different details throughout their day that were truly unique. A few details I noticed throughout their day were the Ring Bearer’s pillow had some family history, the ceremony arch was handmade, and Whitney & Chase brought guests onto the dance floor following their formal dances with their parents. I asked Whitney a few questions about these special details below.

Can you explain the importance of the ring bearer's pillow and why you decided to have this on your wedding day?

The ring bearer’s pillow is very special to us and our family. Chase’s grandmother had the pillow made out of her wedding dress that she wore almost 56 years ago. We were so grateful when she gave us this gift and we couldn’t wait to have something so special in our wedding to honor them and their marriage of 56 years and counting. We hope to have a long, loving, strong marriage just like our grandparents marriage. We plan to pass this pillow onto the next member of our family that gets married.    

I understand the ceremony arch was handmade by family members. Who helped build the arch and what did this mean to you two to have on your wedding day?

Our Ceremony arch was handmade by my dad (Steve/father of the bride), Chase, and two of our family friends, Kurt and Afif. We all got together on a Sunday afternoon and went over our ideas of what we wanted the arch to look like. We talked about the height, the stain, how we would have it decorated. We went over all of the little details and then we had lunch. This day was the best and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Having this handmade arch on our wedding day meant so much to us. It represented both of our families, where I grew up, and our very best friends that I grew up next to. We will cherish this arch forever. We can’t wait to have a big backyard someday where we can stick the arch and decorate it with flowers. Something we can look at to remember our wedding day for many years to come.

Where did you get the idea to invite guests to the dance floor to finish your father/daughter and mother/son dances?

Our DJ actually suggested this idea to us and we were all for it!! We have never heard of any one doing this at their wedding and we thought this could be something so special and different.

Why did you chose to have this following your special dances?

We chose to have this following our special dances because we wanted to honor our friends and family members. Our family and friends mean the world to us and having them up there with us on the dance floor was the best feeling. To look around and see all of the people we love surrounding us was just pure happiness.

Exceptional Wedding Series VI

I decided to start a new blog series this year showing some of my favorite things from each of the weddings I photograph. Since I love to focus on creating a unique wedding experience for each of my couples and pride myself on sharing their personalities in my photos, this blog series has been a great way for me to showcase these unique details. I am sharing something specific that stood out to me from each wedding which I thought was special to the couple. Something that immediately stood out to me at Emily & Ian’s wedding was the ring Emily had on her right hand. After taking some photos of the ring and hearing the history behind it, I knew this would be something I would use for this blog post. I asked Emily a few questions about the ring and what it meant to her.

What was the stone on the ring you wore on your right hand for your wedding day?

This ring has been in my family for 95 years! It originally belonged to my great grandmother, Mary Ellen. Her father, my great-great grandfather, gave it to her when she graduated high school in 1924. After high school, she pursued higher education and became a teacher. She ended up finishing her degree at my Alma mater, Kent State University, when she was in her 50s. She passed away shortly after I was born, and the ring was then passed on to my Grandma Lucille, one of her 12 children. At the time of her passing, she had 29 grandchildren and 46 great grandchildren!

Who gave you this ring?

My Grandma Lucille surprised me with this ring on the morning of my wedding day. As I was getting my makeup done, she sat beside me and shared the story behind the ring. She then handed it to me and asked me if I would like to wear it on my wedding day. Not only was it a sweet surprise, but it also matched the wedding colors perfectly. It meant a lot to me and my Grandma Lucille to have it be a part of our day.

What did it mean to you to wear that ring throughout your wedding day?

Ian and I are both very family-oriented. The ring was so meaningful to both of my grandmothers, so it was very special to have it be a part of our day. The ring ended up being quite the surprise for both me and Ian. We chose not to see each other before the ceremony, so he had no idea that I was going to wear that ring on my right-hand ring finger. During rehearsal, I told him it would be easy to know what finger to put the wedding band on during the ceremony because it would be the only finger that already had a ring on it. Wearing a second ring caught him off guard at the altar - oops! This is now a funny (and sweet) memory that I know we'll share for many years to come.

Exceptional Wedding Series V

I decided to start a new blog series this year showing some of my favorite things from each of the weddings I photograph. Since I love to focus on creating a unique wedding experience for each of my couples and pride myself on sharing their personalities in my photos, this blog series has been a great way for me to showcase these unique details. I am sharing something specific that stood out to me from each wedding which I thought was special to the couple. Something that stood out to me for Martha and Preston’s wedding day was the theme around birds in all of their reception decor. I loved this and thought it went so well with the venue they chose! Check out some of Martha’s responses to a few questions I had below.

What is the reason behind the bird theme?

Once we decided on the Audubon center as our reception venue I decided to continue the bird theme. We found bird cages that we thought would be great centerpieces, and we had a lot of fun decorating each one with a different bird. We loved the idea of each table being unique. Being an art teacher, I really wanted to add an art element so I painted birds for all of the table numbers.

What significance did this have and why was it so important to incorporate on your wedding day?

The birds we used were all native to Ohio birds. My husband and I love hiking the metro parks (one of the reasons why we choose our venue!) and we thought using birds you could find around Ohio would be a fun touch! It all just worked really well with the educational aspect of the Audubon center!

What’s your favorite bird?

We both love the hummingbird!  

Exceptional Wedding Series III

I decided to start a new blog series this year showing some of my favorite things from each of the weddings I photograph. Since I love to focus on creating a unique wedding experience for each of my couples and pride myself on sharing their personalities in my photos, this blog series has been a great way for me to showcase these unique details. I am sharing something specific that stood out to me from each wedding which I thought was special to the couple.

Addison & Michaela had an absolutely beautiful ceremony at a new venue I’ve never been to before. I loved every little detail from their wedding day, but what stood out to me the most was the gorgeous wooden cross they used at their alter for the ceremony. So, I asked Michaela a few questions about the cross below.

What made you decide to use this cross at your wedding?

For Addison and I both, our faith is the most important thing to us. And so we wanted our wedding to be a reflection of the love we have for each other, but also the love and relationship we live out each day with Christ. We did not want to be pushy, but we did want to show how passionate our love is for one another and for God. So in that, we didn't feel a need for a ceremony in a church, but just made intentional decisions about our ceremony. Addison's Dad is a pastor, and was the officiant, and really helped craft a ceremony that helped get our message across. However, as visual people we knew symbols were also sentimental to us and others. I have always seen pictures and loved a wood cross at outdoor ceremonies. We knew that we just wanted it to have simple decorations so it would be noticed, but not overshadowed - which Gina Lynne did an amazing job executing. The cross was meant to be the focus and at the center of the "altar" up front. The cross is where the ultimate act of love was shown, where Jesus Christ died for our sins so that we could live. For us, there is no greater symbol of love than the cross.

Who made the cross?

Addison's Dad is a pastor and also was the officiant of our wedding. So the cross came from their church that they built for their use and also let us use it for the wedding.

Any other notes about the cross you would like to share?

Addison and I love each other so so much and feel so blessed to be in each other's lives. Our love is so great, but we know it is possible because of God's love. Our marriage is bigger than us and that day was a celebration of us, yes. But ultimately a celebration of the love God endlessly gives to each one of us and that is the kind of love we hope our marriage is a reflection of the love that God gives to everyone.