Exceptional Wedding Series XIII

Once I moved to Cincinnati and decided to pursue wedding photography full time, I started a new blog series showing some of my favorite things from each of the weddings I photographed. 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. Lauren & AJ had a globe guest book that I thought was so unique and creative. I asked Lauren a few questions below on where they got this idea from!

Where did you get the idea to have a globe guest book?

 Both AJ and I wanted to find a guest book idea that wouldn't just be put in storage and never displayed in our home. We actually came up with this idea when my aunt had a globe displayed in her living room with pins where she had traveled and thought this would be an awesome guest book idea. 

Why did you decide to have the globe guest book for your wedding?

 We have always loved traveling and both AJ and I had a lot of family and friends that have traveled all over the world. We thought this would be an awesome opportunity to have our guests sign a place they have traveled to or would like to travel to in the world to give us ideas/recommendations. 

Where is the globe currently displayed, and how special is this for you?

The globe is currently displayed in our living room. We have loved having it displayed here because it is a great conversation piece when we have guests over and also is a reminder of our incredible family and friends that were able to celebrate our special day with us. We hope to visit many of the recommended destinations over the next couple years!

Best of Weddings 2019

2019 was nothing short of amazing! This was my 4th wedding season and I am so proud of how far I’ve come over the years. The transition to a new city meant there was a lot of travel for me, but that let me catch up on all of my favorite podcasts. I made some incredible friends in Cincinnati who have welcomed me with open arms. I honestly have the best friends and family for supporting my business and future dreams.

This is my favorite blog post of the year because I can really take the time to look back and be proud of my work and remember the incredible people I celebrated with. I am so excited to share some of my favorite photos from my weddings with you all and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Again, thank you all so so much for your support! I also want to give a special shoutout to my amazing associate, Jen, who traveled with me most of the year and was the absolute best in helping me in any way she could!

Exceptional Wedding Series XII

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. Stephanie has an amazing story that goes along with her “something blue” that I wanted to share on the blog.

What was your "something blue"?

 My something blue was a sapphire ring that was my late mother's. She passed away after battling breast cancer when I was eight. When my sister and I were old enough, my dad allowed us to look through her jewelry and pick some special items. I immediately loved the sparkly blue ring and have worn it every day since. I wanted to bring out my mom's memory in every way possible on my wedding day, so I wore the ring as my "something blue."

How special was this to wear during your wedding day?

 This ring has really become a special part of me. Every day that I look down and see it, it reminds me of my mom and makes me smile. It stays on my finger every day now, just like my engagement ring and wedding band. 

Exceptional Wedding Series XI

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. I knew going into this wedding that Brittany & Andrew were planning on having their pup, Nala, for some photos. I was so excited for this and immediately knew this would go on the blog. I asked Brittany a few questions on why and how she was able to make this work.

What made you decide to have your pup in your wedding photos?

Nala is such a huge part of our lives and I couldn't imagine getting married without her there. She has been with us since the beginning of our relationship and is like our child... let's be honest our world revolves around her! No matter what, I was going to find a way to get her to the venue to take pictures with us! 

How special was it to share a part of this day with your pup?

Having Nala there made our wedding day complete. She has shared all of our happiest moments with us and she makes our world so much brighter. She is with us every single day and such a big part of our lives, so it only made sense that she would be there on our wedding day as well.

 How did you plan the logistics of this?

Not going to lie, the logistics were hard. I knew there was only one person that Nala was familiar enough with, that she would trust. First, I asked you where taking pictures with Nala would fit into the timeline. Once, I had a time slot down I asked our neighbor if she would bring Nala to the venue for that time and then take her back home. Of course, I packed a bag for Nala full of all the essentials; leash, collapsible water bowl, water, treats, toy and a bone to chew on. I made sure to pack things that could distract her, just in case there was some wait time. Since we did a first look, it was very easy for our neighbor to bring Nala before the wedding for 10 minutes and then take her back home. 

 What would you say to others considering having their pup attend their wedding?

Our wedding day wouldn't have been complete without our pup there. Sometimes the logistics can be rough, but I promise you that those pictures you will have for a lifetime with your pup are worth it! I am so happy that I will have these pictures of us to hang on our walls and Lindsey was so friendly and all about the dog photos, which made it easy! Best advice is to do a first look and make sure your dog is with someone he/she trusts. 

Exceptional Wedding Series X

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. I had such an amazing time celebrating with Grishma & Sunny for my first ever Indian Wedding. One of my favorite of many unique details of the weekend was their dog worked into Grishma’s Henna. I loved this so much and asked her a few questions on this below!

What made you decide to have your pup in your henna design? 

Louie has been a pretty big part of my life since my relationship with Sunny began. My henna artist, Ila Shah, knew how much we loved him and it was her idea to incorporate him in the design! 

How special was it to have this reminder of your pup on your throughout your wedding day?

 Extremely special. Unfortunately, our venue had a strict 'No Pets' policy so we were not able to bring him along for the ceremony or reception. Having him incorporated within my henna was a reminder that we was there in spirit!  

Did Sunny love seeing your pup in your Henna? 

He definitely did, it was a good surprise for him. Henna is such a fun part of Indian weddings and I've been seeing more and more brides create designs that are unique to them. I'm just glad I was able to do the same. 

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.