Category: Weddings

Anna+Morgan // Wedding at Jumonville and Klay Winery in Pennsylvania

This wedding was awesome. There were fantastic views, honey jar wedding favors, sparkly bridesmaids shoes, foxes and deer, and… wait for it… two wedding vendors named Carolyn. But most awesome of all were Anna and Morgan. They were calm, cool, and relaxed. Although “cool” may not be entirely accurate as it was in the 90s (very toasty for southwestern PA). They braved the heat, the sun, and an abundance of wedding gnats that attacked anytime we went into the shade. They went through the pre-wedding jitters, through the vows, on top of a mountain, down a mountain, into a reception, and up on top of another mountain while offloading in my parents’ Subaru Forester (ohh yeah). You’d think there might be a tad bit of “I’m tired” or “I’m hot” or “Why do these gnats keep attacking us?” but instead, about every hour, one of them would come up to us and ask if we were okay, if everyone was being nice to us, and if we needed anything. And that pretty much embodies Anna and Morgan for me. Just good, nice people who spend their time thinking about others instead of themselves. And everyone at their wedding was the same way. In a crazy, Twilight-zone twist that happens to me all too often, a girl I went to high school with who was also ridiculously nice and sweet and good was at the wedding… proving, once again, that Anna and Morgan have good taste in people. :) And so this wedding was awesome, relaxed, and went off without a hitch. Both the ceremony and the reception were held in some of the most beautiful spots we’ve had privilege to see thus far at weddings… and we were kind of shocked that such quiet, gorgeous views existed in our home state without us realizing it (granted – our parents are about 1.5 hours away so I can kind of understand why they wouldn’t take a bunch of screaming children to a winery when we were little, but still).

We were honored to be summoned in from out of state for the past two weddings and a session and enjoyed our time in Pennsylvania thoroughly. :) We returned to a blazingly hot North Carolina summer and have shot here since, only to return to PA for our next wedding again, and then I’ll be taking a brief sojourn in Chicago. So be patience, friends! Blogging will resume shortly, but I’ll leave you with this gorgeous wedding to stare at for the next week or so until I get return to NC for a good few months before we take off again. ;)

First Dance Song: “When I Say I Do” – Matthew West

Bride’s Occupation: Sales

Groom’s Occupation: Sales

How You Met: Seton Hill University

Honeymoon Destination: St. Lucia

Date: June 23, 2012

Ceremony Venue: Whyel Chapel, Jumonville // Hopwood, PA

Reception Venue: Christian W. Klay Winery // Chalk Hill, PA

Officiant: Pastor Kevin Labby

DJ: Dave Sanchez // DJ 7UP

Florist: Curly Willow Floral

Cake: Prantl’s Bakery

Caterer: Caileigh’s

Hair/Makeup: Artisan Colour Spa

Videographer: Post Script Productions

Brandy+Andrew Get Married in Pittsburgh, PA

**Editing Note: After threatening to start doing this several months ago but never actually doing it, I am finally scaling down my post sizes. They reached a ridiculous 100-150+ pictures per wedding post a few weddings back, and I finally came to the painful realization that I have a culling problem. So starting now, I am attempting between 40-50 pictures per wedding post, and about 15 pictures per everything else. Basically, I want to put my very, very favorites of the wedding in the post instead of including everything little tiny thing so the rest of the world doesn’t start spacing out about halfway through the post. :) Don’t worry – this doesn’t involve cutting the number of actual pictures the client receives. Okay! End editing note.**

The sailors say, “Brandy! You’re a fine girl! (Such a fiiiiiine girl!) What a good wife you would be! (Such a fiiiiiine girl!)”

Brandy, our fine fine girl, now gets a chance to live up to everything the sailors apparently told her. But Andrew isn’t a sailor, so I think it’s going to work out just fine. :)

This was a very emotional wedding with the highest percentage of family crying pictures we’ve ever taken. They cried at the rehearsal. They cried at the rehearsal dinner. And continued crying all day (not pictured in this blog post: like, a bajillion more pictures of people crying). And I, as someone who does not cry at weddings, found myself tearing up on several occasions and thinking, “What are these people doing to me?” I think it might be contagious. Both of these families have a crazy, crazy love for each other that is just the sweetest thing, and they way they all came together for Brandy and Andrew was amazing. And what was even more amazing was that Brandy and Andrew hated each other when they first met… and it took a few months of hating, but slowly turned into that super embarrassing realization that you just may have a crush on that person you’re still trying to hate (although you don’t remember why). Thankfully they both realized that they came to that conclusion at the same time and everything ended up fine and now they’re married and it’s all good. Andrew can now pretend to like Harry Potter for Brandy’s sake, and Brandy has enthusiastically accepted all of Andrew’s crazy buddies.

We were so thrilled to shoot this wedding for them, and we’ve loved getting to know Andrew. Brandy and I were friends in high school and went through show choir and drama together for 3 years (she was a grade below me) and I was very honored to be asked to be her photographer and incredibly excited to meet Andrew, who is everything that I thought he would be (Brandy is perhaps the sweetest and nicest person ever, and she has found her equally sweet and nice counterpart with the exception of the disagreement on Harry Potter). Geoff and I are also super pumped to be reunited with Brandy, Andrew, and one half of these incredible families in September for Andrew’s sister Christina’s wedding (you may recognize her and Steven in a few of the shots). I’ll bring tissue holster for my belt this time.

 

First Dance Song: “Unchained Melody” – The Righteous Brothers

Bride’s Occupation: Faculty Services Representative for Person Publishing

Groom’s Occupation: Interior Engineer for Honda Research and Design Americas

How You Met: Working at a restaurant, Johnny Rockets

Interesting Bride Fact: Has a Harry Potter tattoo

Interesting Groom Fact: Played the trumpet as a kid

Honeymoon Destination: Cruise to Jamaica, Haiti, and Cozumel

Date: June 16, 2012 (happy birthday, Carolyn’s dad!)

Ceremony Venue: St. Joseph’s Parish // O’Hara Township, PA

Reception Venue: Syria Mosque // Cheswick, PA

Officiant: Father Thom Miller

DJ: Martin Morgan

Florist: Bridal Blooms

Cake: Moio’s Bakery

Caterer: Stratwood Catering

Hair: Chris Murdock

Videographer: Willow Productions

Katie+Cameron Have a Wedding at Magnolia Manor Plantation // Warrenton, NC

This wedding was a big blue Mason jar full of awesome. Pink shoes. Rope swings. Lots of talk about tuxedo cats. When I asked Katie what her dress was like, she replied, “It’s tea-length”… to which I responded with a sharp intake of air and the creepy statement, “I’ve been waiting for youuuu!!!” to which Katie didn’t act too freaked out, but she probably was. The wedding ceremony was held in a pecan grove on an old southern plantation that was built in 1815, and the reception in the yard in an open air building called the carriage house.

Now, in an effort to completely embarrass myself, my sister, and my parents all in one fell swoop, I’ll tell you all that we are a family of super Civil War buffs. Weekends at our house between the approximate ages of 8 and 12 were spent watching Gettysburg on repeat and vising Gettysburg, alternatively. My sister and myself may or may not have spoke with really exaggerated southern accents. For the sake of sibling rivalry, my sister played the part of the North (still with a southern accent) and I took the part of the south. I may or may not have referred to myself as General Lee on more than one occasion… galloping around the house on a fake horse shouting, “But there is no time!” So I may have been a little bit excited in a house that’s not only seen the war, but had a picture of General Lee hanging in a bedroom. I may or may not have taken a picture of that to send to my family. I was pretty geeked to be there.

Also geeked to be there was, of course, our amazing Katie and Cameron, their awesome Maid of Honor Shelby and their fantastic Best Man Colin. Not to mention their wonderfully welcoming and kind parents, family, and friends. We had a great time and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was also one of those fantastic weddings where there are a lot of guys who know all the words to a bunch of pop songs and sing really dramatically. We love those. They are the best kind of wedding ever. Katie, Cameron, and their cat named Bug are now in the midst of a great move to Tennessee (she just came back to Raleigh from Iowa where she was in school). She’ll be a resident with a fellow podiatrist and surgeon. We have loved every second working with these two and wish them all the best in their move… and hope that they come back to visit us and that we someday may get to meet the majestic-looking Bug in person. :)

Bride’s Occupation: Podiatrist

Groom’s Occupation: Accountant

How You Met: In our junior year of high school in Earth Science :)

Interesting Bride Fact: Falls asleep in more movies than anyone :)

Interesting Groom Fact: Has seen more movies than any person I have ever known!

Honeymoon Destination: Moving to Tennessee – the honeymoon will be delayed :)

Date: June 9, 2012

Ceremony / Reception / DJ / Florist / Cake / Caterer: Magnolia Manor Plantation Bed and Breakfast // Warrenton, NC

Officiant: Rev. Craig Miller

Hair and Makeup: Ginger Mullins