Nina + Joe - A Beautiful September Wedding

I first met Nina and Joe after booking with Joe's sister, Dolly, who's wedding was earlier this year. It's such a cool experience to be able to shoot photography for two members of the same family. When you walk in on wedding day, everyone knows who you are, the relationships have been established. Just a great feeling overall.

Nina and Joe are an amazing couple. They are so loving in everything they do, that being photographed seems to be second nature to them. We started out the day in Rocky River at the Color Nation salon. This place is really well decorated with lots of bright vibrant colors and open atmosphere. I was able to grab some great window light portraits as well as some macro detail shots of Nina's ring. When I was shooting her ring, I was checking my display on the back of the camera and I remember thinking, "I don't think I'm going to need to crop into this at all. Wow." (Well done Joe) :)

From the salon, we moved back to Nina's house for make up and prep. It was really fun to photograph the girls getting ready and the family members coming in to congratulate Nina on her big day. After a few hours at the house, we moved to the church, which was St. Marion Catholic in downtown Cleveland. If you haven't been to this church before, it's definitely worth a look. Beautiful ceilings, altar, and ambiance.

We just so happened to be in downtown Cleveland on the day of the airshow, so many of the roads were closed and the traffic was nuts, however, it also meant that many of the parks and locations we wanted to visit were pretty much empty. Thus, we were able to grab some fantastic pictures downtown and avoid the big crowds.

At the end of the night, we wound up at Ahren's Banquet Center for a wonderful middle-eastern reception. The bride and groom were lifted up in the air, the band kept the dance floor packed... it was just a great night for Nina and Joe.

I really enjoyed working with the Assaad and Lahoud families, and I can't wait to show the photos of their beautiful day. Congrats Nina and Joe!

-Steve

The Gorgeous Wedding of Dolly and Matt

This wedding blew me away. From the salon, to the church, to the reception... everything was amazing. When I first meet with a client, I try to help them understand that great photography can happen if you do two basic things. Number one: Let there be light! Number two: Give yourself time. Dolly and Matt did a wonderful job of both. All the locations had great light, and we had plenty of time to be creative and really get some wonderful shots.

We started the day at PJ's Salon in Fairview Park. This place was so much fun. Lots to shoot, huge windows, and just a great atmosphere to keep things chill while the girls were getting ready. From there, we moved to Dolly and Matt's home. I always encourage clients to get ready in front of a window, which can seem a bit weird to some... "You want me to get ready literally in front of the window?" It's an odd request, but it yields such beautiful photos. After getting Dolly and the girls into their dresses, we headed to the church.

The church was Our Lady of Angels in Cleveland. All I can say is wow. The ceilings in this place are so ornate and the space is so large you would think that the royals were getting married here. Fantastic choice and a really nice ceremony. After shooting some formals in the church, we hopped in the cars and followed the limo over to a local park. Now, this was one of those days where the temperature was already hitting the high 90's, but the humidity made it feel like 110. It was blistering hot. The best thing you can do in this situation is have all the guys leave their jackets in the limo, and move fast. We used the shade as much as we could to our advantage and actually stayed outside for quite awhile. After the park, we were on to the reception.

We pulled up to Ridge Manor over in Brooklyn, Ohio and when we walked into the main hall, I was amazed at what I saw. The D.J. company, Rock the House did a transformation of the space that really made things look first class. I remember pulling up to the reception hall and thinking... oh great, there are no windows, but Dolly and Matt picked a company that went all out. The uplighting around the room, the spotlights on the cake, and the monogram on the dance floor brought the space together and made things look spectacular. The evening was so much fun to photograph. The music kept everyone on the dance floor until the end of the reception, not an easy task for any D.J.

A beautiful day all around and I couldn't be happier for Dolly and Matt. Congratulations you two!

-Steve

The Wedding of Jackie and Mark

I first met Jackie and Mark at our last wedding of the 2010 season. Jackie was a bridesmaid in Jessica and Kevin Schulze's wedding. The entire bridal party was a lot of fun to work with, so I knew that I was going to have a great time working with Jackie again.

We started out the day at Neon Salon in Sunbury. The girls arrived early to get their hair and nails done. A couple of the girls wanted to open up a bottle of champagne for some mimosa's and I remember thinking, "You may not want to point that in anyone's direction". The girls took the bottle outside and tried to remove the cork which just so happened to fly about 30 feet across the parking lot. Hilarious. :)

The wedding was great for me because I got a chance to shoot in my hometown of Westerville. The ceremony took place at St. Paul's which is a staple in the Westerville community. Beautiful weather, everyone was relaxed... couldn't have asked for more. I met up at the church with one of my up and coming shooters, Brooke Mott. (who did a great job I might add...) Between the two of us, we were able to capture some wonderful moments.

The reception was amazing. We were shooting at the Royal American Links country club, which is a great location because of the variety of areas to shoot in. Everything there is goregous. We were able to run around the golf course for a bit and shoot some fun group photos. The night flew by as the dance floor was packed up until the end of the reception. Kudos to the D.J. who did a fantastic job.

Congratulations to Jackie and Mark! We had a blast working with you!

-Steve

Kylynne and Justin

I've always enjoyed working with Bowling Green grads. We always tend to swap stories about crazy nights in downtown BG, or argue about who had to walk farther in 6 ft. of snow... and so when Kylynne and Justin chose us to be their photographers, I was thrilled.

We started off the day at Shaper's Salon in Marion. I've worked with Char (the owner) a few times now and we always seem to come up with cool ideas for shots while I'm there. It's a lot of fun mixing it up with the girls early in the morning. Break the ice. Make people feel comfortable. Relaxed with photographer = better shots.

From the salon, we moved on to the church, Emanuel Lutheran. This church is amazingly beautiful with it's blue ceiling over the altar and amazing pipe organ. It was a bit dark in the church, but the d700 performed great. What I always tell aspiring photographers is that you have to understand what your camera can do and not do. You can go nuts on ISO so long as you get the right exposure. Too far underexposed or overexposed and that's where noise becomes a problem.

After the wedding, we moved on to the reception at Brookshire in Delaware. This was a very nice reception hall and it had a great lobby. The Chiavari chairs were an excellent touch to the room and really made things look great. Kylynne and Justin also had an awesome ice sculpture made with their names and B.G. Falcon logo embedded into it. So cool!

It was a fun night of dancing and certainly full of memories. Congratulations to Kylynne and Justin!

-Steve

Carrie and Stefan - The Wedding

When I first met Carrie and Stefan I knew that these two would be a lot of fun to photograph. They are non-stop personality and always seem to have a blast around each other. I can definitely appreciate their sense of humor and their wedding was so much fun to shoot. I showed up in the morning at the hair salon and got a chance to mix things up a bit with the girls for a bit before going over to Carrie's house. Whenever I am able to visit someone's home, I try to utilize home decor to compliment the photos.

Something I always tell new photographers is to not underestimate textures. Often, I'll find a cool pillow, table or leather couch to shoot details of rings, earrings, etc... It looks amazing, and in the end, you get some really cool shots with things the client may have never realized would make a good photo.

The day went great, and the bridal party was awesome to work with. As you're looking through the photos, I'm sure you'll also notice that one of Carrie's sisters traded a bridesmaid's dress for a tuxedo... and...vice versa! Certainly was one of more interesting ways to enter the reception, but everyone's reaction was priceless! A beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple. Congratulations Carrie and Stefan!

-Steve

Jenna and Rob

A beautiful fall day in Marion, OH. Jenna and Rob's wedding day was gorgeous. Amazing details, vibrant colors, and a fantastic bridal party. Chris and I love shooting in the fall and bringing the bridal party outdoors. We had some really bright and colorful trees outside of the church that made for some truly stunning shots. I think what impressed me the most was the choice in colors for this wedding. Chocolates, reds, oranges, coppers... it was the best of fall all wrapped up into one wedding. A great day for a great couple. Congrats to Jenna and Rob!

-Steve

Boy Meets Girl - The Wedding of Vanessa and Andy

First off, I cannot express how much I've enjoyed working with this couple. When I first met Vanessa and Andy for their engagement session, their love for each other was so apparent. They met at Otterbein University down in Westerville, Ohio... (my home town!) and the story of how they met put a smile on my face. It was the classic boy meets girl. They meet. They fall in love. It's great to photograph couples that feel so at ease with each other that I just become a witness documenting the day. It's the best job in the world.

Whenever I shoot the bridal party walking down the aisle, I like to turn around at the exact moment the groom sees the bride for the first time. All of that emotion wrapped up into that one moment always makes for a great photograph. I expected Andy to be very stoic and serious as she walked down the aisle, but as I saw the tears well up in his eyes I knew that words could not express how much he loved Vanessa. It was great. You can just tell when someone is head over heels in love and these two leave no doubt in my mind.

It was a beautiful wedding, and it was an honor to be there to document their special day. Congratulations once again to Vanessa and Andy!

Also, a special thank you to Jeremy Kester for shooting with me. You did an AWESOME job!

-Steve

The Big Leagues... Kristin and Andrew

I am all for cool locations... and I've seen quite a few, but I have to give some major props to Kristin and Andrew for their very unique wedding venue. Becca and I shot this wedding at Huntington Field down in Columbus. I hadn't been in the new stadium since the Clippers moved there a few years ago.

It was a well themed wedding. Kristin went to BGSU and graduated from the same VCT program as I, and consequently her graphic design rocks! She designed everything from their monogram that adorned the cake, to the invitations, to the "tickets" for their special day. She even had thunder sticks for all of the "fans" to clap once they exchanged their vows. So cool!

Of course, it wouldn't be Ohio unless there was a threat of rain, so, as luck would have it, it rained during the ceremony. I have to give it to the entire bridal party for toughing it out in the rain. I distinctly remember hearing someone say "play ball" as the rain clouds approached... :)

Although, they say it's good luck for it to rain on your wedding day right? All in all, it was a great experience shooting with such a fun group of people in an amazing venue.

Enjoy the photos, and congrats to Kristin and Andrew!

For Andi and Nick...

Many of our clients ask us about the little pocket camera we often carry around with us on wedding day. If you've followed our blog for awhile, you often see a little "behind the scenes" video or two. I think it's a lot of fun to see what the bride was up to right before she walked down the aisle, or how we created some of our favorite photos. In this case, I wanted to something extra special together for Andi and Nick. Thank you both again for helping us create some amazing photography! We were (and still are) truly honored. :)

-Steve

Jessica and Kevin...the speeches

Hello everyone.

I wanted to post up a much-desired video of the speeches from Jessica and Kevin's wedding a few months back. We don't typically shoot too much video during wedding day, but we always have a blog cam on us just in case we want to grab a quick vid here or there.

I love listening to speeches... and we've heard some really great ones over the years. Jessica and Kevin are very fortunate to have wonderful friends and family and we wanted to post this just so they have an extra-cool memory from their special day. Congratulations once again you two! Enjoy!