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
