Kelly and Will were married on July 5th and just returned from their honeymoon in Italy. Their ceremony was held at the Peter’s Creek Baptist Church with a reception following at the beautiful Nevillewood Golf Club.
I didn’t have a chance to post their engagement photographs, so here’s a few, just to set the scene of their wedding.
This is a joke - well, at least tongue in cheek…..
It’s a bit of a hilarious story starting with Kelly’s brother in law’s chaining an “item” to Kelly’s car resulting in a call for help to the local law enforcement agency and officer Will.
…..Which not only resulted in “the man” making a trip to said practical joker’s house and scaring the heck out of him, but culminated in the discovery of the man of her dreams.
So, of course, we had to play dress-up at their engagement session, take a “black and white” out and have some fun. Barb and I had such a great time with Kelly and Will which carried through to their wedding day. They’re great fun!
Kelly looked awesome in her Raylia antique gold creation, tying into the 30’s theme of their wedding - I love the tuxes and two-tone wing tips.
Kelly and Will made their own wine for wedding day with a little help from Enrico’s in the Strip. Barb and I were going to help squish some grapes, but had another engagement that day.
Dr. Zoot is really a unique band - everyone always seems to have a great time when they’re playing. Allison McGeary did a wonderful job with the florals and centerpieces.
While I usually pick a select number of photographs for a blog slideshow, I’ve included a more complete selection, just to give a feel for the entire day. It was a family affair - most of the bridal party were family members and the show reflects all of the important people in Kelly and Will’s life and the story of their wedding day.
We are back at home, relaxed , rested and a little sun-burned. It’s difficult to get back in the swing of things after time away - we never know where to start! Here are a few final vacation photos to share…
Hands down, my favorite vehicle at the Findley Lake Vintage Car Cruise-in.
The lawn of The Bemus Point Hotel.
Sunset over Lake Erie.
This should really say, Stop or else.
Early morning coffee and breakfast overlooking the lake, loved the silverware.
Lake Chautauqua, NY
A woman in Findley Lake, NY transformed her front yard into a unique flower garden. For $8, can pick your favorite flowers and she will cut them for a healthy-sized bouquet. In addition, she creates bouquets and centerpieces for weddings. Nina, Kate and I spent about 20 minutes strolling the garden, picking our favorite flowers and are now enjoying fresh cut flowers on our vacation. Check it out!
It is cloudy this morning and looks like rain. That is a good thing, because we are all burned to a crisp. I just couldn’t resist sharing a few vacation photos with you in my down time. We are spending the week at Peek n Peak in Clymer, NY - between Lake Erie and Lake Chautauqua. We are loving the cool nights and low humidty days. I am in biking heaven here. Check out the scenery, all within an hour bike ride from Peek n Peak.
As far as your eyes can see, there is corn.
At first I thought that this huge marker was a little pretentious in this tiny little cemetery, then I realized that it belonged to a Minister, and all of the other markers face it. Except for 3 irreverent souls in the back, which face the street - probably smoking cigarettes and playing cards.
The intersection of Main Street and Shady Side Road, Findley Lake, NY. Now, that’s living.
My sister, along with her 2 daughters, spent most of last week with us. We had fun with the simplest activities; painting, playing with clay and running through the sprinkler. They are so darn cute!! Steve was happy to find that the girls love Star Trek too, and happily watched with him.
Ella tells a story.
Hanging out with Sadie.
Saturday, Steve & I took a great bike ride along both rivers, from Millvale to the South Side and from Station Square to Homestead. Our paths crossed with the walk/run for the Transplant Games - the opening ceremony was held in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Donors, recipients, family members and transplant teams were out in full force. My Stepfather was an organ donor several years ago, so it was emotional to see everyone walking together.
On Sunday, my brother and his girlfriend participated in the 3rd Annual Fallen Marine Memorial Run. Not the run that I pictured, this was a motorcycle road run from Butler to the South Side, then back to Pittsburgh Mills for food and entertainment. We’re talking hundreds of motorcycles. Our cousin lost her oldest son in Iraq not long ago and my brother’s stepson left for boot camp at the beginning of June. Neither one even 21 years old yet, it is hard to imagine the path they chose. While I can’t say that I am a supporter of this war, I am most definitely very proud of those 2 young men, and sick at heart for my cousin.
I joined my brother after the run. You might be expecting images of hundreds of bikes and bikers and maybe a few marines, but what really caught my eye were the immaculate vintage cars on display. Two cars caught my eye, an Oldsmobile 98 and a Cadillac. Check this out!
Barb and I are really looking forward to Emily and Jack’s wedding this October at Oglebay.
We’ve photographed the weddings of Emily’s sister Katy (and Brian) and her brother Josh (and Kathleen) along with Josh’s sister in law Patricia (and Heath). It’s going to be great to see everyone and I hope we’ll get a chance to see Katy and Brian’s daughter Sadie, Josh and Kathleen’s daughter Shannon and their new baby boy.
All of their weddings and engagement sessions have been at Oglebay and it’s always a challenge and fun to do something completely different at the same location or venue.
I think Emily and Jack have met their soul mate - they’re obviously very much in love. It’s great.
I’ve been trying to do a little flying ever few weeks, just to keep my fingers in the aviation world. I have been doing some aerial photography work, but on a limited basis. I actually did the photography work for the engineering CAD drawings for the new Harmerville turnpike bridge (the old one seemed fine to me - makes you wonder).
I took Dave out for a little spin on Friday around Butler and Morraine State Park -
Included is a photo of my old office (not me).
Barb and her boat mates did a great job at the crew race this morning. They came in 4th. OK, there were 4 boats, but it was close ;} - she’s in the blue hat
We are trying to relax a little this summer, and still get ALL of our work done. We now have a system in place where we alternate a week of photo sessions with a week of office work, client appointments and production work. We of course, love the weeks where we are out on location photographing all of you, but the in between weeks leave a little to be desired. It is a necessary evil however, so the new goal is to balance that week with some relaxation so that we remain as sane as possible, and that is no easy feat! This week (a production week), we have been pretty successful.
Monday night I had my usual rowing session with the ladies. Our team, the Row-hers, is registered to race this weekend with Three Rivers Rowing. No photos are attached because I am too busy trying to stay upright and in rythym with my team. And also, because you would NOT want to see the spectacle! But we have improved. Tuesday was a work day at Panera Bread with my friend Jen. We bring our laptops and NO PHONES and work uninterrupted for 8 luxurious hours.
Steve’s plans to go out flying this week were squashed by the intermittent thunderstorms, but we managed to get in a few good workouts on our bikes. Today, we road 34 miles on the Freeport/Butler Trail, our longest trip yet!
Last night, we really had a great time. We went Kayaking with our newest photography buddy, Kim. (We laugh like crazy when we are together!) We started paddling in Millvale this time, a first. Dave happened to be on the river at the same time rowing with alumni from Fox Chapel.
Of course, when you work as hard as we did on the river, refreshments are in order. So, we headed over to Red Fin Blues on Washington’s Landing for drinks and appetizers, traded funny stories and laughed some more. Nina and Dave were both there with friends, we all love the atmosphere of that place. Outside on the patio, overlooking the river, it feels like vacation. Almost. Until we remember that the next day is a production day and it’s back to the computers!
But seriously, with breaks like these built into the week, I think we can handle it. I wish I could say that we are completely relaxed and ready to take on any stress the job has to offer. The truth is really, it’s only 1/2 relaxation - 1/2 exhaustion. But it seems to be working.
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