I had a great time with Erin and Brad at their engagement session. Engagement sessions are a great way to get to know each other and to get a feel for our client’s personality and interests. And, it’s just tons of fun - relaxed and playful.
For many of our clients, this is the first time they’ve been photographed by a professional and it does take a while to get warmed up….but, after a few minutes, it becomes old hat and by the end of the session, we’ve developed a great rapport which makes wedding day more relaxed.
I usually do a mix with some photographs looking at the camera for grandma, but my favorites are always those when our couples just interact and play, showing their love for each other.
Erin and Brad and getting married next August at St. Paul’s Cathedral and the PAA. They’re so much fun. - I can’t wait for wedding day!
Ellen and John were married on October 25th at St. Stanislaus church in the Strip District with a reception at The Pennsylvanian.
Their wedding was a perfect way to end our busiest month of the year. It was a fantastic day - wonderful families, great friends, a bridal party that was so much fun and an absolutely beautiful wedding.
Ellen and John got ready at the Hampton Inn, just down the hall from each other. That makes it great for us - Barb and I can bounce back and forth and capture all of the excitement.
St. Stanislaus, one of the city’s oldest churches, was renovated in the past couple of years. The not so attractive brass lamps fixtures were removed, restoring the original look, if not to the old gas lamps, at least to the feel of it’s old world elegance. Father Harry always does a wonderful, very personal ceremony.
With an early ceremony, we had a chance to go play with the bridal party and I think you can tell, we had the best time.
Ellen looked stunning in her Monique Lhuillier gown - don’t they make a cute couple?
Rainia as always did an excellent job with the food and cake. Allison McGeary provided the beautiful and creative florals and The Betsy Lawrence band had the crowd in a frenzy all night.
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Jenny and Jeff were married at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church with a reception following at The Senator John Heinz History Center’s Great Hall.
Jenny and Jeff first met while acting in a play at Point Park College. They both were hired as actors for Disney in Orlando where they now live. Most of their friends are thespians and were so much fun - outgoing and definitely not shy around the camera.
Jenny and Jeff are still pretty young but even so, they have an almost childlike outlook on the world which so many of us seem to lose. They didn’t want a stuffy or pretentious wedding and chose fun food for their reception - nachos, hamburgs and hot dogs. I would venture to say that was a first for the Common Plea who with The Duquesne Club caters all of the events at the History Center. It’s probably more difficult to make an awesome burger than a great filet.
The History Center has two very different ballrooms - the Great Room on the first floor and The new Mueller Center. The Great Room has a lot of character while the Mueller Center has a balcony with a great view of the city. It’s a wonderful venue for a reception.
Jenny and Jeff took a Disney cruise on their honeymoon, something I’ve always wanted to do. Here’s a small sample from their wedding day.
I have such a great job, sometimes I have to pinch myself. Oh, it’s very long hours, 7 days a week during wedding season, but the rewards of meeting such wonderful families like Emily and Jack’s families, make all the work worthwhile.
I’ve photographed Emily’s sister Katy and brother Josh’s wedding and it’s been great to see them start their family - it just seems like yesterday when we they were planning their wedding. Katy has a beautiful daughter Sadie and Josh and Kathleen have a daughter Shannon and a new little guy, Brennan - they’re such wonderful, cute kids.
Emily and Jack were married at St. Vincent DePaul church in Wheeling with a reception following at Oglebay in the Pine Room - very different from Glessner hall and very cool in it’s own way.
Emily and Jack were both beaming all day long. They have a fun group of family and friends - Jack has 4 brothers and Emily is one of 5 including her twin brother Chris. We had some time for photographs between the ceremony and reception at Wheeling park and we always like to make sure that the bridal party has a great time and gets involved in the fun. That wasn’t too hard with these guys. We had a blast.
Ambience catered the reception, the cake was a Masterpiece bakery creation, florals by Margo and Dave Penn did a great job with the tunes. Jay Morris was the filmmaker for the evening.
Emily and Jack honeymooned in Riveria Maya - a very popular destination - and are enjoying married life in Cincinnati.
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Manisha and Bernie were married in a Catholic ceremony at Duquesne Chapel followed by a Hindu ceremony and reception at The Omni William Penn Hotel.
Barb and I come from very different backgrounds - Jewish and Catholic. Merging two very different cultures on and after wedding day is always a big decision. I think it’s really cool when couples bring elements of both backgrounds into their wedding day festivities, although it involved many hours of preparation and 3 outfit changes on Manisha’s part.
Hindu ceremonies are fascinating, typically 4 days of festivities. The mandup that was created in the ballroom was absolutely beautiful. Starting with Aaarti, Manisha’s mother welcomes Bernie by placing a tilak on his forehead. Continuing with blessings by parents and elders, Manisha and Bernie walk around the ceremonial fire in 7 steps, each with significant meaning such as the provisions for health and energy, food and happiness.
With 5000 red roses by 
Kerry Kennedy of Pittsburgh, their reception arrangements were the talk of the local florist’s community. Malcom’s House of Flowers in Indiana, PA did the beautiful ceremony presentations. DJ Layda from New Jersey provided the music at the reception with lots of upbeat Indian pop. It was really a storybook wedding.
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Jeana and Lee were married at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox church with a reception following at The Carnegie Museum’s music hall foyer, one of the most beautiful venues in the city.
Jeana’s Melissa Sweet was beautiful.
Greek Orthodox ceremonies are fascinating. Jeana and Lee’s koumbara or sponsor Jenna holds a very important roll in their marriage. She exchanges crowns, signifying virtue and holiness.
Led by the priest, circling the table 3 times is a symbol for eternity and their eternal bond in marriage.
It’s something new at every wedding. I went outside to take a few photographs of Jeana and Lee in the limo and they locked up the church and left, with my equipment bag and car keys. I’m sure the expression on my face was priceless. Luckily Barb usually drives separately and we always carry two complete sets of equipment, so she drove me to the reception and we retrieved my equipment bag later and the Sunday - a good excuse to do some shopping at the Galleria, across the street.
Parkhurst caters every event at The Museum - they always create beautiful cakes.
Greek weddings are always so much fun and greek dancing mesmerizing, their greek band Grecian Flames shared the evening with DJ’s Josh and Scott.
Jeana and Lee are so nice - we had a wonderful time with them both at their engagement session and on their wedding day. They spent their honeymoon in Italy and had an amazing trip.
It was originally Wayne who was coordinating the wedding plans, as Iyndia was working in, well, India.
Before we met for their engagement session, we could already sense that Wayne would be easy to work with and very laid back; what we couldn’t have guessed was that Iyndia would be just as centered.
Her mantra on wedding day when the little things happened, (as they often do - like rain, for example) was, “I am not going to worry about that, this is just one day.”
And with that attitude, she and Wayne celebrated their wedding day in style. Iyndia looked stunning in her Steven Jolie gown and Jimmy Choo shoes. As for Wayne, the smile never left his face.
While most brides are taking the last few minutes to primp or get extra photos, Iyndia took a limo ride around the block to have photographs taken with her sick Grandmother. We met later at Phipps in the Broderie room along with Wayne and both of their families for a ‘first glance’ and family photographs.
The ceremony and reception were both held at Bella Sera’s, made even more beautiful with flowers by Fragile Paradise and special details by Dolores Stubbs, the wedding coordinator.
Wayne and Iyndia put their personal touch on their ceremony and vows as a string trio played, the lights were dimmed and candles lit, it was as beautiful as it was touching.
The staff did an excellent job; good food was enjoyed by all at the reception, finished off by cake of course! - created by Vanilla Pastry. Guests danced the night away and as family affairs should be, there were plenty of kids. They had boundless energy and were a joy to photograph.
Iyndia & Wayne were such a pleasure to be with on their wedding day, we wish them all the best.
Enjoy a sampling of photos from their day…
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I’ve been waiting until Leann and Jason returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii to post their photographs and publish their blog post, but knowing that Jason would have his Iphone with him and be “wired”, I beamed them over a little slideshow before they got back. Like Jason, I have to admit to my left-brain’s addiction to gadgets and watches although maybe not as hard core - I wasn’t interviewed by KDKA in line at the Apple Store at 4AM.
It was an amazing wedding weekend at Nemacolin Woodlands resort, starting with a rehearsal dinner at Mulligans at Mystic Rock. The party on Friday continued with Casino Night - a special event for their friends and family with real casino slot and table games. It was so much fun with baskets and prizes for the play money winners.
The guys began wedding day with a round of golf at Mystic Rock golf course, one of the top courses in the country, while the ladies primped at the Spa.
The weather was a little questionable that morning, but the rain held off and Leann and Jason said their vows on the beautiful plaza courtyard deck overlooking the property.
A reception followed in the Grand Ballroom - the room was beautifully decorated by Something New Florals from Canfield Ohio.
Leann looked just amazing in her Kenneth Pool gown. It was gorgeous.
No Bad Juju, a fantastic band, provided the reception entertainment, while Creative Cakes, who always come up with unique and beautiful designs, really outdid themselves.
Here’s a highlight story of Leann and Jason’s incredible wedding weekend.
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Maria and Salvatore were married on August 16th at St. Paul’s Cathedral with a reception following at The Omni William Penn.
I first met Maria at Club One - her favorite treadmill was next to mine. She would come in, run flat out for an hour, hair flapping under her ball cap and just pretty much put me to shame after which she would teach an aerobics or pilates class.
Maria is the owner, artistic director and dancer at Biography, a noted contemporary ballet ensemble. Her youngest students entertained us during the reception with wonderful performances.
Maria chose her Mom who she considers to be her best friend, as her matron of honor, which I thought was so cool and really special.
The bridal party was a total blast - what a great group of friends. Salvatore, or Sam to his good friends, is a real gentleman. I think Barb and I are opposites in a lot of way and as they say opposites attract. Sam is such a warm hearted guy - a bit reserved, where Maria is, well, not shy.
Maria and Sam honeymooned in Italy and just returned at the end of August.
Maria’s gorgeous gown is a Sottero and Midgley creation. Their cake was a real work of art by Fenogliettl Bakery and Michael at Blooms Florist, always creative and inventive, did an amazing job with the arrangements and bouquets.
We really feel honored and are of course thrilled when we’re asked to photograph the wedding of a brother or sister of one of our couples.
Lisa and Greg were married on August 9th at the Westminster Presbyterian Church with a reception at The Pennsylvanian.
We photographed Lisa’s sister Jenna (and Anthony) along with her brother Jason’s (and Shannon) wedding in 2006. Yeah Marsha and Jack - the last wedding! It was so great to see everyone.
Lisa looked stunning in her Monique Lhuillier creation - a beautiful and perfect gown for her. I loved the bridesmaid’s dresses in toffee gold with plum sashes.
Like the Mellon Institute, The West End Overlook is a very popular and often requested place for photographs - it’s centrally located for a quick stop when timing is tight. It’s not unusual to see 4 or 5 bridal parties on a Saturday and I usually run into some of my photographer buddies.
Lisa and Greg chose The Rivera Maya for their honeymoon and had a fantastic vacation.
Now that all of the weddings are over, I’m waiting for the first baby pictures - no pressure here.
Rania Catering, one of the handful of preferred caterers at The Pennsylvanian always creates a unique and creative menu along with beautiful cakes. Fields of Heather provided the florals, DJ Dale Allen had the crowd jumping all night.
