Hi everyone. Today is my third wedding anniversary. Since I show so many other weddings, I thought it was time to show my own. Yes, this is Randi and Ryan’s wedding day! Even when I was studying engineering in college, I knew that I was going to be a photographer. You can’t hide that love away. I love taking photographs and I love being with happy people.
I get asked all the time “who photographed your wedding?” And I always have a hard time answering. The short answer is Randy Harris. He was a newspaper photographer and a longtime family friend that we hired for our special day. The long answer is that Randy, me, and Dad. Sounds crazy and I don’t recommend this. Around this time, I was becoming obsessed with photography and wanted to do it myself, but obviously could not. I had tons of ideas for locations and poses for both Ryan and I and my bridal party. I also wanted tons of candids and photos that told the story of the day. This took a lot of planning and driving people crazy. Totally worth it. Read below about the wedding day and my contributions to the photography.
So here it is, September 16, 2006…..
Nicki is driving me to Phipps Conservatory in my dad’s 1979 midnight blue corvette. Ryan and I used to go on dates at Phipps since we went to college right next door at Carnegie Mellon. Photo by my mom. I love my dad’s outfit.
Bridesmaids bouquets modeled by Nicki, photo by me. Denise Dembski made these (that’s my mom). She was a professional florist while I was growing up until she became a nurse 12 years ago.
One of my favorite photos of me torturing my mom with my 6′ tall self. She loves it. Doesn’t she look so pretty! Photo by Randy Harris.
This day was SO HAPPY! Check out these smiles everywhere. Photo by Randy Harris.
No one can hold me back~ Photo by Dad.
Ceremony photos by Randy Harris. He had a great time using one of my favorite lenses.
Notice my dad’s camera on his lap. I’ve noticed this trait in a lot of Dads. So cute!
Another one of my favorites. Everyone wore their hair down and looked great. I thought everyone looked like themselves and it was so nice. Jenn Pazdon (far left) eventually confessed to me that Nicki (far right…sister and MOH) told the bridesmaids “Girls, these photographs are very important to Randi. Know that you are being photographed and smile all day.” Nicki is the best sister ever!
My love!
I think that “bloopers” are a special part of a wedding. Like a flower girl running down the aisle or a bride who has to blow her nose during the ceremony. Just a quick time out. Everyone is laughing because I accused my grandma of giving me a used tissue.
My shoes. Custom made white Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars with our wedding on the back. My mom loved showing these off and my relatives were losing it.
A sign of things to come… Nicki and I are reviewing some images from the ceremony… Photo by Dad.
Me and Ryan. Directed by me, photo by Randy.
If you’ve been around us in public, you may notice that Ryan calls me “Little One” all the time. While no one else finds my 6′ self “little,” I’m glad that he does.
Fave shot on our way to take more photos. No direction from me. Photo by Randy.
Introducing our bridal party (Left to right) Laura Voss, Aaron Buzzay, Steve Quaday, Nicki Dembski, Steve Voss, Randi, Ryan, Jennifer Pazdon, Jenny Voss, Chris Voss, and Kevin Voss. Yes, Ryan is the second of six children. This is an example of a shot that I set up, then put myself right in prior to snap.
I took this shot of Ryan on the move.
Fun! This is on the stairs of Hamerschlag Hall at Carnegie Mellon. Ryan is stopping my fun and my bridal party is looking confused. Photo by Randy or Dad, can’t remember which.
Best.jump.ever. Check out that flower flying out of my bouquet. The weather was perfect! We got tons of air on Schenley Oval.
During cocktail hour, I set up a Camera Scavenger Hunt Game. I made lists of shots to find/create and 10 disposable cameras. Anyone who was interested grabbed a list and went for it. There were more points for harder to find shots. Some highlights include “Three people with the same first name. Four people who have been to Germany. Four generations in one photo. Your whole table in a pyramid. Your whole table in a totem pole.” Below is a pyramid of my parents’ table on the left and on the right is a “totem pole” which actually was a “dog pile.” Oh well! The photos were awesome and everyone had a great time moving around and meeting everyone.
Cutting a rug
I took this shot at the end of the night when I was allowed to have the camera back again. 
Me and my Canon. And Kevin Voss and Laura Fonzi. Laura’s wedding is coming up on 9/18/09!
Wedding aftermath! My family and aunts (especially Aunt Carol) baked near 6,000 cookies for our wedding. Yes, you read that correctly. We had 108 guests, do the math. So there were a lot of leftovers and the catering staff at the reception got to enjoy some too (as did the people at the airport, in Virginia, in Minnesota, at my workplace……) I had the most fun ever at my wedding and I still think it was great and wouldn’t have changed a thing!
I personally design the first draft of the wedding album for all of my clients. From there, they are able to make changes. It usually takes a while to figure out your favorites and the photos you can’t live without in your album. Obviously, 3 years later, I found this task nearly impossible to complete with my own wedding. I noticed that I care way more about people than I do for photos of cakes or centerpieces or flowers (except that Mom made them). I remember the people and how I felt on that day. I have a lot more respect for brides going through the album process! I wanted to make it complete, but not cluttered. Tell a whole story, but not forget any of my favorite moments. Good luck, ladies and gents!
I’m off to dinner to celebrate the start of our marriage! When I am meeting new clients, it usually comes up that I recognize the difference between a wedding and a marriage. A wedding is an event, a celebration, and a marriage is forever. Here’s to forever!
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