Holly and Shawn were married in the south hills of Pittsburgh in a Serbian Orthodox wedding ceremony.  It was my first opportunity to photography a Serbian Orthodox service, and I was very excited for this new challenge!

First, I joined Holly and her bridesmaids at her  parents’ home while she got ready.  She already had her hair and makeup done at Posh Salon.  Putting on Holly’s dress was a big event.

All of her bridesmaids were relatives, mostly cousins, and she had been in all of their weddings over the years.  When Holly asked her dad “Dad, what do you need me to do?” Dad replied “Get married already and get your clothes out of this house.”  Classic.

Shawn’s family hosted a pre-party for their extended family and groomsmen.  This is a cultural event, and drinking seems to be mandated.  Check out these eyes…

I wasn’t there, but there were lots of photos of drinking shots.

When the ceremony began, Shawn had to face the altar, and could not see Holly’s approach.

He finally turned at this moment to see Holly hugging her dad.

Working with Ryan has many advantages.  One being that he was permitted behind the altar for some photos, and females aren’t allowed in that area.

The Kum (or best man) places the rings on the bride and groom’s right hands.

Their hands are bound with this cloth for most of the ceremony.

Holly, Shawn, and their family and friends were very resilient to remain standing for the 90-minute, air-conditioning-free ceremony.

During the end of the ceremony, they make three circles around the altar.

I haven’t known Holly for that long, but this looks like a classic “Holly face” to me.

During the receiving line, Brian sells me a program.  Note the dancers on the right too.

To celebrate, all of the guest have a shot when they come out of the church.

The last one is for the bride and groom.

We made a quick stop at South Park for the fastest bridal party photos ever.

Being fast is easy when the lighting is perfect.

And everyone is happy.

2 killer first-dance photos by Ryan.

A super fun garter toss.

Congratulations to Holly and Shawn!!

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Jessi’s awesome dress.

Jessi putting on her beautiful dress.  I love Keagan on the phone.

Real laughs

Jessi and Benjamin saw each other at a private meeting before the wedding.  They got to spend a few moments alone.  Truly a rare occasion on a wedding day.  Once they had their private moments, we took a TON of photos with the two of them together.

Three photos of Jessi by Christina Montemurro.  Thanks for your help, Christina!

It was a super special time. Jessi cried at the first look meeting and Benjamin cried in the church.

How did they get this gorgeous day in November?

Beautiful

The bridal party met us at Washington and Jefferson’s campus for some group photos around the courthouse.

The famous triple kiss for this new family. Image by Christina.

You were right, Benjamin, you should have worn pink socks.  Because Jessi is totally stealing the show with those shoes and hot pink petticoat.

There it is!

If you check out the engagement photos, this is how they say “I love you” without words.

Jessi still married Benjamin even though he is a Flyers fan.  At least she is the Captain.

First Dance.  Excellent entertainment by DJ Andy Hutelmyer.

After about 10 seconds of dancing alone, they were joined by their son, Keagan.  It was so special.

More from Jessi and Benjamin…They had these jerseys made for their engagement session, but we had to keep them a secret for the wedding.  Secret’s out!

Wedding date: November 14, 2009.

Jessi is “Captain” and Benjamin “Assistant Captain.”

Penalty on Jessi!

Love this too.

Congratulations Jessi and Benjamin!!!

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Contact Randi Voss about photographing your wedding | Connect with Randi Voss Photography on facebook

Alison and Paul chose to wed at The Peace With Inn, a beautiful bed and breakfast in Freyburg, Maine (near North Conway, New Hampshire).  Alison and Paul actually got ready in the same place, making for a really relaxed environment.  On the left, is Alison’s ring, the penny that was in her mom’s shoe on her wedding day, a penny for Alison’s shoe on this wedding day.  On the right is Alison’s awesome dress.  The texture of the fabric was amazing!

Even though they got ready together.  Alison’s dress was top secret.  She put it on right before meeting Paul for pre-ceremony photographs.

They were so relaxed all day.  This is the only time that Alison was emotional about seeing Paul and everything coming together.  It was a really nice moment.

We abducted the bride and groom (willingly, of course) for some photos in this beautiful field.  At the rehearsal, Alison said “We scouted around and found a great place to take some photographs.  There is a large, open field with mountains in the background.  We should be there right before sunset. We think you will like it.”  My mouth was watering…..justifiably so!

Alison was so outgoing and willing to walk through these tall grasses in her dress.  Hi Linda (Alison’s mom)!  I think Linda would have had a heart attack if she saw the trek Alison made through this field.  So worth it and no body could tell!

The field was directly across from this old, weathered church.  On Monday, I got this in an email from the bride “Forgot to add that when we were heading out for our sight-seeing on Saturday we passed that church and they were painting it!!!! Seems they had re-painted the three other sides (hence the ladders on the other side of the church) and the one that we photographed in front of was the last one to be completed. Perfect timing for us, right?????”  Amazing!

Alison purchased (and returned) seven different pairs of shoes before deciding on these pink heels.

Alison’s parents walked her down the aisle together.  I think this is the only time when Alison’s dad didn’t have his camera out taking photographs.

The ceremony was beautiful! I thought it was really great because they chose a reading that I had also chosen for my own wedding.  Union by Robert Fulghum.

Unexpectedly, the temperature dropped to a low 29F that night.  Guests hung out by the fire or inside of the Inn.  Luckily, the real cold didn’t begin until the wedding and dinner was over.

I had a wonderful time and am so honored that Alison and Paul invited me to be with them for two very special events.  Stay tuned for more “a&p” at the end of October.

Wedding and reception location – The Peace With Inn

Caterer – Chef’s Market – SO GOOD!  The dinner was wonderful.  Ryan and I traveled to their store on Saturday for lunch because we couldn’t get enough!  Worth a trip to North Conway just for this meal.

Hair and Makeup – Head Games

Flowers – Dutch Bloemen Winkel

Bed and Breakfast – Admiral Peary House – Ryan and I stayed here.  It was a really nice place with a wonderful breakfast too!

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Danielle was so calm AND had an awesome manicure.  She was very excited about her bracelet (the flower girl had a similar bracelet too).

They had a lovely ceremony at Duquesne University where Danielle went to college.  We took some photos on the campus afterwards.

For me, all weddings are exciting and fun.  On this day, I resorted to trespassing  (last time at Sara and Nigel’s wedding) AND destruction of private property (kidding of course) but I did take down this yellow rope to get it out of my photo.  The field was “Closed for reasons of public safety,” but some athletes were using it far away from where we were working.  I’m so focused!

Here is the shot that I got.  I left the yellow rope in there so you could see where it was.  Could you imagine it being right in front of the flower girl!?!?  No way! For the record, I put the rope back up when we were finished.

Danielle’s flowers (and her bridesmaids flowers too) were beautiful!

Check out how vibrant the flowers looked with the blue dresses.  WOW!  I LOVE this photo.

Cake photo is by Christina Montemurro who was kind enough to second shoot with me all day.

Thankfully, this wedding had a record number of AIR GUITARISTS!  The groom kicked things off.  My fave is the groomsman on the lower right.

When I met Danielle and Tom in February, the first thing that Tom told me about their wedding was that “We’ll have Penn Pilsner or better.”  I knew I had to work some beer into my photographs. Tom’s ring on a bottle.

Tom is also a huge music fan.  At his request, the DJ played “Sugar Mountain” by Neil Young during the dinner hour.  As soon as I heard it, I knew it was Tom’s doing.  So nice to get a vibe from the groom during a day!

Ceremony: Duquesne University
Reception: Radisson Hotel Greentree
Video: Heartsong

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Today, Jamie and Zach are featured on Wedding Belles Online! So excited for another Hokie wedding (Kelly and Drew) coming up on June 27th in Richmond, Virginia.
http://weddingbellesonline.com/2009/06/04/real-wedding-jamie-zach

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