As usual, I started with Christine and her bridesmaids getting ready.    Christine’s makeup by Greg from Lightko Studios

They elected to see each other before the wedding in a first look meeting.  Somehow, we found the one tree in Pittsburgh with leaves still on it–November 13th!!

Those beautiful flowers by Reed & Petals Florist

After a few photos alone, the bridal party joined us for some shots.  I’d like to thank all of them for their patience as I had lost my voice due to a recent cold.  Ryan did a great job of getting everyone together.

Sure, I just posted one of these last week, but photos in the Racer are so much fun!  This one has the added bonus of adorable children who were really into the whole idea of pretending to be on a roller coaster ride.

I don’t often include portraits such as this one, but Shawn is a volunteer fireman and the fire truck was so cool looking.

Onto the ceremony.

This talented musician played and sang an acoustic version of “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin.  It was amazing!

Mr & Mrs!

The toasts were very emotional……

And hilarious!

It was a flower girl party!  Four of their nieces were in the bridal party.  They had a great time dancing.

The last dance…

Congratulations, Christine and Shawn!  I hope that you have a great time on your honeymoon!!!!

I began my day photographing Jen and her bridesmaids and “Men of Honor” downstairs in Heinz Chapel.  Ryan was upstairs and got this fantastic shot of the ring bearer handing out programs.  The light from the door lit his face perfectly.

There are  many restrictions about where the photographers can go in Heinz Chapel.  There are no restrictions on what you can do in the balcony.  Here, Ryan is shooting through his own lens while Jen and Marc are at the altar.

Exchanging the rings

And here they are, Mr and Mrs!!!

How exciting to find this big tree full of bright red leaves on November 6th!

Between the ceremony and reception, the bridal party took their giant limo bus to Primanti Bros. in Pittsburgh’s South Side.   Can you see Jen’s dress in the photo?

Jen looks beautiful!  And you can tell she really enjoyed her time on her wedding day.

Marc looks pretty great too.

A jagerbomb for a few of the groomsmen…..

And after a quick, windy stop on the North Shore for a few photos, we arrived at the Heinz History Center.  What a fun group of guys!

The brides’ side had a much more convincing coaster ride.  WooooohooooOO!!!!!

Just before cocktail hour, the groomsmen composed this original song called “Marc and Jen.” 

After that performance, Jen and Marc posed for a few more photos in the 6th floor lobby.

For their first dance, one of the groomsmen sang and played piano.  He was SOOO good!

And then onto the killer dance party.

What a beautiful room!

Go Jen!

This time, all of the wedding guests were treated to the final version of the original song “Marc and Jen.”

The lyrics were “Marc and Jen.  Marc and Jen.  MARC AND JEN!!  Marc and Jen.  marc and jen (whispered). Marc and Jen.”  It was amazing and I’m glad that all of their guests got to hear it.

Marc and Jen, congratulations on your awesome wedding day!

Angie putting on her dress.  She was wearing her grandma’s robe as she dove into her dress.

Once Angie was dressed and ready, we trekked into this field for some photos.  We were near a highway and Angie was getting tons of attentions from drivers, including big rigs!  She waved back and I loved it.

Her grandma’s house in the background.

Through the bubbles and into the limo for a few minutes of alone time.

We got to take some bridal party photos before leaving for the reception. Love this!

Doesn’t it make you want to get married in the fall?

Next image by Christina Montemurro.

It’s not easy to kiss while walking.  Takes lots of practice.

First Dance.

A different view of the first dance by  Christina Montemurro.

So great, and surprisingly rare, to see the Bride and Groom together on the dance floor during the reception.  The wedding is so busy for the guests of honor.

After the money dance, Alex broke into the circle of friends and family and took Angie away.  I love her flip-flops showing under her dress.  Congratulations, Angie and Alex!

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!

Here they are coming into their wedding reception.

Tina greets Steve’s grandfather before sitting down to their lovely meal.

Tina and Steve shared a slideshow presentation filled with images from their wedding ceremony a few weeks ago.  The bridesmaids thought it was great to see photos and remember that day.

Tina and Steve finally share their first dance.

We had some time for more photos of the bride and groom and the wedding party.

I asked Tina to be “sassy” and this is what she gave me.  She knows how to work it.  So perfect.

Tina specifically requested this photo of “almost a kiss.”  They had to act it out several times.  I’m pretty sure Steve was in heaven for this one….

It is harder to walk and kiss than you would think.

And finally, their wedding rings on this mini cake.

Entertainment: Betsy Lawrence Band – this band was awesome.  If you want a talented band at your wedding, check them out.

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!

Their wedding was Saturday and it was a blast.  When I arrived in the morning, I learned that the girls were all locked out of the house when when they returned from having their hair done.  Good thing they had plenty of time and weren’t slowed at all!  Lexi dressed and ready to roll….

Only Lexi’s mom, Donna, and bridesmaid, Jamie had seen the bride in her dress or had seen the dress at all.  The dress was a surprise to everyone else, including Dad.    Clearly, they are all impressed.

Bubbles after the ceremony

Lexi and Josh rented a tour bus.  Really, it was a tour bus and there were 6 bunks in the middle.  I guess I could have taken a nap, but this picture was better than a nap. Hilarious!

When Lexi saw this image, she said it looked like it was “straight out of the Alfred Angelo catalog!”  Since her dress and the bridesmaids dresses came from there, I think that is a good thing.  I do love the pink and navy blue combo.

We grabbed a few more shots of Lexi and Josh right after dinner.  Worth it!

NICE!  Lexi’s wicked air guitar!!  I LOVE THIS PHOTO

The band, Mind’s I, was great!  Here are Josh, Lexi, Ben (best man) and Tom (lead singer) rocking out to “Fight for your Right” by the Beastie Boys.  The band had such a good vibe and the crowd loved it!

Greystone Fields at the end of the night.

The wedding was fabulous and its obvious that their friends and family love them so much.  Best of luck to Lexi and Josh!

Rollcall!
Entertainment – Mind’s I
Reception -Greystone Fields

Sara told me that the theme for her wedding was “fun and stress free” when some people may have said “black and white with sunflowers.”  I took this shot at 7:30am when Sara returned from her 6am run and was getting ready.

The morning light was extremely beautiful!

I really love these two shots together.  I took the one of Catriona and Sara fixing their hair and Ryan captured this shot of Nigel (in Manual mode with available light, Thank you very much!)  I love Catriona’s curlers and both of their facial expressions.  Nigel looks so “dapper” in those shades.

The compass is a symbol that Sara and Nigel hold dear.  The cardinal directions, NESW are also their initials….Nigel Edwards and Sara Winter.  Bitchin’ cufflinks!

Sara and Nigel are extremely happy together and totally in love. Their wedding began at 11:30 am and this is a photo I grabbed during their “first look” at 9am.  Look at that expression on Nigel’s face!  He got to see her again for the first time during the ceremony at it was just as good when he saw Sara heading his way.

They had a few minutes to themselves during this time to chat and be totally in love.

We (Nigel, Sara, Ryan, and I) took a walk around the golf course for a few more shots.  For this one we did a little bit of trespassing onto an adjacent property.  I think it was worth if for the shade of those trees.  Who knew that the sunlight at 9:30am could be so gorgeous?!?

Incredible!

Right before a visit from two golf carts full of country club guests excited to see the bride and groom.  Sara was stunning in her halter-style gown so of course she could stop traffic.

If you notice Sara’s earring in this next shot, you can see that she was jumping around during this time too!

At 10am we got through the family shots.  Nigel’s sons, Jake and Aaron were not happy with posing for photos….until they got these sweet mini-fans!  So the fans are in all of the shots with the kids.  I love it!

Nigel is Welsh and many of his groomsmen came over from Wales to be with Nigel and Sara for the day.  I learned during Nigel’s speech during the reception that the groomsmen had a lot of problems  ordering the suits for the wedding as Wales participates in the Metric System.  They love him……

Isn’t this the best looking group of bridesmaids you’ve ever seen!?!?!  Ok so, YES, I was a bridesmaid in this wedding–there I am on the far right.  How is that possible, you ask?  I organized the group formal shots, then slid in while Ryan and Nicki snapped away.  I was not in the ceremony because I was busy shooting.  Then later I got to put down my camera and do a little dancing.  It was totally great!  For the bridesmaids dresses, Sara wanted to continue the “fun and stress-free” theme allowing us all to use our own black dress, do our own hair and makeup.  Looks pretty spectacular to me!  The sunflowers are absolutely beautiful too.

Blog readers, you may recognize some of these bridesmaids from other weddings like Jamie and Kelly on the far left and Krissy standing right next to me.  Leigh Ann is also a friend of Sara’s but couldn’t make it to the wedding as she was enjoying her own honeymoon in Cabo.  Sara is a huge fan of mine and a shameless promoter of my photography.  I LOVE her for that and Sara is a huge reason that I am a photographer today!

That is one hot bridal party!

Again, Sara is gorgeous!  Sara has another mantra…… “sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows!”  But all she is thinking about right now is seeing Nigel again.  It doesn’t have to be the wedding for Sara to be this happy when seeing Nigel anytime.

There is more from the ceremony in the slideshow below).   After the ceremony, the girls slipped away before cocktail hour started.  It was time for a circle-high-five.  Awesome!

Their first dance.  The look on both of their faces says it all.  They really were “fun and stress-free” all day and  you could feel that.

Since the wedding was early, all of the little kids were ready to party since it was only 1pm.  The dancing was out of control fun!

Aaron is looking to Aunt Catriona for advice on this dance moves.  Cheryl (mother of the bride) looks awesome in her hot pink dress.

Tom Jones is a Welshman and Nigel is a huge fun. It was awesome to her Tom Jones’ version of “Kiss” by Prince and then the classic “It’s Not Unusual.”  Made for some great group singing.

Bridesmaids dancing….so awesome!

For the last song, there was a little “couples mosh-pit” to surround the newlyweds.

As Sara’s mom said “The final photo says it all. The expression on your face is stunning.”  I couldn’t agree more.  The whole day was beautiful and fun and wonderful, just like Sara and Nigel. 

I was honored to be a part of this wedding, both in the bridal party and as the photographer.  I love you, Sara and Nigel!

I met Leigh Ann and Alex through our mutual friend, Sara. Leigh Ann and I had talked on the phone and decided to meet for the first time and shoot their engagement session in Frederick, Maryland. We had a great time talking about their wedding on their negative one year anniversary, August 1, 2008.  Time really flew by since our first meeting and Saturday was finally time for their wedding.

The ladies prepared at Stone Manor Country Club. I told Leigh Ann she made my job so easy by picking such beautiful places.

Nervous and excited…..

also gorgeous! At one time in the morning, Leigh Ann was writing something and said “What’s today’s date?….Oh yea, its the day I’ve been dreaming of…August 1st!”

Modern day groomsmen doing a blackberry check while waiting to leave for the church.

Leigh Ann walked down the aisle with Dad AND Mom, which I thought was a really special moment.

Leigh Ann and Alex’s wedding was the first event held in the church after a long renovation. Definitely worth the wait.

When they came out of church, we went for a quick walk around Frederick, Maryland.

Leigh Ann and Alex have great taste!

Their first dance

Right before dinner, we went out to the new vineyard and grabbed some shots before sunset!

And a shout-out to the vendors I had the privilege to work with on Saturday
Stone Manor Country Club
Canapes Catering
Dynomite DJs – Bruce Pike If anyone is planning an event in the DC area, Bruce is the best. The reception was super fun and super classy.
Blossom & Basket Boutique
Simplicity Salon and Spa
Nicole Palermo Makeup
JKM Productions, Videographers

I had a great time.

Leigh Ann and Alex, Thanks for including me in your special day!

Kelly was beautiful! and her makeup looked SOOO good!

Professional badass

Ah-mazing

Justin was so nervous. It was adorable.

Happy and married!

Congratulations Kelly and Justin!