Lindsay+Jonathon’s Wedding in Pittsburgh, PA

It was so great to be back in Pittsburgh, PA to photograph Lindsay and Jon’s wedding! I went to high school with the two of them back in the day (Lindsay I specifically knew through show choir and drama club), so it was pretty awesome to see a bunch of people I hadn’t seen in a long time all together in one place. :) And, following in the tradition of us acquiring awesome wedding venues in Pittsburgh, the wedding was held at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association building across from the Cathedral of Learning at Pitt, and super close to the Mellon Institute of Carnegie Mellon… and also super close to Phipps Conservatory… and super close to an adorable carousel. And lucky for us, we had a limo driver to take us to all of the cool super photogenic places, so it was kind of a “best of” tour of Oakland. ;)

Aside from being really, really ridiculously good looking, both Lindsay and Jon are also ridiculously kind people and head over heels for each other. Jon did a great job of not only helping carry Lindsay’s dress across treacherous terrain, but also comforting her when we all got incredibly nauseous from driving around. ;) Their friends (some of whom we knew from high school) are all pretty ridiculous and also super sweet and accommodating after we toted them around Oakland for a while. :) We cannot thank everyone enough for being cooperative and helpful and generally fantastic at this wedding! I am going to miss all the Burrell friends I was briefly reunited with, but it was a great reunion. :)

Date: June 14, 2014

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Pittsburgh Athletic Association // Pittsburgh, PA

First Dance Song: “My Love” – Paul McCartney

Lindsay’s Occupation: Merchandise Analyst for Dick’s Sporting Goods

Jon’s Occupation: Construction Technician for Galway Bay

How You Met: High School

Interesting Fact about Lindsay: Lindsay used to make mystery movies with her cousins when she was little, and to this day her family calls her Lindsay Drew.

Interesting Fact about Jon: Jon has traveled to more than 13 different countries, almost all in the past 4 years.

Honeymoon Destination: Maui, HI

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Pastor Lee Kricher (Jon’s uncle) | DJ – Sam Crawford of Party Time Productions | Florist – Mocha Rose Floral | Cake – Oakmont Bakery | Caterer – Pittsbugh Athletic Association | Hair/Makeu – Salon Vivace | Videographer – Just Hitched Wedding Films | Coordinator – Mike McChesney of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association | Transportation – Shamrock Limousine

Ariana+Matt // Raleigh Rose Garden

We met Ariana and Matt way, way, way back at the 4th wedding we’ve ever photographed. Ariana was a bridesmaid and Matt was a groomsman and they had kind of exchanged brief “hello”s at each other once before since their best friends were engaged. Now they were in the wedding, and I specifically remember photographing them several times talking and dancing because I was pretty sure they were a couple, but apparently they weren’t, but rather had just started actually speaking more than “hello” that evening. Clearly they seemed like a couple and that obviously transformed into them actually being a couple and I’m really happy that I took those photos because that’s pretty much when they first met so I feel like I have some sort of weird, cosmic part in the whole thing. :)

Through the years since that wedding, Ariana has kept in touch with me. She’s an extremely talented cellist who plays at weddings and with the symphony (and has performed recently with Yo-Yo Ma!) and is generally awesome. Recently she asked me for my hair dresser’s contact information and got her hair cut right before us so we were able to see her and recommend the best gluten-free restaurant ever in Asheville (Posana!) where her and Matt were soon headed for their anniversary (they’re gluten-freebies). She had a sneaking suspicion that he might propose, so we were anxiously awaiting the news, and he did, and it was awesome, and then they went to Posana to celebrate, so I feel like we had a weirdly cosmic part in that aspect of their relationship timeline as well! Clearly the cosmos think the four of us are pretty good together.

Anyway – we are thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to have them finally… all these years later… as our clients and we’re looking forward to their wedding next March! Here are our favorites from their engagement session at the Raleigh Rose Garden. We love you both and are so excited!

Caitlyn+Joe’s Wedding in New London, Connecticut

Caitlyn and Joe kindly sent us a few initial pleading e-mails asking us if we’d come to Connecticut to photograph their wedding after she found our photographs on a wedding blog. They thought we’d say no or we’d be unavailable or it would cost them their first born son, but we’re a lot nicer than that and we Skyped and all fell into a mutual love for each other. True, type-A, spastically-organized, obsessional love. Well, Caitlyn and Carolyn anyway. Geoff and Joe kind of cooly, quietly, type-B-ingly watch Caitlyn and I spazz out from the sidelines. I was recognized at their rehearsal dinner as “possibly as organized as Caitlyn”… and that girl had an itinerary printed out for everyone that was the size of Game of Thrones. Because of this, though, everyone knew exactly what they were doing or Caitlyn and I spazzed out until they did, and thus everything went according to glorious plan.

This wedding taught us many things. It taught us that staying in college dorm rooms when you’re in your late 20s/early 30s has a surprisingly nostalgic effect despite the communal showers. It taught us that colleges can have really non-threatening-even-kind-of-smiling mascots. It taught us that Connecticut is exactly as we all picture it with the little cottages by the sea and the stone walls and the ivy and the rounded shingles. It taught us (or rather confirmed) that everyone from Boston is a horrible driver. It taught us that the sun is significantly brighter in the far northeast than in the southeast (actually true!). And finally, it reminded us of why we do what we do… and how lucky we are to have people fly us to cool new places so we can see new things and be there for them on their wedding day. We had an amazing time and are looking forward to seeing these two when they vacation down here in the future! And now at least Caitlyn can relax while Carolyn continues to obsess over weddings and timelines. ;)

Date: June 7, 2014

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Connecticut College // New London, Connecticut

First Dance Song: “My Best Friend” – Tim McGraw

Caitlyn’s Occupation: Federal Human Capital Consultant

Joe’s Occupation: Financial Examiner

How You Met: In 8th grade, braces and all ;)

Interesting Fact about Caitlyn: Caitlyn truly believes that ice cream is a food group, and eats accordingly

Interesting Fact about Joe: Joe has visited over half the states in the country and plans to visit all 50… Caitlyn may skip out on a few locations ;)

Honeymoon Destination:Charleston for a honeymoon preview and Jamaica around the holidays!

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Mike Webb (friend, mentor, former 8th grade teacher) | DJ – Atlantic Coast Entertainment (Erv) | Florist – Jordan Florist in Windsor, CT (Karen) | Cake – Dairy Queen ice cream cake and family-baked desserts | Caterer – Merrill Collins | Hair/Makeup – Larissa Lake Makeup Artist ( Laura and Danielle) and Alli Bizeau (family friend) | Videographer – Forever After Studios (Kevin and Kevin) | Ceremony Coordinator – Marilyn Burnett of Connecticut College |  Reception Coordinator – Merrill Collins of Connecticut College | Ceremony Guitarist – Morgan Brown