Brandy+Andrew Get Married in Pittsburgh, PA

**Editing Note: After threatening to start doing this several months ago but never actually doing it, I am finally scaling down my post sizes. They reached a ridiculous 100-150+ pictures per wedding post a few weddings back, and I finally came to the painful realization that I have a culling problem. So starting now, I am attempting between 40-50 pictures per wedding post, and about 15 pictures per everything else. Basically, I want to put my very, very favorites of the wedding in the post instead of including everything little tiny thing so the rest of the world doesn’t start spacing out about halfway through the post. :) Don’t worry – this doesn’t involve cutting the number of actual pictures the client receives. Okay! End editing note.**

The sailors say, “Brandy! You’re a fine girl! (Such a fiiiiiine girl!) What a good wife you would be! (Such a fiiiiiine girl!)”

Brandy, our fine fine girl, now gets a chance to live up to everything the sailors apparently told her. But Andrew isn’t a sailor, so I think it’s going to work out just fine. :)

This was a very emotional wedding with the highest percentage of family crying pictures we’ve ever taken. They cried at the rehearsal. They cried at the rehearsal dinner. And continued crying all day (not pictured in this blog post: like, a bajillion more pictures of people crying). And I, as someone who does not cry at weddings, found myself tearing up on several occasions and thinking, “What are these people doing to me?” I think it might be contagious. Both of these families have a crazy, crazy love for each other that is just the sweetest thing, and they way they all came together for Brandy and Andrew was amazing. And what was even more amazing was that Brandy and Andrew hated each other when they first met… and it took a few months of hating, but slowly turned into that super embarrassing realization that you just may have a crush on that person you’re still trying to hate (although you don’t remember why). Thankfully they both realized that they came to that conclusion at the same time and everything ended up fine and now they’re married and it’s all good. Andrew can now pretend to like Harry Potter for Brandy’s sake, and Brandy has enthusiastically accepted all of Andrew’s crazy buddies.

We were so thrilled to shoot this wedding for them, and we’ve loved getting to know Andrew. Brandy and I were friends in high school and went through show choir and drama together for 3 years (she was a grade below me) and I was very honored to be asked to be her photographer and incredibly excited to meet Andrew, who is everything that I thought he would be (Brandy is perhaps the sweetest and nicest person ever, and she has found her equally sweet and nice counterpart with the exception of the disagreement on Harry Potter). Geoff and I are also super pumped to be reunited with Brandy, Andrew, and one half of these incredible families in September for Andrew’s sister Christina’s wedding (you may recognize her and Steven in a few of the shots). I’ll bring tissue holster for my belt this time.

 

First Dance Song: “Unchained Melody” – The Righteous Brothers

Bride’s Occupation: Faculty Services Representative for Person Publishing

Groom’s Occupation: Interior Engineer for Honda Research and Design Americas

How You Met: Working at a restaurant, Johnny Rockets

Interesting Bride Fact: Has a Harry Potter tattoo

Interesting Groom Fact: Played the trumpet as a kid

Honeymoon Destination: Cruise to Jamaica, Haiti, and Cozumel

Date: June 16, 2012 (happy birthday, Carolyn’s dad!)

Ceremony Venue: St. Joseph’s Parish // O’Hara Township, PA

Reception Venue: Syria Mosque // Cheswick, PA

Officiant: Father Thom Miller

DJ: Martin Morgan

Florist: Bridal Blooms

Cake: Moio’s Bakery

Caterer: Stratwood Catering

Hair: Chris Murdock

Videographer: Willow Productions

Photos Featured on Design Aglow Products!

Hi, friends!

Lack of bloggyness, I know, right? I’m currently in Pennsvylvania for weddings and shoots while Geoff holds down the fort in North Carolina during the week. But I can’t really edit or do much businessy stuff here because Geoff’s setting up my iMac down there and needs all of my files, hard drives, etc. Also, the monitors are my parents’ isn’t really callibrated. :) Sooo, you’ll all have to wait until next week when we’ll catch you up on all the southwestern PA adventures! Patience!

In the meantime, I wanted to tell you in happy news that Design Aglow, a resource for photographers for design templates and marketing, contacted me to ask my permission to use a few of my photos on upcoming products! Yay!

They have featured us on their “Home is Where the Art Is” Wall Cling templates! Basically, they’re little frame templates that you can use with ProDPI’s wall clings to create cool art on your walls. :) Check it out here! … and here!

And look at you guys (our clients)! The pictures are very tiny, but I can see at least six of you in there:

Katie+Blake – Upper right hand corner

Julie Magill’s pup – Upper right hand corner

Hayden Perry – Middle left

Zitzmann Family – Middle

Renee+Daniel’s pup – Lower Middle

Jimmy+Sarah – Upper Middle

Stephan Schaefbauer’s pup – Upper left hand corner

See yourself? Let us know! We think this is pretty rad. :) Thank you to Design Aglow! We’re thrilled to be asked to participate!

Katie+Cameron Have a Wedding at Magnolia Manor Plantation // Warrenton, NC

This wedding was a big blue Mason jar full of awesome. Pink shoes. Rope swings. Lots of talk about tuxedo cats. When I asked Katie what her dress was like, she replied, “It’s tea-length”… to which I responded with a sharp intake of air and the creepy statement, “I’ve been waiting for youuuu!!!” to which Katie didn’t act too freaked out, but she probably was. The wedding ceremony was held in a pecan grove on an old southern plantation that was built in 1815, and the reception in the yard in an open air building called the carriage house.

Now, in an effort to completely embarrass myself, my sister, and my parents all in one fell swoop, I’ll tell you all that we are a family of super Civil War buffs. Weekends at our house between the approximate ages of 8 and 12 were spent watching Gettysburg on repeat and vising Gettysburg, alternatively. My sister and myself may or may not have spoke with really exaggerated southern accents. For the sake of sibling rivalry, my sister played the part of the North (still with a southern accent) and I took the part of the south. I may or may not have referred to myself as General Lee on more than one occasion… galloping around the house on a fake horse shouting, “But there is no time!” So I may have been a little bit excited in a house that’s not only seen the war, but had a picture of General Lee hanging in a bedroom. I may or may not have taken a picture of that to send to my family. I was pretty geeked to be there.

Also geeked to be there was, of course, our amazing Katie and Cameron, their awesome Maid of Honor Shelby and their fantastic Best Man Colin. Not to mention their wonderfully welcoming and kind parents, family, and friends. We had a great time and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was also one of those fantastic weddings where there are a lot of guys who know all the words to a bunch of pop songs and sing really dramatically. We love those. They are the best kind of wedding ever. Katie, Cameron, and their cat named Bug are now in the midst of a great move to Tennessee (she just came back to Raleigh from Iowa where she was in school). She’ll be a resident with a fellow podiatrist and surgeon. We have loved every second working with these two and wish them all the best in their move… and hope that they come back to visit us and that we someday may get to meet the majestic-looking Bug in person. :)

Bride’s Occupation: Podiatrist

Groom’s Occupation: Accountant

How You Met: In our junior year of high school in Earth Science :)

Interesting Bride Fact: Falls asleep in more movies than anyone :)

Interesting Groom Fact: Has seen more movies than any person I have ever known!

Honeymoon Destination: Moving to Tennessee – the honeymoon will be delayed :)

Date: June 9, 2012

Ceremony / Reception / DJ / Florist / Cake / Caterer: Magnolia Manor Plantation Bed and Breakfast // Warrenton, NC

Officiant: Rev. Craig Miller

Hair and Makeup: Ginger Mullins