January 10, 2012

Cats in Pittsburgh: Logan Lemewski+Sullivan McSkillet

Every once in a while I meet a person with dogs who says they don’t like cats because cats don’t have any personality. Or they say they only like cats who are nice and friendly. Granted, I am sure there are some not nice/unfriendly cats out there, but every cat I have ever known has had a huge personality… it’s just that they don’t particularly care for many people besides their owners and their closer friends. We are crazy cat people ourselves so I’m quite partial to the feline club, but no matter what your views are – it’s a bit impossible to see these pictures of Logan+Sully and think that cats don’t have personalities.

Logan Lemewski (“Lemmy”) and Sullivan McSkillet (“Sully) are my nephew-cats. They belong to my sister Laura and live with her in Pittsburgh where they win the all-time award for being the craaaaaziest cats in the entire world (photographic evidence below). She recently referred a wedding to me and wanted to use the referral bucks to get pictures of her furry crew, so I took their portraits before Christmas and documented the crazy: the catnip bubbles, the jumping off of doors, the hopping up on cabinets, the drinking from faucets, the red cat pajamas. They are stinking adorable but also absolutely insane. She’s had many stories over the past few years and it basically boils down to the conclusion that they must be getting their paws on some pretty heavy catnip stored away in some secret stash.

Cat Answer Key: Sully is the black cat, and Lemmy is the grey and white cat.

<3 Love you, Lemmy, Sully, and Laura!

say nice things

January 9, 2012

Engaged in Pittsburgh: Brandy+Andrew

Brandy and Andrew met while she was a server and he was a cook at Johnny Rockets. They didn’t like each other. Brandy thought Andrew was stuck up. Andrew thought Brandy was weird. Eventually they ended up together and have been ever since. It turns out that what Brandy took for stuck up was just Andrew being kind of shy. But it also turns out that Andrew still thinks Brandy is “kind of weird”. :D ;) Bahahaha. But despite their differing views on the Harry Potter movies (Brandy loves them and Andrew politely puts up with them), they are fantastic together and laughed the whole time. They’re sooo sweet, but I already knew this about Brandy. We were in show choir and drama together for 3 years in high school… high-kicking our way to the top in our ridiculously sequined blue dresses. ;) Brandy has a beautiful singing voice. She met Andrew after we graduated (he went to another high school), so I just now have met him… and he’s wonderful! I’m so excited to see them together again on their wedding in June.

Photos taken at Johnny Rockets in Pittsburgh Mills (where they met) and Deer Lakes Park (behind the Mills). Special thanks to the Johnny Rockets crew for letting us shoot there before they opened up, and for the Deer Lakes Park fog for being so awesome and conveniently timed. Here is our wonderful Brandy and Andrew!

P.S. Brandy – you’re a fine girl (you’re a fiiine girl!). What a good wife you would be (such a fiiine girl!).

1 nice things said

January 6, 2012

Providence Baptist Church and Cobblestone Hall: The Wedding of Gwen+Nick

This was our very last wedding of 2011 held on December 17th. :) The day after, I flew to Pittsburgh to be home with my family for the holidays, and Gwen and Nick were patient and kind enough to be cool with me editing them when I got back in January. We could not have ended the year on a better note. Gwen, as you may recall from her engagement session, was a teaching co-worker of mine when I taught 2nd grade. She still teaches alongside my other teacher co-workers Jen (who was a bridesmaid in the wedding) and Sara (who did Gwen’s lovely makeup). It was so wonderful to see all of them again and to photograph Gwen and Nick’s family and friends on their wedding day. :) They’re such a sweet and loving couple… and December was the perfect month for them to get married as it’s an important month in their faith as well as a time when Gwen gets a little time off from work. ;) They combined adorable Christmas elements into their wedding… and I nearly cracked up when Gwen told me she was having her guests decorate ornaments for a tree while they were getting their pictures taken to occupy them (it was a very teacher-like craft assignment and amazing!).

Gwen looked beautiful and stunning, as always and Nick and his groomsmen looked awesome in their grey suits (I’m a sucker for grey suits and they photograph so well). Their ceremony took place in the church where they met. Their reception had a Cheerwine toast, a cheesecake bar, and a toilet papered getaway car that almost caught fire from their sparkler exit. ;) It was a beautiful day and I was happy to be there with them. Hope the pictures were worth the wait, guys. xo.