Friday weddings can be hectic, especially whenever you have to plan it from several states away and everyone has to fly in. People can be late and details can be lost and, let’s be honest, weddings are fun, but they can also be pretty stressful sometimes. But no matter what was happening, Chrissy and John were so focused on each other.  Throughout the day, they took the time to do little things to make each other happy. I know that sounds like a small thing. But sometimes that means changing plans, and sometimes that means putting everything else on hold while you spend time with each other. Witnessing that, and knowing that they chose me to document something that important to them, was humbling and inspiring.

I love shooting senior portraits in the fall, especially if it means hiking through the woods in order to best take advantage of the leaves… and climbing on top of bridges… and over waterfalls… well. We wanted to make sure we got interesting shots, and I think we lived up to that!

Congrats Isaiah, best of luck for the rest of your year!

We took a lovely sunny evening with the last of the fall leaves to take her senior portraits at the park. Emily had a lot of cool outfits & ideas, we definitely had a good time. Of course we get the standard yearbook shots, but I love when seniors bring outfits & ideas that really represent their personalities and interests- it gives us a chance for really unique portraits.

Emily hopes to go to Gettysburg College to major in history. (Yeah, I’m a little jealous.) That’s such a great opportunity. Congrats Emily, and good luck in all of the adventures still ahead of you!

Just one from John & Chrissy’s wedding downtown at the William Penn Omni… more to come. :)

I got a good hint whenever I went over the timeline with Natasa, about a week before the wedding. I had never been to a traditional Serbian wedding before, so I wanted to make sure I had a good idea what to expect. “Well,” she told me, “it will start with a skup at the house, and it’s party and there will be music and dancing… And then we’ll go to the church, and after there ceremony, there will be music and dancing… And then we go to the reception…”  And my response was, “Let me guess- music and dancing?”

Yes. Yes there was.

The day started in style with champagne and mimosas at Steve’s parents house, for the skup. The skup is a party where traditionally the groom has to barter for the bride’s hand. Many of the family & guests come to celebrate & congratulate the couple before they leave for the church. So Natasa spent most of the morning upstairs with her bridesmaids, preparing and greeting the family, while Steve spent time with the guests and live music downstairs. When it was time to leave, the band and all of the guests crowded into the entrance of the house to sing “The Chapel of Love” to Natasa and paraded her to the limo. (What a great send-off! I wish every wedding had a parade! And singing!) The ceremony took place at Saint Nicholas’ Serbian Orthodox Church in Monroeville- such a beautiful location, which fantastic stained glass.  The choir was amazing and one of the loveliest moments was listening to the bridesmaids singing with the choir as Natasa walked down the aisle…just beautiful.  After the lovely ceremony, it was onto St Nick’s Greek Hall in Oakland, to continue the party… and continue it did. I think we called it a night at eleven, at the party was still going strong. A day that long can easily be tiring and stressful, but Steve and Natasa both bring such a joy & ease that the day flew by. We were so happy to be there to celebrate with them… God grant them many years. :)

I spent a lot of time watching Matthew Jordan Smith on Creative Live this weekend and mulling over my personal inspirations. Even made an emergency run to Michael’s for some new sketching tools. We did a lot these past few days, and went shopping for a lot of new things. Out of everything we bought, Andy accused me of liking my new $1 pencil sharpener the best.

Can you blame me?

Good things are coming.

Chrissy and John are from Virginia Beach, and I think every time they’ve been up recently it has been wet and miserable. We were lucky enough to sneak about half an hour of glorious sunshine for their engagement session. I’m hoping that they have just as much luck for their wedding- the forecast is calling for snow. Think warm and sunny thoughts for them this weekend, please!

But at any rate, they’re a fantastic couple, and I am really looking forward to tomorrow, no matter what the weather turns out to be.  Stay tuned… :)

I have to say, I love the style that ran throughout the day.  Alisa wore a birdcage veil and a beautiful dress of lace. The girls  dressed in chocolate and classic red, and the guys wore suspenders and brand-new timberlands. They customized Terrible Towels to give away as favors, and used them with abandon as the night went on. Most importantly though, the closeness of their families, the joy of their celebration, and the fun that Alisa & Luke have together. It was a great day.