Amy & Mike's Tom's River Wedding

• Posted by Natalie •

I was so thrilled when Amy got in touch with me last year to talk about photographing her wedding. She and I had gone to high school together, but besides a Facebook update here or there, we had mostly lost touch.  When I think back to high school Amy, I remember a happy and hard-working classmate, who you knew was a just a good person to the core.  It seems that present-day Amy is just as kind and thoughtful, and she found a great match in Mike, whom she met at college.  One of my favorite parts about being a wedding photographer is to be a witness to the celebration of two much-loved people joining their lives.  And it's even more special when there are so many familiar faces at the event!

You never know what sort of weather you'll get when you're planning a wedding on the Jersey Shore.  Thankfully Amy and Mike had an indoor ceremony at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Seaside Park, NJ, since their early May wedding felt more like a blustery March day. They braved the elements for some portraits on the beach before heading over the the Toms River Yacht Club for the reception.  Amy and Mike are both Penn State grads, so we knew the reception would be great.  (We've had a few PSU brides and grooms so we've learned that Penn Staters know how to throw a good party-- just ask my step-sister and her husband who, over a decade later, are still getting compliments on how much fun their wedding was!) Amy & Mike's reception photos may be some of my favorite dancing shots we've ever gotten.  Everybody was on the dance floor and having a great time right from the start.

They also had one of the most detailed cake displays I've ever seen. They followed the trend of trading in a traditional wedding cake for cupcakes, but then Mike's very talented sister-in-law took it a step further and created a whole beach-scape complete with driftwood, and hanging cupcakes and even a set of cupcake-sized adirondack chairs. It was so creative!

Amy and Mike, I'm so glad the warmth and happiness of your wedding day completely negated the blustery weather! I wish I could bottle the love that just permeated every aspect of the day.  You both have such kind families and friends, and it was an added bonus for me to be able to catch up with a few of my favorite people from high school. It was such a joy to be your wedding photographers and document such a wonderful day.  Thank you so much for choosing us!

I just love the photo on the left below of Amy and her sisters helping their niece put on her dress.  In my mind I fast-forward to this little flower girl's own wedding day when undoubtably her aunts will all be doting on her as she puts on a different white dress. 

Special thanks to Sarah Fry, our assistant extraordinaire, for coordinating the "groom blowing away"  photo below and for helping to keep us and (more importantly) our gear dry during these rainy portaits!

Check out this cupcake display, courtesy of Mike's sister-in-law Jean Marie.  

We had to include Amy's photo of us. I'd love to make a trend out of this: Portraits of Matt and I by the bride and groom!

JoyAnn & Brian share the love for each other —and Philly sports!

• Posted by Natalie •

When we met with JoyAnn and Brian a few weeks before their wedding, they were praying for some rainy weekends in April. As we mentioned in their engagement photo post, these avid sports fans needed a weekend off from flag football to finish getting all their wedding day details finished! We're glad they were able to find the time, because everything really came together beautifully for their wedding reception at Meadowlands Country Club in Blue Bell.

I started the day with JoyAnn at the Doubletree Hotel in Plymouth Meeting and I had to thank her for choosing a hotel room that coordinated with her wedding colors!  The red, cream and gold colors of the room perfectly accented her red and black wedding colors. JoyAnn is a super-planner just like me, but we both had to laugh at the stroke of luck that neither of us had planned.

After a ceremony at St. Anthony of Padua Church, we headed off to the Meadowlands Country Club for formal portraits and the reception.  That's where JoyAnn and Brian were able to weave their love of Philly sports into their wedding day details. Between the very cool stadium seating chart, Phillies & Eagles jersey "guest books" bearing their names and the wedding date to bridal party introductions recorded by Eagles radio announcer Merrill Reese, they really thought of everything.  We decided to add our own touch by bringing a football to serve as a backdrop for ring shots.

JoyAnn and Brian, we had so much fun with you two at your wedding. Thanks for trusting us to cover all the details, big and small!

The doll in the photo below has a special story behind it— JoyAnn's father, who passed away a few years ago, bought the doll for his daughter when KayBee Toys went out of business.  He intended to give it to her when she got married, so even though he wasn't there in person, JoyAnn still received a special gift from him for her wedding.

A few of the groomsmen decided to get fancy with their one-on-one portraits.

JoyAnn & Brian had a fully choreographed first dance, complete with a fabulous dip at the end.  Most couple take a couple minutes to work out the dip, but these two spent a lot of time practicing so they were able to hit it on command! I love the way this dip shows off her dress and those red shoes.

Rachel & Neil's Modern Victorian wedding at Knowlton Mansion

• Posted by Natalie •

Way back when I was planning my own wedding, the Knowlton Mansion in Northeast Philadelphia, was one of my top choices to hold our big day. We ended up choosing a different site, but since then I've been hoping for the chance to return and photograph a wedding at this gorgeous Victorian house. At the end of March, my wish was granted when Rachel & Neil tied the knot under the glass skylights in the Mansion's Conservatory.

Rachel's classic dress and hairstyle fit in perfectly with the venue, and daffodil accents throughout the wedding added in a playfulness that fits perfectly with the couple.  It was a very emotional day, and it was beautiful to see how well these two complement each other.

Rachel & Neil, we wish you guys a lifetime filled with lots of laughter and sunny bike rides :)  Thanks for inviting us to share your big day!

Nikki & Zack's Philadelphia wedding at TRUST

• Posted by Matt •

We got an early start to wedding season this year with a February wedding at TRUST in Olde City Philadelphia. A special thanks goes out to Regina Rahill of Origin Photo and Melissa Kelly of Melissa Kelly Photography, who stepped in to help while Natalie was on maternity leave.

Nikki and Zack's big day was the embodiment of simple elegance. I know people say that about a lot of weddings, but I feel like that really rang true with their formal color scheme of black and white and their decision to hold the ceremony and reception in one place. Keeping the entire event in one location allowed them to weave in details to really unify the whole event, like black feathers in a bouquet of white roses and then two more black feathers serving as topper on a white cake. Add in their laid back nature, and it really made for a fun evening.

Trust's multiple floors were extremely accommodating, allowing for the ceremony to take place in the gallery space downstairs while the second floor served as the main dining area. A cool little extra in having the multi-floor setup was that the second floor had a big balcony overlooking the first floor, so when the first dance and the parent dances took place people could watch from above.

The best part, though, may just have been all the little nooks and crannies that served for a great backdrop for bridal portraits! Our main plan going into the evening was to use the third floor for the bride and groom portraits so we could be away from the main crowd. We knew that the third floor was unfinished, but when a few snags popped up that could have really could have been a problem, Nikki and Zack just rolled with it and really let us be creative.

Nikki and Zack, thanks so much for including us in your big day! You really know how to put together a classy event.

Lori & Jay's Northern Liberties wedding at Tendenza

• Posted by Natalie •

Lori & Jay's late-March wedding was a photographer's dream.  Not only are they an incredibly nice and easy-going couple, but they managed to squeeze five different opportunities for bridal portraits into their day!  We met up with them at the Hotel Sofitel in center city before heading to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to get the requisite shot with the Philly skyline from the top of the stairs.  Thanks to our non-winter, the cherry blossom trees around the Art Museum were already in full bloom, and they created a pretty spring backdrop for a few more shots on the side steps. After that we met up with their family at Rittenhouse Square for formal portraits.

Their ceremony was just a few blocks away from Rittenhouse at the historic 10th Presbyterian Church, which is gorgeous both inside and out.  When Lori first mentioned that there were candelabras lighting the aisle, I was afraid the church would be super dark, but I was thrilled to find a ring of windows around the balcony, which created a beautiful warm light for the whole ceremony.  As a bonus, the evening sun created a perfect spotlight on the couple as they exchanged their vows.  We really couldn't have choreographed it any better!

The whole wedding was very family-centric, especially the ceremony where Lori's mother took the role of Maid of Honor and Jay's father served as Best Man.  The ceremony opened with a song sung by Jay's mother and sister before Lori and her father walked down the aisle. Later in the evening, both fathers had the opportunity to give toasts to the couple. Maybe I'm more of a sap for these things since I'm a new mom, but I thought it was incredibly touching for them to honor their parents with roles normally reserved for best friends.

After the ceremony, we couldn't resist taking advantage of 10th Presbyterian's striking archways for a few shots before our next portrait location in a spot that was quite the opposite.  We returned to the graffiti wall in North Philadelphia where we had taken their engagement photos.  The wall is constantly being painted and repainted, so we weren't exactly sure what we'd find, but that was part of the fun.  There aren't too many couples who choose North Philly for their wedding photos, but we were more than happy to fill the non-traditional request and create some truly urban bridal portraits.  I love how easily Lori and Jay can fit into the classical church portraits then transition to edgy in front of the graffiti wall.

Their reception was at Tendenza in Northern Liberties, which fit this couple perfectly.  Both elegant and modern, it's one of the coolest new venues in Philly.  Plus its location at the corner of the Piazza at Schmidt's created the opportunity for Lori and Jay to sneak out during dinner for a few evening portraits along Liberties Walk.

Lori and Jay, your wedding was beautiful from start to finish, and you two truly deserved it. Thanks so much for sharing all your ideas with us, we had so much fun bringing them to life and being a part of your day!

I love the photo below on the right because Lori's adorable little niece proclaimed, " Look Aunt Lori, we're wearing the same dress!"

I love the mix of modern and classic details at Tendenza.  The crystal chandeliers are still breathtaking against the purple uplighting and the clear chiavari chairs pick up all the silver and purple accents in the linens. The white tufted beans with silver tiles on the top half against the brick walls — I could go on and on about the awesome design here!