Philadelphia Wedding Photography | Emily & Cassie's California Wedding

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*Posted by Matt*

I had the privilege of photographing Emily and Cassie's wedding in Santa Cruz, CA last year and it was honestly one of the most unique weddings I have ever been involved with.

For starters, it was initially supposed to be a wedding in Michigan until Cassie was relocated to California for work. It turned out to be a package deal, with Emily and their wedding plans moving to California as well.

But the most unique thing — to me, at least — was that they decided on having the wedding in the middle of a giant redwood forrest. They made it more than just a one day deal for anyone that wanted to come out earlier, even offering space to family and friends at their house.

They were having the wedding at the Sequoia Retreat Center in mountains of Santa Cruz. Everyone was invited to stay on-site in cabins so on Friday night they invited everyone to the rehearsal dinner at the center. They even tied in the holiday theme with a toy exchange!

Saturday was the big day and Emily and Cassie's uniqueness shined through. They opted to not pick sides for their bridal party, instead just having five of their closest friends be their joint bridal party. Cassie and Emily got ready in separate cabins with members from the bridal party shuttling back and forth. Cassie wore a beautiful strapless flowing wedding gown. Emily went with a suit and vest (sans jacket).

We did a First Look with enormous redwood trees as the backdrop before taking everyone around for some bridal party portraits in the forrest. Then they held the ceremony outdoors, incorporating a handful of friends to make their day extra special.

Then it was time to party! Cassie had a few tricks up her sleeve, including a surprise wedding flash mob that incorporated almost everyone in attendance. After the reception there was even a grilled cheese buffet and bonfire.

Cassie and Emily, thanks so much for entrusting me to capture your wedding day!

Philadelphia Wedding Photography | Desiree & Ryan's Tendenza Wedding

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*Posted by Matt*

Desiree and Ryan's wedding at the Tendenza had to be one of our most entertaining all year! The newlyweds gave us the heads up that their bridal party was going to be a handful, but we were ready for them.They kept us laughing the whole day!

Melissa met the girls for getting ready photos at Desiree's family home in Northeast Philadelphia, while Matt gathered the guys at Ryan and Desiree's apartment above the Dollhouse Tanning Salon, which Desiree owns and operates.

Once the girls, dressed in strapless black bridesmaids dresses, helped Desiree into her beautiful, flowing wedding gown — which was embellished with diamonds — they gathered their things and went to meet Ryan and his groomsmen for the ceremony at Resurrection Church in the Northeast!

The ceremony was a traditional catholic wedding mass, and by the time the just-married-duo walked down the aisle, there were very few dry eyes in the church. After the mass, the whole bridal party hopped onto a trolley for arguably the most fun ride we've taken. First we stopped in Olde City for bridal party portraits before ending up in Northern Liberties. We did a few bridal party portraits at Liberty Lands, a park in Northern Liberties, and then took the Bride and Groom for their own portraits around Northern Liberties!

Following suit from the rest of the day, the reception at Tendenza was a ton of fun. The guests definitely did not hold back from busting a move on the dance floor!

Congratulations, Desiree and Ryan!

Philadelphia Engagement Portraits| Josh & Lauren's South Philly Engagement Photos

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*Posted by Matt*

Just a few weeks before their wedding I had the opportunity to venture out with Lauren & Josh to do some engagement portraits around South Philly. They've been living there for a while and love the area so they wanted to capture some of that love for the area in their pictures.

We walked the handful of blocks from their house to Passyunk Avenue and discussed what exactly it was they were hoping to achieve that day. My job was simple, make some portraits on Passyunk Avenue and surrounding streets, then head to their friend's roof deck for portraits with the Philly skyline!

Josh and Lauren are extremely easy to work with. Their sense of humor and connection to each other was obvious which made pictures almost too easy!

We did a few pictures at the P.O.P.E. (the Pub on Passyunk East, for those who don't know), as well as some of the cool little side streets. We even got a picture at the Singing Fountain right on Passyunk!

This was a great warm up for their wedding day. Check out their wedding photos here!

Philadelphia Wedding Photography | Josh and Lauren's Fairmount Park Wedding

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*Posted by Matt*

Weddings at Valley Green Inn are always fun for us. The park, the venue, everything is just so picturesque. Add in perfect weather and start to understand how Lauren and Josh's Fairmount Park wedding was last fall!

Lauren and her two bridesmaids had their hair and makeup done at Spa Elysium-Fringe in Chestnut Hill, then went back to the Chestnut Hill Hotel to get dressed. The bridesmaids wore knee-length gray bridesmaids dresses, while Lauren wore a beautiful Roman inspired, off the shoulder wedding gown.

Down the hall in the boys' room, Josh had super hero t-shirts ready for his groomsmen to wear under their suits, along with accompanying tie clips!

While the girls made their way to Valley Green Inn for portraits, the boys stopped off down the street to the Iron Hill Brewery for portraits...and a well deserved beer.

Once they had their first look on the bridge near Valley Green Inn (and Josh was sufficiently blown away by his beautiful bride-to-be!), we walked all around the grounds of Valley Green to capture some lovely photos, made even more dreamy by the warm fall colors.

Josh and Lauren said "I do" as the sun set, and danced the night away surrounded by the gold accents of their wedding reception!

Some details we loved were their ombre wedding cake, irish champagne flutes, and a pumpkin with their faces carved into it!

They ended the night as uniquely as their day had been, with LOTS of glowsticks! Glowsticks at a wedding, you say? That's right. They made it truly a fun night to remember.