Tara & Chris are friends of mine who are getting married this coming July. A few months back they asked Making the Moment to be their wedding photographer for their Cleveland wedding (Woohoo!!). I’m so excited that they chose us as their Wedding Photographer!!

Although I won’t be their wedding photographer personally (Christina has that distinct honor) the two had asked me to take on their engagement session. And how could I say no? These two are SO in love, it’s impossible to not catch fun & romantic images of them at any given moment. As a creative lifestyle photographer, one of my rules of thumb is to do very little “forced posing” – and throughout our session I found that these two did a sweet job of running with it.

As I’ve gotten to know Tara a bit better through our session time, I learned a great bit about her caring and sweet personality. Tara is moving up to Ohio when Chris and her get married, and my wife and I are so VERY excited to get to know her better, and to get to enjoy these two as a couple (they’ll practically be our neighbors soon!). Chris is a stud of a guy, encouraging, outgoing & fun to be around. Put these two together, and you’ve got instant camera magic.

We had a sweet engagement session in downtown Cleveland. Our photography session took us from such grand locations as the Cleveland Arcade, to the Cleveland Public Library (whispering amongst the bookstacks), and a little adventurous exploration of some fun city locations I’ve tracked down.

I’m so incredibly excited that I get to serve my friends for their Cleveland Wedding – with Christina behind the lens, their wedding photos are going to be fun, artsy, elegant & creative.

Chris & Tara – I’m so overjoyed about your photos – thank you for our time together! Please enjoy a selection of my favorites photographs from our engagement session!

Corinne & Todd are a fun & fantastic couple Making the Moment will be working with this July.   I had the very distinct pleasure of photographing their engagement session in Rocky River, even though the ever-amazing Vince will be their wedding photographer this summer.  It was SO fun to spend the afternoon with these two – quirky & cute – they were a blast to spend time with.

Here are some of my very favorite creations from their day – please enjoy!

It was sheer pleasure being a Cincinnati wedding photographer for a day.  One of the joys of being a creative wedding photographer is exploring new venues, and seeing what creative opportunities open up.   I had a grand time allowing spontaneity be our guide as the three of us created some awesome wedding photos together.

Andy, an Army Officer, just did our country the fine duty of spending a nice chunk of his life in Iraq.  I, and everyone here at Making the Moment Photography, salute and thank Andy for his service!  Olivia and he were planning their wedding thousands of miles apart – it doesn’t take much to guess at the joy that Andy’s recent homecoming, and their long awaited wedding day brought.

I love Military wedding photos – we here at Making the Moment seem to have a certain knack for finding ways for groomsmen to pull swords into their wedding photos!

Ladies & Gentleman, I proudly present to you a few of my favorites from Nick & Rachael’s Wedding!  Enjoy these artistic & fun wedding photos!

Once the ceremony concluded, the NOW Mr. & Mrs. Martino didn’t leave in the usual fashion by cruising around in a vehicle or limo…

……………they left by BOAT!!  Ok, not a tour boat, but a Pontoon!  Definitely a first for me!

So, by now you have figured out this wasn’t your common ceremony and actually, I started telling the story of their day at the end of the middle.

Allow me to fill in the blanks.

The plans for the day couldn’t have been more perfect…theoretically.  After all, what could provide a richer backdrop for the day than rich warm colors of fall.  However, the warm weather had decided it needed a break and days preceding were plagued with rain showers.

When I arrived at the salon ( Mark’s Place Salon & Spa ), Rachael wasn’t worried in the least and was ready to accept what ever was going to happen.

Nothing was going to spoil her day!  In fact, even the notes in her “Wedding Planner” to into account some possibilities.

Albeit a chilly 39°, the wind calmed, the rain held off and the sun even peaked out a bit providing Rachael & Nick with the idyllic backdrop for the ceremony they had hopped for.  A beautifully tall treed waterfront spot in Nick’s parents back yard with a view of fall colored trees across the lake.

A couple that is deeply in love with each other, nature as the backdrop and an after-ceremony celebration cruise on a boat…could it get any better than that?
CONGRATULATIONS once again Rachael & Nick.  Thank you for the honor of inviting me and Making the Moment Photography to be a part of your day!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the prelude to a wonderful life of love and happiness!

Hair and make-up done so Rachael and I decided to have a fun with the magnifying mirror!  Complete silliness!!

Now it’s time for the boys to start getting ready!

SERIOUSLY – it takes no less than 4 people to figure out how to tie a bow-tie!

Nick puts on the finishes touches and now it’s time for the girls to get ready! …and here are all the ladies of the bridal party ready to head over for the ceremony!  Beautiful…simply beautiful!

Vows…

…you may kiss the bride!

If you couldn’t tell, the whole group were HUGE Ohio State fans.  Look close…in this order; the matron of honor is the “O”, Groom is an “H”, the bride is an “I” and the best man is the final “O”.

Boys will be boys…I guess…

Time to head off to the reception!

Kelly and Ken definitely had had it all going on for their day!

They shared their wedding day with only the people closest to them.  Although there is nothing wrong with a large wedding party, many times brides and grooms can feel an uncomfortable pressure to fill their wedding parties with a dozen or so people because they want to avoid hurt feelings.  I’ve seen as many as 26 in a wedding party!

This was not the case with Kelly and Ken.  Their wedding party consisted of only two.  The two most important people [aside from each-other] in their lives – their daughters Alli and Lexi.

What about their love story you ask?  Well, the setting for their story followed right up to the reception…and was even played out on their wedding cake!  Kelly and Ken met while camping and it was only fitting that the wedding be held at a campground as well.  How cool is THAT?!?!

Here are a few pages out of the story of their day.

Of course, like most weddings, the day began with the hair and we gathered at ESBI International Salon.

We were actually the first wedding to be photographed there since they had just moved!!

The girls are gonna love me for posting this one!  Lexi is quite happy with sneak attack as you can see.

…and here is everyone all done and having a little fun with the murals that were painted on the walls.

…time to get ready!

Ken is just a “little” bit of a Star Trek fan..can you tell?

…the stage has been set – not it’s time to make it official!

Then we were off to do some creative shots with the awesome backdrop of Hudson!

Here are the those two most important people in Kelly and Ken’s life that made up the Bridal Party!

By this time, the girls were starting to get a little hungry – so we headed off to the reception.

Now take a close look at the cake.  Remember I said they met while camping and the story of their meeting is right on the cake.  How COOL is that?

By the way, I think Ken is going to be the next “Ace of Cakes”.  He is the one that make all those little details!

…some Karaoke to finish off the night!

CONGRATULATIONS once again to Kelly and Ken!!!