Check it out above. More than any words I can author, their Fusion Film we produced for them [ above ] is the best representation of what their wedding day was all about.
But of course, I couldn’t help but share some of the still imagery as well. Give me a beautiful bride, some wind, the lake erie waters, and I’ll work out some mad photographic artwork for you all day. All day every day. Can’t stop. Can’t stop won’t stop. [ editor’s note: I drank a lot of coffee prior to writing this blog entry. It is really carries my off beat brand of humor. If you want to laugh awkwardly, please read the words. If you just came here for pretty pictures? Try to ignore my weird rantings. ]
Yes – the Cleveland wedding. I don’t just mean in locale, I mean in name. Sarah’s last name is perhaps the coolest last name ever [ especially when you’re a fan of our city the way I am ], and so the title of this blog entry feels just right.
I love Sarah’s laugh. I love getting people to laugh. People are SO much more themselves when they’re laughing authentically.
Shoes? Check.
Dope wedding gown, provided by Matina’s bridal? Check. [ Yes – I just said dope. Yes. I’m over 30. Judge me all you want people. ]
This made me laugh. While the ladies were getting ready, I noted that the cupcake artist had misspelled Sarah’s name a bit 🙂
I really enjoy taking the morning to meet everyone in the bridal party – I don’t just spend the morning with the ladies, I really enjoy heading to see the men as well.
I do that, not only for the sake of capturing a healthy amount of of candid photography from the wedding morning, but also so that I can get to know each person in the bridal party. It helps me a ton to better capture the personalities of folks when I actually know who is who.
Not only that, but I can better understand who the shy / quiet people are, and who the funny / loud personalities sit in the groups. When I know who I can push and who I need to instigate for a reaction in imagery, the work comes out that much better.
I love this dope shot of the men coming into the church [ are you counting? I said dope twice now. that means I’m really hip. Sooooooo in touch with the times and the current slang verbiage. I’m a baller word smith yo ]
Legit [ another in slang word FWIW ] this is one of my favorite church wedding candids from their day. Legit.
I love this image. I love sarah’s reaction. I also like to pretend the priest is patting David’s head a bit. “There there young man, there there” he is saying.
After the wedding we left for Sarah’s aunts property for a brief lunch. Her aunt and uncle have a fabulous home on the shores of Lake Erie. It was designed by one of my favorite local architects [ Steve Schill ]. Steve has his office next to ours in westlake, and I recognized his signature style instantly.
“I can’t believe the priest kept patting Dave’s head so much”
“Yeah, what was up with that? That was dope”
[ Three times ]
Beers!
Molly Taylor wedding Florals rocked the florals. Seriously – check out this dope beautiful bridal bouquet!
GAAHHH – I love this image of Farah Sarah.
Ok, all seriousness here, this is my favorite image of the day.
I love stories. Wedding days are a story. I mean this – don’t write me off for cheesy wedding blog writing. I know I’m a wedding photographer and you’re thinking “Oh you’re just saying that schtuff because you have to and it sounds nice next to the pretty pictures of brides”. Nope. nope nope nope. nope. That’s not me.
So before you write it off, think about it. It’s more than a girl marrying some dude. It’s a day full of story, set amidst a larger story. Not just the story of the couple, but the story of the families. It’s so much bigger than a pretty white dress, a tux, and a packed reception dance floor.
A wedding day is much bigger than a wedding limo and your friends. It’s a piece of your life. It’s a highlight entry in your families story.
That’s why I love wedding days. They are just so full of story. Everywhere I point my camera? Story.
And people laughing. I love people laughing.
Guys don’t laugh as easy.
Until you tell them they need to pick the groom up and make him fly away.
“Grab his butt, grab his butt” I heard someone yell really loud over and over again. I think it was the best man. [ it was me ]
That ain’t photoshop. I love foreground bokah. Photographer friends know what I’m talking about. The rest of you are like WTF???
Ok, before I get too far into describing their wedding reception at the Westin Hotel in Cleveland wedding reception, let me explain something.
This is my favorite guest card display table ever. I mean ever. Shi-Shi Events killed it. Like – killed it in a non-violent good sort of way. She made it awesome.
Complete with little floating orbs of magical goodness?? Coolest display ever.
The best part was the little cow, carrot and chicken icons on some of the guest cards. No one knows what those icons are there for. I was hoping it was some sort of farm themed game we were all playing later. That didn’t happen.
“Ok, cow team, get over here. Chicken team? You’re on the dance floor for round one.”
“Carrot team – there are like four of you – so you guys really need to pull together to make this work”
I don’t know what the rules are, but that’s pretty much how I see the announcer describing the set up of the game that would have taken place.
OMG. I freaking love purple uplighting.
Often brides and groom miss their cocktail hour – and I always feel like that sucks.
Picture this; your favorite 50-300ish people are hanging out in one room eating Schnicky Snacks, drinking fancy mixed drinks, and pretending to laugh at uncle jerry’s awkward jokes. Why do you want to miss that?
Sarah and David didn’t. They were on point. [ another hip word reference, used semi correctly FTW ]
This is the terminal tower. It was not invited to the wedding due to it’s propensity to get drunk too early at the reception and yell out weird things during the speeches. It stood outside glumly peering in the windows of the Westin cocktail hour, trying to act like it didn’t care.
Dude. Sweet moment here. Lauren [ maid of honor ] walked close and held hands with Sarah as she spoke to David. I love it.
Having two daughters myself I nearly always tear up during the father/daughter dance.
I freaking love dancing at receptions. The dance floor was FREAKING wild thanks to TKO entertainment. Mad props to them. [ mad props is a hip way of saying “great job” ]
