A Church Wedding & Country Club Reception
Where Traditional is Anything but Boring
The Art and Story of Eileen + Alex
When you think of a traditional wedding, you might think of a big beautiful church, filled with friends and family, ready to watch the glowing bride and groom get married. You might then imagine everyone making their way to the fancy ballroom reception venue, where everyone will share a special meal and then dance the night away while a live band keeps the tunes flowing.
Eileen and Alex’s wedding includes all the aspects of a “traditional” wedding, from the church to the westwood country club to the live band [ heyyyyy Blue Water Kings ] but I can assure you, their wedding photography is anything but standard! I like to think it is the perfect blend of tradition and artistry, elegance and fun, beauty and authenticity, mixed in with some intense shenanigan-ery. 👈 That is a real word. Let’s get to the wedding photographs!
Everyone loves a good walk on the beach. Yes, even Alex loves long walks on the beach. With the wedding being near Rocky River, a casual stop to Rocky River Park seemed in good order. You just have to watch out for the sharks 🦈
Speaking of sharks, Alex looks super nifty in this groomsman wedding picture I put together. I don’t know what this has to do with sharks but I suck at transitions in writing.
Our Wedding Photography is not possible
Without AMAZING Cleveland Wedding Vendors
- Wedding Venue // Westwood Country Club
- Florist // Ashley’s Floral
- Band // Blue Water Kings Band
- Hair Stylist // Rebecca Haldi
Disclaimer: no groomsmen were harmed in the taking of these photographs.
Westwood Country Club provides so many backdrops for your wedding photography. Let’s talk about this for a moment; country clubs and wedding photography. Although we have photographed 10+ weddings at Westwood country club in Rocky River, every time we’re there some patron [ usually a well meaning golfer ] will point out to me that “there is a bridge over there that is great for wedding pictures”. I realized after photographed 50+ weddings at various country clubs in the cleveland area that EVERY country club has a bridge on it. More-so? There’s ALWAYS a random golfer telling me the same “hot tip” every time I’m taking the bridal party out for pictures.
Speaking of sharks; what better way to bond with your groomsmen than a pre-wedding gym sesh? 🏋️
”On your wedding day, you spend more time with your photographer than anyone else. It’s hard to express how much we enjoyed working with Sam. He made legitimate positive contributions to the best day of our lives
Eileen + AlexThe Couple
In Their Own Words.
That’s right. Every word you’ve read on this page so far regarding this wonderful wedding [ catch the alliteration there. Pretty brilliant, right? ] has all been word-smithed and crafted by us [ we’re not only gifted wedding photographers, but also not too shabby in the content writing department ] Humble Brag / Self enthusiasm aside; we mean every word on this page, but it’s important that you hear from our couple too.
We asked a few questions of them about their wedding; and hope you enjoy their answers 😀
What did you love about your wedding?
We had the time of our lives at the reception. Our band absolutely crushed it, so we loved singing and dancing with all our friends and family.
What would you do different?
Honestly, we wouldn’t have done anything differently. Our only regret is that there wasn’t more time in the day!
What was it like to work with us?
On your wedding day, you spend more time with your photographer than anyone else. It’s hard to express how much we enjoyed working with Sam. He made legitimate positive contributions to the best day of our lives, which is more than we could’ve ever asked for. Sam had countless awesome ideas for creative photos, but he also had an open mind when it came to our ideas. Everyone in the wedding party wanted to hang out with Sam all night!
What photograph(s) are connecting emotionally?
We took a few late-night pictures under the stars, and we can’t wait to see them. The imagery for these shots really connects us because it was the one time of the day when we stepped away from all our loved ones to share our first special moments alone as a married couple.
Did you have a theme you were trying to hit for your wedding [ vibe / color palette / etc ]?
We’ve been together for 10 years, through multiple stages of life [ high school, college, & adult life ], and we wanted to capture the past decade in one night spent with the most important people in our lives. Our intended wedding “theme” was love, family, and gratitude.
Wow, what a difference! Alex, you clean up good. I’m happy you didn’t get any of that chalk on your nice tux.
Meanwhile, Eileen, with the help of her bridal party, is giving Alex a run for his money!
Thankfully, they’re about to marry each other so it really doesn’t matter who wins. Both are pretty dang good looking. Shout out to the extra bridal party member in the lower right corner of this image 👶🤰
Besides, they both win 🥇
Candid getting ready pictures are some of my favorites. They’re those moments you’ll look back on in forty years and remember your loved ones helping you on the biggest day of your life. Cue the tears 🥹
No tears for Eileen! She is all smiles!
I spoke too soon! Dad just might make her tear up. Brides; don’t forget to do a first look with your father on your wedding day!
Looks like he saved it with a laugh instead. I wonder which dad joke he chose for this occasion?
Time to get married! Eileen + Alex had their ceremony at St. Christopher Parish, right down the street from their reception venue in Rocky River.
The couple told us they have been together for over ten years. Can you imagine?! Ten years of anticipation, culminating in this moment.
😭😭😭
Eileen + Alex, you can officially change your relationship status on Facebook now. Oops, did I just date myself? I mean… uh… Instagram. Tik Tok. Snapchat. Friendester. Myspace. Nailed it.
Ohmigosh the epic veil moments. Here’s #1.
And #2. Which do you like better? I like this one. I used “a-veil-able” light to get this shot [ photographer dad joke OMG ]
Did you notice?? Eileen’s sleeves are gone! 😱 Getting a little “risqué” for the wedding reception at Westwood Country Club 🔥🔥🔥
This wedding photograph alone is enough to make me want to have a wedding at Westwood Country Club.
As far as wedding reception venues in Rocky River, you really can’t go wrong with the Westwood Country Club. Unless the sharks show up; then you DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE BECAUSE THEY MIGHT CHEW ON PEOPLE
WTF am I talking about sharks? You brought it up.
And the Blue Water Kings band? The couple told us themselves: they nailed it 🎶
As evidenced by the packed dance floor and hilarious wedding reception pictures!
Eileen + Alex, your wedding was one for the books! Thank you for trusting us to capture all the best moments. Now go live happily ever after. OH CRAP; you’re by the pool at Westwood! Watch out for the 🦈☠️🦈☠️🦈☠️
