You Thought Merry-Go-Rounds
Were for Kids only? Think Again.
The Art and Story of Jessica + Ray
If you’ve been following Making the Moment for a while, or even if you’ve just recently discovered us, you probably know that we don’t like to take ourselves too seriously. We love to have fun AND make beautiful artwork for our couples. Whimsy is part of what we do! So when we meet a fun couple like Jessica + Ray; things just click [ Photographer 📸 pun ]
This wedding was chock full of classic elegance [ uhm, hello Cleveland History Center ] and timeless beauty, with a healthy dose of childlike fun thrown in the mix for good measure. It was the perfect reflection of our couple, and we had a blast capturing it. If you’re down for gorgeous wedding pictures AND silliness, you are in the right place, my friend.
This is Jessica + Ray, the aforementioned couple in love. Aren’t they cute??
Nothing says love like eskimo kisses in the middle of summer!
Our Wedding Photography is not possible
Without AMAZING Cleveland Wedding Vendors
- Wedding Planner // Oh Hello
- Wedding Venue // Cleveland History Society
- Wedding Florist // Poppy Petals
- Wedding DJ // Rock the House
- Wedding Caterer // A Taste of Excellence
- Bridal Make-up // Jena Igoe
- Cake Artist // Wild Flour Bakery
Cheese, cheese, and more cheese!🧀🧀🧀
Ok now give me serious.
Ok, now give me amusement park nostalgia 🎠
”The entire team was an absolute DREAM to work with!
Jessica [ the Bride ]The Bride
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?
- Ray’s // The first look
- Jessica’s // that this is probably the only time we will every have everyone we love all together under one roof.
What would you do Different?
The wedding day was absolutely perfect, there truly wasn’t anything we would have changed other than hiring the wedding planners for the entire planning process instead of just month of/day of.
What was it like to work with us?
The entire team was an absolute DREAM to work with! We really loved having the whole crew there and felt comfortable and at ease. Brett made sure we were having a good time throughout the day and we had so many guests come up to us saying how wonderful the crew was.
Did you have a theme you were trying to hit for your wedding [ vibe / color palette / etc ]?
Classy, elegant and timeless while still being fun and unique.
It’s all in the details, friends, and I like to capture every single one. You might not realize it; but your wedding photographer needs to be a skilled set and product photographer as well to capture the small pieces and parts of your wedding day.
From the perfume, to the wedding shoes, to the memory medallions on the brides wedding bouquet. Which may or may not have made me tear up a little 😭
And of course, the wedding rings. I love an opportunity to do something different, creative, and artistic with this part of my wedding photography.
Let’s rewind to the very beginning of the wedding day. Ray sent Jessica a love note the morning of the wedding day via carrier pigeon. There was no pigeon. But that would’ve been cool. Tangent-brain-question; why don’t my wedding couples send notes to eachother via carrier pigeon or carrier owl?
You’ll notice quite a few black and white wedding photographs in this wedding image set. Black and white photography just boils photography down to the essentials in an image, making your wedding photography timeless and genuine. A real moment captured in real time.
I feel like I might be getting a little sappier than usual in this post. Let me start writing weird things again.
Mental-musing; I sometimes think of surprising the groom during a first look with a tiger or a mime during the first look instead of his bride. I think both would be interesting to watch and see what played out.
I’d make sure the tiger was tame and all, and that its venom sack was removed of course. I’m not an idiot.
Here it is! The Awwwwww Moment.
Secret service vibez? Yes. 😎
Less secret service vibez.
About to get married vibez?? YES!
Vibez on vibez on vibez.
Talk about the perfect intimate outdoor wedding venue 😍 The Cleveland History Center is it! Having an outdoor wedding in the Hanna courtyard is pure magic. The exterior stone walls hem you in to separate you from the rest of university circle, and the beautiful plant life makes you feel all nice and cozy. Sidenote, my web browser kept trying to auto-correct my writing from “perfect intimate outdoor wedding venue” to “perfect INMATE outdoor wedding venue”. I feel like that’s probably just the prison yard right?
Just a couple of dudes wrestling before a wedding, NBD.
This flower girl was always a split second away from a faceplate running down the aisle. It was a mix of cuteness and tension. Nearly as much cuteness and tension as having a mime at your first look.
Here it is. I love this “I’m going to try to hold in the tears” face Ray is making as his beloved comes down the aisle.
These bridesmaids have totally nailed the synchronized crying. Great job, gals 👏👏👏
Our father of the bride trying to play off the “Me??? I’m not gonna cry like everyone else” face 😉
Jessica and Ray picked the perfect venue for their outdoor wedding in Cleveland. Why not have your history be a part of the Cleveland history center for your wedding? [ they should totally use that as their tagline when running wedding ads right??? ]
My daughter saw this picture while I was editing it and asked me if she was trying to pull of one of his fingers. That checks.
I told her it’s normal during marriage ceremonies that take place outside for the bride to remove one of the groom’s fingers for safe keeping in case the husband cheats. She seemed to understand [ she nodded along at least ]. I’ve probably wrecked her view of outdoor wedding ceremonies and four fingered men.
Status update: MARRIED!
Are you ready for a BEAUTIFUL wedding reception at the Cleveland History Center??? Me too! My friends at Oh Hello, Event Planning made the space and event LOVELY to see [ as I write that line I’m realizing it’s one of the song lyric’s from Disney’s aladdin 🧞♂️ ] I recognize I could adjust / edit my wording, but at this point I’m super committed to this because I put in the genie emoji.
Shoutout to Poppy Petals for their fantastic floral creations! Shout out to Disney’s attorneys for the C+D letter!
When you see your wedding reception for the first time!
I know you’ve been waiting this whole time for these! The super fun Mary-Poppins-jumping-into-a-chalk-painting pictures!
Everyone loves a merry-go-round! Unless your parents were killed by horses that ran in circles around your house after the murder; then you probably hate them.
Or should I say MARRY-go-round! See what I did there?
He likes my joke.
Ok ok ok one more: Awwwwwwww
Introducing, Mr + Mrs Wetzel!
He had some good dad jokes. I took notes.
I wasn’t expecting the Harry Potter twist, were you??
One more beautiful wedding photograph at the Cleveland History Center before…
WE RAGE!
The heart sunglasses were a big hit!
Pro tip, give everyone, and I mean EVERYONE a pair of heart shaped sunglasses and see what they do. I would bet you $38 this guy takes his shirt off after 2 drinks at every wedding; hands down.
Jessica + Ray, what a blast we had hanging out with you all day and capturing your wedding and your love!
