susan solo photography blog

The newspaper headline for Lesley and Stephen’s wedding would probably read, “Cinderella has found her Prince Charming!” You see, Lesley used to work for Disney where she performed as the character, Cinderella. And Stephen is certainly charming despite never officially portraying the Prince. They are both amazingly fun people. (Fair warning: I am probably going to use the word “fun” a lot in this post.) Lesley and Stephen were amazing hosts, and it was easy to tell that they truly enjoyed the day. At one point I heard Lesley say to one of her guests, “I’m having so much fun! I don’t want it to end.” I hope the photos help to relive the day over and over.And with that, onto the photos, starting with a few details and getting ready shots:

Lesley’s mom, helping out with the dress:

Gorgeousness!

Practicing:

Meanwhile, Chris was with Stephen. I love this:

Both sides of the bridal party let off some steam just before the ceremony:

I love this moment (which, I found out later, was the moment where Dad lost it a little bit!):

The readings were beautiful and emotional:

Married!

Yay!

When I was researching the area around the church just to see what’s nearby, I noticed this bridge right across the street and instantly knew what I wanted to do with it.

Super fun couple and bridal party + plenty of time for pictures + nearby playground = the following several photos!

Ha! So glad Chris grabbed this shot:

Sort of a modern-design teeter-totter:

Please note past SSP bride and good friend, Kim, over on the right. Hi Kim!

Have you ever seen a bride on a zip-line? No? I have!

Fun entrance to the reception:

My view of the first dance:

Chris’s view:

Proud parents:

Sisterly tears during the father-daughter dance:

Fun toast reactions!

I love that Stephen’s mom is giving him the thumbs-up:

This is so great – Lesley’s grandmother just recovered from hip replacement surgery, and she’s ON THE DANCE FLOOR all smiles. Get it, Grandma!

Please make note of the Cinderella/Prince Charming cake topper…

Yes, I stole it momentarily (after the cake cutting!) for this shot:

Just lovely:Lesley and Stephen! Chris and I really did have such a FUN time at your wedding. Thanks so much for trusting us with your wedding photography. We wish you all the best, and I can’t wait to show you more pictures!

More pictures than words today, my friends, as I’m a bit later than usual at getting this blog post up! And anyway, I could TELL you how stunning Alanna is, and how happy Brendan looked during their first dance, or I could SHOW you! Since, you know, that’s my job and all. Let’s start out with some bridal details!

Vintage heirloom:

kate spade shoes!

I loved photographing Alanna and her bridesmaids helping her get ready – everyone was so excited and smiling ear-to-ear!

What did I tell you? STUNNING:

I love this father-daughter moment:

St. Aloysius at Gonzaga is huge and airy and just beautiful:

Chris’s view of the ceremony coming atcha in the next three images:

Classic:

Immediately following the ceremony we headed to Woodend Nature Sanctuary for the reception.

Toasts:

The perfect shoes for flower-girl-ing:

Dancing!

Best wishes and congratulations to you both, Alanna & Brendan! It was so fun to see you again and to celebrate with you. Thank you so much for inviting Chris and me to capture these moments!

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned somewhere on here before that I LOVE when couples take their wedding day and make it their own. Sandy and Matt did just that, and their wedding day was such a true reflection of their personalities. An eco-friendly theme showed up in several places in the way of recycled and organic materials, a fresh farm-to-buffet dinner menu, and even vegan shoes! Chris and I had fun capturing all of the little things that made the day unique, starting with the dress that Sandy’s mom made for her. It’s 100% cotton (as the tag indicates) and therefore goes beautifully with the theme:

In lieu of a veil, Sandy wore a simple, fragrant wreath of rosemary:

Sandy’s parents both accompanied her down the aisle:Their ceremony was so sweet:
Chris caught this little guy honoring their union with some festive stickers:
Married!Sandy and Matt’s reception was held at The Farm at Broad Run, and it was just THE perfect spot for their celebration.
The pavilion:
How incredibly delicious-looking is that?! The watermelons made such cute, colorful centerpieces.A tree was planted for each guest as the perfect environmentally friendly favor.
And since Sandy and Matt are both fans of The Beatles, who better to play at the reception than The Apple Core, a Beatles tribute band!
Some of the prettiest cupcakes ever were provided by Mallow Drama:And what farm would be complete without some farm animals! (Captured by Chris, wildlife and farmlife photographer extraordinaire):
I’m pretty sure in this next shot he is saying, “Congratulations, Sandy and Matt!”The minute I pulled up to the farm and saw these greenhouses, I knew that I desperately wanted to do a few photos in there, and I’m SO GLAD we had the chance:(And since I promised to have this blog post up on Monday but it’s nearing my bedtime, I’m going to wrap it up there!) Sandy and Matt! Thank you so much for inviting Chris and me to capture your wedding day. We were so honored to be a part of the occasion and it was fun to see your amazing plans come to fruition. We wish you both all the best!

I’m just going to set the scene here by, once again, letting you know that we’re still in the middle of a crazy heat-wave. I am signed up to receive severe weather updates from the county, and yesterday’s warning stated that “prolonged periods of extreme temperatures will occur,” and that we could expect a heat index of 110 degrees! BUT, during Venessa and Mike’s wedding yesterday, the temperature didn’t feel terrible to me, strangely enough. I absolutely adore Venessa and Mike, and would have been honored to photograph their wedding in 110 degree heat or 30 degrees below zero. The occasion was as sweet and as fun as I expected it to be! Onto the photos…

I’m pretty sure I audibly gasped when I saw Venessa’s dress out of the bag. The beading was just exquisite.

Reviewing the vows that she wrote:

In lieu of melting before the ceremony even started, I offered to do some portraits of Venessa inside, to which she jokingly replied something like, “Might as well – this is the best I’m going to look all day!” But I have to respectfully disagree, because Venessa looked this gorgeous All. Day. Long. I’m not even exaggerating.

And actually, both Venessa and Mike looked amazing the whole time! Case in point, these next two were actually taken after the ceremony:

The ceremony was one of the sweetest I’ve ever witnessed. Lots of family, and lots of cute kids:

The lawn at Overhills Mansion provided a bit of shade, and with the breeze and some paper fans provided by Venessa and Mike for their guests, the temperature was actually bearable.

My absolute favorite part of the ceremony was the ring warming – each member of the bridal party and all of the parents held the rings in a special satchel, and provided their blessings for Venessa and Mike’s marriage. It was incredibly touching to witness.

Venessa and Mike also wrote their own vows to each other (which were just so wonderful), and they did a Celtic hand-fasting as well, which all made the ceremony just so personal and lovely.After the ceremony, we did a quick few portraits and then went inside to enjoy the reception (and the air conditioning!).

The reception details were so fun and reflective of one of Venessa and Mike’s favorite pastimes: games!

The escort card-holders were adorned with dice, and the cake (made by a very talented friend/guest!) had a chess piece theme:

The reception had the usual elements like a sweet first dance…

Hilarious and slightly embarrassing toasts…

Cake cutting…

And lots of dancing. (I’m going somewhere with this, hang on!)

But it also included karaoke performances!

And a truly amazing choreographed dance by the bride and groom! I was BLOWN AWAY by their talent. When I was reviewing their schedule before the wedding, I saw the performance listed as a special surprise and I couldn’t have been more excited. But I had no idea they would be THAT amazing! Like, it made me want to put down my camera and watch, and that’s saying something. I hope someone posts it on youtube soon!

I loved seeing the guests’ reactions to their performance:

Here’s everyone!

And I’ll leave you with this last shot that my fantastic second-shooter and guest photographer for the day, Emily Goodstein, captured – check out Venessa’s get-away dress! Red HOT:

Venessa and Mike – what can I say?! I knew your wedding was going to be so amazing, and it was beyond my expectations. You were both such gracious hosts, and I had a wonderful time celebrating and documenting this day with you. All the best for a lifetime of happiness to you both!