Married: Carla & Craig 08.22.09
Posted on August 28, 2009
One thing I found out about Carla & Craig during their engagement session is that they just have FUN together. Neither took themselves too seriously and weren’t afraid to just be silly together and laugh – a lot!! Who can’t love a couple that loves to laugh together! I was super excited to shoot their wedding.
All future brides remember this, no matter WHAT goes wrong the day of your wedding, you will STILL get married and by the end of the night all those little things that went wrong during the day will be distant memories once you look into your groom’s eyes and realize the most important thing of the day is that you two are now one. Carla never forgot that… despite a few mishaps along the way! As you can see she still got married, had a GORGEOUS wedding and partied all night long.
While the day may have been hectic, the best part for me was seeing just how excited Carla and Craig were to be together and watching them interact all night. I really love my job!!!
Thanks to the both of you for allowing me to capture your day for you!!!
Vendors that I was honored to work with:
Ceremony: St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish in Canton
Cake Artist: Family Friend
Florist: Barbato’s Florist
Live Band: Special Productions
Reception/Catering: Walsh University Barrette Center
Stationary: Print Julep
Carla’s dress was classic and stunning – just like herself!
I adored her shoes, they fit her dress perfectly – the best part is she plans to have them dyed hot pink later on!!!
Their invitations were designed by and printed by Carla’s bridesmaid, Katie of Print Julep, whom also happens to be a future bride of mine!! Her work is AMAZING!!!
Carla is here getting her dress on… and being admired by her ladies in waiting!
There was a bit of a snafu with the dress, so Carla is patiently waiting while her Maid of Honor gets everything sorted out. One of my favorite shots of the day!!
A few moments of fun before the ceremony with the girls!
By far one of the funniest flower girl/ring bearer shots I have ever taken or seen. As you can tell, he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of walking down the aisle. I can see this image in his wedding day slideshow already in another 20 years!!!
A hug from the Father in Law to be!
St. Michaels in Canton is seriously just an awesome space!!! I love all of the natural light!
The private moments and smiles are the best parts of the ceremony for me!
Of course I love the kiss too!
I loved their bubble exit, it was just windy enough to carry the bubbles without zooming them away for some great pictures!
Sometimes we get a lot of time to play and sometimes we don’t due to timing issues. This was sadly one of those times where I couldn’t run around and frolic with the bride and groom but I made the minutes count and this turned out to be one of my favorite images of the day.
The reception was decorated and waiting for everyone to arrive while we ran around and got some quick pictures of the gorgeous setup.
Carla’s Dad welcomed everyone to the reception with a beautiful toast.
Craig’s Dad followed with an equally beautiful toast.
While everyone ate, I borrowed the rings for a couple ring shots… this one is in the bride’s bouquet.
The bride and groom shared the same last name (she’s got it easy when it comes to changing her name!!!) and the same first initial which is a C so I used my can of Coke for the next ring shot since it also features double C’s.
Their first dance started off slow but in the middle they busted out into a boogie to the tune of “Shake Your Groove Thing!” which was just SO FUN!!!
One of my favorite Father/Daughter dance pictures EVER. *sniff*
This sassy couple, Katie & Grey, will be featured here next summer!
Craig’s Fraternity Brothers sing a song that is tradition when a brother gets married to rave reviews from Carla.
Tossing the bouquet!
As much as I wanted them to go out and get a few more portraits, they knew they were just having too much fun with their guests to leave even for a moment. So in lieu of some extra posed portraits, we ended the night with them getting down to their favorite song and just having a blast!!!
Married: Stacy and Adam 08.07.09
Posted on August 27, 2009
Stacey and Adam are so freaking adorable together (see their engagement session for further proof), it’s just so fun to see. Adam is definitely the emotional one of the two but I have to say, I have more grooms that cry than brides. Probably because they don’t have to worry about all that makeup they spent hours getting put on right? Anyways, the day was full of joy and tears and just celebrating the union of two perfect people that are meant to be together.
My favorite part about this day was all of the time I had to play with the couple for portraits! Now I have to admit, when I rolled into Damasucs, I turned to my assistant and said CRAP!!! I don’t know where to shoot!!! However then things started catching my eye and what started out as one neat building lead to another… and another! The best part? Almost all the neat places I saw? They had some sort of small part in Stacey & Adam’s relationship! This neat building I saw was where Stacey used to work and Adam went to ask her out on their first date, a random sign I saw was WHERE they went on their first date and so forth – how cool is that??
After their first look and all the pictures they decided to get married – and Adam still had a tear or two to be had. See this proves that seeing each other beforehand doesn’t take away from the ceremony at all! Just in case you were thinking about it 
It was all finished up with a fun party with lots of dancing to end the night.
Thank you both for allowing me to be a part of your magical day!
Vendors I was honored to work with include:
Cake Artist: Lindsey E. (Friend of the Family)
Ceremony: Damascus Friends Church
DJ: Scott Libb
Florist: Judy Wheeler
Reception/Catering: Talloaks Banquet Center
To get married, you have to have a dress and what a beautiful dress Stacey chose!!
Then you have to have shoes, which to me are definitely second on the list!!! Stacey was smart and broke them in before the big day!
Then the rings!
Oh yeah there’s one element to the wedding I forgot, THE GROOM!! Here he is waiting for his first look of his beautimous bride.
I think these are good tears! He was so stunned with how amazing Stacey looked.
These guys were a breeze to work with!
The girls came up with this pose on their own, I have to say I loved it!
This one was all me but I have to say they rocked it out really well. They had some awesome shoes that needed showing off!!
Who KNEW all of these cool places were merely steps from the church? Shows what happens when you go exploring!
When I saw this schoolhouse, I was jumping up and down. I wish I were kidding but I am not. Isn’t this so COOL??? They were also game for anything I asked them to do, SCORE!
I saw this sign and luckily the groom’s father came along to do some grunt work for me, he righted the sign and I had the couple strut by it… then found out they went here during their first date! How perfect!
The ceremony was beautiful and so perfectly drawn around Stacey and Adam. As you can see, Adam was a bit emotional during the ceremony… which is a good thing. 
This brother and sister duo NAILED “The Prayer” like I’ve never heard before, they even kicked the Celine Dion version out of the park. I had goosebumps they were that amazing.
The Kiss… pretty self-explanatory right?
The maid of honor gives her toast to her sister which is always great with a few laughs!
While I always get the standard shots of the first dance, I love to get the shots of the hands during the dance and this is by far one of my favorite hand shots I’ve got from the first dance ever
Final Day of Corey's Favorite Things!!!!
Posted on August 25, 2009
The final day of our trip also happened to be our second wedding anniversary and more important IT DID NOT RAIN!
I begged and pleaded with my hubby to at least take me to ONE NC lighthouse I hadn’t seen so we went off to see Oak Island Lighthouse. We then followed that up with stopping at Orton Plantation and finally Poplar Grove Plantation. That was a perfect anniversary for me!! We ended the day with our final day of visiting my husband’s uncle who lives in the area before heading back to our hotel.
All in all it was a good vacation but I’m going to have to make sure to put in an order for no rain next time!
Oak Island Lighthouse is one of the newest lighthouses in the United States, being built in 1958. It’s definitely one of the most unique lighthouses I’ve ever seen. The lighthouse is made up entirely of concrete which was colored when it was poured so it will never need repainting. It is also the second brightest lighthouse in the world, following one in France. Finally this lighthouse does not have stairs inside but instead it has multiple ladders – which is why I chose not to climb it (you can’t take pics inside and can’t climb to the top w/o an appointment). It was a very interesting stop and I’m glad I got to see it!
I love Sea Oats. I wanted them in my bouquet for my wedding but there’s that pesky law about not picking them and I just didn’t have time to grow my own (or the climate). Ah well, I guess I’ll just have to keep taking pictures of them!
Our next stop was Orton Plantation which sits on the Cape Fear River and is one of the only surviving plantations left on the river (most were burned during the Civil War). As I’ve said before, I love old homes and when they’re done up so pretty – well it’s hard not to love them! This plantation is still a private residence but the gardens are open to the public – and they are stunning. For the movie & television fans out there, you may like to know that this plantation is also featured in Firestarter, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, A Walk to Remember, Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill.
The Scroll Gardens which overlook Cape Fear River.
The Crooked Bridge – there is an old belief that ghosts and evil spirits could only move in a straight line, so the owners built this bridge crooked so that any evil spirits that were following them would fall into the water and die.
There are a lot of birds, animals and insects on the plantation but this one is the one that held still the longest. They sure don’t make spiders like this in Ohio – thank god!
Luola’s Chapel which was featured in A Walk to Remember as the place where they got married. It has been used a lot in movies…. I love it! Does anyone getting married here need a photographer??
The one thing I think I love more than the houses themselves are the gorgeous Live Oak lined driveways that lead to the estates in the south. The Spanish Moss is a lovely touch too!
Our next stop was Poplar Grove Plantation. It was just moments before they closed so I took only a few quick shots before enjoying the tour!
Wilmington North Carolina
Posted on August 23, 2009
Did I mention that it rained pretty much our entire vacation? Well in case I didn’t, it rained. HARD. Every day almost due to a storm system that stalled over the coast of North Carolina for a few days. We decided to head to downtown Wilmington for the day since there were semi-dry stuff that we could do and the things I wanted to do on Saturday I wanted to have dry weather for. So off to downtown we went!!!
Our first stop was Bellamy Mansion, a gorgeous antebellum home that is featured in many ads for Wilmington, with good reason. If you didn’t know from visits to my blogs, I have a bit of a fascination with old homes and estates. Perhaps it’s because my childhood home (before moving to the one I’m in now that I’ve lived in most of the years since I was 6!) was a century home? Who knows but I just LOVE old homes. This house is grand and just stunning. The tour was amazing and I highly recommend it to all. They even let you up in the belvedere, which is VERY rare – and a stunning view! This is a super quick panoramic (and I mean quick, due to the pouring rain!) I took of the front.
The back of the mansion.
An old wheelchair that was used in the home for the last member of the family to live in the home.
As soon as I walked into the parlor I was drawn to this picture and then discovered that one of the daughters of the owner of the house painted this, what talent!!!!
Gotta love the visit to the latrine
After our trip to Bellamy, we went on a trolley tour of downtown since it was still raining. Here is a house that I loved that’s historic – and complete with Crepe Myrtles. I want them for my house but have a feeling they wouldn’t like Ohio winters!!
Another historic home on the tour, I adored the unique look to this home with the massive columns!
Yet another home I want to say is the Caroline Kennedy house?? I could be VERY wrong.
As we were walking back to our car, we saw them breaking down the set for One Tree Hill which they were filming downtown that day. There were a TON – and I mean a TON – of teenage girls running around downtown and we overheard that the stars were out and filming for some of the day.
The Trip That Wasn't
Posted on August 21, 2009
There were a few reasons for choosing to go down to Ocracoke/Wilmington for our anniversary trip. We ended up with the Outer Banks because that’s where we got married 2 years ago and Ocracoke b/c we’ve always wanted to stay there. I’ve always wanted to see Portsmouth Island so we decided to do the ATV tour while we were there. The second reason is that I’ve always wanted to see Cape Lookout in person, it’s been the lighthouse that I’ve wanted to see since I first took a trip to the Outer Banks. My parents always tried in vain to explain that it was pretty far away but I insisted it’s “just right there” ahh the days of not knowing how far things really WERE from point a to b thanks to Mapquest. So I figured while we were there we could go see Cape Lookout as well, then hit Wilmington to visit Chris’s uncle for a few days before coming home.
Then the rain came and ruined my vacation! When I say rain, I mean 10 inches in a day rain in the area – MONSOON rain! Our ATV tour got canceled and as soon as we got to the mainland from the ferry well… see for yourself.
This is the sight that greeted us when we got to Cedar Island from Ocracoke. About 3 minutes later the skies opened and it was pretty scary for a bit. The system stalled right over Cape Lookout and Harkers Island – where you take the ferry to Cape Lookout so it was yet another thing that was a ‘must do’ that wasn’t. Someday… someday!
So what did we do instead? We swung though Emerald Isle on the way to visit Chris’s nieces that were vacationing with their mom and visited for a bit before heading down to Wilmington. Of course in Emerald Isle – just a few miles south of Cape Lookout – there wasn’t a drop of rain in sight. I have the BEST luck!
We make it to our hotel on Wrightsville Beach and dropped our gear and went straight to the beach. I searched for sea glass, some shells and of course took some pics.
I could take pictures of the ocean all day.
A picture of our hotel (Holiday Inn) from the beach.
WPJA and AGWPJA
Posted on August 20, 2009
*happy dance*
I have been accepted into the WPJA ( Wedding Photojournalist Association) and the AGWPJA (Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association)!
I am very honored to be accepted in both of these associations but especially excited about the AGWPJA as currently there are only 6 other members from Ohio.
Ocracoke Island
Posted on August 19, 2009
I have been traveling to the Outer Banks just about every year since I was a kid. In all of those years however, I’ve never actually STAYED on Ocracoke Island, we’ve only just done day trips there. This year for our 2nd anniversary, we decided to go ahead and stay there for a few days before heading down to Wilmington to see my husband’s uncle. We stayed at The Captains Landing, which I highly recommend, and relaxed for about 4 days before heading off.
For those that do not know of Ocracoke Island, it is one of my favorite islands in the world. The beach here has been voted as a #1 beach by Dr. Beach and with good reason! The water here is typically about 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the Outer Banks and the waves are calmer for those kiddos to play in. The most important reason I love this beach though is the SHELLS! I have a LOT of memories of my first trip here in 1986 but my most vivid memory is of me and my dad finding sand dollars, up until then I really didn’t think they were something that was on the beach – just in trinket stores!
Ocracoke isn’t just about the beach though, there is a LOT of history here. For history nuts like myself, this is almost as good as of an attraction as the beach itself! Ocracoke was one of Blackbeard’s favorite haunts and he actually died here as well. His ghost is rumored to still haunt the island – and his hidden treasures are still reported to be on the island somewhere. In addition to the pirate aspect of the history here, there is also the many shipwrecks that have occured here. This is how their heard of wild ponies are said to have got here along with a lot of the timber for many of the old cottages. Depending on the tides and shifting sands, you can sometimes see some of these wrecks without diving to them. Or if you prefer to stay on dry ground, you can go to the British Cemetery where 4 soldiers are buried that were lost on a shipwreck. Their graves are deeded land to England, so you can technically go to England without flying.
While our trip was mostly rained out, I did manage to get a few shots in, enjoy!
The view of Silver Lake Harbor from our room.
Fishing is a big industry in Ocracoke so it’s not too surprising that there are a lot of pelicans about looking for a free meal.
The British Cemetery.
The waves were really calm when we did make it to the beach, too bad the winds out of the south gave us sandburn! YOW!
Ocracoke Lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses that still work!
I am a pizza lover and Jason’s pizza is pretty much awesome!
Rain moved in on our first day there at sunset and didn’t leave until the middle of the night the following day. While it ruined most of what we had planned for the trip, I do have to say the atmosphere made for some great night shots. Due to the humidity, the lighthouse had great beams rather than just a spotlight.
The lighthouse the following night at sunset just as the storms and rain moved out. Notice the light is totally different from the lighthouse now due to the lack of humidity?
Sunset over Silver Lake.
Married: Stephanie and John 08.01.09
Posted on August 18, 2009
I apologize in advance for being so behind on blogging but I think that a much-needed vacation is a good reason – isn’t it???
Stephanie and John met ballroom dancing… that pretty much made me fall in love with them immediately. I LOVE any form of dancing but ballroom has always captivated me since my Dirty Dancing obsession in the 80’s. They’ve been together for a long time which makes their relationship a fun one to watch from behind the lens as they just know each other so well they can speak volumes without words. Their wedding day was gorgeous with blue skies and sun above – no rain to be had on this wedding day! One thing that had me super stoked was the fact the entire wedding – from salon, to ceremony to reception – was all local to me! I LOVE when I don’t have to get on the highway!
Enjoy their wedding photos
Vendors I was honored to work with:
Cake Arist: Fishers Bakery
Ceremony: Church of the Lakes
DJ: Kate Kopan
Florist: Fishers Florals
Reception/Catering: Rolando’s
Salon: Salon Kisha
The father/daughter moments of weddings seem to be my favorites, after this kiss he had a bit of trouble getting over the train! Moments like that are what make a wedding memorable in my opinion, not a disaster.
Now THIS is a KISS!!!!!
This style of an exit was a first for me, streamers! They were neat things, they were attached in a hershey kiss like pouch and you tore out the bottom and tossed towards the Bride and Groom when they left! They stayed attached so it wasn’t a mess to clean up too! SO pretty and so unique! LOVED them! EVERYONE was laughing and enjoyed this exit!
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do a bridal party jump here, but they were more than willing!
One of my favorite shots from the day, I’m a sucker for lines.
Back to my favorite bridge!!!!
When couples start acting like this on the bridge, how can I NOT love it????
Time to play with the rings!!
Stephanie’s sister, whom was also her Maid of Honor, gave her “Something Old” for her wedding – a toast that was given to their Mom by HER Maid of Honor on their parents wedding day!!!! SUCH a great idea!
Since they met ballroom dancing, it was only appropriate that their first dance was choreographed. So wonderful!
Thanks to you both for allowing me to be a part of your magical day! Also thanks to my sidekick Nicole for being a great assistant for their wedding!
Port Clinton
Posted on August 17, 2009
Every July my “adopted” family takes a trip over to Port Clinton for a mini-vacation. We went last year and had a great time so we decided to head up again this year. I didn’t bring the camera out too much but this delicious sunset was too beautiful not to capture. The next day we went up to Put-in-Bay for the day but I made the wise choice of leaving my camera at home.
I’m home from our vacation to the Outer Banks/Wilmington and am slowly getting back into the swing of things! I will be blogging a lot this week, stay tuned!
The sunsets over Lake Erie are STUNNING!
The sunset even makes a nuclear plant look pretty!
Ed & Gypsy are two of my favorite people in the world, they are the closest things I have to grandparents around.
Nancy (my godmother of sorts) and Ed (her father) pose.
Rob (my godfather of sorts, Dad’s best friend), Nancy (his wife), Ed & Gypsy all pose in the beautiful light!
Out of the Office
Posted on August 9, 2009
I will be out of the office from Sunday August 9th – Monday August 17th. I will return all emails and phone calls when I return! Have a great week!