Paul is my husband’s best friend and was our Best Man at our wedding.  He met Heidi at work and they are the PERFECT match.  She brings out the best in him and he in her.  It’s been such a joy getting to know Heidi but most of all seeing just how happy Paul and Heidi are together.

They had a small intimate wedding before they were popular and it couldn’t have been any more perfect.  They had their ceremony and small reception in Alliance at a pretty spot between Marlington High School and Middle School where the Horticulture center is.  They have a pavilion and beautiful gardens and it was a wonderful spot to say I Do.   While I’m still sad they didn’t go to Hawaii and give us a great reason to go back I suppose this was a fine substitute!

As a fun bonus to being their wedding photographer I also tried my hand at being a florist.  HA!  I’ve actually helped a few brides in the past put together bouquets at the last minute and even made my own toss bouquets so it was fun to flex a muscle I don’t get to use too often.  Of course I didn’t factor in Prom which meant a lot of flowers I wanted to use weren’t available but I am still very pleased with what I created for Heidi’s bouquet.

SO MANY congratulations to you both!

Ceremony & Reception: Marlington | Florist: ME!

I loved that they opted to set up their ceremony seating in a circle style instead of rows.  With that small of a guest count it meant everyone had a front row seat and it felt more intimate.  It was also easier to photograph – win win!

Paul has such a beautiful relationship with Heidi’s parents and this moment between her Dad and Paul made me smile.

See what I mean about how lovely this setup is?

These two were all smiles and giggles through the whole ceremony.

See what I mean?

Paul was SO happy – and so was Heidi.  It was such a great day for a wedding!

The rings!

Seriously, how pretty is this little spot?!

All the guests!!  Can you find my husband?

We went through a lot of wardrobe options for Paul but once an electrician, always an electrician.  Getting an electrician out of their jeans is basically impossible and in the end it really worked well for who they are!

When you are friends with the photographer she will say things like “you look mad” and you will get reactions like this.

You know how much I love sweet sentimental touches and the bouquet was my way of adding some into their day.

Paul and his Aunt lived together for many years and she was like a second mother to him.  We adored his Aunt Anita.  Unfortunately she passed away before Paul and Heidi got engaged.  When talking about flowers Heidi said she liked peonies so the day before the wedding we went on a peony hunt.  Chris’s sister had a few and since Paul is basically family I liked that they came from a family home and not a cooler at a store.  I didn’t quite have as many as I wanted though so we hit up Paul’s house assuming he’d be off doing wedding prep, and he was.  I wanted it to be a surprise.

Note.  Wanted.

We pulled in and we got to cutting some peonies to bring a bit of Anita to the wedding in the bouquet.  I looked over and said to my husband “uh, I don’t think that tree is supposed to be like that?” and Chris eep’d and said a lot of swear words.  One of the trees on the lot had fallen, laying on the power lines and taking up a lot of the front yard.

We TRIED to take care of it on our own but we couldn’t get the chainsaw to work.  Fail.  So we ended up having to call Paul and explain why we were there and what happened.  So for a totally fitting and hilarious ‘bachelor party’ they spent the night before Paul’s wedding cutting down a tree.

If you know Paul and Chris, you know this was absolutely the way they WOULD do a bachelor party – with power tools.

Paul and Heidi are electricians so this is my clever way of incorporating that into the day.

I also used white electrical tape on the bouquet because it’s something my Dad (a fellow electrician) would have done.

Also how pretty is Heidi’s dress?  She got it at David’s Bridal and then added the sleeves and they are PERFECT.

They had Nom Nom Cupcakes for their ‘cake’ and it was the best thing about dinner.

I wasn’t expecting it but they opted to do a sweet first dance in the pavilion while everyone ate dinner.

Soon enough it was time for everyone to head out.  Heidi changed into a different dress (which was equally as pretty!) and everyone hugged goodbye.

Ahh, times before covid.