A few weeks ago on a day that may have started gloomy but ended with abundant sunshine, I was honored to capture the beautiful wedding between Amy and Randy.  Not only were they just absolutely a dream to work with themselves but the decor of the wedding was straight up my alley – everything shimmered and the colors were cobalt blue and silver.  It was STUNNING.  I can’t wait for you to see more below.  But!  Back to the gorgeous Amy and Randy and that beautiful day they were wed.  They both were so calm and collected before the wedding – everyone typically has some kind of jitters but as I visited with both they were calm as could be.  After the ceremony they remained calm although you could feel that they were both happy to be with one another again and that continued through the reception where the whole event was a casual, happy and loving celebration of these two.  It was the kind of wedding where equal amounts of guests were mingling throughout the venue but also popping onto the dance floor through the evening.  The music was perfect and at the right level were people could still converse and not have to scream in ears.  It was, in a word, perfection.  THEN THEY HAD A HARRY POTTER THEMED DRINK OF THE NIGHT! We’ll get to that later.  It may have been the highlight of the year for me.

Cake Artist:  The Cake Boutique / Ceremony: Stambaugh Auditorium / DJ: The Music Man DJ Service / Florist:  Royal Weddings / Reception: Avion on the Water / String Quartet: Harmony String Quartet / Transportation: Fab Limousine and Tour Service / Colors: Royal Blue and Silver

I started my day out with the girls at the Holiday Inn where they were relaxing and getting ready for the wedding.  They smartly decided to get dressed over at Stambaugh Auditorium so that their dresses would be pristine.  It was snowing and raining a bit so that was well planned!  After they were done getting beautified they got to making sure the final details were ready including getting the “I Do” sticker to the bottom of the heels that Amy would wear down the aisle.

I loved how Amy purchased two different shoes to wear for the wedding.  One pair in white for the ceremony, one pair in blue for the reception.  I LOVED these heels so so much.  Seriously, how fun are they!?!?

When taking photos of Amy’s gown I spied a bit of blue beneath the dress and photographed it.  The “something blue” in Amy’s gown was a piece of material from a tie of her late father’s.  I loved this way of honoring him and tying it into a wedding tradition.  It was a lovely nod to what I’ve heard was a wonderful and lovely man.

The time FINALLY arrived for the ladies to get dressed and Amy looked amazing in her gown.

The guys were typical guys before a wedding ceremony – standing around, shuffling in their bit-too-small shoes and laughing.

The altar was absolutely stunning and shimmering with tons of crystals!  It was a sight to behold!

The sun came out just as Amy decided to walk down the aisle at the Stambaugh Auditorium.

I always love to capture the groom’s first look… Randy  managed to hold it in check but his eyes immediately lit up once they were upon Amy.

I love these signs at weddings because it’s about love – not about whose side you’re there for.

Their wedding ceremony was really personalized and wasn’t just words out of a book or a form of marriage.  I kept hearing all day guests comment on how beautiful of a service it was.

One of the few times I’ve posted the formal “altar” pose here but it was too pretty not to show off one more time.

The light was beautiful right at the entrance to the ceremony room so I decided tot take advantage of it and the curtains that matched their wedding decor!

We went downstairs to meet up with the bridal party and I decided to capture the images of them going down because it was just too picture perfect to me. While posed pictures are important I do still always have my camera ready for these moments where I see a beautiful moment.

The auditorium was actually a bit hot so we stepped outside to test the air and it was refreshing!  The warmest we’d felt in months outside so the ladies braved it and we did some quick portraits outside.  I LOVED their gowns and spent a lot of time that day captivated by them.  Perfect color and cut!

How brilliant are all of these shoes?  I LOVED these silver heeled booties on the bridesmaids!

I love how elegant this bridal party’s look was.  So classy and simple!

I sent the girls in to warm up a bit and gave the groomsman their turn in the spotlight.  They pull off the dapper look well!

It may have taken a couple takes to get them all to not smile and someone’s eyes may have been photoshopped because they wouldn’t stop blinking… ha!  Still – one of my favorite groomsman shots ever!

The bridal party went in to pack everything up while I finished working with the stars of the day.  It was SO nice out – we were all just amazed at the turn in weather that day!  I’m so glad we were able to pop outside in the end to take advantage of the beautiful Stanbaugh Auditiorium.

LOVE this image from the day!  🙂

This picture was featured on Huffington Post the week after their wedding!

I absolutely loved the decor of their wedding reception.  The purple uplights were beautiful and the shimmering centerpieces were showstoppers!

I bounced around the reception getting detail images until the entrance and every time I turned around there was yet another perfect detail to behold – like these candles in the centerpieces I’d originally overlooked.

One of the things I do before the reception gets underway is pop over to the bar and get a Coke for my seat once dinner begins.  By this point in the night I need a caffeine pick-me-up and I hate the way coffee makes my teeth feel (yes I’m weird).  While there I also can take in any fun extras at the bar I may have missed and my jaw hit the floor when I saw the wedding signature drink – FELIX FELICIS!  I am an avid reader and all of my friends have been on me FOR YEARS to read Harry Potter.  I drug my feet because I’m not really into fantasy and… they are KID books!  Last year for my birthday, I decided to start reading them for whatever reason and was immediately hooked.  I binge read all the books, read all the movies and became a bit obsessed.  When I saw this drink sign, the newly minted Potter Fan may have got so excited they instagrammed this awesomeness.

And now my nerd card is out on display.  And I’m proud.  LOL!

Since this wedding was on the eastern side of the state of Ohio they had a cookie bar, a magnificent cookie bar complete with my weakness – oreo balls in both vanilla and chocolate.  YUM!

Amy and Randy did their entrance and went straight into their first dance.  I love that you can see how amazing Amy’s hairpiece was in this image!

LOVE these two!

Randy’s face in this picture of their cake cutting cracks me up every single time.

After the cake cutting I was able to take their rings on a bit of a safari and there wasn’t a lack of fun places to play with Amy’s rings – starting with a shot I haven’t done in a while – the engagement ring balanced between shoes and Amy’s vibrant blue heels were begging for this image!

Of course I had to include another ring picture with all of the rings because I just had too much fun with these rings and all the shiny goodness to play with them on!

Since Amy’s father is deceased I wasn’t sure how they’d work the father/daughter dance.  Many of my clients, myself included, skip the dance all together but I really loved what Amy did instead.  She danced with her brother while a slideshow of images of her and her father played on a screen behind them.  There were very few dry eyes in the house and it was the perfect way to honor a man that was so very much missed.

They chose a selection of images progressing through the years of cute and sweet images but also ones that made everyone laugh.  It was so well done and I’m impressed with how perfectly it came together.

Randy danced with his Mother afterwards and while not nearly as emotional as Amy’s dance, it was just as sweet.

With the formalities over with everyone spent the rest of the night enjoying friends, family and a great time.  Thank you to you both for allowing me to capture  your day!