•  I’ve finally reached the end of my backlog of client work for 2012!  *sends up balloons*  Whew!  I’ll be caught up for all of a few days as I have a wedding this weekend… then of course there’s tons and tons of non-client work to post but hurray!

•  Catherine and Andy may be the clients who win for booking me the furthest out, if not the win they are close as they booked me almost 2 YEARS in advance!  We had a gorgeous engagement session last year (still one of my favorites) and it seemed like this wedding was always in the future.  It was strange to be finally shooting this wedding I must confess, I’m sad to see it go but I also had a lovely time!

•  This wedding was my first New Years Eve wedding and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  It was so much fun!!!!  It was such a fun festive time and while it made for some adventurous portraits, I loved the snow being on the ground and falling around us.

•  The standout from this wedding to me is a duck.  I know, I know.  We went over to Clague Park and Catherine and Andy were total stars and agreed to go into the inches of snow for some pictures.  We ended up going down to the bridges and while there most of the ducks went flying/swimming away, but one.  This white duck climbs up from the pond, comes over in front of them and sits and I swear to you, SMILES.  I’ve NEVER seen a duck pose like that before, nor do I think I will again.  After we were done, we walked back up to the parking lot and the duck flew along with us and landed a bit further down in the lot and came RUNNING when it saw we were leaving.  It broke my heart I didn’t have any food for the sweetie.  We all thought it was odd but a fun tidbit for the day.  I loved that duck!!!

•  Random fact: The restaurant inside the Marriott (which is attached to The Club at Key Center) has the BEST club sandwiches EVER.  We picked some up to chow down on before the reception started and we still both talk about how darn good those were.  If you like club sandwiches, give them a whirl if you’re in Cleveland.

 

Wedding Vendors

Band:  Grand Avenue Band
Cake:  Wild Flour Bakery
Ceremony:  Saint Ladislas Church
Florist:  Heather Lily
Makeup:  Jason Kelly Face Art <3
Reception:  The Club at Key Center
Stationery:  Paper Trails

 

I’ve seen a lot of different things at weddings but I have to say this may be my favorite “bride” item that I’ve seen the bride wear before getting her dress on!  I’ve never seen an embroidered custom button up shirt but ti’s such a perfect idea – especially for weddings!  I’ve seen quite a few tank tops get cut or ruin hair on their way out so this is perfect!

The space was tiny but everyone came together and made it work when it came to helping Catherine get ready.

I love when the father gives the bride away, it always is such a sweet moment.

My favorite times to catch the couple is when the sermon is being given because eyes are off of them so they are able to really take in each other for the first time (provided they haven’t seen each other before).

Gotta love the sneaky first kiss at Catholic ceremonies!

Awwwww.

It was so bitterly cold this day and the snow was pretty deep.  Catherine was totally game for it though and hiked up her skirt and went for it!  Thankfully she had on her mother’s tall Ugg boots and her tootsies stayed nice and dry.  You can’t even tell she’s wearing boots so let this be a lesson to you ladies out there, you absolutely can sneak other shoes in under your dress and no one will be the wiser!

This was one of my favorite spots when I came here with Lauren and Matt years ago and I was happy when Catherine and Andy agreed to go down to the bridges.  They are just so pretty!

It was chilly but they stuck it out, yay!

This is my favorite from the day… well almost.

They are just too cute for words and how perfect is Catherine’s coat??

I already loved this duck and image (story above) and then I was emailed a story from Catherine about how growing up, her grandfather and grandmother used to own a cottage near the lake and many days were spent feeding the ducks.  Her grandmother has passed and wasn’t able to attend the wedding but Catherine’s grandfather is convinced she may have been the duck since she was fond of them.  He has this picture framed due to the backstory.  It made me smile and to be honest tear up a bit when I read it as I have a similar story from my wedding so I had to include it with this picture.

Doesn’t the duck look like they absolutely posed for this picture?  This wasn’t captured mid walk or anything.  S/he came out of the water, came to that spot while I was taking pictures and sat down and waited to be included!

Walking back up to the parking lot, I turned around and saw them being too adorable for words so I captured this image and love the setting!

Isn’t this pearl wedding cake adorable?  Wild Flour always does such an amazing job!

I think sweetheart tables are my favorite and I think a lot of that is due to how creative people are able to get with the table.

I love when candles are present at a wedding reception as they always make for a lovely look in pictures.  I even MORE love when these candle orbs (or whatever their technical term is) are used.  They are SO pretty!  The centerpieces for their wedding were some of my favorites ever!  The Club at Key Center certainly looked spectacular!

Catherine’s father started the evening out by greeting everyone – in English AND French – and made a few references to his native Canada along with some mentions of hockey (of course!).  It was a lovely speech!

Catherine’s sister was equally as sweet and everyone was in tears by the end!

Unbeknown to everyone else, Catherine and Andy took secret dance lessons for their first dance and it was absolutely beautiful!

Catherine’s Dad tried very hard to keep his emotions in check during their dance together.

After dinner I had some time to play with the rings, I love when I have a lot of time to get creative!

Since this wedding was on New Years Eve, I knew I wanted to play with a champagne bottle.  I had to do some MAJOR sweet talking to get a bottle but eventually got one!

Andy had a routine prepared to remove the garter to Mission Impossible and it was HILARIOUS!

Taking a cue from Andy, the guys all dove around the garter like it was a bomb.  Such a fun group!

After a fun night of dancing and festivities, it was finally midnight!  Happy New Year!

Thank you both so so much for having me along with you the day of your wedding!  It was a joy to work with you!