While I had a wedding already this year, to me the ‘wedding season’ always kicks off in May and will run through October.  I will have the outlier wedding in the ‘off months’ between November and April but the bulk of my weddings fall in the next few months.  Things will get crazy, I’ll probably get behind on blogging and if you happen to stop by my house unannounced I may be in pajamas or yoga pants while I edit.  Despite the craziness, I’m happy for it to be ‘wedding season’ again and I’m elated that I got to kick it off with Jenna and Marc.

Last fall in one of the crazier weeks of 2014, I met up with Jenna and Marc in Cincinnati for their engagement session in the gorgeous Ault Park.  We had planned for a cooler session and Jenna’s planned outfits and props incorporated what we all are used to in Ohio… however it ended up being in the mid-80’s so we had to fake the ‘cold’ feeling – and they nailed it.  It was one of my favorite sessions from last year.  This year for their wedding we all thought that it would be, again, a cooler day that HOPEFULLY wouldn’t have snow.  Instead it was almost 90.  Ohio.  That’s all I gotta say.

Marc is a part of what I call the “Rossi Family Network” which seems to be 6 degrees from pretty much every wedding I photograph – or least it seems so.  I honestly can’t count how many weddings I’ve had where someone has came up to me and said they knew me from one of the Rossi weddings.  It’s awesome.  So far I’ve worked with Marc’s older brother Craig as well as his cousin Adam (and of course their respective lovely wives) and countless friends of theirs.  Every wedding is always a joy and I love when I’m able to see past clients and give them a hug.  The bonus is that I’ve yet to attend a Rossi wedding that isn’t full of love, laughs and the most packed dance floors EVER.  Marc’s Dad may be one of my favorites EVER to photograph dancing, I don’t know of many Father of the Grooms that can get down like he does.

Jenna and Marc’s wedding day in Downtown Cleveland was perfection.  I started the day out with the ladies at the Hyatt who were getting ready in the most adorable rompers EVER (if I was getting married I’d so steal this idea) while my amazing second for the day Hunter went with the guys.  What’s adorable is how nervous both were until they saw each other at the church when Jenna walked down the aisle.  You could almost see their nerves float away.  We had a beautiful day for portraits around downtown Cleveland and they planned for enough time that everyone could have a nice break before the reception started back up.  This is one of my favorite things about Catholic ceremonies – the ample amount of time during the day for pictures (and time for everyone to get lunch!).  The reception was a GREAT time and everyone was grinning all night long.  The band was amazing, the dance floor was PACKED and there was a cookie table.  Pretty much a perfect recipe for an awesome night.

Thank you both so much for having me along for your beautiful day!  It was an honor to work with you both!

Band:  The Orchestra / Bridal Gown:  Marisa via Bridal & Formal  / Bridesmaid Dresses:  Jim Hjelm via Bridal & Formal / Cake:  Lori Sajnovsky / Ceremony:  The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Downtown Cleveland / Colors:  Champagne, Ivory, Gold / Florist:  Blooms by Plantscaping / Getting Ready:  Hyatt Regency Cleveland at the Arcade / Hair & Makeup:  Eye Do Makeup & Hair / Menswear: Jos A. Bank / Photo Locations:  East 4th Street, Heritage Park, Shooters on the Water / Reception: The Bridge View Room at Windows on the River / Transportation: Lolly the Trolley

Hunter stuck with the guys while they were getting ready at the Hyatt. I loved this image he captured of Marc helping Craig get ready.

Before Hunter went off with the guys he was the lookout for me to make sure that Marc stayed put while I photographed the dress.

Have I mentioned lately how much I adore the Hyatt?  So pretty!

After the ladies were all done up, we got a quick few pictures in their adorable rompers.  While I love the matching robes, they are always a bit trick to keep on and keep everything covered.  These were such a great idea!

I can’t rave enough about how gorgeous Jenna looked and how amazing her dress was.

I loved this moment that Hunter captured during the ceremony just after they got on the stage.

The exit was perfect!

After the family formals we headed over to East 4th so that everyone could grab a drink and celebrate before doing a few quick portraits on East 4th Street.  We lucked out and it was a slower day for Cleveland so there were only a few people outside.  While I was off with the ladies Hunter caught this hilarious photo of the guys.

Hunter also got one of my favorite pics of the day of Jenna and Marc on East 4th with the sign.

This bridal party was so much fun and they never fussed about anything which was a joy.

I know I go to Heritage Park a lot but there is a reason why – this Cleveland skyline view is pretty darn awesome.

There’s also a bunch of great nooks and crannies here and this one is one of my favorites for the bridesmaids.  How gorgeous are their dresses?  I loved the elegance of them and the delicate champagne color.

Jenna looked amazing!  I still can’t get over how awesome this dress is.

I have a kind of love affair with Plantscaping and they didn’t let me down with the flowers for this wedding.

Jenna’s bridal bouquet for her wedding had PEONIES, which are my favorite flower for bouquets.  The smell is always so intoxicating and they are also beautiful.  I still keep smiling when I look at this bouquet.

Jenna’s bridesmaids had a similar bouquet but on a smaller scale but it doesn’t mean they were any less beautiful.  Another gorgeous wedding from Plantscaping!

While I was with the ladies Hunter worked his magic with the guys and I love the set of images he created with them.

I wasn’t surprised to see the cigars come out and I love this image!

A few years ago, Craig and Carla had one of the images from their day after session published in Cigar Aficionado.  I have a feeling there may be another soon…

It was time to send the bridal party back onto the trolley and we had a few minutes alone with Jenna and Marc.

This is another nook in the same park.  This is why I love coming here again and again!

Favorite image of the day!!!

Seriously.  These two are just so adorable together.

For our final stop before the break for regrouping before the reception, we headed over to the Jackknife Bridge next to Shooters on the Water.

There’s a reason this place is so popular with my clients – it’s just a cool location!  They also replaced the plywood this year so it’s not quite as wobbly as it was before.

A fun thing about having a second photographer is that when Hunter is getting images like this…

I can be off to the side getting images like this!

We were able to get a lot of pictures of the reception setup before the guests came in due to the cocktail hour being in another room.  Hunter started off with the cake which was beautiful (and delicious as we’d later find out).  Did you know they serve cake with ice cream at Windows on the River?  Since we were seated with guests I got to enjoy this fantastic dessert and I give it two thumbs up!

Hunter also captured another gorgeous centerpiece by Plantscaping.  LOVE!

I, aptly, was photographing the cookie table.  I didn’t end up getting to try any but I swear my Irish self has a hidden Italian in there somewhere because I adore their cookies.  Yum!

This image of Marc during the entrance cracks me up every single time I see it.

The cut the cake after their entrance which I highly recommend.  They played nice and no one got icing’d.

The toasts were funny, lovely and had just the right amount of tears threatening to break the surface.

After dinner I was able to grab the rings to photograph before the dancing got underway.  I returned to our table to begin constructing the ring settings and just before I finished I spied this gorgeous purse one of the guests at our table had, whom happened to be Marc’s Aunt.  I asked her if I may use it for a picture and she was tickled that her purse would play a small role in his day and gladly agreed.  I’m so glad she did because this ended up not only being my favorite ring shot from the day but one of my favorites ever.

Their first dance was to “Bella Notte” from Lady and the Tramp which was perfect and adorable.

The parent dances followed their first dance and they were both perfection.

The dance floor opened and it was PACKED all night long.  However, it’s hard to top the dance off between Jenna and Marc’s father… this was awesome.