Stole a sunny afternoon for these engagement portraits with Anne & Nilesh. More coming very soon as we just shot their wedding, and it was beautiful. I can’t wait to show you.
Sharing some beautiful, late-fall engagement shots today. :) Jess & Steve & their adorable puppy Gus (so much attitude in that one, oh my goodness. He came with outfit changes and everything. The best.) I had such a great time working with them all- it was a beautiful day, and we got to take our time and find the light. They’ll be getting married later this year at the Pittsburgh Aviary, and it’s going to be wonderful.
One more from the archive of things that I had thought I had posted! It was a chilly, wintry day and we had to work quickly to avoid red cheeks and runny noses, but I love winter-coat sessions and Meghan & Jim are just the sweetest. They’re getting married- this weekend!- at Seton Hill and DiSalvo’s. It may be another chilly day, but it’s going to be beautiful, and I can hardly wait.
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start telling about a wedding. It’s such a huge day, you know? So much planning & preparation. For Tara & Tom, the day was sunny and very hot (just like Tara wanted it.) The ceremony was small & lovely & touching, at a dear little church in their neighborhood. The dresses & the details were beautiful and pinterest-worthy (can I just tell you about those mint dresses + coral flowers? Yes please.) We had lots of time for lots of amazing portraits. The reception was at the Heinz History Center, which is epic in itself, and I already can’t wait to shoot there again.
With all of those things, though, the most important thing to say about this wedding day is: Tara and Tom smiled all. day. long. And it was pretty fantastic.
And their bridal party? They smiled all day too. When they weren’t breaking down in hysterical laughter from one joke or another. Which was a lot of the time. That was pretty good too.
So, yeah. The day was beautiful, the style of the entire day was gorgeous, and Tara & Tom’s happiness just swept the entire thing away. It doesn’t get much better than that.
I was gearing up for the wedding this past weekend and went to pull up the couple’s engagement pictures on my blog. And… they weren’t there. And then I was shocked and embarrassed when I realised that never actually made the blog post. I love these pictures! I was so excited to show them off! Unfortunately, life can get pretty crazy during peak wedding season. It’s all phone calls and logistics and shooting and editing and if something needs cut, blogging is the first to go. Let me make up for that now.
Luckily, I’m still excited to show these off. Sarah and Matt are amazing people. I loved their engagement session, and I loved their wedding even more. Soon I’ll be able to share their wedding pictures with you (and I promise that I won’t make you wait to see them.) <3 More to come.
I’ve been shooting a lot of portraits in Oakland this year! It’s always a popular location for couples who attended college or grad school in the area. In this case, it was a natural choice for Amanda and Lee, who are Pitt alumni. Amanda even gave campus tours during her time there, so of course they know a lot of the pretty corners of Oakland.
My favorite spot, though? Was when they suggested the Carnegie Library. I’ve been going to that library since I was a child and, as a bookworm, it was naturally a place of magic for me. Pausing in the stairwells, creeping through the stacks, all these places that have have been a dream for me to shoot in- and Amanda & Lee were just as excited as I was. Literary engagement sessions! I can’t tell you how excited I get about things like that. :)
My personal geekiness aside- I don’t think it’s possible to take a bad picture of Amanda & Lee. Their smiles are bright and easy and they are every bit as kind as they seem. They’re getting married next month at Heinz Chapel and the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, I’m so looking forward to heir lovely fall wedding.
It’s hard to know where to even start to tell you about Megan & Jay. I just finished their wedding and it was FANTASTIC, but I still need to show you their engagement photos. :) Anyways, I love these two to pieces. The first time I met Megan she offered to buy me a beer, and then we bonded over our slightly more practical views on weddings. She told me about how they met- while stationed in Afghanistan, where they were both working as Air Force Civil Engineers— how’s that for an engagement story? It was great finally getting to meet Jay at the engagement session & watching how utterly right they are together. We explored Schenley Park with their lovely St. Bernard, who is adorable.
(Side note to couples: Yes, you definitely can bring your dog to the engagement session! I get asked this all of the time and I am more than happy to work with pets. Andy and I are both totally dog people, too, and will happily make friends with your puppy while we shoot. Just let me know ahead of time & I do also recommend having an extra pair of hands to watch them while we get some solo portraits.)
Their wedding was at St Paul’s and Soldiers & Sailors, those photos coming soon. :)
I’m not sure what we exactly we talked about that day. About our dogs, probably, and weird wedding traditions, about how Corey likes to pick Nina up just because he can, and math jokes may have featured in there somewhere. What I do know is that we laughed throughout the entire session. These two are just so much fun I can’t even explain, and we have a goofy sense of humor in common. There was lots of Corey picking Nina up & then everyone climbed on things & then Corey picked Nina up some more. Um. They’re kind of adorable. Also, Corey took me to some secret spots on the CMU campus that I’ve never been to before- including rooftop succulent gardens. :) They’re getting married this fall at the Wintergarden at PPG Place.
Also, as a side note- I first met Nina way-back-when, at a wedding I photographed several years ago. Can just I tell you, I love working with referrals from brides? We try to stay in touch, but in this business, I really only get to work with a client once (twice if you count the engagement sessions), unless I do additional portraits later. Which is sad, because my clients? Are so much fun. It’s the best thing in the world when I get to work with friends or family of a couple I’ve already shot for. It’s like reading an epilogue about your favorite characters, or running into old friends from college. So yes, lots of love to Scott & Emily for sending Nina and Corey to me, and to all the other couples that have done the same. <3 Friends of friends are the best thing ever.
