Kim and Michael’s wedding day was a beautiful whirlwind! Mother Nature mostly cooperated, with only a few rain drops after the ceremony. I met the ladies earlier in the day, as they got ready at the Omni William Penn. The ladies enjoyed champagne and got their makeup done, and I got to know my two new friends for the day, Chloe and Hannah, the adorable flower girls. At one point, Chloe asked me if I was going to be with them for the ceremony too. I told her that, yup, I’d be there for the ceremony and the party too. She then inquired if I’d take pictures of her dancing. I said that I would and also told her she’d get to meet The Other Photographer at the ceremony, who’d also take pictures of her having fun throughout the day. I told her he was pretty silly and that she’d probably like him. She thought about this for a second, crinkled her nose, and then asked “are you married to him?” How cute is that?
The ladies finished up their makeup, and it was soon time for Kim to put on her dress. Kim joked that she liked the back of her dress better than the front. Delicate layers of fabric cascaded down the back and the dress was embellished with embroidered accents. I think there were about 600 buttons on the back of her gown, but all of the bridesmaids worked together and had her buttoned up in a flash. We hopped on the limo bus and gawked at the insane amount of people waiting in line for the casting of the new Batman movie. There were at least 500 people in line, and I’m guessing the parts are all non-speaking extra roles… I’m guessing all of those people have more time on their hands than I do. But I digress…
We got to Heinz Chapel, and scurried downstairs as the guests were arriving. Once inside, it was easy to see why Heinz Chapel books a year in advance. The architecture, stained glass, and woodwork is exquisite. We rented a fish-eye lens especially for the day, and the results were amazing. A fish-eye lens basically provides a super-wide view of the scene. The most common example of a fish-eye lens that people are familiar with is the peephole in your front door. The lens we used didn’t distort the image as much as a peephole would, but it allowed us to get the sweeping architecture of the church as well as some awesome artistic images later. Brian fell in love with the lens, he was practically drooling when he used it. I’m thinking it will probably be our next big lens purchase.
After the ceremony and altar portraits, we decided to head to the West End Overlook for portraits with the bridal party. Apparently, the entire city was on the roads for the Taylor Swift concert, and traffic was a nightmare! Kim and Michael decided to skip the West End and go directly to the Rivers Club at Oxford Center, where we took portraits in the building’s courtyard area. With some creative angles, we were able to give Kim and Michael a variety of backdrops– an urban cityscape when we wanted the ‘Burg in the background, foliage and blurred out backgrounds when we didn’t.
The bridal party then headed inside for a few cocktails before entering the reception. Kim and Michael had their first dance, and afterwards they had both sets of parents join them on the dance floor. Seeing all three couples dancing together really emphasized how important family is to Kim and Michael. This sentiment was further echoed with the wedding portraits of both sets of their parents and grandparents, which were displayed at the reception. The three couples dancing together was so sweet and was followed by Kim dancing with her dad while Michael danced with his mom.
The dance floor was then open to the guests, and before long, the party was rockin’! Once again, the evening was over too quickly, and Brian and I capped off the evening with a few more portraits of Kim and Michael. We can’t wait to go through all of the images and share them with you!
Until next time!
~Lisa
