Pittsburgh Wedding Venue, LeMont and Mt. Washington, Pittsburgh

Weddings at the LeMont in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania are the standard when it comes to having a classy wedding that has great views of the city without being over-the-top. When Maura and Craig toured the LeMont, they said the thing that swayed them about hosting the wedding there was how down to earth the staff was, simply showing the venue and not pressuring them to make a sale. That’s because the restaurant/banquet rooms speak for them selves. Built in the 60’s and decked out with dark marble architecture and drapery, the Pittsburgh’s “premier 5-star restaurant” boasts an entire wall glass windows. Since the building is perched at the top of Mt. Washington, there is no better place in the city to see the magnificent views than sitting at your sweetheart table with Pittsburgh glowing behind you! I was excited to work here and wanted to make sure we did the view justice!

We started the day at the couple’s new house where the vibe was so very chill, thanks in part to the small bridal party but mostly because everyone was just happy to be present and not worried about every little thing going perfectly. The couple met through mutual friends, and this marketing-director and math teacher combo made for the most sweet, chill, stress-free couple I had the pleasure of working with this year!

The details were perfectly curated to represent both class and whimsy, words that I feel describe the bride perfectly. I loved styling her Badgley Mishka shoes with bows, monogrammed Mrs. Box, and her family heirloom veil.

After a relaxed morning, I drove Maura to Grandview Park where we met up with her groom Craig and we had the sweetest first look! Even though it was past-peak for the autumn leaves, we still had brilliant colors in the trees! Since the park is flanked by a school and a playground and it was in fact a Friday, we were greeted by a few classrooms out for a walk with their teacher. The kids went wild when they saw the bride in her beautiful boho dress, and asked if she was “marrying Prince Charming.” They squealed with delight when she said that she was actually marrying a math teacher!

Portraits were so easy and fun with these two. The time flew by, and soon we were ready to head to the beautiful church for the ceremony. Saint Mary of the Mount is equally stunning on the inside as the popular overlooks of the city are on the outside. With vaulted ceilings and beautiful stained glass, it all but guaranteed dramatic wedding photos! After the ceremony we took the traditional family photos at the altar and then headed outside with the bridal party to get some group shots on the famous Mt. Washington overlooks. We were very fortunate to have a warm and not very windy day in November!

A short walk to the LeMont eliminated transportation and parking stress, and once we were set up, the couple was announced in and all the guests enjoyed the classic rock band that played the night away. The brides father even made a guest appearance for a few songs, including one that he learned just for the groom Craig, a song from his favorite movie “That Thing You Do.” The dance floor flooded with guests as the party started to take off, rivaled only by the excitement when the cookie table (but really “room” is more appropriate here) was finally unveiled!

The bride helped orchestrate and plan the most epic variety of delicious cookies, with lots of family pitching in to add to the delicious offerings. What’s a Pittsburgh wedding without a Pittsburgh Cookie table, after all? The bride’s sister, who owns a wildly successful baking small business, Micah Made Cookies, made amazing shortbread with chocolate on top, the groom scooped up some of his favorite butterscotch haystack cookies, and everyone’s favorite, the bride’s Milk Bar cookies, flew off the platters in record time! (she was sweet enough to give me the recipe!)

We ended the evening with a quick walk to the Duquesne Incline where we got a few dramatic night-time shots of the city and a few more calls of congratulations from on-lookers and the nearby restaurant patrons. For being the wedding I was most worried about (a new fancy venue, city-driving, parking, a big and beautiful and DARK church) it was the least stressful wedding day this season! Thank you so much to the vendors below (including my incredible assistant Ben Lloyd and my second shooter Jon Blanchard for carrying ALL of my gear uphill to the LeMont) for making this day incredible!