You may have seen other May the Fourth Star Wars Themed Weddings, you may have even snuck a Sheetz Run into your wedding day plans, but you haven’t seen anything like this one! Normally, light sabers and Mac n’ cheese bites don’t necessarily go together, and they certainly aren’t a normal wedding day accessory, but Sam and JJ were unapologetically themselves this past Star Wars weekend when they infused light sabers with their love of apps and Galliker’s tea and pulled off a delightfully unique start to their forever!

We hit 4 different towns in 10 hours, and the force was definitely with us to get everything done and running smoothly all day! The day started in the Hilton Garden Inn where the girls got ready, then we ended up in Homer City for the ceremony! The beautiful church with stunning stained glass was a perfect place for the I-do’s (and the “I love you…. I know’s”). After that, we were off to Blairsville to the Pine Ridge park for some epic light saber battles and some snuggling under the flowering dogwoods.

Then of course the Sheetz run! These Sheetz Freaks (and their entire bridal party!) were great sports to stop at the Blairsville store off of route 22 and grab some one-of-a-kind wedding photos! We snuggled up by the Soda Cave, kissed by the MTO touch screens, and celebrated a surprise double order of Mac-n-cheese bites by the smoothiez signs outside! Once these freakz got their fill, we were off to Portage for their Star Wars themed reception! There, guests enjoyed tasteful black and gold decor (shoutout, Pittsburgh Steelers!) and an epic Star Wars themed processional, cake topper, sweetheart table, and photo booth!

Enjoy the highlights, you will, from this perfectly “Martin” day! Sam and JJ, thank you for becoming such great friends and for trusting me to capture such amazing, unique, vibrant personalities!

The Vendor Team:

Gown: Essence of Australia - Tamzen’s Bridal (Carlisle, PA)

Bridesmaid Attire: David’s Bridal

Groomsmen Attire: Jim’s Formal Wear

Rings: Littman’s Jewlers

Hair: Paige Walter

Makeup: Beauty by Bethy Mae

Photography: Jill Gearhart Photography

Videography: Bridge Perspective

DJ: Royal Heir DJ Services

Photo Booth: BOOTH222

Cake: JMP Cake Designs

Caterer: Remini Catering

Florals: Clear Spring High School Agricultural Department

Venue: The Royal Ballroom, Portage

Photo Locations: Pine Ridge Park, Blairsville | Sheetz, Blairsville

Accommodations: Hilton Garden Inn, Indiana

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Pittsburgh’s iconic yellow bridges are a background that is timeless year round, a beautiful setting for wedding portraits that look great even if nothing is in bloom. If you pair that with a sweet, small wedding ceremony in the stunning architecture of Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County Courthouse, you have a timeless and unapologetically Pittsburgh wedding day! I was blessed enough to assist and shoot for a wonderful new friend and mentor Jenna Sasala of Jenna Hidinger Photography, and in this post you’ll find some of the awesome images from our day together!

Allegheny County Courthouse

The Allegheny County Courthouse is a National Landmark, and surprisingly the perfect place for weddings too! The grand staircase shows off the building’s beautiful arches and Romanesque architecture. The staircase is plenty wide to accommodate large bridal parties, and the windows at the top of the stairs allow plenty of beautiful natural light in for perfect portraits! There are lots of spots for post-ceremony portraits as well including wide window sills for sitting, incredible layers of passageways and stone railings to give the appearance of being back in time in a castle far, far away (or Hogwarts, as I liked to imagine!) You can check out this site to learn all the details about booking the courthouse for your ceremony!

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Mellon Green Park

Located in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh as just a few minutes walk form the courthouse is Mellon Green Park, a beautiful patch of green tucked amongst Pittsburgh’s most popular buildings downtown like the Omni William Penn Hotel and the US Steel Tower. Weddings inn Pittsburgh don’t just have to be all architecture and urban vibes - this sweet little park has plenty of flowers, trees, benches, and a beautiful water feature.

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Andy Warhol Bridge

Right beside it’s more popular brother, the Roberto Clemente bridge, the Andy Warhol bridge is the perfect place to get your “yellow bridge” wedding pictures while not getting trampled by PNC Park foot traffic. It’s unique placement, too, allows for some great cityscapes in the background - especially if you are getting married at the Renaissance Hotel (it’s right in the background!) Just a close walk from several parking garages, this is the ideal spot if you want maximum Pittsburgh in your photos with minimum effort.

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The Renaissance Hotel in Pittsburgh is a gorgeous venue to have your wedding - with a sweeping grand staircase, cozy but elegant reception room, and incredible views of the city from it’s modern suites, it’s everything you could want for your wedding AND after! Not to mention the city’s most iconic yellow bridge, The Roberto Clemente, just steps away from its doors.

Whitney and Quinn had a beautiful fall and winter themed wedding at the Windber Country Club in Salix this past October. With lots of jewels, white pumpkins, pearls, ivory and red, her decor was equal parts Cinderella inspired and charmingly rustic with colorful nods to the upcoming Christmas season! There were also so many special moments with family, including a lovely ceremony officiated by Whitney’s grandpa, and her younger brother Nebraska stole the show on the dance floor all night!

6 years ago I was lucky enough to photograph Whitney for her senior photos where we had lots of fun wading in streams for some unique shots - and she was just as adventurous as a bride! Her 4 inch heels didn’t stop her from walking around the golf course without fear, and when we found a mushy spot, her Prince Charming picked her right up and carried her!

This was also one of the most fun and rowdiest bridal parties I had the pleasure to work with! Everyone was so so kind, and I was happy to be treated as a friend all day. One of the groomsmen even took an interest in photography and was thrilled to practice taking some shots with my backup camera during a few down-time moments during the reception! (most of them were blurry but back-button spot-focus is hard to just pick up!)

I hope you enjoy some of my favorite shots from this fun and unique wedding!

This summer wedding at the Indiana Country club was an effortless, sweet day filled with lots of laughs, love, and PURPLE! If you love purple (who doesn't?!) you definitely want to check out how Steph and Justin effortlessly worked it into their wedding day theme! 

These two worked hard to plan lots of fun little details and surprises, beyond just the killer decor. We started the day at the Hilton Garden Inn in Indiana, which is one of my favorite venues with lots of gorgeous natural light. (fun fact - I've shot several weddings here and there is notoriously "no where" to hang the dress. My second shooter saved the day and climbed on the AC unit in front of the window and help up the dress. Behold the wonder of photoshop and an amazing, dare-devil assistant!) Becca wasn't the only one to climb on things, however! Take a guess where I stood to get that jumping shot of Steph and her Maids of Honor?! (follow me on Insta to see behind the scenes!)

Steph and Justin were my dream come true when they opted to do a first look, and made it even more special by doing it at Justin's grandma's house who couldn't attend because of her health. After we did the first look between the bride and groom (with parents watching close by!) in the backyard, we went inside to get some sweet candids with grandma (they even got her a corsage!!)

The ceremony was flawless as they always are at the country club, and I just loved the floral arbor and hourglass sand ceremony! We flew through pictures and got inside for an amazing dinner and dancing from my favorite DJ's! Steph and Justin even played "The Shoe Game", which was a really cute and interactive way for their guests to share some laughs and get to know them! Download the list of questions they used and instructions on how to play here!

Steph and Justin, thank you so much for inviting us along on this journey, for sharing your bridal party snacks and perfume with me, treating us all (even my assistant) so kindly and personally, and being so willing to do whatever it took (Justin ;) ) to make the day exactly what you both wanted it to be. You make me love my job!

VENDORS:

Lead photographer: Jill Gearhart Photography

Second Photographer: Becca Dietrich

Gown: Maggie Sottero at MB Bride

Makeup: Beth Arnold (bethymae36@gmail.com)

Venue: Indiana County Club

DJ: Royal Heir DJ Services

Are you dreading your wedding day because of the thought of everyone looking at you? Recently, I was asked by one of my future brides-to-be if I had any advice for people that are camera shy, self-conscious, or just otherwise super awkward around, and hate the idea of being in front of a camera. Let me first say this - not a single one of my brides emerged on the other side of their wedding day photos feeling that they totally bombed. This beautiful bride featured here absolutely rocked her photos, but admittedly did not totally love being in the spotlight with all eyes on her all the time. You would never know it, though, from how serene and peaceful the photos turned out!! But back to the original question - how can you survive your wedding day if you are totally freaked out by your personal paparazzi that you, ironically, hired to follow you around all day? 

STALK YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER

If you already have your photographer picked out, follow their Instagram, like their Facebook page, learn the name of their dog, and memorize their blood type. Just kidding - at least about the last two (my dog's name is Ibanez and my blood is A-, in case you were wondering...). It is very helpful for your photographer, though, if you scope out some of their go-to poses and share which ones you really like the look of. Chances are, when YOU are put in that pose, you will like the result too! If you love the look of candids, full-length shots, close-ups, serious expressions, whatever! - tell your photographer! Have a realistic eye, though - focus on the people and how their bodies look and not on the backgrounds or other details that are unique for every wedding.

FESS UP ABOUT YOUR "FLAWS"

Before your wedding, have an honest heart-to-heart with your photographer about parts of yourself that you don't exactly love. I'm all about #BodyPositive, but I'm also (refreshingly?) realistic, and realize that you MAY not love your arms, teeth, feet, etc. Your husband to be, your photographer, and your bridesmaids all think you look perfect, but if YOU don't feel that way, it will effect how you feel as you are being photographed! Let me know what you're conscious of, and then I can also keep a sharp lookout for those same things and let you know if you need to stand up straighter, look a certain direction, drop your chin, etc. It's also helpful knowing those areas you want to avoid for choosing flattering poses.

ACCENTUATE YOUR ASSETS

And then even more importantly, let's shout the things you love about yourself from the rooftops!!! If you love your hair, you best believe we will get some killer close-ups. If you love your curves, full-length shots are in your future, dear! It's so important to focus on the positives, and if you spend some time really zeroing in on things you actually LIKE about yourself, you might just give yourself the confidence boost you need to rock your portraits like a super-model.

ASK FOR FEEDBACK

If you hire a cool photographer that's not a jerk, ahem, then they will be more than happy to share some sneak-peeks from the back of the camera! A good photographer will also give you verbal feedback as you go and affirm that you are nailing the poses and creating some beautiful portraits! Don't be afraid to speak up for some validation if you need it - chances are, you will grow more comfortable and confident as they day goes on that by the end of the night, you will just be focused on the most important thing - being. married. 

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I hope you enjoy this beautiful, intimate wedding featured below. Lindsey and Aaron's 50 person backyard ceremony/reception was everything that a slow summer night full of magic could offer. I was mildly obsessed with the dried floral crowns and bridal bouquet, and the mis-matched bridesmaid floral wrap dresses added the perfect touch of whimsy to the entourage. The details were quaint and carefree - pastel glass votives and lanterns, geometric metal accents, floral paper lanterns and straws, and the sweetest floral covered homemade arbor for the ceremony! The incredible gardens offered by their generous neighbors gave us the enchanted forest vibe that perfectly set the tone for this sweet culmination of an 8 year love story!

Cody and Faith's sweet southern destination wedding at the Carleen Bright Arboretum in Woodway Texas was everything you've dreamed about how Texas would be - warm, beautiful, easy, and peaceful. Everyone warned me that the Texas heat would be a shock for this Pennsylvania gal (we say "PA" in conversation like it's normal, but we quickly learned that it's not lol!), but believe me when I say it's all about humidity! 

I was blessed to meet Cody, and later Faith, when he was assigned to my hometown of Indiana for work. Cody was a rockstar volunteer at our church, and I could not wait to meet his sweet southern belle! Both Cody and Faith gave my husband and I an incredible kind gift of a mini-vacation to Texas, where I was honored to capture their amazing wedding day. Cody and Faith's family and friends planned a super fun fiesta-themed rehearsal dinner complete with sombreros, some bomb Mexican food, and a game of corn hole in the yard, pick up trucks and tailgates parked around for seating. It was one of those surreal moments where I felt like I was in a movie, and instantly hit so hard with gratitude for this experience. 

The wedding day was so relaxed and peaceful, and the bride just exuded quiet grace and sweetness. I especially loved the foot washing ceremony that the bride and groom took part in before they said their vows. Other adorable moments included the best man speech given by Cody's teenage nephew (he crushed it!), and the "secret dance" shared by the bride and groom in an empty ballroom as guests waited outside for the sendoff! Please take a moment to slowly scroll through all of the amazing moments from this totally gorgeous destination wedding!

When thinking about these 5 things for your wedding, is it really important to have great communication with your photographer. Covering the topics below together help us be prepared with the right gear (and literally be in the right place) to make sure every little detail and moment that is important to you is captured to the best of our ability.

Each region of the country (and world!) has different wedding traditions, and while your photographer is prepared for the "normal" wedding day, you can generally assume that anything that makes this wedding unique to you is something that you need to tell your photographer. Is your dress your moms? Wearing grandmas ring? Do you have a crazy Aunt Betty who is a photo nut and will be at your photographers hip each moment? Grooms, are you planning a surprise fireworks show? Are you pulling a rubber chicken out of your bride's dress when you go all "Mission Impossible" under there for the garter? Do you have super cool food options like a food truck instead of the stuffed chicken a la buffet? Tell me! Part of the fun of planning weddings now is that literally anything goes. And I want to be ready to rock it so you can always remember it!

Here are 5 big areas you should cover when you sit down to meet your photographer:

Family Photos

If it's important to you (or your mom, dad, stepmom - whoever!) to get a photo with a specific combination of family members, you MUST give your photographer a list, especially when blended families are involved. There's nothing worse that leaving someone out or hurting someone's feelings over wedding pictures. Sit down with your fiancé and your family AND his or her family and ask about any family photos they need to have. If the list gets out of hand, just pare it down. You and your fiancé are the boss! It's YOUR wedding! Your photographer will absolutely do everything they can as time allows to get all of the shots, but he or she has to know what shots to get in the first place. And trust me, don't wait until the day of the wedding to just shout out combinations of aunts and uncles. You will be distracted and pulled in a million different directions, not to mention timelines can be tight to fit in portraits and travel to the reception. Don't let that stress you out - let me handle it! 

Time Line

Speaking of the time, it's essential you tell your photographer the timeline of your wedding. If you are doing a first look, getting ready in a different location other than the church, or if there is a good amount of travel time from location to location, these are all things that your photographer will be grateful to know ahead of time! If the logistics and scheduling of everything is giving you a headache, let your photographer and DJ help. We have been to hundreds of weddings and can tell you how much time things take, including those sneaky time-suckers like receiving lines that you may not have thought about. Just as important, if a time or location changes, even day of, your photographer should be in the know about that too. We are constantly keeping track of the time (I have a watch in my camera bag in case my phone dies) and trying to fit in everything you want to do while keeping a fun vibe (but on schedule!), so delegate that stress to us!

Lighting

A lot of churches frown upon using flash, so be sure to check with the little old church secretary (I can say that because I'm basically my church's secretary lol), and see what the officiant's preference on flash is. If your photographer is used to using flash everywhere, it's definitely worth bringing up. Most photographers have lenses that are up to the job no matter what the lighting is like, but just make sure they know in advance so they can pack correctly.

Also. Sparklers. Please, please PLEASE tell us when you are using sparklers, or even glow sticks (that was a rad wedding!) for an exit. If there's fire or other low-light fun things happening, we've gotta know so we can be in place with the right gear. It's helpful, too, if you can take your time walking through all the beautiful sparks instead of sprinting the heck outta there! Your honeymoon can wait 30 more seconds, I promise ;)

Special Details

One of the things that make weddings so dear and personal are details. It's really a great way to infuse your personality, family, history, and anything significant to you into your wedding. My rule of thumb when photographing weddings is that if you made it or paid for it, I'm going to photograph it! But if there is something very important to you that may not be on display or obvious, make sure to let us know so we can snap a pic!

Phipps Conservatory Wedding Pittsburgh PA

Surprises

I love it when grooms and brides surprise each other with things during their wedding. Be it a gift or prayer before the ceremony, a note, a fireworks show, a game during the reception, a choreographed dance, whatever, let us in on the secret! We promise we won't tell, and you can be sure that we will be in the right place at the right time!

It's my goal to teach you that your photographer is so much more than a lady or dude snapping photos on your wedding day. Something that is so intrinsic to my personality and my only really true passion is service, and it's essential to being a good photographer. Your photographer should be there to calm you down, keep you on track, encourage you, direct you, create with you, laugh with you, and take care of you. The more information you can give us, the better we can serve you - and that's what it's all about!

Are you considering having your wedding on or around a holiday? As if weddings aren't overwhelming enough, let's throw the craziness and busyness of the holidays into the mix! But, there can be some great benefits to hosting your friends and family around such iconic times. Whether it's New Year's Eve like Casey and Jon, or a Labor Day wedding, Halloween wedding, Valentine's Wedding - whatever - there are lots of great reasons to take on the added logistics of a holiday wedding. 

FAMILY

One of the obvious benefits of a holiday wedding is that it's likely that family will be in town. If having those that you love close for your wedding is important to you, this is a big win. I've photographed a lot of weddings around Labor Day or Memorial Day, which is really smart in my opinion because most people have off the following Monday - which means an extra day to recover from all the shenanigans! Be sure to book flights and blocks of hotel rooms well in advance, however, because a lot of people will be traveling and staying during these times of the year.

Traditions

As you grow old and gray together, think of how special your anniversary will be enveloped in the special traditions you normally do around the holiday. While still enjoying all of your normal traditions, it will be that much sweeter to mix celebrating your love in with it!  It's likely that family will be close by for the holidays anyway, and how special will it be to reminisce with everyone about how magical your wedding day was?! Plus, the big perk - your husband probably won't forget your anniversary!

decor

A really fun part of a holiday wedding is the decorations! If you are unsure how or what to decorate with, most holidays come with "usual", iconic things that people can immediately identify with. This also allows you to have some fun and go a bit non-traditional from the normal flowers and candles, incorporating anything that is special to you from pumpkins to pine cones. You can even extend this idea into the type of dress you and your guests wear!

take it from the bride

What does Casey, the lovely bride featured here, have to say about having a NYE wedding?

"Do it!! It’s a really crazy time of year and I remember saying to myself on Christmas Eve, “who said it was a good idea to get married the week after Christmas?” But in all honesty, if I could do it all over again, I’d pick New Year’s Eve every time. Jon and I picked that day for a couple of reasons, first of all we never have anything fun to do on NYE so it seemed fitting that we would just throw the party this year. The second reason is that NYE is the first time Jon realized I existed when he saw a picture of me on Facebook that his cousin (and my best friend Rachel) posted of us, so again, it all seemed fitting.

For us, the actual wedding was all about getting family and friends together to celebrate and getting married on a holiday is the absolute perfect time to do it! I don’t think it even matters what holiday it is, just the fact that you were all going to get together anyways but now it makes it extra special!

As far as advice to those brides who want to get married on or around a holiday: have fun with it! You picked that holiday on purpose, so party it up! We incorporated NYE with putting out hats and noise makers our around 10:30pm that way they weren’t in all the wedding pictures but we wanted it to be a wedding/NYE party. I think it took the stress away from “the perfect wedding” knowing that it was also a party to bring in the new year. When I did start to get a little stressed, I just kept telling myself, it’s just a New Year’s party and I already have my outfit picked out so I’m ahead of the game! "

"The biggest thing to remember is the wedding is just about celebrating the day

and the marriage is about celebrating for a lifetime."

There's not much that's more exciting than taking a boat ride, but when you get to have your wedding ceremony on the upper deck of Pittsburgh's Gateway Clipper in the middle of the river by the Point State Park fountains, that's a recipe for the best day of your life!

Victoria and Chris had a beautiful and exciting wedding day as they their vows in the golden sunlight on the top deck of the famous paddle boat. Guests enjoyed a meal as we were  cruising up and down the Allegheny river. The dance floor was packed all night, and there were plenty of guests enjoying the stars and the breath-taking city night-scape on the decks above.

Because the ceremony and reception were all in the same location, and we couldn't exactly sneak away for photos, Chris and Victoria opted to do all family portraits and bridal party portraits before embarking on the boat ride. We hit all the famous and beautiful spots Pittsburgh has to offer, like PPG Place, Point State Park, and Mount Washington.

Victoria was easily one of the most stunning brides I ever have been blessed to photograph, and the fun, sweet-spirited chemistry she and her fiance Chris had together made photographing them, and spending hours and hours with them, effortless and so enjoyable. I hope you enjoy the highlights of their unique day, and maybe just maybe it will inspire you to take a ride on this amazing attraction, The Gateway Clipper, in one of the greatest cities in the country! (They didn't even pay me to say that. I just REALLY love boatrides!)