One of the first decisions you will make as an engaged couple besides your date and venue will be who’s in your bridal party! It can be hard to narrow down the list, especially if you have lifelong friends from high school, college, work, or even family that are like best friends. Where there’s no “rule” for who to include and who to not, I can share a bit of insight into my approach from when I was in your shoes 7 years ago.

Remembering that your wedding is one of the biggest, most significant days of your adult life, you want people there to support you. That’s the whole POINT of a bridal party - to surround yourself with people who will support and help you create amazing memories on your wedding day AND pledge to live life with you in the days after, both good and bad. I chose people that were vital parts of my childhood and high school years - my best friends that stayed the test of time. I chose people that were also close to me at the time, having moved to a new town and made friends there the past year. Has my friend group changed since? Of course. But I have no regrets with who I chose to be involved in my wedding day because they were so significant in supporting me through different seasons of my life.

If you are very blessed with lots of friends that fit into all of those descriptions above - don’t panic. It’s perfectly ok to have a big bridal party. Because I was on crutches freshman year in college and commuted the rest, I didn’t make many close friends in college, which was a big reason I could keep my bridal party to 5 women. But if you find yourself including 8 or more, that’s ok!! I’ve photographed bridal parties up to 12+ on each side! All it takes is a little more planning ahead! Hopefully these tips help (speaking from my experience as a wedding photographer AND 1 or 9 bridesmaids in a friends wedding a few years ago!)

What if the Maid of Honor or Best Man isn’t good at planning?

If your “best friend” isn’t quite on top of things and the thought of them coordinating something like a shower or bachelorette party seems laughable, just have an honest conversation with them. Being the Maid of HONOR doesn’t necessarily mean the Maid of Responsibility. Ask them what they would LIKE to do and realistically could do. Being your best friend, they should understand, and feel honored that you want to make sure their responsibilities play to their strengths. If there’s someone really “type A” in your bridal party that would LOVE to plan and organize, have them be the logistics. Your maid of honor can still make decisions and offer the ideas, but there’s nothing wrong with having someone else be the “do-er.” Your Maid of Honor can still HONOR you by sharing a toast at the reception, getting you a special gift, reading a passage at your ceremony, come with you to dress fittings to learn to bustle your dress, or any other important job you feel is appropriate!

How do you easily share the cost of things?

Ideally, when your shower or bachelorette party is being planned, your bridal party would split the cost and responsibilities evenly, including spreading your expenses (like tickets, travel, meals, etc) evenly among them as well. When I was a bridesmaid in a party of 9, the amazing maid of Honor, Mary, used a shared Google Sheet to keep track of expenses and who paid for what. We were like a little business, submitting receipts and everything! (this job doesn’t have to be your maid of honor either! Find your “accountant” among the group and they will eat this up.)

At the end of each event, Mary would take the total spent by everyone and split it 9 ways. She would then “invoice” us if we still owed for our portion of the total expenses, or “reimbursed” us if we spent more than our share. For things like going out to eat where everyone pays for themselves, she would pay for the brides meal and we would reimburse her for our part of it. Having people set up with Venmo or PayPal accounts made transferring money super easy!

What if everyone lives far apart?

Start. Planning. Early. It might seem crazy to commit to a weekend a whole year out just for a shower or a bachelorette party, but doing so will increase the chances that everyone can be there. And if they can’t? You as a bride have to have grace for those who can’t financially commit to traveling in for every event. Your friends are going to spend hundreds on their clothing and their share of all the fun events before the big day, so you can’t begrudge them for wanting to cut down costs by not buying a few more plane tickets. If possible, host them at your apartment or house to cut down on their losing expenses!

Another great thing to consider is WHERE to get your gowns or tuxes/suits. While it may be tempting to shop local (and in any other case, yes! Do it!), this is one decision that may be best handled by a big box chain store like David’s Bridal or Men’s Warehouse. You can decide the color, the style (if you want), and any accessories, and then your girls or guys can go to the nearest franchise store (bonus points if you choose a place within an hour of each of their homes!) and ensure everything will match. Shipping times at these stores are usually a lot faster too, which is always good!

How do you make sure wedding day isn’t chaos?

Talk to your vendors and come up with a plan. Your photographer is a HUGE part of managing your bridal party - mainly because we are with all of you the entire day long! Timelines are SUPER important the more people you add into the mix, so talk with your photographer, wedding coordinator, and DJ to make sure all parts of the day mesh with each other, and then be proactive communicating the info to your bridal party. If you know the guys (or girls!) won’t read a detailed sheet, consider making a version just for them that says where they have to be, when, when they have to be dressed, when pictures are and where, and when they are “done” with responsibilities (after the grand entrance, usually). It’s usually a good idea to give this info out at the rehearsal dinner, that way no one loses it ;)

Remember, these are the people you love the most, and with open communication and planning, I promise that having the squad there, however big and crazy, will be as sweet and as fun as you are imagining it to be! Check out some of the fun memories my couples shared with their big bridal parties!! And be sure to check out other blogs fulls of similar great advice for planning your wedding!

Photo by Nathan Ballash Creative

Most people secretly hope they will find their soul mate in college if they don’t currently have a high school sweetheart. That wasn’t the case for us. Each year after college, we both wondered when and who our spouse would be, and the saying “you will find them when you least expect it” or “when you aren’t looking” was certainly relevant in our case. I was in a relationship when I first met my husband Brandon, but that didn’t stop my high-school friend Seth from desperately trying to set us up. Call it prophesy (I called it stubbornness), but he would not give up - not for 4 years!

Seth and I knew each other from high school, and when he went away to college at IUP, he met Brandon and was determined to get us together. Seth would invite me up to Indiana to visit him in his dingy college apartment where he roomed with Brandon, then “mysteriously” had urgent errands to run, leaving Brandon and I to kindle our forced relationship over some Guitar Hero. I would be lying, though, if I told you our loved was sparked over rounds of Even Flow on Intermediate. It was still a few years until I grew the confidence and self esteem to end a long-term relationship that wasn’t right for me and give Brandon a chance.

During that time, Seth got engaged and asked if I would photograph his wedding (because I took a shot at engagement photos and didn’t royally screw them up I guess!). With my $500 Rebel in hand, I shot my first wedding and guess who was in the bridal party? My future husband! Spending time together “on-the-job” re-kindled our interest, and a few months later I was once again visiting my newly-wed friend Seth in Indiana. And once again he had urgent matters to attend to with his new wife, leaving Brandon and I to grow our relationship, this time over trips to Walmart!

It was important to both of us that we took this relationship seriously, and I still remember standing on Seth’s porch one night, Brandon and I alone of course, when he said to me, “I want to make sure I want a relationship with YOU, not just a relationship. You deserve the be respected.” PUT A RING ON MY FINGER NOW!! Two months later, lots of trips to Indiana later, lots of sleepy, late-night trips home FROM Indiana (seriously, my dad kept a tow rope in his truck to pull my car out of snow banks when I fell asleep coming home and got stuck), we were FB official. Our first kiss was in front of Seth’s house, a desperate tactic on his part to stop me from driving home after my dad accidentally filled my windshield fluid reservoir with tire shine and my windshield was a greasy mess.

In those early days, it was important to Brandon to teach me about faith, and help me develop and grow a relationship with the Lord as we were growing our relationship with each other. Ministry has always been at the foundation of our relationship, and I started attending and serving in church for the first time because of Brandon’s example. His calling to be a pastor came young, we suspect - as young as elementary school when he was a VBS junkie, begging his mom to take him to all of the programs in town each summer. He turned his sweet, babe-luring guitar skills into something that glorified the Lord, leading worship in college ministry and then later at the contemporary service at our church. My first servanthood experience was on the soundboard after hearing his frustration with being able to hear his strings from the front pews when he played electric guitar. As we pushed the decibels up and grew closer together in faith and love, we started volunteering in the youth ministry, where we were leaders of our current pastor! How times change us all!!

I have fond memories in the church where I really found and grew my relationship with the Lord, where I learned about serving, and where we were eventually married. But as God grows us, there are growing pains as well. Our own made-up path of getting Brandon on staff was not the path God wanted to take us on, which lead us to another church in town in the Indiana Theater. Here we experienced the most amazing, life-giving support through some hard times in our marriage that led us to counseling, leaders that saw the potential in us, pulled the skills out of us and developed our gifts. To Ed and Brian I am forever grateful.

Now, Brandon is the pastor of this church, leading with clarity and gentleness, carving out time for me and our relationship, and balancing so many things while staying true to himself. So proud of this groomsman from my first wedding, this guitar-hero legend, this youth group leader that proposed at a youth group concert, this now pastor, this soul mate.

Photo by Jessica OH Photography

Photo by Jessica OH Photography

Photo by Jessica OH Photography

Photo by j.jae Photography

Photo by j.jae Photography

Photo by j.jae Photography

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.

There is no better way to represent fall in your photos than with a Barn at Rayne Run wedding. Even though this wedding was early in early November, we really got lucky with a gorgeous and vibrant Pennsylvania autumn where the leaves decided to change AFTER Halloween, giving us some of the most stunning and colorful fall wedding portraits!

Andy and Megan were some of the sweetest people I ever had the pleasure of working with! These two met when they were I grade school, and I was thrilled to learn that Andy’s older brother got the very special job of being their chaperone when they were dating!! Andy and Megan also went to college together, and needless to say they are best friends - you can that tell right away when talking to them! In fact, they are so precious together that it was hard for me not to ball behind my camera seeing Andy so emotional over seeing his gorgeous bride for the first time!

The timeline for this one was very unique but made my life sooo much easier as the couple opted for a first look before the evening ceremony! Megan and her mom made really smart decisions about the when and the where for photos, renting photo time at the beautiful Barn at Rayne Run in Marion Center for the first look and family photos before everything got started. Then, the ceremony and reception were at separate locations that fit the size of their crowd and the time of the year! Just wait until you see the vibrant orange trees at the barn!!

These two have a beautiful future ahead of them, all built on a strong foundation of faith. Andy is planning to be a Chaplain in the military, and Megan’s parents both work in the church they were married in! I Megan’s grandpa was also a minister and co-officiated their beautiful ceremony in Clymer!

I hope you love some of the highlights of their day - and as a fun bonus I threw in the snapchat video I took of us as we drove to the ceremony!!

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!

Cas may live in Indiana, PA, but for her senior photo session she really wanted a more urban, big city feel, which is why we ended up at some of the coolest places in Pittsburgh! If you’re a senior, I can’t stress enough how important it is to spend some time talking to your photographer to let them know your interests, talents, hobbies, and vision for your shoot. We were able to incorporate Cas’s love of color, art, coffee, music, and urban life by having a little bit of knowledge about the area and a whole lot of knowledge about what makes her unique!

We started out at Randyland, a wonderfully fun and quirky (and colorful!!) public art spot in the North Side of Pittsburgh. You can check out more about it here!

As a coffee connoisseur, Cas and I thought it would be appropriate to do a few shots after downing a cappuccino in the city’s best coffee spot. Luckily right down the street from Randyland is Commonplace Coffee in the Mexican War Streets area. We did a few shots in front of the town houses that line Buena Vista street before heading to the coffee shop. The owner was very kind to let us capture some snaps while we enjoyed our lattes.

A shoot in Pittsburgh would also not be complete with some of those iconic yellow Pittsburgh bridges, the Point State Park fountain, and the 3 rivers!! We headed to the fountain right at dusk to get some truly breathtaking and twinkly shots! Also, have you ever seen a bassoon at the Point? Well, you’re about to!

I hope you enjoy what was probably my favorite senior sessions ever (the fact that we ate IronBorn Pizza for dinner and Millie’s Ice Cream for dessert didn’t hurt either!)

Steve and Brianna tied the knot this past weekend at Brianna’s family’s farm in the beautiful Brush Valley, Pennsylvania, just a few miles down the road from Indiana. I was so excited to photograph this beautiful wedding as soon as I spent a half an hour on the family farm riding around in their ATV a few weeks before the big day. Normally a beef farm, the grounds were transformed to be fit for a sweet and romantic wedding - Brianna’s dad even gave up his hay barn and hung chandeliers that he “might just keep up” now that the festivities are over! One of the best parts of the day, however, was seeing the bride ride in to the ceremony on the hay wagon! The ceremony was held at a small country church right up the road from the family farm - the same church Brianna’s parents were married at!

Steve and Brianna met when they attended Penn State, studying agricultural programs, and now live in the eastern part of the state working on a dairy farm. Steve milks the cows and Brianna manages their nutrition. How heckin’ cute is that?! I had no idea how intense dairy farming was until spending some time with these two - which was a rare occurrence since Steve only gets a few days off a year or something crazy like that! He even took a call during photos to answer questions about feeding and started that call with “Sorry I missed you, I was getting married.” For real?!?! He’s so dedicated!!!

The dairy farmer theme really came full circle for me when I saw all the “dairy” touches at the reception: the “BondsSayIMoo” hashtag, the cheesecake wedding cake, cowtail candy favors, the cute cow decor - but all tastefully done. (Let’s talk about that cheesecake for a minute - this angel of a bride gave me a WHOLE one to take home. Yes, I happily accept tips in cheesecake.) I hope you enjoy some of my favorite shots from the time two dairy farmers said “I Moo.” So cheesy. Yay dairy puns.

Blue Spruce park is one of a few hidden gems in the Indiana County region that is perfect for family photos. Because of the beautiful (but not too big) lake, mossy areas under beautiful trees, footbridges and creeks, and amazing golden sunlight in the evenings, it’s definitely a favorite! It’s also easy to find and offers a great playground for the kiddos after a successful session!

Finding a good family photo spot can be a challenging task, and we as photographers don’t expect you to have the best location in mind. I generally start off by asking if clients prefer a nature or urban setting, what time of year they want to do the session in to showcase the seasonal foliage, and then of course plan for the best time of day for that location and season! If clients really want flowers in their photos, we will usually plan on a spring session when trees and blooming and have the most drama in your photos. Winter sessions that want snow are a little harder to plan for, so having a more spontaneous schedule helps in those situations!

Blue Spruce is especially beautiful in the fall and has some of the most vibrant trees in the Indiana county area. There’s also great evergreen trees at Blue Spruce that make it great for winter sessions as well! Because it does have so many trees there is always a shady spot to get the best lighting, and the many parking spots and road that goes the entire way around the lake make it very convenient for guests to park and find you to start the session.

I have had the pleasure of photographing Kristen and Shane for years now, starting with their amazing wedding in 2012! Now two more sweet faces are a part of the gang! Here’s some of my favorite shots from their family session at Blue Spruce last weekend!

Adventuring in Lawrenceville with a beloved friend! photo cred: Mary Kuehn (the friend, lol)

Hi friend! This is a personal blog post, which I love to do every once and a while. Transparency means so much when getting to know your photog! If you want to see more portfolio-like content, click on over here!

When people talk about burn-out, it's generally meant that they feel overwhelmed, over scheduled, stressed out, in a rut, passionless, cynical, "over it", hopeless, on and on. It might seem like someone who's in a creative field - who's constantly CREATING something new, something fresh, something exciting - would find it hard to reach that place, right? Maybe you are a creative reading this, and find yourself comparing your work to others, struggling to find your passion, not looking forward to things you used to? Maybe you haven't blogged in two weeks (ahem) and you are just wanting a break to actually be at your house and spend time there, maybe even clean it? (that always gets pushed to the bottom of the list!)

Burn-out is real, and burn-out is relative. Not everyone can produce the same amount in a day, whether that be photos, social media content, articles, products, whatever whatever whatever! I often have to check my heart to not only stop myself from judging MY performance against others, but others against mine! How terrible does that sound? If you are treating others, and yourself, based on what you/they produce, you need to check that at the door. Give yourself, and others, grace! It's okay to leave a few things unchecked on your to-do list. Nothing is as urgent as taking care of yourself and your soul.

I feel that transparency and self-care, along with ALLOWING yourself to put on the brakes every once and a while is NECESSARY - and definitely something I struggle with a lot. Get coffee with me, and certainly you will hear the phrase "I never feel like I'm doing ENOUGH." And I know a LOT of other people that feel this way too. You set a standard for yourself, and if you don't meet it, you "fail." But I realized recently that standards HAVE to be fluid. Your "enough" is based on a million things that are NOT constant like time, energy, commitments, health, family... so why should your standards be rigid if the rest of your life is not? 

If you a religious person, you may have heard the phrase that "Jesus is enough." That sounds amazing and is probably on a t-shirt somewhere, but what does that actually, tangibly mean and how do I live my life showing that I believe that? I'm sure the answer is different for everyone, but what I've found is that to embrace that God is enough and not rely on yourself means that first you set realistic standards of what you CAN do. Be honest with yourself. Then, you do what you CAN in a day given all the factors against you. At the end of the day when you're looking at all the things you didn't get done but wanted to, you then CHOOSE to not worry, be thankful for what you DID get done, and literally just relax and take time to recharge. Some pastors call that "resting in grace" - and I had to figure out what that tangibly meant. I spend so much time and mental energy thinking about what I HAVE to do, that figuring out what I WANT to do with my free time (that I have to MAKE) was a challenge. But now, I realize that's what "resting in grace" means for me: just rest, and stop freaking out, because God's got you and it's going to be okay.

You may know that almost 3 years ago now I lost my father to a really aggressive cancer. I often think about how he worked so hard as a mechanic his whole life, with the goal of retirement and adventuring with mom, taking trips, and filling his time with memories. Luckily, dad also knew how to enjoy life right where he was, and often took trips and had adventures (not to mention a million hobbies) to enrich the everyday life instead of just grinding away for that "someday." It took me way too long to realize that this is the key to happiness for a "type A" like myself - make time for rest and fun in the here and now.

Before he passed, I inherited his old Canon A1 film camera, and recently committed to learning how to use it and shoot on film. It's a completely different beast than digital, and the thing I've loved most about film is that it FORCES you to go slow, wait for the moment, notice all the details, and value the experience. Digital cameras can rapid-fire off shots like a machine gun, and while that's definitely my go-to for client sessions to ensure I don't miss anything, film has been an amazing antidote for burn-out for me because of all the reasons above. Any time I go on an adventure, the film camera comes along - not so I can "work", but so I can be more present. I'm still not perfect at it, but I'm having a great time with it, and it's a way to keep dad with me in those adventures he loved so much too.

If you are experiencing burn-out, I encourage you to tap into your curiosity. Learn something, pick up a new hobby, inject some "different" into your life. It will give you a distraction, a spark, a reprieve, and you just might discover one more thing that you're awesome at! Hope you enjoy these highlights from a few of my adventures this summer, all shot on film and with dad's A1!

My husband Brandon in the Greenhouse at The Frick in Pittsburgh.

Brandon waiting to board the Assateague Adventure boat on our trip to Ocean City.

Skimming for critters in the bay at Assateague.

Found a lot of minnows!

The bay side of Ocean City, Maryland.

Fenwick Island lighthouse in Delaware.

Pier at Ocean City.

My best friend's amazing daughter who let me braid her hair in a crown 'cause she's a princess!

My mom Judi and her grumpy pup Digger.

Eclipse Bridge at Buttermilk Falls in Armaugh.

My gorgeous friend Mary and I (behind lens) being silly creatives together in Lawrenceville!

More gorgeous Mary laying on the ground by ice-cream-esque lines in a cemetery because why not?

The street art in Lawrenceville is pretty colorful and amazing.

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