Andrea Kelly Photography

I first met Alycia and Justin a little over two years ago when I photographed Justin’s sister’s wedding - Alycia and Justin were dating at the time and I can remember them as being a fun couple out having a great time on the dance floor during the reception.

 When we talked about where we would go to do their engagement shoot, I suggested going around the Pitt campus near Heinz Chapel and the Cathedral of Learning so that we could feature both nature and architecture - there’s plenty of both within just a few blocks.

It was calling for rain…but as is typical of my photo shoots, it held off.  :)  We were walking to Starbucks after we finished the shoot so that we could get a drink and talk a little more - as we neared Starbucks, it started pouring!  But, it held off during the time that was important.

They were such naturals in front of the camera and I can’t wait until their winter 2009 wedding!

Even in some of our first photos, they were relaxed, laughing and having a good time.

While most people would think that this image was posed so that I could show off Alycia’s ring, it wasn’t.  I grabbed this shot while they were talking and holding hands.  A little later in the session, Justin mentioned about getting a photo with the ring and I told them that I already had it and showed it to them.

They look so great together…I can see this image as their “newspaper photo”.

In front of the infamous Heinz Chapel doors - love all the details that you can see here:

Love the splash of color that this impatiens flower bed gave as the backdrop

Although I’ve photographed in the area a few different times, I always try to find new places or new ways of photographing the same area - this was a place that I spotted when we were walking and so we stopped to use it.

A quick walk over to Schenley Plaza to hang out for a few moments

And two more images from an often used place - I took a combination of some of the frequently photographed ways of showing off the architecture and also looked for some ways that may not be featured as often.

Already have some ideas in mind for how I’m going to do their guest book layout…it’s going to be beautiful!

Alycia and Justin - thanks for hanging out with me that morning…can’t wait for your wedding.

Molly and Jay were married at the historic landmark First United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh and held their reception at The Circuit Center.

The day was just lovely with a gorgeous sky to help showcase the exterior of the church.

My assistant and I arrived a little before Molly and with the help of one of the volunteers at the church, we cleared out this area in the bridal room.  I didn’t take a “before” photo, but it was totally worth the time and effort that we put in to prepare this for photos.

I love when my couples exchange gifts on the wedding day and I’m able to document those moments.  Jay surprised Molly with a lovely present from Tiffany’s.

Most of my brides allow me to stay back with them to document the last few moments they have between dad and daughter as a single woman - sometimes I capture nervous looks toward one another, other times I see loving gestures and talks, and others, I see the bride hiding her dress by steping behind her dad as a last minute guest enters the church.
 

This moment was captured right after Molly and Jay exited the church and were waiting for their guests to file out.  I encouraged them just to enjoy being together for a few seconds since the day goes by so quickly.

From the church, we headed over toward Schenley Park to get a few more photos.  The guy at the merry-go-round was kind enough to let us jump on for a few seconds to get a couple photos…sometimes it’s amazing what people will do for you or let you do if you are in wedding attire!

Rarely do I showcase group photos…while a few group images are important with every wedding, sometimes it’s difficult to get people to just let go and enjoy being around each other when a camera is pointed their direction.  Molly’s girls did a great job when I encouraged them to chat amongst themselves…really enjoy this type of group photo since it helps to tell the story of what the day was really like - laughter, smiles, and chatting.

Molly and Jay did a beautiful job with their decoration choices at The Circuit Center using red and black as their colors.  Though you can’t see it in this photo, they had the side lights gelled to cast a reddish glow throughout the room.  While the flowers aren’t the feature in this photo, you can see in the background that they had beautiful tall arrangements and they alternated with red hurricane style shaded candles and red glass votive holders.

So, apparently, my brides have learned a bit about my love of shoes, and lately, they have been wearing not just one, but two beautiful pairs during the day, which of course, gives me more to photograph.  These were Molly’s reception shoes - love the red!

And a final shout out to Jeremy Ganss who I had the opportunity to work with at this wedding.  If you are looking for a DJ in the Pittsburgh or surrounding area, Jeremy is the one you want to talk with.  He did a great job keeping things moving at a comfortable pace throughout the evening and had people up and having a good time without being overbearing in any way.  A quick photo of Jeremy doing his thing:

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Church: First United Methodist Church, Pittsburgh, PA
Reception: The Circuit Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Entertainment: Jeremy Ganss
Bakery: Cakes by Tammy, Liverpool, OH
Florist: K. S. Kennedy Distinctive Floral, Pittsburgh, PA
Flowers used: peonies, dahlias, ranunculus, Californian gladiola, Ecuadorian freedom roses, larkspur
Colors: deep red, black, white

Every once in a while, there are weddings that in thinking of how I am going to blog about it, I feel as if it is next to impossible to sum everything up in 10 images or less…this was one of those type of weddings.

In getting to know Dena and Rich through email, phone calls, and a great engagement session, I knew that this was going to be an extra special wedding for me.  I can say that I all my couples just rock, but, often it seems as if the ones that complete an engagement session with me become more sharing of what their day entails, more relaxed knowing that I’m going to get amazing photos for them, and it makes it easier to capture many more of the moments that are important.

During the time that I’ve gotten to know Dena, in addition to her being lovely on the outside - I’ve had an opportunity to see her as a warm, caring, and giving individual.  When I arrived, one of the first photos that I took of the day was one that is telling of Dena’s nature…even on the day of the wedding, when most brides are running around busily trying to get everything together for themselves (and who can blame them?) - she took the time to help her bridesmaid with putting on her makeup.

I loved the way that Dena had her dress arranged and waiting for me to photograph - the ceiling fan worked quite well!  One thing that I remember when talking about Dena was her saying (and Dena, I’m sorry if I’m paraphrasing a bit), “Of course the marriage part of the wedding is the most important thing, but the photos to remember everything by are vital.  It’s all about the photos!”  A woman after my own heart!

The ceremony was held at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg, PA.  I just couldn’t get enough of photographing while in the church.  It’s nothing short of spectacular.  And the coordinator there - super sweet and helpful to me.

The day was planned to allow for extra time between the ceremony and reception.  While the guests were enjoying cocktail hour, I had the opportunity to get photos of the ballroom and Dena and Rich came in to enjoy the room and practice their foxtrot that they were doing for their first dance.  In the lower left corner of the cake/dance photo, you’ll see a tradition that is less often seen in Pennsylvania, but I love…the Groom’s Cake…to me, any time it means more cake, this is a big plus!  Rich was a very lucky man and got not just one, but two groom’s cakes and all of them were extremely yummy. 

I just love the closeness that you feel between the two of them here.

So, seriously, how CUTE is this baby?  If I wasn’t photographing a wedding, I would have taken pictures of him all day long!

After we said our goodbyes and as I was getting ready to leave, Dena and Rich came up to the dance floor to dance with each other again…it’s very likely that they didn’t even know that I was still photographing…one of the last photos of the evening - they look as if there is no one else in the world, yet others were dancing all around them.

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Church: St. Patrick Cathedral, Harrisburg, PA
Reception: West Shore Country Club, Camp Hill, PA
Dress: Rina Dimontella
Bakery: Dingeldein Bakery, Harrisburg, PA
Florist: Elegance with Flowers, Robin Metz
Flowers used: peonies, orchids, sweet peas, roses
Colors: light pink, pink, dark pink, green