Some of you may remember Donna and Chris from back this spring when we shot their engagement photos. We got a huge compliment from Chris’s aunt who asked Donna, “Where did you find such awesome photographers? They captured your personalities perfectly!” I think it’s a testament to the fact that we work hard to build real relationships with our clients. It’s so important to us to work with people that we would otherwise call our friends. The chemistry between you and your photographer is extremely important, and even more so on your wedding day!

Now I can say with absolute certainty, I have NEVER seen what’s in these next two photos. These are from the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding.

That’s right. Belly dancers. Dayton is full of surprises, and the Oregon District is no exception. They held their rehearsal dinner at the Boulevard Haus, and outside there were some guys drumming and these ladies showed up. Obviously Chris’s brothers (a.k.a. groomsmen) had to get them in to show him a good time. Needless to say Chris was a little embarrased, but Donna was eating it up!

Their wedding was downtown at Holy Angels church. Chris’s groomsmen consisted of his brothers and Paul Rudd. No seriously, look at that guy! (Okay, the only non-brother was his cousin Joe, but he could’ve passed for Paul Rudd on the red carpet.) The reception was at the Hilton Garden Inn in Beavercreek. Make sure you check out Donna in her purple Chuck Taylors!

In between Mindy and I followed the group around as they went bar hopping through the Oregon District. We really had fun just enjoying our time with the bridal party. It was laid back, and everyone just had a great time. Every wedding has something unique, but shooting real photos of people spending time together is definitely one of our favorites so far.

Their custom tux shirts read, “If everyone liked the same thing, they’d all be after my woman.” It was a quote from their grandfather. You could tell both sides of this wedding were really tight. We’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of great families, but these families are some of the best we’ve met!

I met Emily last year when I sat down with her and her mom to show them some of our albums. I’ve been looking forward to their wedding since then, because you could tell they were both so excited. They had plans in place, they had a great venue, and they were pumped about our photos.

Emily has a very simple, classic elegance about her. Beautiful without being over the top. I mean come on, just look at that portrait on the porch. Stunning. She’s the perfect match for Bob too. He’s simply one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, and when I met up with him in the morning he was finishing polishing his truck and applying some tire-shine. My kinda guy.

Their wedding was at the beautiful Patterson Homestead, with a reception following at the Schindler Banquet Center in Xenia. I don’t know if you can tell, but this was our first outdoor wedding with rain. It was amazing how things worked out though, it didn’t rain while we were doing any of the photos before or after, but only during the ceremony. Everyone in the bridal party were real troopers, and you could tell the rain didn’t get anyone down. It was such a joyous day, you could just see it in everyone’s eyes.

We also had the amazing privilege of having our friend Katie assist us during this wedding. She was a huge help, so much fun to work with, and as it turns out I really enjoy teaching people. A few of these shots are hers (I’m curious if you can pick them out?)

Feeling short on words and short on time today, so I’ll keep this brief. Last weekend we had the joy of spending Saturday with Clare and Geoff in Columbus. The ceremony was held at a little old catholic church in Victorian Village, and the reception was at the Ohio State University Faculty Club. Enjoy!