Pittsburgh Wedding, Boudoir, Senior Photographer

Emily and Drew | Heinz History Center Wedding

Walking into Emily’s getting ready room, there was a sense of calm amidst the chatter and laughter of Emily and a few of her close friends in the bedroom suite. Emily was receiving her final touches of makeup, and the final sips of celebratory champagne were being relished prior to setting sail to the Heinz History Center. Emily’s mother walks into the room with a lovely green dress that closely matched the color of Emily’s emerald engagement ring, and Emily’s Maid of Honor followed close behind in her flowing sage-green dress. I was already in love with the color palette that Emily had chosen for her day, and couldn’t wait to see the full picture once Emily had on her wedding dress!

Emily was a vision in her elegant and flowing off-the-shoulder wedding dress. She and Drew opted for a first look on the balcony of the Heinz History Center. The backdrop of the city skyline paled in comparison to his gorgeous bride; you could see how taken Drew was when he first saw Emily in her wedding dress!

Theirs was a lovely day that included much loved friends and family as part of the ceremony, and a jubilant celebration ensuing after the vows.

Take a look to see some snippets from Emily and Drew’s wedding day!

Cake: Tasty Bakery
Catering: Common Plea
Ceremony Musicians: Steven Vance Entertainment
Entertainment: Fireside Events
Florist: Community Flower Shop
Hair Artistry: Tease Salon
Linens: Mosaic
Live: Live Painting PGH by Jaison + Stephanie
Makeup Artistry: See Jane Blush
Photographer: Lavender Leigh
Signage: The Toasted Hostess
Wedding Coordinator: Day of Pittsburgh
Wedding Gown: Gemma Bridal

Evan | Central Catholic Senior Session

This ’24 graduate’s session was unique because, not only did we take some of his pictures outside of his high school, but also because we hopped around to a few other areas in the city! One of these locations I haven’t photographed at before: the Color Park in the Southside.

The Color Park’s unique and vibrant artistry is a very dynamic backdrop, while Central Catholic High School is grounded by beautiful architecture. To finish off the session, we went to the West End Overlook to get the best views of the city skyline as the last few drops of the sun’s rays faded into the evening.

Here are just a few of my many favorites from his session!

<alt>Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School Senior Session</alt>

Marissa | Senior Photo Session

I had the opportunity to photograph this lovely lady’s senior session on the beautiful grounds of Hartwood Acres! Marissa wanted a backdrop in a natural setting for this session, as opposed to an urban or metropolitan scene. This was a great choice; there is something about the lush green hues of the foliage that make her gorgeous blue eyes pop even more than they already do!

Marissa selected a range of outfits for her session; from casual to a bit more dressy. Her casual outfit was a white t-shirt coupled with jean shorts. Her dressier outfits were a sage green dress, and also a flowy white dress. Having a variety of styles for a senior’s wardrobe brings a lot of depth to the images.

It was hard to pick which images to post for this blog because she is such a natural in front of the camera, but here are some of my favorites!

<alt>Pittsburgh Pennsylvania high school senior photos at Hartwood Acres</alt>

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania high school senior photos at Hartwood Acres

Wilson | High School Senior Session

Senior sessions have become a large part of my portfolio, but since most of them occur during wedding season, my blog posts trend towards the weddings during that timeframe.

So, now I want to showcase some of the amazing class of 2024 seniors that I have had the opportunity to photograph!

Wilson wanted a mix of backdrops, ranging from the yellow bridges and city skyline, and also nature. So, we hopped over to the North Shore and photographed on the Riverfront Trail and also in Allegheny Commons.

Here are some of my favorites from his senior session…

<alt>Pittsburgh North Shore Senior Session</alt>

Our Trip to Croatia Part II: Two if By Land

I tried condensing our entire trip to Croatia into one blog post, but it ended up being entirely too long! If you haven’t read Our Trip to Croatia Part 1: Two if By Sea, then please hop over to that blog post to see pictures from our Croatian cruise!

Pre Cruise: A Few Days in Hvar

We bookended our week-long Croatian cruise with hotel stays. The first hotel, LaBranda Senses Resort, was on the island of Hvar. The trip getting from Pittsburgh to Hvar took around 28 hours; think trains, planes, and automobiles (and ferries!)

LaBranda Senses Resort is a lovely family retreat right on the water. While it was tempting to take a swim and just relax every day at this resort, much of our time was actually spent visiting the neighboring towns of Vrboska and Jelsa. Here we tasted local wines, dined by the sea, ate charcuterie, talked with the locals, and enjoyed the fresh catch of the day. What’s best, there is a paved walking path from LaBranda Senses Resort through Vrboska and all the way to Jelsa. Round trip was 6 miles. One of our days was spent running the path in between the cities, and stopping at each to soak in the scene. There was also reassurance that, if we ran out of steam, we could hop a small boat for $15 and have it take us back to our resort.

We also spent a full day on Hvar visiting wineries. Barry rented a scooter and zipped around to a few of the best on the island!

Here are a few of our favorite moments from our time on Hvar…

Cell snaps above and below; howdy, Croatia!

The turquoise water and rocky coastline around the resort.

Cell snap. One of the patios of our resort at night.

Cell snap. The jogging path from our resort through Vrboska and Jelsa. The fauna is so unique!

The town of Vrboska
Vrboska is a little town that is a mile’s journey away from LaBranda Senses Resort along the paved walking path. It is a quiet town, but ironically has a good night-life scene.

Our first day, we happened upon this tiny winery in Vrboska named Konoba Nikola Vrboska. The woman who greeted us didn’t speak a word of English, so she kindly found someone else who could guide us through their selections. This winery had some of our favorite wines from the entire trip! They also make a liquor that is like grappa, and it is delicious! We bought some bottles of wine and also the cherry and herbal liquors.

“Sandy Beach.” One of the few beaches on Hvar that is mostly sand and not rock, and it lies along the walking path in between Vrboska and Jelsa.

Jelsa
Jelsa is a larger town than Vrboska, and it is a three mile’s journey from LaBranda Senses Resort along the paved walking path. It is very family friendly, with playgrounds and parks amidst the town.

Eating the catch of the day in Jelsa, courtesy of the restaurant Me and Mrs. Jones

We also visited two wineries in Jelsa, Vina Tomić, and pictured above, Duboković Wines.

The three different soil types from the vineyards of Vina Tomić.

A map to show you the relation of our resort to Vrboska and Jelsa, noting the Sandy Beach in between.

A Winery with a View
We had to take a scooter to get to Lacman Family Winery; it was up on top of a mountain that overlooked the ocean.

The next few pictures are from Lacman Family Winery

We had a guided wine tour, complete with lemon/mint water to complement the fantastic selections of wine and local charcuterie.

Post Cruise: A Few Days in Split

Our cruise ended in Split, and rather than immediately making the long trip back to Pittsburgh, we decided to stay a few more days in Split and also take an excursion to Krka Falls. Here are a few images from that time!