Pittsburgh Wedding, Boudoir, Senior Photographer

Jettie and Russ | Chartiers Country Club Wedding

“He says he doesn’t have it in him to cry. Ever.” Jettie says to me when I ask her if she thought that Russ would tear up when he first saw her. Well, Russ may be right, but the expression on his face when he saw his bride walk down the aisle was undeniable; he was excited and in awe of his radiant lady.

And radiant she was! All smiles throughout the day, and that happiness was exponential when she was near Russ (or Russell, as she calls him.) These two know what it takes to throw an event, and also know how to make an entrance! During their introduction into the reception, a split second after Russ and Jettie entered the reception room, Russ threw Jettie into the air, she landed in his arms, and they ended with a long kiss. And then Russ gracefully spun her out of his arms and back onto the dance floor before they took their seat at the sweetheart table. It was one of those jaw-on-the-floor moments where I said to myself “Dang, now that is an entrance I will never forget!”

It was an emotional day, mostly huge smiles, but also happy tears (for example, when Jettie’s father read the letter she wrote to him, it was such a sweet moment!)

And the fact that all stages of the day took place practically in my back yard, well that was icing on the cake!

Take a look to see Jettie and Russ’s amazing wedding day!
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Cake: Bethel Bakery
Ceremony Venue: St. Philp Roman Catholic Parish
Entertainment: Bachelor Boys Band
Florist: Sapphire and Lace Event Design
Hair and Makeup Artistry: JL Studio
Photographer: Lavender Leigh
Reception Venue: Chartiers Country Club
Transportation: Shamrock Limousine
Videographer: Vows to Video

Kendra and Mike | Phipps Botanical Garden Wedding

“Sounds like you may just want to roll the dice!” I say to Kendra as she is checking the weather forecast in between getting ready stages on her wedding day. What started as a foreboding forecast of 90% chance of thunderstorms all day, slowly dwindled in percentage as the afternoon wore on. When your ceremony and reception are planned to be outdoors in the lovely gardens at Phipps, it may seem questionable to roll the dice and keep them outdoors instead of switching to the indoor rain plan. But when we looked outside we saw shining sun, and the forecast *just* took a 180-degree turn; there was a better chance of sun than rain. Kendra made the call. She decided to keep the original plan and have everything outdoors. It was the right thing to do. Especially if you have been dreaming of an outdoor garden wedding from day one.

The day could not have been more perfect. Kendra and Mike just radiate when they are around each other. They are so full of love and laughter, every stage of the day was light-hearted and magical. They found a way to make each other laugh in their vows, when taking pictures, when cutting their cake. It is a match made in musical heaven. Both Kendra and Mike love music, and they found meaningful ways to add fun musical touches into their day. Musicians played during the ceremony and reception. Mike’s brother is a phenomenal opera singer, and sang a lovely piece during the ceremony. During the reception, the video booth turned into a karaoke machine, and the entire dance floor was singing along together. How truly sweet and special!

As the clock struck 11PM, the reception ended, the band played their last song, and the skies opened up. It poured the first rainfall of the day. Everyone was still under the tent, safe and dry. Except for Barry and me, who were in the garden cleaning up equipment from Kendra and Mike’s end of the night shot. Good thing we are fast runners…

Cake: Bethel Bakery
Ceremony and Reception Musicians: Bachelor Boys Band
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Phipps Botanical Garden
Flowers: Hepatica
Hair and Makeup Artistry: Classic Hair and Makeup
Photographer: Lavender Leigh
Videographer/ Video Booth: Flashbox Films

Announcement: Calling Seniors, Class of 2018!

It is with excitement that I announce that we now offer Senior Photography Sessions! I have purposefully left some time open in my late summer/ early fall schedule to photograph Seniors, and can’t wait to have the chance to do so! If you know of anybody in the Class of 2018 looking for Senior pictures, please send them my way! My email address is leigh@lavenderleighphotography.com, or they can get a hold of me via the Contact Me section of this website. In the meanwhile, here are some of my favorites from one of the Class of 2017 Seniors that I was lucky to photograph…

Cathy and James | The Hyeholde Wedding

The day started out with radiant sun, and as we approached Friendship Community Church, you could feel the warmth outshine the brisk wind that lingered from the day prior. As we entered Cathy’s getting ready room, she greeted us with a huge smile that was just as warm as the sun’s rays. Barry and I are always on our toes when we photograph a wedding, but something about Cathy’s demeanor is so calming, it just naturally makes anyone feel relaxed. After saying our hellos, we migrated a block up the road to where James was getting ready. As we stepped through the doorway, we happened upon James diligently giving detailed instructions to the groomsmen about how they should tie their bowties. It started with James in the center of a semicircle of groomsmen, but as they got the hang of it, they all dispersed to various mirrors around the room, in effort to perfect their bowtie.

James’s mother watches the men in amusement, while his father takes out his cell phone and records a video of them. For being first time “bowtiers,” I was incredibly impressed with the outcome!

I skimmed the room in between photographing these gentlemen, and take note of the champagne flavored lollipop that I gave to Cathy and James as part of their Welcome Gift (along with champagne flutes that they ended up using at their reception!) It was so touching that they brought both items with them for their wedding day.

Cathy and James have personalities that shine through in the first few minutes of meeting them. They are selfless, kind, honest, respectful, rejoicing and humble, which equates to having the most beautiful souls. They are people that really *get* what matters in life: love, for God, their friends, their families, and undoubtedly each other. I think that James’s Best Man summed it up perfectly during his toast when he said that James is someone he looks up to, because James makes him want to be the best version of himself that he could possibly be. The same sentiment goes to Cathy.

Two of my favorite moments that day occurred when Cathy’s bridesmaids prayed over her, and when Cathy and James said a prayer with each other immediately before the ceremony. The words said were so touching… giving thanks to God for each other and their marriage… and happy tears filled the room.

Take a look to see what I mean…

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The champagne lollipop that I gave them when they first booked us! <3

When the bride and groom give you extra time to take pictures during sunset, magical things happen!

Cake: Prantl’s Bakery
Ceremony Venue: Friendship Community Church
Hair/Makeup Artistry: Marissa Julin
Photographer: Lavender Leigh
Reception Venue: The Hyeholde Restaurant

Kristina and Scott | Omni William Penn Wedding

It is always a pleasure to photograph a wedding at one of our favorite downtown venues, the Omni William Penn, but the fact that the wedding we photographed was Kristina and Scott’s made it one million times more special! We met Kristina’s family when we photographed her brother’s wedding in 2014 (great to see you again, Gordon and Anne!), and it makes us the happiest people alive when a family likes us and our work so much, that they book us for another wedding in the family! Knowing Kristina and her family to be incredibly gracious and kind, we knew that Scott was a great person, even before we met him! Turns out we were right- I met Scott when I photographed their engagement session and remember thinking to myself how nice he is, and what a perfect couple he and Kristina make.

The weather on Kristina and Scott’s wedding day was similar to the weather on the day of their engagement session because it took a 180-degree turn during the day! On the day of their wedding, what started out as a foreboding and rainy morning, ended as a bright, sunny, and beautiful day. From their first look, all the way through the dance party during the reception, Kristina and Scott were radiant and in love. Take a look!

To view the blog post for Kristina and Scott’s engagement session, click here.
To view the blog post for the wedding of Kristina’s brother and his wife, Gordon and Anne, click here.

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Cake: Bethel Bakery
Ceremony Venue: St. Paul Cathedral
Cookies: Patti Daly
DJ: Jeremy Ganss Productions
Florist: Alex’s Flowers
Hair Artistry: Amanda Herb
Transportation: Elite Coach Transportation
Makeup Artistry: Valarie Panei
Photography: Lavender Leigh
Reception Venue: Omni William Penn