Pittsburgh Wedding, Boudoir, Senior Photographer

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…

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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

Our Favorite Images from 2016 Weddings

In inspiration for our 2017 wedding season that begins this Saturday (HOORAY!), I want to reflect on what a great year 2016 was for us by featuring some of our favorite wedding images from last year! There were a lot of favorites to choose from, but I selected ones that were unique to each wedding, and reflect our photography style, whether it deals with composition, use of natural and artificial light, and a mixture of candid and posed moments throughout the wedding day.

If you are considering booking us for your wedding… hi and thanks! To give you a little bit of background about our photography style… our images are vibrant, bright, clean, modern, and sophisticated. We love to play with sunlight, whether photographing in the afternoon on a bright, cloudless day, or as the sun is setting. Although we love sunny days, these don’t always occur in Pittsburgh, and we have experience photographing in any type of weather (even if it drizzles!) We take many candid and some posed pictures. When posing our couples, it really is just giving them a little bit of direction when we put them in a pretty scene, and this helps to take the pressure off of them so they don’t have to think of what to do as we take the picture.

Well, enough about us… here are some of our favorites from last year’s weddings!

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Just something about how the light is hitting them, coupled with the moment.

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The mother of the bride and parents of the groom relishing the Father Daughter dance at the Heinz History Center.

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There’s just something about the bridesmaids helping Courtney down the stairs of the Mellon Institute… maybe it is the way they spill up the stairway coupled with the candid moment…

bride and groom at the mellon institute, cmu columns

The crop of this image focuses on only the details you need to know to depict the story.

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Sentimental moments with bridesmaids, one being the sister of the bride.

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The composition of this image and the way they look at each other… GAH!

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The bride’s father just happened to come hold her hands as her mother was fluffing her dress. Such a sweet moment, and the light was just perfect!

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There is a beautiful sense of calm in this image.

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Oh, this scene! We were at Lenape Heights Golf Resort.

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One of my favorite reactions- the bride’s sister is in the foreground giving a toast. This reception was at Shannopin Country Club.

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The land of the free and the brave.

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Storytelling.

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The sun, the couple, the moment. This image was taken on the balcony at the Heinz History Center.

I swear this moment with the bride and flower girl wasn’t set up! The stars aligned!

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When you let us play on an old airport runway…
This image was taken at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.

We love end of night shots! Beautiful couple, with their reception fun in the background. This wedding was at The Gathering Place in Darlington, PA.

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Telling a story through candid moments. This reception was at one of our favorite restaurants and venues, The Grand Concourse.

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A moment of romance at Greendance Winery.

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Sunflare. Is. My. Favorite. Taken at The Club at Nevillewood.

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The new Mr. and Mrs! This ceremony was at the West End Overlook.

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A new spin at a classic location. This image is on a canvas in my Client Meeting Room.

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Like I said… that sunflare…

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The sweetness between silence, when they don’t know that you are photographing…

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Dream couple, dream location at the Hyeholde Restaurant.

Kendra and Mike | Phipps Botanical Garden Wedding

Announcement: Calling Seniors, Class of 2018!

Cathy and James | The Hyeholde Wedding

Kristina and Scott | Omni William Penn Wedding

Our Favorite Images from 2016 Weddings

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Click here to get in touch with me!

leigh@lavenderleigh.com