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Published! Pittsburgh Weddings Magazine

It is with excitement that we announce that one of our lovely couples, Lauren and Jeff, have been featured in the Pittsburgh Weddings Magazine Spring 2017 issue!  Lauren and Jeff had an elegant wedding ceremony at St. Mary of the Mount, and had their reception at The Grand Concourse.  Only 12 couples received the honor of being featured in this magazine, and we are thrilled for Lauren and Jeff to have been selected, and also for our work to be featured in print!  Congratulations, Lauren and Jeff!

You can also view their feature online if you click here
To view their blog post on our website, click here

Pittsburgh Wedding Magazine Lavender Leigh Photography, magazine, spring 2017 issue, pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Wedding Magazine, Lavender Leigh Photography, spring 2017 issue, pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Wedding Magazine, Lavender Leigh Photography, spring 2017 issue, pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Wedding Magazine, Lavender Leigh Photography, spring 2017 issue, pennsylvania

Molly and Pete | Mellon Park Engagement Session

  • I don’t know how we lucked out with having close to 50 degree weather and snow on the ground!  It was the best of both worlds for both Molly and I because we hate to be cold, yet we thought that snow would be beautiful for an engagement session!

Molly and Pete actually got engaged during the cold weather- they were ice skating downtown, and Pete had popped the question in between rounds on the ice!  They are getting married in October this year at Valley Brook Country Club.  For their engagement session, they brought their energetic pup, Sage, along.  Sage was quite a ham during the session- she was loving being in front of the camera!  And, Molly and Pete are just a model of a couple!  And fun!  It isn’t often that the lady requests to have her man ride piggyback on her back- but Molly did!  And yes, I included a few of those images for your viewing pleasure…
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Sweet and Spicy Boudoir

While wedding photography slows down in the winter months, boudoir photography is in full swing!  We are booked for boudoir through May, and I couldn’t be happier because I love photographing this genre!

This lovely lady had her boudoir images taken for her one year anniversary.  The theme for a one year anniversary is “Paper” which ties together beautifully with a Little Black Book as an anniversary gift!  I absolutely love the fun and personal items she included in her boudoir session (a record from their favorite band, a fedora and black jacket, his Pens jersey to name a few!)

Take a look at some of the boudoir images from this sweet and spicy lady’s session!

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Boudoir images are always pre-approved by the client prior to featuring them online or in print.

The Importance of a Wedding Album

Let me tell you a story about a little six-year-old girl.  Day after day, this little girl would plop herself onto the floor next to her parents’ bed, open up their nightstand, and take out a tiny 4”x6” cream colored wedding album with a gold gilded border.  She adored this wedding album, admiring how beautiful her mother looked in her ivory wedding dress, and how handsome her father was in his wedding suit.  She especially loved the picture of her mother looking out the church window before the ceremony, and also the picture of her mother and father embracing each other in front of a colorful stained-glass window at the church they got married in.  The little girl’s mother would explain to her that her Aunt Barbara, Aunt Susan, and Aunt Julie were the pretty young lady bridesmaids wearing the pale pink dresses, and that Uncle Kevin, Uncle Glen, and Uncle Rex were the handsome young groomsmen in the pictures.  Her mother pointed out her grandmothers and great grandmothers, and the little girl would remark about the funny hats they wore (pill box hats), the funny shoulder-length, outward-flipped haircut the bridesmaids had, and asked why the ladies’ glasses had pointy edges (wing-tipped.)  Although the album didn’t have many pages, maybe 20 pictures in total, the little girl would spend hours looking at it.  Something about this album meant so much to her, and day after day, she would find herself sitting on that same left-hand side of the bed, opening up the nightstand doors, and reaching for the cream colored wedding album.  This was her parents’ wedding album.  It was special to this little girl at the age of six, and is one million times more special to me today.

Wedding albums are an absolute heirloom.

While most of the pictures taken in this digital age are stored on a phone, USB, or a computer, there are certain occasions that *need* to be printed, presented, and preserved in a way that distinguishes them from the average day.  Your wedding day certainly warrants this distinction! Raise your hand if your wedding photos have not yet been put in an album and are hidden away on a USB, collecting dust on a shelf.  It is time to take action! Put those lovelies in an album!

Last year, I made it a goal to search through a ton of professional wedding album companies, looking for an album that was unique compared to every other album that is being offered in our market.  I wanted to give my clients something truly special, because that is exactly what they deserve.  I wanted luxurious fabrics, with a variety of sweet and subdued color options, and textures to die for.  I wanted thick pages that will stand the test of time (and many hands flipping through them.)  I wanted an album that was noticeably in a class by itself.  Which is when I happened upon the album that I offer in The Elegance Collection.  This album hit every mark, and then some.

The Elegance Album Collection

The Elegance Album Collection, Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding album, pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement

Raw silks and dimensional fabrics create a simple yet stunning presentation in the Elegance Album Collection.

Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding album, pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement

Raw silk can line the spine or cover the entire album. This raw silk color is called Sage. There are many color options available!

Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding album, pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement

This specific cover material is light yellow and called English Garden. When you run your hand over it, you can feel the soft texture of the brocade. There are many other cover fabric options!

Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement, photography, image, picture, best in class

The album pages are thick and will stand the test of time.

Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement, photography, image, picture, best in class

The rectangular album size displays images beautifully! Full page spreads will leave you in awe. The pages have a luster sheen, lay flat, and the images are crisp and colorful.

Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement, photography, image, picture, best in class

A velum first page can be included, and is a soft and romantic introduction to the album.

Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement, photography, image, picture, best in class

Rectangular pages impressively display large images.

Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement, photography, image, picture, best in class

Lavender Leigh Photography, wedding pittsburgh, pennsylvania, photographer, boudoir, engagement, photography, image, picture, best in class

Dimensional fabric examples on the left, raw silk fabric examples on the right.

As a side note, I still offer the Modern Album Collection, too!  Both the Elegance Album Collection and the Modern Album Collection offer a variety of leather cover options.  To view samples of The Modern Album Collection, click here and scroll down to item #3. 

My parents recently had their tiny, cream colored wedding album professionally remade into a large, leather coffee table album. It holds the exact same prints as the original album, but the new album is a much higher quality and presents these sentimental and meaningful pictures in a way that they deserve to be displayed.  After showing me this “new” wedding album, my dad closed it, laid his hand on the back of it, and said, “To have an heirloom so special, one that can be remembered and passed down, well, the cost is priceless.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

First dibs on your wedding album, Mom and Dad.

Top 10 (Okay, 12) Candid Wedding Moments in 2016

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a wedding photographer is experiencing first-hand the rush of emotions throughout each wedding day that we capture.  These unorchestrated moments are beautiful and tell the story of a wedding day to a much higher degree than any posed picture, which is why it is so important for us to be 100% mindful of every single person and interaction going on around us throughout the wedding day.  To be a good photographer, you have to preemptively prepare for these fleeting moments to capture them.  Today’s blog post pays tribute to my top 12 favorite emotional moments that we captured in 2016 (in no particular order.)
1.) Flower Girls’ Excitement as Bride Puts on Her Wedding Dress
This moment was completely candid, as all of the below moments are.  The flower girls were standing in *just* the right spot to have their reflection captured in the hotel closet mirror, as I was focusing on Hannah putting on her dress via her reflection in the hallway mirror.  The stars aligned!
The excitement the flower girls have at seeing the bride in her wedding gown.
2.) Mother of Bride Buttons Wedding Gown
Germaine had to fight back the tears as she helped her beautiful daughter, Kara, button her wedding dress.
The mother of the bride holds back her tears as she buttons up her daughter's wedding dress
3.) Bride’s Reveal to Mother
I just love this image sequence… Lindsay turns around to show her mother, Wendy, what she looks like in her wedding dress.
The bride cries when she turns around to show herself in her dress to her mother.
Bride Cries and Hugs Mother, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, pittsburgh
4.) Groom’s Reaction to Seeing Bride Walk Down Aisle
A moment of awe for Jeff when he sees Lauren walk down the aisle.
 groom cries when he sees bride, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, pittsburgh
5.) Bride and Groom’s First Look
Risa and Andy were on Cloud 9 when they saw each other at their first look.  The world just melted into the background, and their moment was the only one that mattered.
Bride and Groom's First Look, Seven Springs, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, pittsburgh
bride and groom's first look, seven springs, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, pittsburgh
bride and groom's first look, seven springs, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, pittsburgh
6.) Bride and Groom with Parents
These sentimental moments were taken from the same wedding.  You can feel the love and appreciation that David and Morgan have for their parents.  The image immediately below was a moment captured after David’s father pinned his boutonniere on him, and the other two moments were captured during Morgan and David’s reception.
Groom and Father, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh, Point Breezeway, fall, autumn
Groom and Father, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh, Point Breezeway, fall, autumn
Bride and Mother, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh, Point Breezeway, fall, autumn
7.) Bride Dancing with Her Grandfather
An emotional moment as Lauren’s grandfather got up and out of his wheelchair to dance with her.  I had to wipe away my tears.

Bride's Dance with Grandfather, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh, the grand concourse
8.) Sister of Groom Sees Groom
Jamie’s reaction when she sees her little brother, Joey, dressed in his wedding attire.
Sister of Groom Sees Groom, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh
Sister of Groom Sees Groom, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh
9.) Bride’s Reveal to Grandparents
Kara and her grandparents the moment they walk into the getting ready room.
Brides Reveal to Grandparents,  lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh
10.) Groom’s Reaction to Seeing Bride Walk Down Aisle
Another one of my groom favorites- Andy sees Jess walking down the aisle (they also had a first look!)
Groom sees bride walking down aisle, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh, the lemont, west end overlook
11.) Bride’s Father Sings a Surprise Song to Her
Lindsay’s father, Dave, surprised her by playing the guitar and singing “I Loved Her First” while Lindsay and Joey danced.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.  Including mine.
father of bride sings to bride, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh
father of bride sings to bride, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh
father of bride sings to bride, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh, pearl street brewery, buffalo, new york
father of bride sings to bride, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh
12.) Flower Girl Fun
The flower girl had a ball taking pictures throughout Risa and Andy’s wedding!  One of the bridesmaids had to rein her in!
flower girl fun, even springs, lavender leigh photography, wedding photographer, Pittsburgh

Contact Leigh Today!