Rosellen & James - St Anne Catholic Church and Mt Lebanon Wedding Photos {Pittsburgh Wedding Pho
When I met James and Rose for coffee in the summertime, I was instantly a fan of these two. Between Rose knowing exactly what she wanted and James' British accent, these two were charming and happy spirited people. As summer was winding down, James had just moved state side a few weeks before their wedding, so the duo only had a few short weeks to get everything planned and organized! Luckily, I love to work under pressure and was able to help offer my ideas on planning-- for what it was worth! Rose definitely had it all under control and knew exactly what she wanted.
I started my day off at their private residence in Mt Lebanon-- only a few blocks away from where I live! It was nice being familiar with the neighborhood and definitely helped on later in the day for portraits. Rose was finishing getting ready as I snapped her detail photos throughout the house. The house had a very old fashioned look about it, as if nothing had changed in the last 50 years, but had a gorgeous timeless look about it. There were hints of modern mixed in with the classic. I made sure to accentuate those quaint details of a time long ago. One of my favorite images of all time is one I created of Rose's dress hanging outside of the bedroom with a long and narrow hallway covered in portraits. It has a sense of eerie and mystery about it, while capturing the details of the dress and the space we were getting ready in.
Once Rose was all dressed up, her first impression amongst her guests waiting in the formal dining room was classic! The ladies gasped and instant tears and smiles lit up the room! After a few quick portraits, we were off to the church!
Once we arrived, Rose waited a few moments outside while the wedding started inside. This wasn't a typical American wedding, as James' heritage played an important part in their ceremony. A bag player and snare drummer started the ceremony with music of celebration to welcome the bride into the church. In traditional British fashion, Rose walked down the aisle first, with her bridesmaids following behind her. James walked up to Rose and the two met in the middle of the church to walk up to the altar together. I had never seen a ceremony proceed in this fashion, but I definitely was a fan of celebrating their cultural traditions!
One of those must-get photos that Rose requested, was of Rose embracing an image of the great, Grace Kelly at her wedding. Rose had her heart set on a kneeling and praying photo at St Anne's Catholic Church in Castle Shannon, so with special permission by the Father, we were allowed in the sanctuary (to the side) and we were able to capture Rose mimicking and channeling her inner Grace Kelly. The church was absolutely gorgeous with the wall of stained glass windows and the golden tones everywhere!
After the two said their wedding vows and "I do's," they pair walked out together into a crowd of streamers and flower petals! It's not too common anymore to see grand exits at weddings, but we certainly did enjoy the party atmosphere of the exit shots from St Anne's Church. After greeting and thanking guests, we started portraits in the exterior of St Anne's Church for their wedding photos and then proceeded to go to a kid's park not too far away from the church. This little park, set amongst a friendly neighborhood, was great for portraits and offered the gorgeous array of greenery, with just the perfect intensity of sun poking through the tree line.
The duo was hard to contain their laughter, so many genuine smiles were caught throughout the day! We had such a blast taking their portraits in Mt Lebanon! After some fun ones, which included some crazy antics of Rose and James with their sunglasses, we popped the champagne in the stretch limo and headed back to the private residence for the reception-- only including a tight guest list of close friends and family. The duo LOVED taking portraits, and wanted to create some formal ones that mimicked Rose's mother's portraits from decades ago, so I set up lighting in the formal living room, and we created images similar those of her mother's wedding images. Again, I loved every timeless detail that was put together, so I wanted to accentuate it in the portraits.
Once we captured some more fun images with their dogs, the party started with a Champagne toast and I grabbed a photo of every guest in attendance! Then the night started with dinner, a champagne tower, toasts by the Matron of Honor and Best Man, as well as meaningful speeches by the bride and groom. Once dinner was over, Rose and James entertained their guests with a small production set to the tune on an old record player, and danced to Betty Hutton's "Stuff Like That There." This was no ordinary first dance! It included a mini theatrical performance, as well as dance choreography. Guests laughed and admired their dancing-- and I loved the photo opportunities!
When the song finished, guests jumped up to dance along to the music of the band and it was the end of my evening. I was so happy to share such a special and wonderful day with these two and loved every moment of it! We captured so many gorgeous and fun images that'll last a lifetime! Thank you to Rose and James for including me on your big day and congrats again!
Photographers: Lovas Photography (Rachel & Kat)
Ceremony: St Anne's Catholic Church in Castle Shannon, PA
Reception: Private Residence
