Ashley and Brad were married on June 11th – which turned out to be a bit of a rainy day…I say that with a bit of sarcasm, because it wasn’t just raining – it poured! The day started with high hopes for the clouds to clear…Everyone gathered at Ashley’s aunt’s house for hair and make-up, before we headed to The Towers.
I had to include a laptop picture, because even as she was using it, the girls were joking that Brad would be telling her to put it away!
Ashley’s mom helped her with all of her details….
She even sewed her into her dress…literally (the buttons had to be sewn flat)!
We took a bunch of pictures at Ashley’s aunt’s house, while waiting for the limo…We joked that we might as well use the umbrellas seeing her aunt had picked them up for them….Little did we know they would ACTUALLY be desperately needed just a short time later!
When we arrived at The Towers, the wind was whipping!! I grabbed some pictures of Brad while we waited for Ashley to arrive in the limo for their “first-look”.
I absolutely love the left picture below…Ashley was teasing Brad, and it was so cute!!
We grabbed just a couple of pictures and then discussed what to do next – with some questionable weather looming! Ashley decided that she really wanted to still do the pictures down on the Hazard Road rocks – so off we went!
The limo dropped off the girls and headed back to get the guys…We were greeted by this sign, which everyone thought was hysterical, but then we found the path to get down there and it was all grown in!! That is Ashley on the right squeezing through all of the bushes to get down to the rocks! Not every bride would have pushed forward!! Ashley is definitely a laid back bride – she was determined to get to the spot and wasn’t worried about her dress while getting there!
This is what she wanted!! Look at that view!!
Within seconds of that last picture, the rain began….not as a sprinkle either…as a DOWN POUR! We whipped out the umbrellas and grabbed a few more pictures!
While taking these pictures, I was without an umbrella…I was soaked!! I had to keep using my shirt to dry off my lens (the wind was whipping the rain horizontally!), and the shirt was in shreds by the time we got back to the limo! None of it matters to me though because we got some great pictures!!
When we got back to the parking lot, the limo wasn’t back yet (from dropping of the girls), so we grabbed some groomsmen pictures! After snapping a few, I had them raise their umbrellas like Mary Poppins and then jump…we only had one attempt at this, because when they all landed, the rain shook off their umbrellas and onto the guy that was standing next to them! OOPS!! Totally hysterical, but something that NEVER occurred to me would happen in the moment! I felt terrible but they took it well!!
I normally don’t post the individual pictures with the bride and groom, but I just love the guys holding the umbrellas!!
When we got back to The Towers, Ashley went straight to the bridal room. She had to use a hair dryer to dry her dress a bit and her hair needed a little touching up too! Our pre-ceremony pictures were quite an adventure, but at least we got some in! The rain never stopped for the rest of the day, so if we hadn’t planned for a “first-look” we wouldn’t have made it outside!
This picture isn’t in focus, but I HAD to include it!!! That is the best-man about to get blown away and Ashley laughing!! It is the true story of the day…a great bridal party and a laid back bride and groom…Ashley was fabulous through it all!!
As Ashley headed to the bridal room, I headed upstairs…I had just a couple of minutes to photograph some details!! Ashley’s maid-of-honor, Kendra, held back the crowds until I got there!! The ceremony ended up in the same location as the reception due to the rain, and the guests were ready to move up to the room!
When the reception began, the girls made a big entrance with their umbrellas, and the guys came barreling like they were being announced for a sporting event!
Ashley decided on a group first dance…the bridal party and families joined in for the whole song…I did my best to snap-away and get some pictures of “just them” for their first dance!
Brad and his mom definitely win the award for the happiest mother/son dance that I have photographed! They were laughing and smiling the entire dance – I loved it!
Once the dancing kicked off, it never stopped! The floor was PACKED for the entire night!
This little guy was a wild man!! He had some serious moves and was not afraid to show them! He would jump right in there with the adults and do his thing!
One of the last songs was “Sweet Caroline”…It apprears to be a big tradition in their group of friends! Ashley and Brad were lifted up for parts of the song…it was fabulous!
Ashley and Brad…Congratulations! Thank you so much for choosing me to be your photographer!! Kendra…thank you for passing me along to them!! To your entire bridal party…You were all fabulous!! I wish that the weather had cooperated and we had had even more time together…you were so much fun!!
Vendor Info
bridesmiad dresses | David’s Bridal
hair | Allison Barbera Beauty (http://www.allisonbarbera.com/)
make-up | Allison Barbera Beauty
florist | Grandiflora (http://www.grandifloradesign.com/)
ceremony | The Towers (http://www.thetowersri.com/)
reception venue | The Towers
dj | Music Mixers Entertainment (http://www.musicmixersdj.com/)
Songs
introductions | Bridesmaids – Umbrella, Rihanna | Groomsmen – Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems, Biggie | Us – Pumped Up Kicks, Foster the People
first dance | You and Me, Dave Matthews Band
mother/son | My Wish, Rascal Flats
last dance | At Last, Ella Fitzgerald (followed by Sweet Caroline and then Shout!)
Bride/Groom Questions
What was the most memorable moment of your day?
When we were stranded at Hazard Road, with no transportation, in the pouring rain. Heather kept snapping photos, while one of the guys tried to hold an umbrella for her! What a trooper!
What was your favorite detail?
Ashley: I have two. The first is my place card “screens.” I’m dying to see what they actually looked like since I missed them hanging up in the room! The other is the lime green umbrellas that my aunt ran and purchased from Target the morning of the wedding. Thank god we had them (see “memorable moment!).
Brad: The guys boutineers because I was against having them and usually hate them. But, I liked these.
Any advice for future brides/grooms?
Have a good rain plan. Also, come up with a plan for who’s to gather what (cards, gifts, décor, etc) at then end of the event. We didn’t and it was complete chaos.
Funniest memory from your wedding day?
Ashley: Before the ceremony, my mom and bridesmaids were literally blow-drying my dress and trying to use a hair straightener to get the wrinkles out. My hair had also completely fallen out due to the storm, so I was meanwhile “borrowing” bobby pins out of my bridesmaids hair and trying to make it look halfway decent. All you could do was laugh, and drink champagne!
Brad: One of the groomsman Tom picked us both up by himself during “Sweet Caroline” (a weird tradition amongst our friends). Our friend Larry said something to extent us “There are thirty of us standing around them! We can help.”
If you could do it all over, would you change anything?
Ashley: I would have shellacked my hair. Wind and rain are a bitch! (Heather you can delete that if its not appropriate!)
Brad: Nope. Everything went well despite what we faced.
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Italy. We traveled to Rome, Venice and Positano… and it only rained once!