It was a wedding day even Gatsby would envy...

On the morning of Alex and Matt's wedding day, I arrived early to scout out photo locations at the Parkside Westside Church in Lakewood, OH. The church is set on a small piece of land in the midst of the bustling Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, which made we worried as to if we'd have a nice background for photos. Lucky for us, the time of day worked out so the lighting on the front of the church would be perfect for portraits. After deciding on the location, it was time to step inside and check on the bride and groom. 

I first stopped in to check on Matt and see how things were going. The guys seemed to be hanging out, while taking their time getting ready. On your wedding day, there's really no big rush when you're the groom, so I left my second shooter Ryan with them and headed downstairs to check on Alex. Alex was getting ready in a smaller room in the basement of the church with her bridesmaids, mom, and some of Matt's female family members. It was a tight squeeze in the small room with everyone in there, but we still got some beautiful shots of the ladies getting ready and Alex with her bridesmaids. After a short while, I had to get going back upstairs to check on the guys so we could get started with Matt's pre-formal portraits, so Alex had time to relax before getting into her dress. 

Matt's pre-formal portraits went off without a hitch. I could tell nerves were in the air, but Matt was cool, calm and excited to finally marry the love of his life.

After Matt's pre-formals were complete it was time to snap some photos of Alex getting into her dress and then head back up stairs for her pre-formal portraits. Alex looked beautiful! Her hair and dress was incredibly flattering, and I knew Matt would be speechless once he saw her. Very quickly, the influence of the 1920's in Alex's choice of hair piece and dress was apparent to me. They were timeless, classy, and had an unmatched elegance to them. Although Alex may have been nervous as well, her energy was mixture of excitement and determination. I could tell her day would go just as she had planned because of all the work she put into coordinating it. She was going to marry her best friend, and she was ready!

Alex and Matt wanted to do a prayer together before the ceremony, but there was a catch. Matt, couldn't see her before she walked down the aisle. So after Alex's pre-formal portraits, we snuck her back into the church and had her stand around the corner of a wall. We sent for Matt to approach the other side of the wall where the corner met and reach out for her hand. They shared a beautiful moment together, hand in hand with excitement and nerves building and then Matt turned to walk back to his room before the ceremony started.

The ceremony was perfect! Alex and Matt made a commitment to each other in front of their family (in person and virtually), friends, and loved ones then sealed it with a kiss and the mixing of coffees to show that two had now become one. This was the first wedding I live streamed this year, and if you want to watch the ceremony in 360 degrees, you can find it here.

After the ceremony, Alex and Matt waited inside the church to exit in front of their guests and be taken away in their surprise vehicle. They exited the church to see a Ford Model A awaiting them. Alex and Matt couldn't hide the joy on their faces!

After a quick trip around the block, Alex and Matt came back inside the church for some couples portraits and family photos and then it was time for fun!

As the guests left for cocktail hour, we went to Edgewater Park for bridal party photos. Unfortunately, COVID got in the way again as it has many times this year. As we approached the park, Cleveland PD had it blocked because of how many people were at the park. On a beautiful 70 degree day in September, I can't blame all the Clevelanders for wanting to get outside. I had to circle around a couple of times until I saw some of the bridal party speaking to the police officers. Somehow they had convinced them to let us in and they were telling them to keep an eye out for me! The police let us pass and we hustled to get our equipment ready, as this had delayed us by good bit. We then had to wait in a line for our chance to take photos in front of the Cleveland sign with the beautiful city skyline in the background. After the two delays, it was off to the races. We flew through the rest of the bridal party photos so we could get Alex and Matt to their reception on time! 

Once we arrived at the venue, the 1920's vibes continued. You enter the Ballroom at Park Lane and are greeted by their Speakeasy Bar (which we had to stop and do a group photo in front of), and then enter into a beautiful ballroom with pillars lining it. 

The reception was so much fun! The DJ's, Sound Precision Entertainment kept the party going all night! And I was relieved to see so many of the guests wearing masks and respecting social distancing rules! Dance floors in 2020 are definitely strange. People are still out there having a good time, but just make sure you dance 6 feet away from others!

As the night began to wrap up, Alex and Matt would be leaving the reception in a Miata convertible. So we popped outside for a few more photos. I had so much fun with these, it's not every day you get to photograph a couple in not one, but two cool cars on their wedding day. This was a challenge for me because it was pretty dark out, so I had to get creative with lighting, and it definitely did not disappoint! 

Thank you to Alex and Matt for choosing me to photograph such a special day!