Brodie and Sam found me after they had to switch photographers in the middle of their wedding planning. With a 2020 wedding, and having to switch in the middle of April, that was definitely no simple task! The odds were stacked against them, but we were able to connect and begin the planning process for photos! 

Brodie and Sam were awesome throughout the planning process. Brodie was so on top of keeping me in the loop as so many things continued to change because of COVID. One of the changes was that they had to shrink their guest list with all the state and travel restrictions. Because of that, they opted to add a new service I started offering, a 360 degree live stream of their wedding day. It’s such a cool way to include their guests who were unable to attend in person but still allow them to feel as if they were there!

On the day of their wedding, I met up with Brodie at the Hilton in downtown Cleveland. Brodie and her bridesmaids were getting ready in an absolutely gorgeous suite with a stunning view of the city and the lake. After some candids of Brodie and her girls getting ready, it was time for Brodie to get into her dress. Her mom helped her out with getting her veil just right, and then it was time for a first look with her dad, but not your typical first look. Brodie had something up her sleeve. She had made a cardboard cutout of Sam’s face and when she tapped her dad on the shoulder, held it up. As her dad turned around, he cracked a big smile and started laughing as the two of them shared a special and unforgettable moment. 

After the first look, I checked in with my second shooter who had been with Sam and the groomsmen as they got ready. The guys had been having a great time goofing around and hanging out while they got ready, and my second shooter, Ryan, had hit it off with them. After hearing things were going well, I told him they should start heading to the church so we could start pre-formal portraits with Sam and his family while the girls finished up getting ready at the hotel.

We arrived at the church and it was a cooler overcast day. In my opinion, a perfect day for photos! The front of the church had these gorgeous large wooden doors which I knew would pop as a background, so we started Sam’s pre-formal portraits in front of the church with his groomsmen. His immediate family was there too, so we squeezed in some family photos before Brodie and the girls arrived in the party bus. Sam and his groomsmen headed inside so they wouldn’t see Brodie before she walked down the aisle as we waited for her to arrive.

Brodie and her girls arrived shortly after Sam got back inside, and as soon as they got off the bus we jumped right into photos so she could hide away before guests arrived. We ran a few minutes behind, so Ryan and I had to hustle to get set up for the ceremony and the live stream. 

After tag teaming the set up, we were ready to rock with plenty of time to spare. Brodie and Sam’s church was huge. It had tons of pews, tall ceilings, a balcony, and beautiful ornate decor. With a smaller number of guests, it made it much easier to move around to get plenty of different angles to choose from. 

As the time came for Brodie to walk down the aisle, a bagpipe began playing from the balcony. Brodie wanted her Irish heritage to be a part of their wedding, so naturally bagpipes were a must. I’m a sucker for bagpipes too, so I totally get it! Sam looked down the aisle admiring his beautiful bride to be as he saw her for the first time in her dress. I could tell from his expression that emotions were flooding through him. Nerves, excitement, and endearment were filling his entire body as the moment they both had been waiting for was finally about to happen.

The ceremony was a full mass and lasted about an hour, but during the mass Father Kevin mentioned the Claddagh. I’ve always seen these rings worn, but knew very little of their background or meaning. After reading up on it a bit, I came to learn that the Claddagh is a ring that has different meanings depending on how it’s worn. A single person wears it on their right hand ring finger with the heart pointing towards their fingers, but when a person marries the ring switches to their left hand with the heart pointing to their wrist. An old Irish tradition and an extremely special moment in a person's life. (If you’d like to watch their ceremony in 360 degrees you can here)

After the ceremony concluded and Brodie and Sam had their grand exit as husband and wife, it was time for photos in the church. We started with their ring bearer, then the bridal party and then finally family photos. We had to hustle through photos because the church had confession shortly after their ceremony, but were able to pop out into the courtyard for a few more photos of Brodie and Sam together before we headed out for bridal party photos. 

We had worried about the weather since we’d planned to do bridal party photos outside, but luckily the weather held up! We headed down to the west side of the Flats to a local landmark, Jack Knife Bridge. It’s such a cool spot and a hidden gem of Cleveland. We were able to squeeze in some group shots, and some photos of just Brodie and Sam. Then we headed to the waterway and did a couple more bridal party photos on the way there and in front of the water. At this point I told the bridal party to hop on the bus to warm up as we shot a few more of just Brodie and Sam. We had some extra time to kill before the reception, so we hit two more spots. 

The first was the viaduct which looks out over the Cleveland skyline, the bridal party was ready to get the part going, so after a couple quick shots we wrapped their photos up and focused on Sam and Brodie the rest of the time. Our final stop was a special stop for Brodie and Sam, a family friend's Irish pub, Stone Mad, that they frequented. After they popped inside to grab a nice cold Guinness, we headed outside to the bar’s Guinness gate and snapped a couple more photos and then headed to their stone patio to wrap up the day's portraits!

From there we headed to Vosh Lakewood where Brodie and Sam were having their reception. Vosh was a cool smaller venue with a dramatic feel to it. Their huge bar was a key player in the night! I was happy to see some familiar faces there as SPE Entertainment was DJing the event. 

The reception began with Brodie and Sam’s grand entrance to the reception followed by some killer dance moves on their way to their seats. Brodie’s dad, Sam’s brothers, and Brodie’s maids of honor all gave incredible toasts. A healthy mixture of laughs, cheers, and smiles filled the room as they all spoke.

When the time came for first dances, you couldn’t wipe the smiles off Brodie and Sam’s faces if you tried. It was obvious they were having so much fun. Brodie and her dad surprised all the guests during their father daughter dance when the song abruptly cut out and Cheeseburger in Paradise started playing. All her siblings ran out to the dance floor and they all jammed out with their father to a classic! I absolutely loved this part as a love for Jimmy Buffet is also something I share with my dad. 

The rest of the night was such a blast full of dancing, laughing, and drinking. Even Danny DeVito made an appearance (haha). As the night continued, I knew the party wouldn’t be ending any time soon, but my time with Brodie and Sam was quickly coming to an end. I had the two of the pop outside with me for a quick exit shot in front of the venue and let them know I’d be on my way. 

Brodie and Sam’s wedding was one for the books. I could tell from the moment we met that their wedding was going to be a blast no matter what 2020 threw at them and it most definitely was! I wish both of them the best in 2021 and hope to connect again soon!