Waterfront Hall Winter Wedding in Wheeling

Squealing from the rooftop…literally. That’s what we were doing this wedding…FROM A ROOFTOP! “I can’t even believe these are photos I took!” were actual words that came out of my mouth this day and we laughed and squealed and celebrated Melanie and Chris and their beautiful, winter wedding at Wheeling, WV’s Waterfront Hall – one of the newest popular venues in the area and for good reason!

I’ve had 70 degree January weddings and I’ve had bitter cold January weddings…this one was delightfully somewhere RIGHT in between.

So, without further adoo, please give Melanie and Chris ALL your Hannah Barlow Photography love because their winter wonderland DREAM of a wedding is live on the blog right now! EMJOY!

We started this day off in the polar (no pun intended) opposite way we did their engagement session (click HERE to see it). Last year, it was sunny, HOT (like 98 degrees hot) and humid! Last weekend, it was chilly and so beautifully snowy we couldn’t stand it…in a GRAND way. BUT, despite AND because of the trick weather situation…I had done some location scouting the week prior and knew the Waterfront in Wheeling hadn’t be attended to….so I packed my snow shovel and intended to shovel my way toward some beautiful finished wedding photos! And, wouldn’t you know it, Lacey actually ended up doing most of the shoveling…she worked her butt off for me for sake of this couple and these photos and we’d do it all over again!

So, let’s start off with those beautiful details, shall we?! The brick really gave us the edge we wanted that matched the whole wintery vibe of this wedding!

How many dress photos did we take?! Too many and not enough all at the same time!

…and while doing details, I was back and forth for the more candid getting ready portion of the day! Finding the salon on the same floor as the getting ready suites (which are also AirBNBs on the second floor of Waterfront Hall) was such a fun surprise! It felt like going into another universe honestly!

AND while the ladies were finishing up, we walked over to say “hello” to the men who were in a room right next door. Chris wasn’t sure he wanted details but was also game for anything so he handed over his things and Lacey and I took a few of those. This watch was his grandfather’s and while it doesn’t work, he was going to wear it. So, I had him change the date so that it said the 11th their wedding day!

At this point in the morning and afternoon, us vendors were kind of all over the place. There was SO much to do and so many logistics that needed to happen successfully to make this day the HUGE success that is was!

Fun fact…SOMEHOW, I’d forgotten I had taken these top two photos (below) as “drive by” shots. You know, those are the photos I take quickly and literally as I’m walking! It’s funny now, it wasn’t funny then…I had told Planner Ashley (Plans for Perfection) later in the day, “They cleaned up so fast…I didn’t get ceremony space photos before the guests arrived and after they departed!” Jokes on me…I HAD gotten them…and more…and somehow in the flurry of activity…it slipped my mind! PHEWWW!

So, back to the story and let’s please take a moment to truly appreciate how beautiful Waterfront Hall is!

…and here’s some more of those ceremony space photos I thought I had not gotten to take! Masterpieces of Old Town really did this space up RIGHT!

We also got a little of this…and a little of that in regards to candid photos. I know it’s a large collage (which is actually better viewed on a computer…phones tend to pixelate things). BUT…it’s because of the people at this wedding and all of Melanie and Chris’ family and friends who just MADE the wonderful vibe of the whole day. So, please enjoy some of their moments before we kicked off formal photo time!

It was time to get this bride in her dress and this little corner was EVERYTHING!

Melanie’s mom has been SO sweet and I just loved these moments we grabbed!

I could photograph Melanie by this window by this brick wall for dayyyysssss. These are a good mix of my photos and Lacey’s photos!

As a fellow winter bride, I LOVE this fur shawl so much!

Every bride is different. As I said earlier, I had gone down to the waterfront in Wheeling to scout out locations earlier in the week. Based on the weather forecast, I knew the snow was going to stick around. Imagine my delight, when Melanie confirmed that a snowy, winter wonderland was exactly what she was hoping for for her wedding!!! So, all that shoveling was definitely worth it, because look at the beautifulness of this color palette in this wonderland DREAM!

You really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect and beautiful winter background!

…and shoutout to these ladies for braving the cold! They never once complained (and they would have had every right to…it was chilly!) AND they encouraged allllllll the photos – moms included! Logistically, this was TRICKY! If you look SUPER close, Melanie is standing on a white plastic table cloth and the girls toes are getting WET! They’re troopers and I do believe they’ll agree is was well worth it! Snow, slush, salt and all…we collectively made these photos happen as a team!

After we completed that round of photos with the ladies, we headed back up to the men’s suite to get some getting ready photos of Chris and then we took them outside.

Their photos were just slightly easier simply because we didn’t have to worry about keeping dresses clean and dry. However, the snow really started coming down. Because of their navy and blue taxes, I did a lot of photo shopping snowflakes out to clean them up a bit. But that surely does not take away from the beautiful snow for this winter wedding!!

…what I loved most about this wedding was the people! It wasn’t just groomsmen and bridesmaids who jumped in for individual photos with the bride and groom, siblings and parents did too!

Then, it was time for the ceremony. I said it before and I’ll say it again…Masterpieces of Old Town (Hey, Brad and Rodney!) simply outdid themselves! But I’m not surprised. Their work is always gorgeous and they did the bouquets and the ceremony space right up!

…talk about PURE joy post nuptials!

HUGE shout out to the Waterfront Hall staff for getting 100 chairs up three flights of stairs in less than 15 minutes!!!! You read that correctly! That’s what I was talking about before when I said they cleaned it up SO fast. The chairs that we used for the ceremony were some of the same chairs that were going to be used in the reception and dinner space. And all while that chaos was going on, organized chaos mind you, we were getting family formals done as fast as possible because that sun outside was setting!!! And I was keeping a close eye on it…you know it! We still had lots of photos to get done!

Then, after family formals, we took the bridal party out and got those photos done! This bridal party could plan weddings, I tell ya! They were so chill and on the ball and just seemed to know exactly what was going to happen next and where they needed to be! Also, huge shoutout to them for taking my side when a lady in a car quite literally tried to back her car into me because she didn’t like me standing in the parking spot she wanted (you read it correctly…it was a first for me). It’s a fun story to tell now! So, shoutout to all of these people!

…and THEN…**cue the music…cue the drumroll**…after Lacey quite literally shoveled us a path from Waterfront Hall to the waterfront down by the Ohio River…we took this couple down to get those wall hanger winter wonderland photos they dreamed of! Also, it’s important to note that this would not have been possible without a bride and groom like Melanie and Chris who were literally game for anything we asked them to do. Melanie’s dress was taking a beating with all this walking around, salt on the ground, snow on the ground…you get the picture (we did have plastic white table clothes under her here too but it’s not full proof). She asked us once if I was going to be able to hide the dirty marks on her dress. I confirmed I would be able to hide it and off we went for whatever photos we wanted to take! I can’t even imagine how cold her toes were. But we did it! And boy was it worth it!

Feast your eyes on some of the prettiest pictures I think I’ve ever taken! But I may be biased because I was a winter bride too! Enjoy!

There were even little kids sled riding and sharing space with us! It was just winter perfect-ness! Lacey and I were hitting ALL the angles because I KNEW these two had to be cold but they just kept on smiling and never said a word! We were SO lucky it wasn’t windy though!

It looks like a painting, doesn’t it?!

Just a few more!

The parents of the sled riders were congratulating the couple and these two were thanking them and waving at them like the sweet humans that they are! I was loving the vibe of this wedding SO much and trying to soak up every moment!

…and right at the last minute as we were leaving the waterfront, the sun popped right out!

At this point, Ashley came to get me because there had been a change in plans and they were going to release guests earlier than scheduled to get upstairs. So, I needed to hightail it up the stairs and get the reception photographed before guest entered. Shout out to Plans for Perfection staff for guarding the elevator while I took a whole six minutes to get these photos done (SIX MINUTES)! I looked at timestamps…it felt even shorter! HA! This is just a preview and a few of them too!

…AND after that… we went back down to find the bride and groom to talk them into more couple portraits! Okkkayyyyyy. We didn’t actually HAVE to talk to them into more portraits. They were game and I needed them in my life! I had seen a picture online of a bride and groom by the brick wall and I really wanted to do it too…and if you know me…you know I don’t typically resort to Pinterest but there was just SOMETHING about the photos I saw and I wanted to recreate them! AND WE DID!

I can NOT decide if I like black and white or color more?! What do you think?!

I told them this was their king and queen royalty photo!

Then, one last thing I needed to do…to the ROOFTOP (THAT’S RIGHT!)!

…and what will be crazy to a lot of people is that I was shooting with flash…Lacey was not (intentionally) so we could give a good variety of “looks”! Neat, right?!

It was reception time!!! DJ Brian Oliver welcomed the newly married couple into the reception hall!!! They cut their cake and then went straight into their first dance!

Chris’ brother and Melanie’s sister took care of speeches and then Melanie’s mom welcomed and thanked everyone and then said the Blessing before dinner.

People mingled and we got some group photos (this is just a highlight of all that’s in the couple’s gallery)!

Then, we all made our way back downstairs and DJ Brian Oliver created a club like feel and people were getting DOWN!

Oooo my GOODNESS!!! Melanie and Chris…you’re a dream couple…inside and out! I’d photograph you two over…and over…and over again simply just to spend time with you but also…for the gorgeous photos! You all envisioned a STUNNING wedding and it was just perfect…in my opinion. I could go on and on and ON about how much I loved this wedding (and actually…shameless plug…we did in our podcast What in the Wedding)…but it’d be redundant at this point in this blog, right?! IT WAS SIMPLY…AMAZING!

Shoutout to Waterfront Hall for being just amazing! So, I’m going to throw them in here too!

CONGRATS TO THE NEW MR. & MRS! I hope you’re enjoying the heck out of your honeymoon! You deserve it! That’s it, folks! Thanks for reading and stay warm out there!

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Disclaimer: Hannah Barlow Photography blogs only represent a small portion of photos the couple actually receives in their private gallery.  The blogs are meant to highlight favorite photos and favorite moments of the wedding day and do not represent an entire gallery.
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Vendors

Venue – Waterfront Hall in Wheeling, WV

Planner – Plans for Perfection (Ashley Kirchner and Erin O’leary)

Catering – Mountaineer Catering

DJ – DJ Brian Oliver

Ceremony Florist/Decor/Cake – Masterpieces of Old Town

Hair/Makeup – BE Salon Wheeling Location

Officiant – Eternal Bliss Marriages (Dawn)

Wedding Gown – La Jeune Mariée Bridal

Cake – Masterpieces of Old Town