St. Clairsville, Ohio Wedding | Hannah Barlow Photography | Ohio Wedding Photographer

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  Are you all ready for another fab wedding?! YES?! I’m so glad because Amanda and Tom are now Mr. & Mrs. Raab and I know her and I (and the rest of her family and friends) can’t WAIT for you to see this wedding!

Say “Congrats!” to the new Raabs!

Enjoy!

Amanda had details that were so warm and so “fall” and so fabulous!  We started off this warm, sunny, October day at her mom’s house where all the girls were getting ready!  I had to photograph the Coach perfume too, because, rumor has it….there will be no more Coach at the end of this month! WAAAAHHHHHHHH!!   We all had a moment to grieve over this loss! HA!  What’s a girl to do?!  I MEAN REALLY?!  

I can’t say it enough…I love an organized girl!  Amanda was another one of my brides who kept me posted on everything wedding related!  Our text conversations have been LONG and I had very few questions walking into this wedding which was so nice!  She did admit she forgot to give Tom this itinerary though! HA! OOo well! We can’t win them all and I’m happy to report the guys were all ready and on time (they actually beat me there! SCORE!).

Amanda’s mom is known as “mom” to everyone!  She let me call her “mom” all day too!  Her living room is FABULOUS and the woman has a keen eye for detail! Check out those dress shots! AHH!

I took more “getting ready” shots at this wedding than any other wedding I’ve done, I think!  When your details are this great and unique, it’s a MUST! Seriously…that living room…these pretty ladies…those shirts! AHH!

Black and white window shots! BECAUSE WE MUST ALWAYS TAKE THESE!  She’s gorgeous, RIGHT?!

Amanda has such a sweet personality!  I didn’t even witness any moments where she got worked up even though it was supposed to be fall and it.does.not.look.fall yet! GAH! Where are our leaves this year?!  There was also not a cloud in the sky but that didn’t stop us from taking some AMAZING veil shots! GAH! I love this one below!

I also learned that crickets on the dress on your wedding day is good luck!  I initially swiped off our little friend and was scolded! HA! What?!  I didn’t know!  He came back though so it must be true!  We snapped a quick picture of the little guy (or girl…who knows!).  Lots of luck for the Raabs in the future!

Tom and Amanda are so dedicated to one another and she just adores her new hubby.  She told me over and over she didn’t even care about photos of herself but wanted as many of Tom as possible.  OooO the irony.  Tom hates having his picture taken BUT he’ll do it for me!  I have no idea why…but he puts up with me and lets me do my thing!  He’s a man of few words but has always been super easy to get along with!  If you add Amanda into the picture, it is even easier to catch those moments when his love for her really shines!  At one point in the day, he said “whatever Amanda wants”…and it was genuine…and so sweet AND I took advantage! I took SO MANY of Tom but was sure to catch one of the dashing bride coming down the aisle!

Check it out! 

OOoOoO man….this church was SO BEAUTIFUL!  I parked myself in the center and took some wide angle shots because when you have a church and couple this beautiful…you NEED a photo like this!

…and then they became one! The new Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Raab, everyone!  Check out the joy on everyone’s faces!

Now, I’d love for you all to meet this little man! He was SO excited his mom and dad are now man and wife! Look at that smile! AHHH!  He’s the cutest and so easy to get along with!  I will forever have memories of him drooling all over me at a bridal show when I first met Amanda!  That’s when she hired me to photograph their wedding and I held this adorable little man while we hashed out all the details!  Her wedding date was one of the most popular and she knew it and snatched me up!  I’m so glad too and he was only 3ish months old at that time! OOoO how time flies!

…and now for the bridal party!  They were super fun and in a new twist…we put the groom with the girls and the bride with the guys! I love this! I especially love when bridal parties are having fun and genuinely enjoying each other’s company!

Let’s check out the goodies now!  We originally were going to do all the photos at Amanda’s mom’s house per her request but it just didn’t feel “fall” and Amanda decided on a whim to switch gears! Fine with me!  We went to the covered bridge in St. Clairsville, Ohio to shoot their wedding bride/groom formal photos!  Tom proposed on a bridge so this was PERFECT! AHHH PERFECT!

Of course…there was walking and snuggling and DIPPING!  OOo that dip!  They didn’t even practice and we didn’t do it at their engagement session either because Tom’s back was bothering him at the time! THEY NAILED IT!

OoooO these two! Where’s the heart eye emoji?! AND that veil! THAT VEIL! Amanda was my first bride this year to wear a super long one! She and I have that in common….we love long veils….Ooo man….’tis magical!  She told me she wanted a long train too but they don’t really do that anymore! WHATTTTTT?!  That makes me so sad! I need to get to the bottom of this STAT!

This is one of my favorites! 

Now, it’s time for some reception details!  Simple and sweet! Loving this!

So close…it’s almost time to parrrtttttaaayyyyyy! And wait until you see this party!  It was one for the books!

We did some of the traditional stuff first complete with a mother/daughter dance!  Check out the love between these two women!

Nick Arno killed it at the DJ booth! LOOK at this dance floor! HOLY MOLY!  It went on…and on….He’s going to kill me for that “messy” photo of his set up! He quickly cleaned it up when he saw me taking photos BUT it’s all about the experience, right?! He’s organized and takes notes and makes sure everyitng is “just right”! 

…and it kept going on!  I don’t believe Tom knew this was going to happen but they surrounded him and challenged him to do whatever dance move the person threw at him! It was a great moment! I loved seeing him let loose!  I heard a rumor this was the beginning of what people call “Friday Tom”! HA! I couldn’t stop smiling!

Conga lines…garter removals…selfie sticks..seriously, the party didn’t stop!  Speaking of selfie sticks, I ended up in a lot of selfies somehow! HA! I’m going to need copies, please (Julie…that means YOU! HA!).

Let’s give credit where credit is due.  You just don’t see oil paintings that often anymore.  You NEVER see a live oil painter like Kimberly Harvey stand in front of hundreds of guests (with a photographer taking incognito photos) and paint the couple’s first dance!  It was so amazing! I couldn’t stop going back to check out the progress (and she was nice enough to let me stash my gear near her).  If you need something unique at your wedding, you need to call this woman!  Well done, Amanda, well done! 

…and the party kept going…going…going….I can’t say it enough! Check out this dance floor! AND this was later in the night! WOW! 

…but all things had to come to an end and before I left…Nick played John Denver’s famous song and the bride and groom were surrounded by their family and friends.  Yea…Yea…Amanda might be an Ohio girl but Tom and I have firm WV roots!  I can apprecaite this dance just as much as the next WV born and raised individual!

That’s it!  I’ll be delivered this amazing wedding to this couple so soon!  Congrats to the Raabs!  I LOVED photographing this country wedding in the same place I had my own reception – Undo’s St. Clairsville! AHHH! Memories!  These two will be honeymooning on an Alaskan cruise next summer!

I felt weird taking a selfie by myself! HA! Julie, help a girl out! Kari was on her honeymoon and I was afraid people would look if I did one of myself at the reception! Bahahaha! HUGE shoutout though to my substitute assistant who never fails to save the day when Kari is unable to attend! Ashleigh…you’re the best!  Not sure what I’d do without you filling in EVERY time I need you! 

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Credit is due to some amazing vendors who made this day possible!  Check them out and click on the links below if you need more information!

Bride’s Dress – Casablanca – Abbott’s Bridal

Bridesmaids’ Dresses – Dee’s Country Bridal

Mens’ Attire – Ron Dinelli – Dee’s Country Bridal

Bride’s Shoes – David’s Bridal

Rings – Kay Jewelers

Hair/Makeup – Cloud 9

Florist – Bodnar’s Florist

Cake – Ashley’s Sugar Shack

Cookies/Pies – Bride

DJ – Nick Arno

Catering – Undos

Transportation – Heavenly Coach Limo

Invitations – Invitations by Dawn

Church/Officiant – First Baptist Chruch – Martins Ferry, Ohio – Pastor Larry

Reception Venue – The Hampton Inn St. Clairsville, Ohio – Undos

Live Event Painter (Oil Painting) – Kimberly Harvey