Autumn Weirton Wedding | Hannah Barlow Photography | WV Wedding Photography

Hey Hey, everyone! We’re coming down the home stretch for my 2017 weddings! This was my 12th wedding for the year and I’ve still got two more to photograph in December!  Laura and Bryan (now Mr. & Mrs. Ray) tied the knot Veterans Day weekend in Toronto, Ohio and then partied the night away at The Holiday Inn in Weirton, WV! I can’t wait for you to see it!  They were my only November wedding so it was a nice surprise!

Enjoy!

It was a chilly November day! REALLY chilly! I think it was 27 degrees when I woke up that morning! BrrRRrrRRRrr!  Kari and I finally packed our dresses away for the yer and donned our black dress pants for the first time since spring!  Have no fear though!  These two wonderful people (the bride and groom) are so easy going and always just roll with the punches!  We remained indoors and the photos are still so fabulous! It was an amazing day!  Check them out!  Brace yourselves though.  Her details were amazing and Kari was killing it on styling so I have lots of detail shots to share!

Ugh.  These shoes! THESE SHOES!  Kari and I bickered (not REALLY..maybe just “disagreed” very briefly…lol) over how to style these.  When I laid that one on its side, she was all “OoOO no! You can see the bottom now!”  But then I pointed out the fantastic shiny bottom and reflection it was giving me and all was well! HA!  So, there’s your little  behind the scenes tidbit for the day!  Aren’t they amazing?!  Kari also decided the bracelet should curve with the shoe.  She was right.  I love it!  I love all of it!

Lots of bling!  The locket was particularly special so I made sure to photograph it as many ways I could think of! Here are a few of my favorite shots!

Then, Kari had this marvelous idea! I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out at first why she was covering up the details and then I saw it! She said, “Isn’t it romatic?!”  And it totally is!  I am LOVING this!  I stood there and laughed because her creativity was exceeding mine that day (I mean…how did this happen?!  I taught her everything she knows about wedding photography! HA!).  I just love these so much though (and now I’m talking like her)! She even emailed me later..”How do they look?! Romantic?! YES?!”  So, well done, Laura…you picked amazing details and Kari had so much fun with these photos!  So much fun that I left and went down to photograph the girls getting ready! HA!  That’s usually Kari’s job!  We flip flopped this day and it was so nice for a change!

I did snap these ring photos before I left though! GAH! This is all so beautiful and I couldn’t decide what I liked more! So, here are all three! You decide and let me know in the comments on the Facebook page! Which one is your favorite?!

Here are some of the images I took of the girls getting all dolled up while Kari was upstairs making romantic things happen! HUGE shoutout to Laura’s mom for showing us the upstairs of Laura and Bryan’s home so we could figure out the best spot to take photos but also stay out of the way!  These girls were busy and we didn’t want to be a burden!

You’ll see again later, but Laura’s cousin, Kara, did ALL the makeup!  She actually did Laura’s makeup for the engagement session too which you can check out by clicking right here.  She’s now in school for it and holy wow!  She was really good then but she’s even better now! I can’t believe it!  You’ll see what I mean in a bit! I took some stunning shots of Laura and it shows off all the skill!  Keep going!

We don’t always have time for groom details but this wedding was the exception!  And because Kari’s been rocking it with the detail shots, I handed her all Bryan’s things and said “go for it”.  And she did! AHHH! Loving that bottom one soo soo much!

All of these photos were taken by Kari, as well! I’m sitting here scratching my head.  What did I take?! HA! Just kidding!  My grand plan is that eventually she’s going to take over all the guys’ shots! EEEKKKKK!  She’s passing her “tests” with flying colors!  Did I ever mention that Kari has no desire to become professional photographer?!  She’s crazy, right?! So crazy!

Bryan was looking GREAT dressed up!  He chose a very simple tux (plus some amazing socks).  From the moment I met him, he’s been my “yea…that sounds good.  whatever you want” groom!  All the guys with him were the same way! It was a very relaxing afternoon taking pictures of the guys getting ready!

…and because we can’t let Bryan steal the show with those amazing black and whites, here are some I took later that day of the beautiful bride! GAH! Everything about these is just so “right”! Right?!  AND check out her makeup!! It’s SO GOOD! It’s so elegant and fancy without being “too much” and it still looks natural!  I’m hoping to see Kara at many more of my weddings!

Now, it’s time for the ceremony!  I was out in the sancutary waiting for everything to begin and Kari stayed back with the girls.  That’s pretty much our “system” these days! So, I snapped a few photos of Bryan’s dad singing! Both his dad and his brother have beautiful voices!  Kari snapped all the “behind the scenes” of the girls!

Then, it was time for the ceremony! The ceremony, as I mentioned earlier, was held in Toronto, Ohio.  This church is SO beautiful and Father Thomas Venditti was so welcoming and kind!  I always do my very very best to be incognito as much as possible at Catholic weddings and he couldn’t have been more accommodating to my “needs” as the photographer!  I hope to go back for another wedding one day!

I love that I caught Bryan fixing his jacket! That happened right before Laura walked down the aisle!  Kari always shoots from the back and I shoot the groom and from the front!  It’s a “dance”… I take a photo of the groom, then move in the aisle and take a photo of the bride, move out of the aisle…Kari moves in and takes a picture of the bride from the back and voila!….you get this set of photos!  This all happens in about 10 seconds!  This is one of my very favorite moments of the day!

During mass, I often sit or squat and try my best to not click, click, click too much! My shutter was particularly loud too at this wedding for whatever reason…so I took just a few detail shots!  Sooooo pretty!

And then about 45 minutes later, they became man and wife!

Then, it was time for the formal photos! Because it was so cold outside, Laura elected to stay inside and do all the photos in one place! As you’ll see, we still had fun with it and I appreciated the warmth!

Meet the girls and their many facial expressions!  They were totally fun and so on board with making faces!  I always tell them “one formal shot and one fun shot”! They nailed it!

…and the guys!  Bryan has THE BEST facial expressions so I threw one in there of him too!

Then, we put them all together! That’s one good looking bridal party!  The colors were so calming to my eyes and just screamed “FALL”!

Now, for some bride and groom formals! I love these! I put both color and black and white in their finished wedding gallery but I was loving these black and whites, for sure!  So, here ya go!

I couldn’t remember if they dipped at their engagement session so I had them do it again! Perfection!  I always LOVE empty church photos like this! There’s something so romantic about them!

Of course, you remember Carla, right?!  She’s their beloved, fur baby and she got her own custom made couture dress for this special occasion!  We went back to Laura and Bryan’s home to snap some photos of the new Ray family together as a family of three!  It was Kari’s idea, of course, to cover up the “getting” part of the sign!  She comes up with the most clever things, I tell ya! 

Then, it was time for the reception!  I shot two of these photos early in the day and then realized they had added the flowers to the water…so I snapped one more as soon as we got there!  Big shoutout to the lady who let the crazy photographer (me) race in and take a photo of her table! 

We’ve done A LOT of grand entrances and announcements but Laura and Bryan nailed it.  They didn’t just walk in…they walked in…danced in…kept dancing…danced some more.  They did this all while laughing and smiling and enjoying each other and all of their family and friends’ company!  It was pure entertainment and a joy to watch! This is how I’ll always remember them because they’re so full of life and laughter and smiles!  Anyone will tell you…these two are two of the most genuinely sweet people you will ever meet and they aren’t afraid to show those wonderful personality traits off!

After dinner, everyone did some dancing!

Then, it was time for the couple’s first dance! Kari always shoots “tight”…it’s her thing and it works PERFECTLY because I often don’t shoot that way and prefer to show my couples from head to toe!  These two smiled and laughed the whole time!  We stood on the sidelines and captured it! It was magical!

Laura was sure to give Carla a little pet since she wasn’t there in “person” to celebrate! HA! 

…and then the party REALLY got started! 

And the dancing kept going and going and going! Right before we left there was lots of line dancing going on and we rounded up all the cousins for a party shot! 

Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Ray!! I can’t thank you enough for asking Kari and I to capture the memories of your day!  I have no doubt you’re going to live a long and happy marriage full of laughter and love and lots of Boston Terriers! 🙂 <—stole that last part from one of the speeches! I love it!

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Of course, this wedding would not have been possible without the hard work of these vendors!

Bride’s Gown – Maggie Sottero from Sorelle Bridal

Men’s Attire – Joseph Abboud Tuxedos from Men’s Wearhouse

Shoes – Nina Shoes from Sorelle Bridal

Rings – Kay Jewelers

Hair – Kristen Cafero from Legal Hair & Day Spa

Makeup – Kara Eltringham

Wedding Planner/Coordinator – Linda Burkey

Florist – Colonial Florist & Gifts – Susan (740-537-3615)

Cake – Gus’s Goodies

DJ – Simply Ed Production (Ed Marsco)

Catering/Reception Venue – Undo’s @ The Holiday Inn

Transportation – Larry and Lynda Glenn

Invitations – Basicinvite.com

Officiant – Father Thomas Venditti

In lieu of favors, the couple donated money to the Jefferson County Humane Society and Animal Shelter.