Cadiz Ohio Barn Wedding

Hey, there!  Wedding #4 for the month of November is on the blog today and right before we head into December! YAY!! Sam and I spent Saturday, November 16th with Bailee and Jacob at their Cadiz, Ohio Barn Wedding!  We’d never been to any of these places before so it was a nice, fresh, wedding photography slate for us!  Enjoy!

So, if you remember, Bailee hired me just WEEKS before her barn wedding!  That’s right!! I was JUST about to book Christmas sessions when she got in touch with me (she literally booked me THE DAY I was scheduled to post the lineup for Christmas sessions).  It was all meant to be, I tell ya!  So, to start the day off, we headed to Bailee’s friends’ BEAUTIFUL home to meet up with the gals!  They were getting all dolled up in the bathroom so we snapped some photos of that, per the usual!  I gotta admit I was really happy to be doing a wedding this day!!  Family sessions and kids’ sessions just aren’t my thing.  WEDDINGS are my thing!  Weeee!!  Even when we’re in a bathroom stepping over each other, just look how pretty the photos are in the end!! AHHHH!!!  I love it so much!

Can we just talk about how she could totally star as Gwyneth Paltrow’s extra in a movie?!  It’s SCARY!  Gwen didn’t respond to my Instagram tag though.  Whomp Whomp!  I thought maybe Bailee had an acting career in her future! HA!

So, while the ladies were having a relaxed, fun time getting ready, we went right into details!  It’s been a long time since I was able to do details all by myself so this was a fun change!  The whole morning was very relaxing for us wedding photographers too!! I was able to get lots and lots of wedding detail shots!

Per Bailee’s request, we stopped over real quick to her house where Jacob, her groom, was getting ready with his guys!! This is when I found out one of the groomsmen was in Jenna and Joe’s wedding last year!! I love familiar faces!  We had a good laugh!  I asked him if he warned them about my craziness…he said he didn’t but I don’t really know!

Of course, we took a few “getting ready” shots (even though he was already ready…total photographer points for Jacob being on the ball)!  Here are some black and white photos!

Then, we went back to our starting spot to get this beautiful bride ready with her best girlfriends! AHHHH!! I KNEW she’d be gorgeous and just look at all of them together!!  These ladies were a total blast!  They were up for ANYTHING!

…having fun was a MUST and they did this all by themselves and I, of course, was dying laughing as they crawled toward me!  That’s a first!

Let’s not forget about Bailee and Jacob’s little one!! She was napping for the beginning of the day but I couldn’t resist getting some mom and daughter photos!! Does this not make your heart MELT?!

Seriously, I could NOT love this photo (below) more!! These were sincere, non-posed moments!

Most brides have elegant, glitzy shoes.  Every once in a while, my brides wear boots.  Bailee was one of those brides and rocked her socks too!

Does this not belong in a magazine?!?!?! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!  My goodness gracious!! So pretty!! I think she read about three words on that note from Jacob before she put it down and teared up!

Then, Bailee’s mom came in to help get her in her dress!! I was love love loving those sleeves!! EEEEK!

Every once in a while, I turn off my flash and let the natural light do its thing.  It REALLY did its thing!! Seriously, Bailee….you’re worthy of a magazine, I tell ya!

Let’s not forget the veil!

Then, Bailee requested a mirror photo!  The mirror in this powder room was amazing so her and I squished in there and made magic!

I can’t get enough of these sweet moments!  This was also a photo Bailee requested!

…and then off to the ceremony we went!  I’ve actually been to The Farm Restaurant before!! This was where we did Marissa and Chris’ engagement session last year, remember?!  So, it was nice to walk into a familiar location!  It was pretty dang cold this day too.  An outdoor ceremony in November is definitely a Hannah Barlow Photography first but so is a Cadiz Ohio barn wedding so I’ll take it!  DJ Daner officiated and he made it the shortest ceremony I think I’ve photographed to date!

Here comes the bride!

So, there was a moment I totally thought was planned/staged.  DJ Daner said, “Repeat after me…” and Jacob immediately said, “Repeat after me…”.  We all started dying laughing!! Turns out, he didn’t even mean to do that and thought we were laughing at him!  Nope!! Quite the opposite, I assure you!  Jacob…I died laughing and totally thought it was intentional!  Nothing to worry about!! Plus, look how happy everyone is and it made us forget about the cold!  Win win!

I think it was less than ten minutes and they were pronounced Mr. & Mrs. Lohan!

They did do a receiving line and then the plan was we were going to go right into formal photos!

BUTTTTT that’s not really what happened!  HA!  So, this is where the blog gets more interesting and it gets stressful for me for a hot second!  So, like I said, they greeted and thanked all their guests and the original plan was to do all family formal photos and bride and groom formals before we headed off to the reception.  It was really cold though…REALLY cold.  I don’t blame the couple for wanting to get warmed up so they hopped in the limo and off we went…except they didn’t go to the reception with me…nope!  It was at about 4 o’clock I started blowing up Bailee’s phone and telling her to come for photos!  This isn’t uncommon.  I’d say 90% of my winter couples forget we’re racing the sunlight unlike our summer weddings when we have gobs of time and light!  The sun sets at 5 o’clock right now and the barn they were having their reception in was too packed to allow indoor family photos!! HURRY!  The moms were totally calm too and told me they were fine if we started the reception later…except THE SUN!  AHHHHHH!!!  They did arrive though and we did all the bridal party photos, family photos, and bride/groom photos….in about 40 minutes!! That’s right!! You read it correctly!! We did 3-4 hours of photos….in 40 minutes!!  Bailee told everyone to just let me do my thing…and we did it!! WOOOO!!!  I love when my couples trust me wholeheartedly.  So, let’s do this!  We did some couple’s photos first because I was worried about that sun setting behind the mountain!

All of those photos are a good combination of my photos and Sam’s photos.  Then, we had some photo bombers! HA!

We were seriously flying through these but when you’ve done 20+ weddings already for the year, it’s no problem!  We’ve got a system and we mean business!  Just check out the variety!

It was cold and these ladies were killing it!! AHHHHHHH!!!  Aren’t they beautiful?!

Ooo my goodness.  She is gorgeous, right?!

Look at this bridal party!! Even though I was rushing and yelling directions like I’ve never yelled before, we were having a good time!! Can you tell?!

We NEVER leave the groom out!  Nope!

The guys didn’t let the ladies steal their thunder!

We HAD to include their little one again, of course!! Aren’t they are beautiful family?!

Whewww….alright…10 minutes to go (and I didn’t even show you all the family formals we did in between).  It was madness!  Everyone was so cooperative though and I thank ALL of you for being awesome so I could give the couple all of these photos!  Look at that sun!!  We were literally racing it as it set!! Let’s go!! More photos!! GO GO GO!

You don’t realize how fast the sun sets until you’re a wedding photographer on a tight timeline!! So, I set up my lights and moved them over to the barn (located in Cadiz, Ohio) and gave them some variety!  Sam was my left hand woman this day and I couldn’t have done this without her!  She took half of all of these photos with me!

Whewwww!  ANDDDD DONE!….Crazy, right?! I should count how many we actually took because they are getting a full gallery!  Totally high fiving everyone over here!  Then, it was time for the reception!  Can we just talk about how Jacob’s mom, Jen, TRANSFORMED this place into one of the most elegant barn weddings we’ve ever done?!  Holy candles!! I told her she needs to be a wedding planner!! I was a squealing machine!  Sam, of course, was loving this, as well.  If you remember, she had a barn wedding herself last year!

Let’s get this party started!  DJ Daner led the entrances!

Because of the wind, DJ Daner opted to have them light their unity candle at the reception after the speeches were done!

Then, they exchanged bites of their wedding cake!! It’s been a while since we’ve had a “naked cake” and I really love them!! They’re so pretty in an odd way!  Don’t you think?!

Now, it’s time for the first dance!! I did a poll for the sneak peek over on Facebook with an experimental photo.  The consensus was 50/50 but I still think I like my traditional ones better…which I did take too!

…but I still did play with the light some!! Bailee really wanted it to look “dark” in there and all the lights were still on…so I made it look dark for her!!

It wasn’t long after that Bailee and Jen (mentioned above) found the breaker box and shut those babies down!

THEN, it was REALLY time to party!! WooooOooo!

Bailee did a perfectly executed bouquet toss!  I still don’t know how she did it (or how I caught it in action) but I love it so much!!!

Then, Jacob removed the garter!

He tossed that thing and this was one of the last photos we took before we left! HA!  Yep!! Those guys were wrestling for the garter!

Of course, we didn’t take off before getting the obligatory Hannah Barlow Photography selfie!! I always wonder what people think when they see us do this! HA!

…and wouldn’t you know it…after ALL these weddings we’ve done separately, this was the first one we did together!! Crazy, right?!  So, I got DJ Daner in on the selfies too!  Huge shoutout to him for getting everything squeezed into the schedule before our end time so the couple could have all these memories!! We appreciate it so much, Daner!

Well, that’s it!  That’s a wrap on wedding #22 for the year!  Whewwwwwww!  We just keep chug, chug, chugging along!  I love how things just come together.  I was kind of dreading Christmas sessions if I’m being honest even though I talked myself into it.  It’s just not my thing, ya know?  I love weddings…LOVE THEM….LOVE THEM SOOOOO MUCH (I think that’s pretty clear by now, right?!).  I feel like the universe worked in my favor when Bailee reached out to me and I was so happy to add her to the wedding list for 2019 especially since she was not only having a barn wedding but one in Cadiz, Ohio!! It’s just crazy I was available and hadn’t booked ANY clients for Christmas minis yet (it’s important to note I didn’t cancel on clients…no one had booked yet).  This wedding world is a crazy place and I’m a little nuts too so I’m happy to be a huge part of it!!

CONGRATS TO THE LOHANS!! GIVE THEM ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL YOUR HANNAH BARLOW PHOTOGRAPHY LOVE!

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Vendors

Bride’s Gown – Pricilla from Henri’s Cloud Nine

Bridesmaids’ Dresses – Online from InfinityDress.com

Men’s Attire  Men’s Wearhouse

Jewelry/Rings – Kays and Claires (LOVE IT)

Hair/Makeup – Tangles Hair Studio

Weeding Coordinator – Jennifer Lohan (Groom’s Mom)

Florist – Bulk Order from Pittsburgh

Cake/Desserts – Family Friend, Becky (well, done!)

DJ/Officiant – DJ Daner

Catering – Richard Sickles

Transportation – Heavenly Coach

Invitations – Friend, Sonya Fedorko

Favors – Amazon Koozies

Ceremony Venue – The Farm Restaurant, Adena, Ohio

Reception Venue – Sally Buffalo Barn, Cadiz Ohio