2019 Wedding Behind the Scenes

Hey Hey!  It may be 2020 but we’ve still got two 2019 wedding blogs to get out of the way before the FIRST Hannah Barlow Photography 2020 wedding goes up!  So, let’s go right into this, shall we!?  Let me show you some of our favorite behind the scenes wedding moments of last year (and with some of our favorite vendor friends)!! It was SUCH a good wedding year, but I think I’ve told you that already!! Enjoy!

First things first…it rained in 2019…A LOT!  By Emily and Logan’s wedding in October (HERE), we were putting on our best happy faces and just rolling with it!  I was even stopping to document the horror! HA! Hey, Sam!

And GUESS WHAT?!  It’s going to rain for the first wedding of 2020 this Saturday too!  ACK!  JUST like Sara and Brandon’s wedding LAST January!  It was all good though because we used the pretty winter light to our advantage and Kari and Lacey were able to nail some beautiful detail shots!! I think the first wedding of last year was Lacey’s last wedding “training”!! It seems like SO much longer than just a year since she’s been assisting and shooting on her own!

In all seriousness though, we had some really dry days too!! AND HOT!  SOOOOO HOT!  Remember Taelor and Justin’s wedding (HERE) in July?!  We literally broke records around here with that heat and humidity!  Our lenses were all kinds of fogged up BUT we were armed and ready and hydrating!

Stefano of Through the Lenz Filmz (Hey Hey!) did lecture me on the amount of carbs and sugar in those bad boys (he is Canadian after all) but I tend to (no always) throw my low carb diet out the window for sake of weddings…and for the occasional cookie from the cookie table! HA!  We were having a GRAND time at Bella Amore though!! So much fun!

I say it ALL the time!  Make sure you hire vendors who know each other and work well together.  Not only does it make our jobs (and your photos and videos and wedding) better…it adds to your whole experience!  We had a blast at Emily and Logan’s wedding with Off Center Production too!  I have no idea what’s happening here but I’m so glad someone caught it!

We love Jay Morris too!  These last couple of weddings he’s had us REALLY cracking up!

It’s SO important we play nice with videographers and I’m so glad we took a stab at video because it not only taught us a lot about what they do but also about what we can do better as photographers to make their jobs easier!  We gotta stand back and let them do their jobs too!

…and I need to keep my big mouth shut for sake of their sanity while they are editing! HA!  I think I got a repeat I there! Whoops!

Now, I’ll get back on topic!  When most people think “wedding photographers”, they think pretty wedding photos, right?!  Well, sometimes photos are simple to take!  Like this one at Alyssa and Chas’ wedding (HERE)!

…or this one at Em and Logan’s wedding while the gals were getting ready!  I just needed a little boost!  The Off Center Production team is pictured, as well!

Sometimes we have to get a little creative!  I shoved Jacob in a random corner in his own home to get some detail shots of his suit!  See their wedding HERE!

I always appreciate some help from my amazing lady friends who graciously put up with me and assist me!! We took this shot at Jill and Joe’s wedding (HERE).

Kari’s always helping me get those rings JUST right too!! I don’t take these photos to actually get her in photos though (just to be clear).  I take these as my test shots while she’s getting set up so we don’t waste any time!  And yes…I often have to photoshop my feet and hands out of photos! HA!

I’m pretty sure I had to photoshop my hands out of this photo from Em and Logan’s wedding!

…and back to vendors helping vendors and being team players!! They often help us (Mark Tiberio helped me a TON at Julie and Tanner’s wedding (HERE) ).  I often try and help them as well like we did here with Off Center Production while he filmed Em and Logan!

Speaking of Julie and Tanner’s wedding, it was ALL hands on deck for that wedding and that rain (which ended up being the most beautiful photos I think I’ve ever taken)!  Shoutout to Kari for lugging that chair around and shoutout to Celeste and Ryan for letting us use their furniture outside!  Mark and Katie are pictured on the left!

Mark was really focused on his shot lists (above) BUT I caught him on the dance floor later!

…but really…you can’t NOT have fun at THE enchanted acres.  It doesn’t matter if you’re at Bella or The Barn!  It’s the atmosphere…it’s intoxicating!  The owners are SO involved with their couples!  You’ll often find Celeste even tearing up!

Ryan works his butt off too!

…and while we’re at it…let’s talk GEAR!  Wedding vendors lug around A LOT of gear but you often don’t see those parts!  DJs have A LOT!  Here is Jonathan Mihellis (who will skim this blog rather than read all my blabbering..HA HA HA!) doing his thing!

Sam pulled our gear all the way around the building at Rachael and Jared’s wedding AND with a smile on her face! HA!  See that wedding again HERE!  We actually need to fix that cart!  We lost a crucial piece and they don’t sell the carts anymore!! Whomp Whomp!

Sometimes we even enlist the help of the ever so kind and fun bridal party members we get to photograph (left photo)!  Sam knew I was taking that photo of her on the right! HA!

…and sometimes I’ve been so bossy throughout the day I end up carrying it myself out of guilt! HA!

A lot goes into wedding photography though and no day is the same!  I think it’s fun to see how certain photos came to life!! Don’t you?!  At Alyssa and Chas’ wedding, we were on a serious time crunch so it was important we REALLY tag team formal photo session time!! You can see me, of course, and then Kari in the background.  Here are out photo results!  Note:  We DO wear shorts under our dresses! HA!

These photos Kari took ended up being some of my favorite cake photos all year!  These are from Carmie and Primo’s wedding back in June!  See it again HERE!

I’ll never get enough of the stone and doors at Bella Amore…and Taelor’s dress…AHHHHHH!!! And Justin’s tux!! Double AHHHH!

Yep.  We take pretty wedding photos ALL year and sometimes it’s super easy and sometimes it’s super tricky and sometimes it’s downright stressful.  Whether it’s the easy ones or the hard ones, there is ALWAYS planning that goes into it before, during, and on the fly!  We almost always pin the guys’ flowers.  I can’t have floppy flowers in my photos!  No way!

SoooOoo much pinning.  I even carry extra pins in my bag!

We button up dresses too!! We always get those must have shots first and then we jump in, when needed.  Sometimes we do it because mom’s nails are too long.  Sometimes we do it because we’ve mastered the difficult task of getting those elastic loops around buttons and sometimes…we GOTTA MOVE…FAST!  Cassie of Elite Film Productions helped me out at Abby and Todd’s wedding (bottom photo).  See that wedding HERE!

We had to use Sam’s video light so we could bustle Kristen’s dress!  See her wedding again HERE!

We often hold things and hand things over!

Lacey helped Chas out at his wedding too!

Veils are frequently a struggle!! All you past brides know!  They are so pretty but such a pain in the tush!

We’re used to it though!

We do SO much dress fluffing too!! That’s SO important for a great photo!

Don’t forget the hair either!! ACK!  The dreaded flyaway or part in the hair!  We try and stay on it!  I almost put that photo of Rachael in the outtakes!

I even wipe cake of bride’s faces like I did at Marissa and Chris’ wedding! HA! See that wedding HERE!  You can see Jay back there multitasking!

All photos require some form of direction!  I realized looking at these I’m a REALLY close talker.  Oy.  More things to work on in 2020! HA!

I do watch out for the poison ivy.  Oy!  I don’t believe any of us ended up with a rash!  Whewww!

…and the ticks!  Everyone was FREAKING about the field and bugs at Marissa and Chris’ wedding!! I told them to TRUST ME!  I still can’t believe I took that big, beautiful dress into that field!  OMG!! Look at my NERVOUS laughter!  AND look at those bugs!! AHHH!

…but LOOOOKKKKK!  This stunning gem was by Kari!  WORTH IT! SOOOO WORTH IT!

We did spend a good bit of time before the reception picking them all out…layer…by layer…by layer!

More directing…

…and sometimes we have to put our professional pants on and get right in there and take charge!  I saw an opportunity and jumped right in front of Sam here!! Whoops!  Makes for a fun behind the scenes shot though!

We always usually assist with cake cutting directions!

I do LOVE when other vendors jump In and help too!!  I get to stand back and take these!

Stefano also had a great idea to cool everyone down at Taelor and Justin’s hot wedding!

…and when you want to get a good bridge photo, you gotta have someone watching traffic.  Ashleigh was that person this day!!  WORTH IT!  You can see Addie and Camden’s wedding HERE!

Sometimes the little guys need help getting ready too!

…and sometimes we’re even enlisted to take them to their grandmas!  What a flattering photo of me, right?!  THANKS, Lacey!! You just wait!! They get me EVERY time at weddings and I’m going to put them ALL in the outtakes blog! HA!

Little details are SO important too!  This was Sam’s first wedding.  It’s all coming back to me now (how she got started)!  This was at Kristi and Justin’s wedding (HERE)!

It seriously BLOWS my mind how fast Sam learned photography!! Here I was literally throwing a camera in her hands and giving her a crash course right before the ceremony!! Don’t worry, she was just practicing!! Kari was second shooting (and the person who took this photo).

We had SO much fun at that wedding too!! SO MUCH!

…but it rained…UGHHHHHHH!!! Story of my wedding photography life!  Jay Morris held an umbrella over the both of us!  He’s SUCH a gentleman and I appreciated it SO much…especially since we had our own umbrellas!

Back to details though, they are really so important and so fun to shoot..even when you have to get creative with locations!  HUGE shoutout to Marissa for giving me that greenery!!

We like everything to be neat and tidy and pretty.  It’s so ironic to see Sam fixing these dresses because she told me JUST a few months ago that I messed up her dress shot back in 2018 and you can see some of the stuffing in the top!! I plan to remedy that with some Photoshop this winter!

Seriously, we ALL like things to be straight and neat and tidy!! Even Lacey!  This was at Haley and Derrick’s wedding! HERE!

When she was super pregnant toward the end of the year, I made her leave one wedding early just because!  She cleaned and organized my bag before she left though!! She’s definitely our most organized!

…and it’s not just the finished photos that is important.  It’s the surrounding elements too.  There were fingerprints and cob webs at the Stifel Center and I just couldn’t take it! HA!

Dead limbs and dead leaves get me too in the spring! HA!

…you know what else gets me?  When a really rowdy bridal party drives us out of our first look location!! I was scrambling on my phone to communicate with Mattie (the bride) to get a new location…and fast!  See their wedding HERE!

The photos at their wedding were SO pretty though!

Speaking of amazing, back to Celeste and Ryan of THE enchanted acres venues!  Ryan was on the ball when it poured on Julie’s wedding ceremony.  I even found him in there hanging with her in an attempt to calm everyone down AND he even got her a drink…after he opened the bar early for all the guests who ran for cover!

Meanwhile, I popped a squat on the floor and was being weird with the extra bottom of Julie’s dress.  We ended up using it to blindfold Tanner so they could have a moment during the long wait for the rain to clear!

Sometimes we just have random downtime to hang too!  It doesn’t happen often…but when it does…Kari is busy collecting statistics and facts from vendors and making friends!

She also gets the award for most effort to get “the shot” we need!

…she’s the ultimate creeper too!! Sometimes I can’t find her at ceremonies and eventually she’ll pop up!

I found Sam creeping one time too!

Kari was literally in the weeds here! HA!

On a totally random note, sometimes drinks get dropped and I use my 007 moves to grab it and avoid the video camera! HA!  This photo made me giggle!

…and sometimes YOU end up on the dance floor with a past couple and laugh your heart out…three chins and all!  I don’t even care!! This was taken at the last wedding of the year and I feel like it’s the PERFECT way to end the blog!

2019 was definitely amazing!  I have so many other photos I could share but it’d just go on and on and on….and I’m pretty sure you all need to save your reading eyes for the 2020 wedding blogs to come!  If your wedding didn’t end up in this blog, it may be coming in the outtakes blog later this week!  Some weddings we get to take a lot of extra photos just for fun…some weddings REQUIRE we take a lot of extra photos (also known as our test shots) and some weddings it just doesn’t happen for whatever reason!  SO, I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into our weekends throughout the year!  Happy 2019 Behind the Scenes blog!  One more to go…THE OUTTAKES…it’s my favorite!! Check back later in the week!

OooO and while I’m at it…HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KARI!  Here she is soaking up all that golden light we had at Julie and Tanner’s wedding.  Happy Birthday, girl!  She’s going to kill me!