WHERE ARE THEY NOW – JUNE WEDDINGS – TAKE 3

We’re back at it again!! WOOOO!!  More June weddings are coming your way!  ARE YOU READY?!

Ooo my goodness me!! Just give me ALLLL the feels right now!! Amanda and Brian…do you remember them?!  They were my second wedding EVER and crazier than crazy for hiring me (if you ask me)!  BUT just like my other “first couples,” I’ll be forever indebted to them!  I’m still VERY proud of these images and most certainly so happy to share them with you all again!  Even though I didn’t have much experience, I knew I could do it!  I KNEW IT!  So, thank you for trusting me.  I personally wouldn’t have hired a photographer who had only ever done one other wedding and you two DID and look where it got me!! WEEE!!!  This makes me so happy I want to cry!!  FIRST, their engagement session!  Boy does this make me giggle!! I had JUST completed a posing course so I was trying them allllllll out!!  Some poses stayed in the Hannah Barlow Photography vault…some didn’t stick.  This was my first official engagement session as a business owner too so thank you both for being my guinea pigs!  These had me smiling like you wouldn’t believe.  I remember we weren’t originally going to do one but then a very warm March day popped up and I texted Amanda and off we went!

I actually remember the moment he spun her around!  Gosh did I get lucky having good people who were great sports for photos in the beginning.  I probably didn’t squeal.  I was probably too nervous to let all my excitement out at this point! HA!

The Oglebay gates!!! AHHHH!!  It’s so crazy to look back and see how it all started.  Oglebay is now the place I shoot the most!

…and a silhouette for you all!  Weeeeee!! What do you think?!  My first official engagement shoot ever…I think I did A OK!

And now, let’s go to their June 2016 wedding…my second wedding EVER!!  WOOOOO!! And it was sooOooOoooo pretty!! SO PRETTY!  I look back on those first weddings and think to myself “I probably should have been a lot more nervous and less confident than I was at the time…” but I don’t know.  It just felt “right” and like this was what I was meant to do!  And just LOOK!! These are STILL some of my favorite invitation/detail shots EVER!  I’d also love to note that I styled those shoes wrong.  Oy.  THE BOWS GO IN THE BACK! I’m still kicking myself for this but it’s all about learning…I now ALWAYS ask first to confirm how the ties are supposed to go on shoes!

It’s so fun looking back.  I was still finding my style and how I wanted to do things (again, second wedding EVER).  I did some details outside (which I’m never brave enough to do now) and some details inside.  We DID get to do groom details though and just LOOK!! AHHHH!!  Man, this is making me want to update my website and pull some oldies from the archives!

This is definitely still one of my favorite ring/invitation shot I’ve ever taken!! Her bouquet is also in my top give favorites EVER!! I do love that lamb’s ear?  That’s what it’s called, right?!

Remember the 2016 cicadas?! They were EVERYWHERE and especially loved her dress.  It’s a GREAT thing neither Amanda nor I are afraid of bugs because we were picking those bad boys out all through the day AND night!  We even found some at the reception that just kept crawling UP the layers of her dress trying to find a way out!

I always did love this shot of Brian getting ready!

I remember the guys were super eager to get moving and I was like…”NOOOOOO!! I need at least a FEW photos of you all together!”  We took a few and they hopped in the limo (or maybe bus or van….I can’t remember) and off they went to the ceremony location!

This shoe shot was one of those shots that everyone talked about!  It wasn’t staged.  I was just standing by (literally) while taking photos of her getting ready!  See?  BOWS IN THE BACK!

Look at these pretty ladies!  aHHHHH!!! Look at their dresses…and their flowers…and it’s just SO GOOD!! AHHH!!

The Oglebay formal gardens were where the ceremony was held.  This was my first time, of course!! It hasn’t gotten any easier to shoot this beautiful space.  That pool throws a glitch in it all…aisles on both sides!! GAH!

THE TREE!! They planted a tree for their unity ceremony.  I do believe it’s still alive!  I think I’ve see photos of it on Facebook!

Bride and Groom formal photos!  The “thank you” sign was popular a few years back!! Remember?!  I had one couple do it last year too!

I’m dying laughing still.  It’s like the worst composite photo EVER for me (I’ve taken classes since) BUTTTTT got so much attention!  To this day, this is still the bridal party who put in the most effort for this type of photo.  I remember having them do it twice because the first time they didn’t go “all in”…but the second time?  They went ALLLLLL IN!  Just take the time to check out every single person in this photo.  It’s worth it!

The “famous” bridge photo!  This photo STILL goes everywhere with me.  Granted, it’s not unique in location or pose BUT it was the first one I was really really super duper excited about and it went on my business card (it’s still there) and it’s my example canvas for my studio and bridal shows AND it’s still on my website.  It’s “THE” photo I’ll never…ever…be able to let go no matter how much time goes by!

We did some photos in the alley by the bridge too!! I’ve never actually been back to this location BUT I’d loooovveee to go!  Someone with a River City wedding…let’s do this!

Speaking of River City, I had gone earlier in the day to get some detail shots of the reception!  I’m still a sucker for that greenery!

Then, we met up with Kyle Mac at the reception and went right into the fun!! I LOVE looking back at these photos.  You see, I was a new photographer here so it took me some extra time to get my settings just right for the environment and it took me even more time to think on the fly if I needed to change things.  So, I was all set up and ready to go and Kyle BLASTED them with these lights about 30 seconds into their dance.  Nope, I wasn’t prepared!  I DID think on my feet though and was able to readjust.  It’s such fun to look back on these moments because at the time I was in a full blown panic in my head but NOW I know how to really use these lights to my advantage to make some magic!  I also am super fast and instinctually know what settings I’ll need and when.  It’s not very often I get that “panic” feeling anymore and that’s another reason why it’s so great to look back!  I even remember Amanda and Brian coming up to me after and asking if the photos were ok with the lights…I was able to say “YEP!  SURE WERE!”

Per the usual, it was a Kyle Mac PARTY and we ended the night on a REALLY high note with one giant group hug while I fought for space!  You can barely even see Amanda because she’s smushed up against her husband! HA!

SO, WHERE ARE THEY NOW?!  Well, they’re SUPER busy!!  I can tell you that!  Since their wedding, they’ve been busy remodeling their home in Ohio complete with a master bedroom addition, redone kitchen, and all new floors and ceilings!  ALL my couples have been remodeling their homes, I tell ya!  Amanda’s still working as a first grade teacher in Martins Ferry schools (from afar, right now, of course) and has also continued on with her other job she snatched up after the wedding working at Outback Steakhouse!  Brian is still a Union Carpenter and is continuing his work for Grae-Con Construction. When they got married, he was working for them at the Coke Plant in Follansbee, WV, and he is now a superintendent for them at a different job site!  Let’s not forget their fur baby, Storm, who is about to be 8 years old!  They’re still my outdoorsy couple loving most of their hobbies to happen in the elements!  Remember, that came in REAL handy during cicada attacks! HA!

Ooo man.  This one seriously gave me ALL the feels!  I just couldn’t NOT include them before I moved on to July/August weddings.  Thanks to this wedding (and blog…because it was the FIRST wedding blog EVER on my site), I beefed up my portfolio and the wedding bookings just started rolling in.  I shot three of my own weddings this year (2016) and second shot three more with Carrie Leigh Photography, LLC.  The next year I shot 14 and then 20 the year after that and the rest is history!! Now, I shoot 25-30 a year (pre-COVID…HA!) and I hope to keep on doing that for years and years to come! WEEEEEE!  THANK YOU BRIAN AND AMANDA FOR TRUSTING ME!  I couldn’t be where I am now today without you all!  I totally stole these off Facebook!  THE TREE!

NOW LOOK AT THE TREE!

…and here they are!

I LOVE their house!! All this white speaks to me…AHHHH! GREAT JOB, you two!

CONGRATS TO THE BELLS!  They are coming up on 4 years of marriage here soon!

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NEXT UP, Jenna and Josh!  Do you remember their BEAUTIFUL Pittsburgh wedding?! Ooooo my goodness!! It was SOOOO pretty!! ALL OF IT!  But first, we gotta throw back to their engagement session from 2018!  Jenna was stressed leading up to this session but I was my usual Hannah self and we got through it and looooovveee the final results!! Lacey came with me to this one.  I remember taking a wrong turn and she was so calm stating, “Well, the world is round”…I’ll never forget it because I STILL use that! HA!

I am SO afraid of heights so I nervous giggled through all of this! HA!  BUTTTT I love them so much!!!

One last one because I’m SOO excited to show you their wedding again!

NOW, their elegant city wedding!  It’s a beauty!  You just wait and see!  Check out these details!! EEEEKKK!  It was beautifully beautiful if that makes sense!  I’m going to use that adjective WAY too much – fair warning!

Her invitation sweet was gorgeous!  SO GORGEOUS!

We even got to do groom details which I ALWAYS LOOOVVEEE!  It’s ironic how similar the groom details are for both these weddings in this blog especially considering I don’t get to do them too often!

For real though, I should show you the detail shots of this wedding allllll day long!  Most of these (below) were Kari’s shots!

Jenna had wine bottles and a violinist for her ceremony!  I always do love some strings at Hannah Barlow wedding ceremonies!! I’m such an old lady stuck in a 33 year old’s body!

The emotions were flowing at this wedding and Kari caught this moment perfectly!  I love love love when I catch a bride or groom getting emotional!

This photo and this view were talked about by sooOoOO many Hannah Barlow Photography blog readers!! You really can’t get much better than this for a city wedding view, right?!

Remember this staircase photo?  This was all Jenna’s idea and I loved it SOOOO much!

Then, they did some galavanting around in front of the Cathedral of Learning!

…and the bride and groom formals were GORGEOUS!! JUST BEAUTIFUL! <— Told you!!

The cathedrals stone and those hydrangeas made for a BEAUTIFUL photo spot!  Aren’t they a BEAUTIFUL couple?!  Here I go again!! I CAN’T HELP IT!  I need a thesaurus!

…annnnndddd one last one before we were off to PARTYYYY!

Goodness…gracious! AHHHHH!!!  You all know these gold circle chairs are some of my favorites!! Jenna made sure her and Josh’s reception did not miss out on ANY of the details!  I could have taken these for dayyyysss.  This wedding was definitely ALL about the details…no matter what part of the day!  The color palette is just spot on, as well!

…and the party was a wild one, I tell ya and OoooOooo so fun!! SO FUN!

SO, WHERE ARE THEY NOW?!  Jenna tells me not much has happened since their wedding.  I mean, makes sense, right?  It hasn’t even been a year yet for them BUT they’ve been busy busy busy renovating their home to make it their dream home!  She tells me the living room and dining room are down to the studs and they’ll also be redoing their kitchen, as well!  They also plan to do some updates on the outside but says that’s a whole other story!  Last September, they went on their honeymoon to Greece!  They stayed in Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini!  She said their favorite parts were the FOOD and the beaches in Mykonos and the views in Santorini!! I mean, JUST LOOK!! AHHH!!!

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Next up! July/August Couples!! WEEEE!! We’re plugging right along!

Of course, if you’d like to relive these weddings, use the links below!

Amanda & Brian

Jenna & Josh