Summer Oglebay Gates Wedding

Happy HAPPY Friday, everyone!  OoO my goodness me.  Weddings are finally started to feel like weddings again!  AND FINALLY…Lindsey and Zack’s big day arrived.  I’d been looking forward to this wedding since the moment Lindsey reached out to me (after we met at a friend’s wedding) and asked me to be HER wedding photographer!  For a while, this day felt like it came REAL fast…until COVID hit the brakes.  Goodness…it was stressful getting to this day, I tell ya!  Lindsey was one of my brides who attended almost all of my wedding workshops.  We texted.  I felt like we were leading up to a real friends’ wedding!  Yea…I feel like I got to know her REAL well and then COVID happened and we found ourselves discussing a whole other twist on weddings and her big day!  BUT…we made it.  Lindsey and Zack got to have their summer wedding at the Oglebay gates and while we didn’t get to have “the day” we’d originally pictured with the party at the end, this day could not have been more perfect.  I mean…even the clouds were perfect! THANK YOU, wedding Gods!  You just wait and see!

SO, give the new Yates a HUGE congratulations and feast your eyes on their summer, Oglebay gates wedding.

Lindsey and I had planned to start the day with me meeting her at the hotel where she would be getting ready.  I was itching so badly to get this day started and I kept holding myself back from leaving too ridiculously early!  Then, Cassie (one of my favorite Oglebay gals) texted me about the ceremony set up and I couldn’t take it any longer.   I jumped in my car and off to the Oglebay gates I went!  Ceremonies do look a little different these days but that’s ok with me!!  Social distancing and all that jazz…but just look!  While I was shooting these, I got to chat with Cassie (who I hadn’t seen since my January Oglebay wedding) and she gave me the low down on how the day was going to go!  I like to be prepared and I also like to take the nerves off the brides so I checked everything out!

THEN, I headed off to the hotel.  Lindsey called me right as I was nearing the building and asked if I could stop and get some bobby pins.  So, I made a detour to grab those (and then I stressed out when I saw there are actually different kinds of bobby pins…so I bought both packs).  HA!  I could also hear Jay Morris (of Jay Morris Video Productions) in the background when Lindsey called me and I told him to get all kinds of excited because I was coming!  Of course, he was prepared as we’d just done a small ceremony together the weekend before!  And once I arrived, these ladies were almost all ready so we went right into photos!

She had some finishing touches to do with hair and makeup so I grabbed those!

Then, Jay and I took the dress outside for some detail shots.  Jay and I make a great team and have gotten very used to working together!  He carried the dress out.  I arranged it in this location and then we took turns getting these beauties!!  My second wedding ever I took a photo similar to this one and now Lacey says this is probably her favorite dress shot ever!  Speaking of Lacey, her and I are FINALLY going to be able to shoot a wedding together here in a few weeks!  AHHHHH!! I’ve been waiting for the “word” so we could get back into it fully!

So, back up we went and it was time for some detail shots.  Remember, it’s been a LONG time since I’ve had my hands on some bridal details so I was super pumped up!  I had to giggle too while I was doing it.  Remember, I met Lindsey at another wedding (Hey, Amy and Logan!).  While I was shooting these, I was having flashbacks to Amy’s wedding.  We were in the same sized room and everyone was watching me do those detail shots!  It was the same this day and I even joked with Lindsey about the way I had her dress arranged as the backdrop and I saw the nervousness in her eyes! HA!  BUT LOOK!! So worth it!

I’m a BIG fan of BIG bouquets and Kroger flowers NEVER disappoints!! Just look!! I took full advantage!  It’s funny…all of my larger bouquets that I squeal over tend to be blush pink!

Then…*drum roll, please*…it was time to get this beautiful bride ready.  I had been SO excited for this day and to see Lindsey have her moments to shine.  I’d even texted Cassie back earlier that morning and told her how excited I was…and how this day was just going to be epic!! I just knew it!! WEEEE!

My goodness….she’s beautiful, right?!

Lindsey’s Mom, Sherry, told me they saw this dress on the mannequin. back when they were shopping.  They found out it was a Stella York dress (which happens to be Sherry and her husband’s last name) and it was MEANT TO BE! AHHHHH!  I do love some great mother daughter moments and these two were giving me them ALL!

Alright!  Then, I was off to the ceremony!! Firstly, I was SO excited to see TWO other Hannah Barlow Photography couples (Amy & Logan and Kassie & Dylan).  HUGE shoutout to those two ladies for not only helping Lindsey with the day BUT for also helping me.  I’m not sure Lindsey knows about the “issues” we had leading up to their ceremony but if she doesn’t, she’s about to find out.  You know…I always tell my couples that when things go wrong on their day, I’ll never tell them……until it’s all over and I blog about it! HA!  So, here we go! I was off to take detail shots and I noticed immediately that the DJs were having some issues…Uh oh.  Jay had told me there was no electricity! AHHH!

After I took those detail shots, I grabbed Amy up to see if she’d pass out the bubbles (after I took photos, of course).  I wanted to make sure Lindsey got everything she wanted the day of her wedding and I knew if there were bubbles sitting there, that meant she wanted them blown after they became man and wife!!  So, thank you to all involved who made sure everyone had bubbles AND knew what to do with them!  Then, there was that weeeee bit of a power issue.  The DJs needed power for the ceremony music….and the power wasn’t on.  AHHHH!! One of my other favorite Oglebay ladies was there taking care of it, Ashley Dunlap.  Boy Ooo boy…if you ever questioned whether these ladies were dedicated to their jobs and love their couples as much as I do, you should have seen her.  She was literally piecing together extension cords and trying to make them reach/stretch far enough to make this ceremony happen on time!  We DID get power (it happened to be a matter of flipping a switch on the generator…HA!) and even though I can imagine the stress Ashley was feeling…I was kind of glad it happened so I could see her face too! NOW, we could get with the ceremony!

So, I shot this day solo so we didn’t exceed the max number of guests allowed during COVID.  So, I had to be more than one person – no problem!  Lindsey and I devised a plan.  Five minutes before the ceremony, I was going to run all the way to the mansion and fluff her dress and veil and make sure she was settled.  I had told Amy that once she saw me coming back from the mansion, that was the signal to let the DJs know we were ready to get started.  So, here I was with my BEST poker face (so she didn’t find out about the electric issue, of course).  I fluffed her dress and veil and off I went.  I still hadn’t found Zack at this point.  That kind of bothered me since I knew him and I wanted to make sure he was doing ok before we got started.  So, with Lindsey settled, I started walking back….remember…that was our signal to get ready to start.  And who do I find?!  ZACK!  I find Zack and I run up and tell him “Happy Wedding Day!” and see his boutonnière….tucked/pinned in his pocket over top of his pocket square.  AHHHHHH!! You all know how I am about boutonnieres!  He told me that the flower popped off and wasn’t connected to the stem anymore so they improvised and that’s the best they could do with only two pins.  I gotta admit!  That thing wasn’t going ANYWHERE!  I was impressed BUT… if you remember last year, this same thing happened to me when pinning flowers on a groom!  BUT…I knew Lindsey would notice it when she walked down the aisle and I knew we’d have to fix it for pictures anyway so I yelled for Amy and told her NOT to let anyone walk down the aisle and then I RAN to my bag and grabbed my pins.  Picture it – I had two cameras laying on the ground by my feet, one eye going right to make sure the ceremony wasn’t starting without me and we fixed that flower! WOOOOOOOOOO!  I was sweating, I tell ya!  We made it happen though!  Meanwhile, everyone was just so happy to be outside and to be mingling!

Alright!! Let’s get this ceremony started!  This beautiful, flower girl nailed it.  She even thought on the fly to pick him up when this little puppy decided he was going to take a break and check things out when he was supposed to be walking down the aisle!! TRUST ME!  Everyone had an “Awwww” moment!

This may be one of my favorite groom reactions!! AHHHHHH!!! Zack!

I was armed with two cameras…and I got all the angles!! It was stressful but I was bound and determined to do it!  I can’t wait to be back with the HBP team!

Then, it was time for the whole ceremony by those BEAUTIFUL Oglebay gates!! I was telling Cassie earlier in the day that I really love it up there…even more than the formal gardens because I don’t have to fight with that pool in the middle!  Do you remember their engagement story?  You can read it HERE.  Well, some of the sand for their sand ceremony was from Myrtle Beach…you know, where they got engaged?! AHHHH!! I love those details!! Lindsey knows I love those details!

OooO Chief!  He was being your typical “baby at the wedding ceremony”.  Instead of hearing a baby cry, we heard little whimpering.  Poor guy just wanted to get out and play and explore.  I caught him trying to squeeze himself under the hair as an escape route! HA!  I had to giggle!

THEY DID IT!! AHHHHH!! I had waited for this moment for them for so long!! Mr. & Mrs. Yates, everyone!

…and because Amy and Kassie and all of Lindsey and Zack’s friends are just amazing, everyone was armed and ready with those bubbles!

I knew time was of the essence so I told them to take a small walk and I captured this which is one of my favorite (but simplest) photos of the gallery!

I left the family formals up to the bride, groom, and their loved ones.  Social distancing or not…it was their choice not mine!  THIS particular group had me cracking up!! This is something they do on all their vacations so it was definitely a “must” on the list of family formals!

We definitely wanted to include Zack’s late brother in the family photos!  I do believe those cuff links were a gift!

Hey Hey!  Who recognizes these familiar faces?!  You should!! Left to right…that’s Kassie and Dylan…Zack and Lindsey, of course…and Amy and Logan!! My wedding photographer heart could have exploded.  This was my first wedding back that really felt like a “normal” wedding and not a COVID wedding AND there were THREE of my couples there!! AHHHH!! What more could a girl ask for?!  And I kept saying “Just a few more… and Zack busted out laughing shaking his head.  He knew I was totally lying and I’m sure Logan was shaking his head in agreement…he’s been a groom.  He knows I lie my pants off when I’m SO excited to be taking photos.  I can’t help it!!

You see?  I was NO where near being done!!!  And aren’t we all so glad we managed to get that flower fixed?!  YAY!

Oooo Lindsey!! LINDSEY!! THIS is making my wedding photographer heart SO happy!!! AHHHHHH!! I took way too many photos of her but I just couldn’t help it!  I think this may be a favorite veil of mine!! It had rhinestones AND I just loved the way the comb hooked into her hair!

When I was taking those bridal photos above, it was just SO pretty and the wind was being sent by the wedding Gods and was pure perfection.  So, I yelled for Zack to come real fast.  Of course, the wind quit BUT I was determined to get them a great veil shot.  I mean…THAT VEIL! AHHHHH!  And we did it!! WEEEEE!

HUGE shoutout to Zack’s sister for being the puppy sitter.  Once we got him into his formal photos he definitely stole the show though!  Don’t you just want to squeeze him?!  This is Chief!  Newest Yates family member!

All we had left were the bride and groom formals at this point.  Jay and I were tag teaming it like we always do and I was a squealing machine!! I LOVE the greens of summer!! I wasn’t sure we’d get to take these with the pandemic so I was especially excited to be able to shoot these!  WE MADE IT, you two!

Color…black and white…I really struggled to decide which I loved more at this wedding!

These two were seriously troopers!! As with any family formals, theirs were hectic because of the amount of people and location.  I can only imagine all of these photos were overwhelming, as well!  BUT LOOK! OOo my goodness me!!  They nailed it!  I always tell my couples not to look at me.  I joked that Zack listened so well while Lindsey looked at me.  Well, it worked out absolutely PERFECTLY!  JUST LOOK at him looking at his new wife!! AHHHH!

Do you remember their engagement session I talked about earlier (HERE)?  Well, we did a “lift” photo at the gates back then and we were determined to get it again…but with bride and groom outfits!  I caught Lindsey walking up and thought to myself, “She looks like a princess…”

Of course, as soon as we got up there our cloud went away but we made it work!!!!  I’m so glad we left the flowers there too!! Makes it feel very “wedding”, right?!

Then, I had a crazy idea and then VISIONS in my head.  It was crazy…yes.  I wanted to get her up on that wall like the true princess she was dressed to be!! It wasn’t easy…we were all nervous!! Heck, I was so nervous I couldn’t even get my photos in focus.  I totally thought it was because I had accidentally kicked the lens earlier in the day (oops) but it turns out it’s fine…it was just me having a “Hannah moment” and being so excited and nervous and working so darn fast that I just wasn’t being still enough!

…but I mean…It worked!! AHHHH!! Jay was laughing at me the whole time too but we did it!! EEEEKKK!!!  It’s a Hannah Barlow Photography first!  Praise hands for Lindsey for putting up with me (and Zack too…)!

The full bridal party didn’t dress for this day! You’ll get to see them next year when we do this all over again and the reception!  BUT…I had to give another shoutout to Lindsey’s now sister-in-law, Shannon!  She was super helpful and spunky and a TON of fun!  So, she needed her moment too in the blog!

Last but not least, we have the iconic suspension bridge photo!  I was sweating bullets at this point when I found out Lindsey and Zack had a family dinner to get to so we whipped these out REAL quick!

Jay’s always got the ideas too and recommended I shoot this way.  Look at that blue sky.  HOLY MOLY!  It looks like a crayon!

…and that’s it.  That’s a wrap on this wedding!! AHHHH!! My heart could explode.  I remembered at the last minute that I hadn’t take the true “COVID wedding” photo.  So, it was the last one in the gallery and I think a perfect way to wrap up this wedding!!   We did it!! We made it!! I felt SO good!!!  And guess what?!  You’re going to see them all over again in a year!! THAT’S RIGHT!  AHHHH!! If there’s anything “good” about these COVID weddings, it’s that I’m going to get to see my favorite couples more than once on their weddings day(s)!  WOOOOOOO!!  Happy Friday!

ONE MORE TIME!  CONGRATS TO THE YATES!

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VENDOR SHOUTOUTS

Venue – Oglebay Weddings

Hotel – Hampton Inn, Wheeling, WV

Videographer – Jay Morris

Florist – Kroger

Hair/Makeup – Lavish Hair Salon, Kylie (Hair) and Cait (Make Up)

Dress – Stella York from J. Jones

Tux – J. Jones

DJ – Donnie Gilbert