Harley Davidson Wedding

Hello Hello! Happy Thursday, everyone! Joanna and Geoff celebrated their first anniversary with all of us this past weekend.  If you remember, they were supposed to have this big shin dig last May…but COVID.  So, if you’d like to see their COVID wedding where they officially became Mr. & Mrs…you can see it HERE.  So now, please give Mr. & Mrs. Violet all your Hannah Barlow Photography love! Enjoy!

I’ve said it before, but Joanna and I just click.  She’s a worry wart just as much as me (but we laugh about it too) so we went through all the details of this day (and last year’s day AND their engagement session) over…and over…and over again.  We thought we had it all under control UNTIL it called for a full day of rain and thunderstorms.  Cue the Hannah panic.  I didn’t even call Joanna though…I KNEW…just knew she’d be freaking out too!  Sure enough I got a text…followed by an immediate call.  I promised her, just like I do all my other brides that it would be ok and that I would get her these beautiful photos…NO MATTER WHAT.  I also told her she needed all the usual ‘getting ready’ photos, so I met up with Kari and off we went to find the bride getting ready with her friends.

Kari was digging EVERYTHING about these details!

Kari’s ring shots are literally the best ever.  I mean, I literally LOST a wedding band in a rose this year (I did get it back).  It fell right down in there and I had to literally shake the bouquet to get it out.  Kari?  Yea, rings are her thing and they’re always SO pretty!

Then, while the ladies were finishing up, we headed to the James E. Carnes Center to photograph the reception details and then we ran back to get her all dolled up.  I photographed THE BRACELET…the dreaded bracelet…because that thing didn’t last long.  You’ll know why here in a minute.

Why didn’t that bracelet last long?  Well, because I took off right after those photos were taken and then got a panicked text from Joanna that she snagged her dress…on that bracelet!  AHHHHHH!!!  But once I saw it, I assured her it wouldn’t show in photos and Jay (videographer and buddy of mine) confirmed.  Time for the first look!

Geoff’s reaction…well, I didn’t quite expect it but it was THE BEST EVER.

His smile though…

Kari and I tag teamed those angles!  I kept putting my big, right elbow in Jay’s footage…GAH! I joked he’s going to tape it down to my right side this weekend when he has to deal with my at not one…but TWO…weddings this coming weekend!

We were waiting on one more groomsman so we went right into bride and groom formals!  I love that these two have been on my camera in 2019…2020…and 2021!  Geoff joked that we should do it every year.  Just make it a thing!

All that worry about thunderstorms, it ended up being the most perfect weather day! We actually didn’t make the call to do photos here until the VERY last minute…like noon.  These photos were taken just a few hours later.

Then, we walked to the next location while Jay filmed the couple.

FINALLY, we got to do bride and groom formals with these two looking all fancy! It feels like it’s taken forever to get here…but when you really look at it…it’s literally been years!

Classy, black dresses for the ladies!

Then, some family photos!

Once we had all the men, it was time for their moment to shine!

Then, we headed off the the Carnes center to get the ceremony going.  First, Joanna had to say hello to her mom who wasn’t able to be with us.

Here comes the bride! I was SO thankful we were able to get some family photos last year during their official COVID wedding since not everyone could be with us this year.

This was such a sweet photo to me personally and it was a sure hit on the sneak peek!  Now that I’m looking at it, it’s actually a different version of the sneak peek but you get the picture!

I caught this from the front and Kari caught a wide angle from the back.

SoooOOo many family and friends present this year! YAY!

They did it! WooOOo!

Introducing, Mr. and Mrs. Violet! Finally! Let’s party!

First official dance for everyone as husband and wife!

Alright, for real…let’s party!

Everyone made a circle!

Geoff’s brother Mike got to dance along with everyone.

And after a large, group photo, we left them to it!  Joanna tells me it was QUITE the night!  I can NOT wait to see what Jay capture after I took off!

I’ll have to look back and see exactly when Joanna decided to book me…but it’s been years since COVID pushed this celebration off more than a year.  She even said if feels like we’ve known each other for decades!  We just get each other.  And I remember Geoff not being a fan of photos at first…and now?  Well, he may not love them still (I don’t know to be honest) BUT he’s very easy to photograph and just rolls with it.  We’re all comfortable together now…like friends…not clients and vendors.  We did these photos in record time.  Also, sometimes it’s just “all meant to be”.  As I mentioned earlier, Mike, Geoff’s brother, wasn’t able to be with us.  He tragically passed just last month so it’s really something looking back on last year when it was SUCH a crazy time but I said, “Hey, Joanna! Why don’t I come and photograph your mini park wedding AND let’s go ahead and do family photos.  I mean, we’re all here anyway”.  That meant, we got pictures of the groom and his his brothers.  Looking back on moments like this in life is really eye opening.  We were knee deep in COVID last May but they decided to go for it on their original date…and then we got to have these photos and precious memories.

Also, Joanna’s mom got to be there last Saturday via Facetime but not in person.  So, it’s also just simply touching that we got to get family photos with her last year.  She needed to have a big part in this blog too!

It’s weddings like this that remind me more and more how important photographs are and how important it is to just “take that photo” even if it’s not what you planned and not perfect.  It took a long time to get to this point for the Violets but I am so glad it ended up being everything they wanted and more.  They deserve it!

One more like, as always…CONGRATS TO THE VIOLETS!

---

Vendors

Bride’s Gown – Suzanne’s in Elm Grove

Bridesmaids’ Dresses – Varies

Men’s Attire – Men’s Wearhouse

Jewelry/Rings – Leva’s in Bellaire, Ohio

Hair/Makeup – Aubrey Mills

Florist – Ferry Flowers & More, LLC

Videographer – Jay Morris

Cake/Desserts – Andrea LaRoche

DJ/Back Drop – DJ Daner

Catering – Theo’s Cambridge, OH

Invitations – VistaPrint

Officiant – Pastor Tim Seidler