Spring Formal Gardens Pine Room Oglebay Wedding

Happy Thursday, everyone!  These two beautiful people are enjoying their honeymoon right now as I type this but I promised to get them a blog and some sneak peeks in this blog until they return.  Brittany and Erik had a BEAUTIFUL Spring Formal Gardens and Pine Room wedding at Oglebay and I’m here to show you all the highlights!

So, please give them all your Hannah Barlow Photography love and enjoy!

The wedding Gods were on my side from the moment I stepped out of my car this weekend!  Spring was in the air and the Pine Room at Oglebay looked AMAZING!

After meeting up with Ashleigh, we headed over to the Palmer House (also at Oglebay) to find the ladies getting ready.  These details spoke to my wedding photographer heart, I tell ya!  Look at that clean spring light and gorgeous details!

…and you know that “vibe” I’ve talked about in the past?  It’s that one I get the moment I walk in the room and I can pretty much predict, after all these years of weddings, how the day is going to go?  Well, I got ALL the good vibes for this day and I knew…just KNEW…based on the reactions of the bridesmaids and the moms (and Lou, Erik’s dad who was in the kitchen)…it was going to be an AMAZING day!

The colors for this wedding were pure perfection!

I mean…I MEAN…even the champagne was pink!  So yes…we had to have photos!

I kept telling Brittany she had the best “kitten smile and laugh” and later I realized I didn’t explain what that meant.  You all know that cat in Alice in Wonderland that has that giant cheshire cat smile?  Well, we definitely don’t want super teeth-y smiles in photos and Brittany definitely doesn’t.  She’s got this beautiful air around her that makes everyone want to smile AND she gives me not too much…not too little smile and it makes for an absolutely amazing “kitten smile” and photo!

First look time!

They had VERY excited and eager bystanders and while I usually don’t encourage it for fear of interruptions…I knew this crew had amazing intentions and just wanted to be there to support the couple and share in ALL the love!  Ashleigh caught them “lurking” and we all couldn’t stop smiling!

If you remember their engagement session (HERE), these two just jive.  They’re meant for each other and that showed when they had their moment.

Then, we went right into bride and groom formals.  I’d never been to this side of Oglebay and now it’s a favorite.  Forest, fairytale magic…here we come!

If you’re going to have a Spring wedding, you need spring flowers, right?!  This dogwood tree did not disappoint!  And Erik’s sister was beside me soaking up ALL the Spring goodness too.  We were ALL squealing!

You know, men don’t typically “love” photos.  These men may not even like them either and if that’s the case, they did an amazing job faking it.  I had SO much fun with them and took lots and lots of photos!

GQ…here we go!

Then, I said “do your best super hero”!  And honestly?  I don’t even know what that means.  I’ve never used it as a prompt before but these men were a ton of fun and I wanted extra.  They nailed it…and then they said “Don’t post that”.  SO…I didn’t post THAT photo but I did post this one! HA!

Erik…lookin’ good!  This weekend was full of “new” things for me.  I’m telling you…my wedding photographer heart was FULL of joy and inspiration.  I told Erik to “wash his hands”! HA! BUTTTT it turned out to be one of my very favorite groom photos!  This will always be Erik’s pose in my head now!

I can’t stop bragging about this bridal party.  ALL the good vibes.  This group was SO happy to be here and so happy to celebrate with this couple!  I encouraged lots of fun photos and all the drink breaks and hoots and hollers!

Penn State represents!  Erik didn’t know Brittany would have a pin on her shoes so when I asked about socks…it turned out to be a great photo op!

Drink break before the ladies took their photo turn!

*Hannah squeals and the whole park at Oglebay can hear her*

How could I not?!  We had beautiful, light glow and all the pretty ladies and gorgeous flowers and OooO my goodness ME…these photos are to die for!

…and because this group is so close, Brittany asked for us to mix it up a bit!

Brittany…GIRL!  Need I say more?  Feast your eyes on these bridal portraits!

Then, we headed off to Oglebay’s Formal Gardens for the ceremony.  Our timeline for this day was amazing so we had lots of time for some extra bride and groom portraits by Oglebay’s mansion!

Remember that “vibe” I was telling you about?  Well, the guests didn’t disappoint either!  Alllll the love surrounding this wedding last Saturday!

Oglebay’s Formal Gardens…ARE GORGEOUS, as always!

Mr. & Mrs. Woistman, everyone!

When you choose your bridal party, choose people like this!

Since the couple did a first look, we didn’t have much left on the list so we flew through family formals and then I sent them off on a “joy ride” on their party bus while Ashleigh and I made it back to Oglebay’s Pine Room to photograph the reception.

As if my heart wasn’t happy already, people were ASKING me (that’s right) to take their photo.  Like these two gentleman (below)!  Then, I stopped and chatted a little of this and a little of that about where they were from and all that good stuff.  No one ever wants their photo during cocktail hour…but this group was just different…in an amazing way!

The couple arrived and DJ Brian Oliver introduced them!

Cake Cutting…Welcomes…and speeches…and dances!

DJ Brian Oliver challenged us to the table race and we did it…WITH time to spare! WooOOOo!  If you see yourself, feel free to send me an email and I’ll send along a copy of the photo of your table!

Then, the party got started.  I was singing and dancing my heart out and loving every moment with this group!

And that’s it!  Wedding #5 of the year is complete!  From the very first moment I “met” Brittany via zoom to their engagement session where I got to not only meet both Erik and Brittany, in person, but also Erik’s parents…I had a feeling this wedding would just be something…something AMAZING!  I was right.  This was one of those weddings that was less about the photos and more about the people for me.  Granted, it’s a huge bonus the weather and resulting photos were so pretty (it originally called for rain and thunderstorms) but it was the feeling Ash and I left with that really got me.  Everyone was SO happy to be there for this couple (and most were out of town).  Joy just spewed out of the crowd and made picture taking a cake walk.

To the happy couple, thank you for choosing me and for having not only an amazing wedding to the eye…but to the heart too.  You both are one of a kind people and a perfect example of a couple who deserves it all.  I hope you’re enjoying your honeymoon and I’ll be sending the full gallery as soon as you get back, as promised!

One more time, CONGRATS TO THE WOISTMANS!

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Bride’s Gown – Mori Lee, NY Bride & Groom, Columbia SC

Bridesmaids’ Dresses – David’s Bridal

Men’s Attire – Mean’s Wearhouse

Shoes – Amazon

Jewelry/Rings – Buttermore Jeweler’s in Parkersburg, WV

Hair/Makeup – Honeycomb Salon, Wheeling, WV

Wedding Venue (Ceremony) – Oglebay Formal Gardens

Wedding Venue (Reception) – Oglebay Pine Room

Wedding Coordinator – Lauren Mitchell, Oglebay

Florist – Donati’s Florist

Cake – Oglebay (Masterpieces of Old Town)_

DJ – DJ Brian Oliver

Catering – Oglebay

Transportation/Limo – TDF Limo

Invitations – Truly Engagement

Programs – Megan Clark Designs

Officiant – Patrick Yoho

Favors – Sip Sip Hooray Koozies