Black Velvet Oglebay Wedding

The time is HERE! The very last Hannah Barlow Photography wedding of this year is on the blog right now! So, please give Jody and Andy (the new Mr. & Mrs. Gibson) ALL your love. They’re on their honeymoon right now waiting for this to post! The wedding Gods delivered again and gave me the very best wedding to be the “last” one of the season and we went out with a bang! Enjoy!

It was…cold…a few weekends ago! That Saturday before Thanksgiving with the high winds and bitter cold gusts? Well, that’s the day of this wedding! That’s ok though because it had all the details that screamed winter and with a couple like this (and all the fun we had on their engagement session HERE), I knew there would be absolutely no problems regardless of the weather. So, we got right down to business. I LOVE black details for a wedding AND if the bride adds in black velvet? I was FEELING it. So much so that while I was doing these details, I was so quiet everyone had thought I had left. Meanwhile, I was just in the corner of their suite living my best wedding photographer life! Look how pretty!

Before I ran off to find the men for their photos, I got a few getting ready too!

Mens’ color palette – I give it a 10/10! When you tell me black pants, grey jackets but the groom wearing navy? I wouldn’t have (and couldn’t) picture it BUT it was perfection!! Also? I only had to use Andy’s code word once. His code word was the word we used when I needed him to be calm…and he was absolutely (definitely) more calm than me this whole day! I was FEELING all of this!

Ash and I went back and forth through the lodge to get all the moments. After we were done with the men, we went back up to finish the getting ready portion of the day with the ladies.

Ok. SO, I actually don’t usually love this popular photo (below) Why? Well, I’ll tell you. Most of the time it is very posed with little to no story behind it. Which is totally fine. When I’m asked to take very trendy photos, I do it, of course. BUT…it means SO much more when there’s story behind it and Jody didn’t ask for this photo either. You see…Jody saw this dress and fell in love…like REALLY fell in love. The problem? It was discontinued and you couldn’t purchase it in her size at any store. She tried to get past that and did try on other dresses…but she knew this was THE one. So, she found a girl selling her dress online (it was never even worn because that bride’s big wedding was cancelled due to COVID). So, Jody and her mom drove over and met up with the girl. Jody tried it on…it was a perfect fit…and here we are. So…YES…this dress is very special and when Jody was walking past it after telling me that story, I felt it in my bones…this photo was special and very much needed all because this bride and this dress bonded in a special way. Call me sappy….but THAT is why I love love love this photo SO much! Nothing posed…true emotion…and I’m a sucker for a good story…you all know it!

…and that dress is even more beautiful ON Jody! Also, black velvet bridesmaid dresses?! YESSSSS!! I told my 9 year old daughter I wanted her to do this, she’s not sold…but I have a lot of years to convince her! Also, shoutout over and over again to these ladies. It was about 30 degrees…felt less than 20!

Time for the ceremony! These black and whit photos below are so emotionally powerful. You can see Jody’s dad holding it together (compliments of Ashleigh who stayed at the back to catch them coming through the door)…Jody thinking hard about this grand moment and Andy just enjoying that first glimpse of his very soon to be wife!

Ash was creeping from the back and caught Andy just perfectly!

It was a short and sweet ceremony just like we like them! These area always some of my favorite photos to take and yes…it’s a mix of black and white and color. I went ahead and gave the couple one version of each ceremony photo because I just couldn’t decide!

What you can’t see it how COLD and windy it was in these moments! So GROUP HUG…not only because it’s traditional in the Hannah Barlow Photography blogs and galleries but also because we needed any warmth we could get!

I threw the couple in my car and cranked that heat…but we were still cold. Jody had goose bumps. Andy was turning pink…but it absolutely didn’t matter. I kept telling them after they saw the photos it would be ALL worth it! I can’t choose a favorite either and this is just a small set of the photos they have in their gallery. THESE TWO! I love love love love every minute of my time with them AND photographing them! I’m over here squealing! AND, of course, these aren’t just my photos but mine and Ashleigh’s photos!

Let’s show off the back of that DRESS! Shall we?!

Then, we went to a “you’re just going to have to trust me” location. It’s a little spot by some high voltage electrical stations at Oglebay but the wedding Gods were really saying…”Find that light!”! So, cue the lovey music and enjoy these ooey, gooey romantical wedding photos! Those may be made up words but doesn’t it just fit these perfectly?!

I don’t know how she did it…but Jody was frozen at this point and still rolling with it. A dip and a little jog to end photo time. I swear, I could have kept going and going and going…and going!

Back to Oglebay’s Pine Room we went! DJ Brian Oliver will never read this so I’ll give him a hard time…but if you’re familiar with the blogs and our “brother sister” like relationship, you know he’s hard to please…I swear! It’s not in a “bad” way…he just is extra particular about timelines (like me) and wants his guests to have a flawless reception. So, he always wants me there 10-15 minutes ahead of announcement time so he can line them up. So, I rolled in 30 minutes early and he’s all like “YOU’RE TOO EARLY HANNNNAHHHHHHH. Take them back. Do more photos”. Come on…It was COLD! What do you want from me, mister?! We had a great laugh though. Jody was able to warm up and get her dress bustled AND it gave me time to photograph the decor so it all worked out!

So, after some major pacing from the DJ (if you know him…you know), the couple was announced, they cut their cake, went right into first dances and then speeches!

We table raced too!! It was Brian and I’s last one for the year AND I won! WOOOOO!! He said he thinks it’s the fastest we’ve ever done it! Digital high fives to the bride and groom too because it was a packed house and not easy to move around! If you see your table and you’d like a copy, please feel free to email me at info@hannahbarlowphoto.com and I’ll get you a high res copy. Please give me a screen shot of your table too because there’s no way I can remember table numbers! It’s all a blur!

Then, it was a full blown night of dancing! Jody works in the radiology department. I saw SO many familiar faces. They probably didn’t recognize me but I recognized lots and lots of past EORH and OVMC ladies and it put a big ole’ smile on my face! AND RIGHT before I left, the pizza was delivered so I was able to get a photo of that too!

Wedding #25 of the 2022 wedding season is COMPLETE! AHHHHHHH!! It’s always so bittersweet for me but year after year I’m blessed with having an amazingly laid back, beautiful couple to end my year. Jody and Andy were that couple and MORE! This completes my 8th wedding season too and I keep thinking it’ll feel “normal” one day for me to get to spend one of the most special and important days of someone’s life…right along side them. But I never stop being grateful. I may be tired this time of year but it’s still one of the coolest jobs I think I’ll ever have! To couples like Jody and Andy and all of the family and friends I get to meet, THANK YOU! For an extroverted girl like me, your kind words and friendships and cheers and laughs when I squeal mean the world and give me joy I can’t begin to explain. Thank you for reading and thank you all for being a part of this amazing journey!

Here’s to a new wedding season!

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Vendors

Bride’s Gown – Allure Bridal

Bridesmaids’ and Mens’ Attire – Suzanne’s

Hair/Makeup – Cloud 9

Wedding Planner/Coordinator – Cassie Minder of Moving Mountains Events

Venue – Oglebay

Florist – Shadyside Flower Shop

Cake – Tina’s Sweet Treats

DJ – DJ Brian Oliver

Catering – Theos

Officiant – Pastor Chuck