Champagne & Black Oglebay Wedding | Jackie + Drew

Hello! Happy Friday my loyal, blog readers!!! If this is your first time on the Hannah Barlow Photography site, WELCOME! I’m a HUGE blogger…but this wedding blog, in particular, sure is a great way to start if it’s your first time! I don’t always show just the pretty and perfect…but that’s pretty much what this wedding was for us when you look at these photos! I love to tell the behind the scenes too! So, I’m going to do that too! Jackie and Drew had the most elegant, classy wedding and I’m here to tell you all about it! But first, as we always do, we need to give Mr. and Mrs. Lytton all your Hannah Barlow Photography love! Their stunning, black and champagne wedding is live on the blog RIGHT NOW! ENJOY!

Jackie and Drew were “one of those couples”. And that’s a GREAT thing. In the Hannah Barlow Photography realm, that’s a couple who I just immediately click with and who is so laid back and easy…and trusts me 100% (which is HUGE for making the HBP experience work). Yep, that’s these two! So, I was ALL IN…no matter what happened it was going to GREAT…and the wedding Gods really did say, “BET!” and “I challenge you…” Jackie and Drew probably don’t know much of this but for whatever reason, we just could NOT get ahead of the timeline in any part of the day but again…it’s Jackie and Drew’s wedding. It was going to be A OK! My Hannah brain was sweating here and there BUT I also had a new HBP team member on hand (Hey, Becca!) and Lacey (veteran HBP member) AND Ashleigh and Aaron of Off Center Production AND Matt VanFossen for officiant AND DJ Brian Oliver…all AT Oglebay with Lauren Mitchell (coordinator)…and Brad and Rodney of Masterpieces of Old Town did the flowers. That probably means absolutely nothing to most of you but these are all vendors I recommend a lot and have worked with A LOT. So, even when we were 45 minutes behind at one point (truth)…it all worked out. You’ll see it in these photos. I’m totally rambling…I know…but I want to set the stage for this blog because when you see the photos, you’ll NEVER believe that we were using every millisecond we had to give this couple EVERYTHING I wanted for them. That’s right…not what they wanted…because they didn’t really ask for much. I wanted EVERYTHING for them…so that’s what we did.

Ok, back to the blog! I texted Jackie that morning and let her know we had arrived and she asked me to stop and photograph the men first prior to coming to her cabin. Ironically, I found Drew in the hallway and followed him back to the room. We got some mingling shots and then we were off to see the women…where we also got some mingling shots!

Then, we got right down to details. They were EXACTLY what I expected of Jackie – classy and BEAUTIFUL!

Whewww…I know you can’t see it. But this morning felt like a whirlwind! A lot was happening in the beginning half of the day and Jackie looked like an absolute model. I kept snap snap snapping away…and so did Lacey! Becca was on veil duty for me and I remember her holding it and saying, “Wait! Is this ALL one veil?!” Yes…yesssss it was! It’s important to note there was me (Hannah) and one of my assistants (Becca) AND a bridesmaid, Hannah, AND another Becca! HA! JUST in case anyone was getting confused. Stay with me!

At this point in the day, I did something I don’t normally do…I sent Lacey off by herself with the videographer to photograph the men while I finished up with the ladies. You all know I’m a control freak through and through but we were about 10 minutes behind and Lacey is more than capable (I’ve been telling her over and over to start her own business). It was ok though. The men were going to be ready to go for the first look at 1:45 PM. They promised me when I saw them earlier in the day! The Wedding Gods laughed at me. Plot twist…they were not ready. BOYYYYSSSSSSSSS! Weddings aren’t new to me though so…new plan! Becca and I put Jackie in my car and we left for the first look location in hopes of catching up some time. We parked off to the side and hid until Lacey, Aaron and Drew arrived! Shoutout to Lacey who took allllllll the photos below (plus some more in the gallery).

I knew Jackie was nervous. Everyone gets nervous at this point in the day and right before a first look. I could feel her energy. So, I tried to talk Hannah style and ramble while I was fixing her veil and dress…I don’t think it worked BUT HEY! It’s first look time!!!!!

I LOVE this point in the day when they’ve seen each other…hugged it out and you can literally see the nervous energy just evaporate. They read their vows together and had a moment.

THENNNNNNNNNNN, it was time to spring into action. I had told Jackie in the car, “If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s making up a timeline.” Lacey was absolutely killing it with the side angles. Ok. Stay with me again. If you know me, all of the next randomness will make sense. If you’re reading all these words on my blog for the first time, bear with me. SO, I kept thinking throughout the day, “Why does this remind me of a sports star wedding…it’s like…Michael Phelps wedding on the cover of People…” Go ahead, go Google it…but come back! It kept going through my head over and over and over again. The irony of that will come into play later. AFTER the wedding, I saw all of Lacey’s photos (below) and I SWEAR (I shouldn’t swear), they look like they popped right out of a magazine. I mean, Lacey always takes the side angles. That’s the main role of my second shooters. BUT BUT BUTTTTTTTT…don’t these photos feel very candid or “paparazzi” like? I don’t know. Does ANY of that makes sense? I usually don’t use a whole lot of the side angles but this wedding? I EVEN INCLUDED THEM IN THE BLOG. So, now that I’ve spewed all my Hannah thoughts. Look at these photos below and you tell me. Magazine…taking photos from behind the security detail worthy? Right?!

Alright. Maybe my excitement has gotten the best of me but I REALLY love those photos above! AND I love these photos I took below too! If you remember their engagement session (HERE), we did some photos in this EXACT spot and it was definitely “Jackie and Drew’s” spot. SO, I did some again while we waited for the rest of the bridal party to arrive. I was watching my watch CLOSELY! We had a ceremony to get to, after all! Hannah Barlow Photography couples are NEVER late for their ceremonies!

I mean REALLY…you’re all going to get so sick of me saying magazine worthy. Like…E! News (is that still a thing or am I showing my age?) worthy…Page 6, perhaps? Lookin’ GREAT, you two!

Their dog, Bear, was the ring-bearer…GET IT?! HUGE shoutout to Drew’s dad for bringing him to us. Bear did NOT like all the noises I was making and posing prompts I was using with the men’s photos prior to this so we got his photos done and let him get back to his nap before the ceremony. He IS SUCH A GOOD BOOOOOOOOOYYY! *said in my best doggie voice*

Ok, so we’re honest here in the Hannah Barlow Photography blogs. He wasn’t the BEST boy the WHOLE time. He did have to give his momma some kisses too and I love this photo! No one told him about the makeup though…it’s not his fault! HA!

Let me introduce you to a calm, cool, and collected bridal party who put up with my very fast paced instructions and made it look like we had hourssssssss to do these. In reality, I’m pretty sure we did all the bridal party photos in 15-20 minutes. Like I said, it was a whirlwind of a timeline at this point. I think I looked and we were about 45 minutes behind. WE CAN DO THIS PEOPLE! And we did!

Remember how I said earlier that I kept thinking the bride and groom formals felt like a professional sports players photos on the front page? Well, the men requested this photo (below) and Lacey whispered in my ear, “most of them played soccer”….AHHHHHHH!!!! AND THERE IT IS! SEE!? Sporty people…they just TAKE a certain type of photo. My instincts were correct. For whatever reason, I don’t remember ever being told Drew played soccer for WVU. If I was told, it went in one ear and out the other probably because I was positively OBSESSED with their engagement photos and that’s all I could focus on! I did do lots of Googling after this though and Jackie popped up too!

If you didn’t see it (above), the ladies ALL had tattoos of Drew’s face on their legs! HA! That’s a new thing for me and I’m HERE for it!

Alright, ALRIGHT…feast your eyes on some absolutely stunning bride and groom formals! Jackie preferred mansion over “green forest”. We had discussed this at their pre-wedding consult. We were SO close to the ceremony time and the videographers had had to leave to set up at the ceremony but I was bound and determined to squeeze in JUST SOME at the mansion and we did it! Lacey, as always, helped me out tremendously with the side angles. I can never, ever thank my team enough for all they do for me!

Alright! Off to Oglebay’s West Spa Patio we went! We actually pulled RIGHT in with Jackie and Drew, they told me where they were going and then the Wedding Gods said, “Let’s play hide and seek”. Apparently, I didn’t fully understand or translate where they were going because when the officiant, DJ, AND coordinator, Lauren (Hey, girl!) went to look for them…they looked at me like I was NUTS. We couldn’t find Jackie and Drew!

Have no fear! This blog has a very very happy ending. I don’t know what happened between the time I handed them off and the time Drew walked down the aisle with Bear, but apparently they were found! Bear got to be the official ring bearer! I LOVE it!

Here comes the bride! HUGE shoutout to Matt VanFossen for texting me the night before during rehearsal (that’s right…DURING rehearsal) to ask me where I wanted them to walk. This is a great example of hiring vendors who work together and know each other well. Matt knows I’m “particular” and I LOVE that he texted me. I wanted them to walk in the grass…because this side angle just isn’t possible if they go behind the guests on the stone patio and I knew Jackie had a long, beautiful veil!

Lacey nailed it!

Jackie was SO pumped to see her sneak peek of the ceremony and was so excited about the scenery and the light. That made me SO happy…BECAUSEEEEE what she doesn’t know…is that this bright light is some of the most challenging light we can photograph when you still want to see the view. Again, those Wedding gods really were testing me but I wasn’t about to let this couple down. With extra precise camera settings and being extra careful with each photo, these may have ended up being some of my most FAVORITE West Spa Patio ceremony photos EVER! At the time, I was thinking, “A couple clouds would be NICE RIGHT ABOUT NOW!” HA! Also, I looked over and saw a star balloon very slowly drifting in the sky behind them during their “I dos”. I’m all about “signs” and I have no idea if someone was watching over this couple or if there was a special meaning, but I took a photo (you’ll see it below) JUST in case!

If you know Jackie, you KNOW she loves Taylor Swift! Matt VanFossen threw in a little pun at the end there and Jackie gave us the BEST laugh! Then, they were pronounced Mr. & Mrs. Lytton!

…and the way they recessed back down the aisle will forever be some of my most memorable photos of a couple coming at me after just getting hitched. LOOK (below) at the absolute pure JOY radiating from these two! They did it! WE did it…and it felt so good because us vendors could breathhhhhhhhhhh. Timeline all caught up! YESSSS!

….and it did not stop there!! This is how these two walked away from their ceremony. I MEANNNNN. MY HEART! You don’t get much better than this!

We got right down the family formals and then we took the couple back behind Glessner auditorium. They weren’t a couple that “HAD” to attend their cocktail hour. So, we took advantage of the extra time. All couples are different and these two did a first look so we had gobs of time to get some more bride and groom formals. For the first time in the day, we got to relax a bit and just enjoyed the moments AND that light just showed up to make these photos stunning. THE GLOW!

AGAIN WITH THE MODEL WORTHY…MAGAZINE WORTHY…PHOTOS! I know I took these. You know I took these…but it just feels surreal to me. Check out these beauties below! I already stored them in my “website update” folder!

Talk about relaxing! These two have a ‘hand shake’ they do…and they did it. And we photographed and filmed it!

That’s it! WE DID IT! Checklist officially checked! Whewwwww! We packed up and off to Glessner we went. NO surprise…also CLASSY AND STUNNING! Lacey took that above the table/food photo and I LOVE her for that!

I always tell couples to really think hard about the vendors they hire. Vendors work (usually) so much more efficiently when they know each other. This was a PRIME example. This photo (below) looks like a fabulous GRAND entrance photo, right? Yes. You’re right! What you don’t see is all the planning that went into it. Remember, I had Becca with me. She’s new but working with Brian Oliver is not. He saw Becca and knew I wouldn’t mind if he put her RIGHT to work. She was in charge of making sure the drapes closed so Brian’s booth didn’t show up in their photos at the beginning of the night (we worry about those little things). Brian asked Lauren (Oglebay’s coordinator) to be the one to remote start the cold sparklers you see. Aaron and I decided where we would stand…front and center. Lacey and Ashleigh went left and right to be sure to stay out of our photos and film while getting their own coverage and ALLLLLL of that had to happen at the exact same time to make these photos work. AND it did. AND Jackie and Drew centered themselves perfectly! AND we didn’t get just one photo like you see below but lots and lots!!!!

They went right into cake cutting! AND AGAIN…I won’t say it because I’ve said it enough…but there’s just something I love so much about all these photos. In reality, it’s just Jackie and Drew! They’re such a FAB couple!

First dance MAGIC!

They did speeches and of all the weddings I’ve done in Glessner, I’ve never photographed a set up like this so I had to include it, of course!

We had an amazing meal and then we got right down to business with parent dances and then it was time to get this party STARTED! The guests at this wedding didn’t mess around packing the dance floor!

As I always do, I walk around with my paparazzi goggles on. I found a whole bunch of people outside mingling. So, I did what Hannah always does and went out and made friends and it turned into a full blown couple photo shoot. Lacey was inside keeping an eye on the dance floor and I was outside taking these! WITH Jackie and Drew’s permission, I’m happy to share these with you all! Just shoot me an email at hannah@hannahbarlowphoto.com. Let me know who you are and what you were wearing and I’ll send you the files. I took lots and lots! I also started showing them how to pose, where to pose…how to position yourself in the best light. Why am I the way that I am?!

These people made me laugh. They went ALL in for all kinds of photos! MY kind of PEOPLE!

As the night went on, the dance floor continued to be packed. Jackie and Drew wanted to take a moment to themselves to just breath some fresh air so we did some night champagne shots!

Then, we went back in and continued to dance the night away. John Denver, anyone?! It’s the blue and yellow lights on the wall that Brian does that I just LOVE!

After hugs and goodbyes, we left Brian to it…STILL with a packed dance floor. He told me the party NEVER stopped!

BUT…all amazing things have to come to an end, right?! I meant it when I said was willing to do just about anything for this couple! They deserve it! I apologize in advance for all the typos. I proofread this baby three times, I promise! Lacey will get on me if she finds them! HA! BUT I was so excited and if you know me, you know I’m a walking typo who has all the words and all the energy. You can tell by the family and friends who surrounded this couple how much they are loved. And they are now loved by their vendors too. I may have had points in the day I was so out of breath I thought, “How are we going to get all this done?!” but then I sit here and I look at all these stunning photos and know this couple had the most AMAZING WEDDING and will have the most amazing photos to remember it (that’s not me being big headed…you can just see it was a GREAT wedding to photograph). My goodness…it was SO pretty! Ugh. I just don’t know where to stop this blog. I’m happy to be seeing all these photos and blogging it. But I’m sad it’s all over and now a “past wedding” on my list. But I also offered up my services as a nurse/manager one day for Jackie! HA! She’s in medical school. I’d totally work for her! All in all, I’m just hoping to see these two again in the future. It’d be so great!

Alright. ALRIGHT. I must stop now…but as you can see…timeline challenges aside…WHAT A GREAT DAY! Give them ALLLLLLLL your Hannah Barlow Photography love.

Jackie and Drew are now Mr. & Mrs. Lytton! HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

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Vendors

Wedding Venue/Catering – Oglebay (Lauren Mitchell, Coordinator)

Bride’s Gown – Bridal Beginning

Bridesmaids’ Dresses – Birdy Grey

Men’s Attire – Liberty Men’s Formals

Hair – Legal Hair and Day Spa

Makeup – Brittany Morgan

Florist/Cake – Masterpieces of Old Town

Videographer – Off Center Production

DJ – DJ Brian Oliver

Photo Booth – Deja Booth Photo Booth