Celeste & Erik’s Oglebay Wedding

OOooooo wow OooO WOW! I’ve done hundreds of weddings for almost ten years now. Each wedding is different and unique in its own way but sometimes weddings pop up unexpectedly (Celeste was definitely an unexpected booking and while I’m typing this I’m texting to see if I can retell the story of how I became her wedding photographer). I’m pretty sure I told that story in the blog though…which you can read HERE…and I’ll go do the same!

Ok…so yea…I DID tell that story! I wasn’t Celete’s original photographer but here we are…and these photos are SO good I can’t believe I even took them (it feels like a dream) so that just tells me and the world it was less about me as a photographer and more about THEM…because these sure are something.

Every once in a while a wedding hits you right in the soul in all the great ways and this was one of those weddings. We never know when it’s going to happen and the feelings progress through the day…THIS was one of those weddings. We left with all the feels and the squeals kept continuing on while I was sorting and editing their sneak peeks. I sure hope Ali (my editor) is enjoying them now too as I retype this blog draft! So, after that introduction and lots of rambling and now finishing their massive gallery…please give Celeste and Erik all your Hannah Barlow Photography love! They’re VERY elegant and classy wedding at Oglebay in Wheeling, WV is on the blog right now! ENJOY!

**…and I apologize in advance for all the typos…I’m still over lying excited!**

OK! ENJOY!

Would you believe it if I told you this was my ONLY Oglebay wedding this year? It’s true! And it’s all thanks to Plans for Perfection (Hey, Girl!)! Well, I’m pretty sure that’s how it all happened anyway…if she’s involved…and I’m involved…it’s usually because she recommended me. And now I have to go back and read the blog again…Jeesh! My brain is mush, I tell ya! ANYWAY…it was my first and only wedding at Oglebay this year. It was nice to be back since I know the layout so well. I got to meet Mara (film) and we bonded over all the galavanting around Oglebay we did! I still LOVE the new front of Oglebay’s lodge!

We (video and film teams) met up in Glessner to see all the hustle and bustle and then we headed on over to the cabins to get in on all the pre wedding day prep and madness! Also, meet Rosie – their dog!

These details are everything I love in a wedding – clean, classy and so elegant!

Erik’s ring was even engraved! I knew about this as it was on my list. I made sure to get a photo of it by itself but I also got a photo of it laying on their invitation and I could NOT have gotten a better shot of the engraving if I had tried…for real…it was dumb luck and I bet I’d never be able to do it again! BUT that was the theme of this wedding…everything just kept working out…thunderstorm and makeup dress disaster included. Whoops! Getting ahead of myself here…more on that later!

One more! I LOVE some classy, elegant details!

We were back and forth from the bride’s cabin and the groom’s cabin. I dropped Lacey off at one point which is rare for us to separate…but we got it done! Lacey should have her own business…I tell her EVERY day! Literally…I talk to her every day and I probably remind her multiple times a day usually! She won’t though…and that’s ok because I want her to be one of my second shooters forever! Groom getting ready moments were underway!

Then, we started the pivotal moment of the day of getting the bride ready!

First up, bridesmaid robe photos and then with Celete and Erik’s moms!

It was at this moment…literally this moment…a test shot of Celeste looking out the window that I just KNEW this day was going to be SOMETHING.

Lacey set this up for me! She’s SO good…I appreciate her so much! Isn’t it BEAUTIFUL?! It’s the little touches!

We tagged mom in for some help!

Then, we tagged in one of Celeste’s sisters and got allllll the moments and feels! These are just a FEW too! We took way too many…usually we say we “overshot” the wedding but not this one. We needed it ALL!

A common theme for this wedding was…”there is literally not a bad angle”!

Exhibit A, below! Not ONE bad angle! Lacey and I took advantage of ALL the angles!

Celeste yelled, “DON’T GET MY TOES!” SO I kept saying, “Don’t get her toes!” and we still managed to get beautiful shoe photos! Again with ALL the angles being SO good! AH! I can’t get over these photos…and I took them…but it still feels like a dream!

Then, it was crunch time. I picked up Erik (one minute late…he told me…and we had a good laugh). Ashley picked up Celeste and we headed over to the first look. This is where “disaster” struck. They got through their first look. There were happy tears…there were laughs and smiles…and there ended up being makeup ALL DOWN THE SIDE OF CELETE’S DRESS. I’ll tell you all about it..but first…first look moments!

You read it right. Phone photo for proof…and a screen shot of what I sent the planner…because we were going to need all hands on deck for this dress stain when I dropped the couple to the ceremony location. I wanted Ashley to be prepared….we’re used to makeup on clothes…we’re not used to this amount. We still don’t know exactly how it happened…I have my suspicions but I’ll leave you in limbo because like the rest of the day..it all worked out. It literally did not matter!

I was trying to remain calm…but pretty sure “what the heck is THAT” flew out of my mouth while taking those to send to Ashley. Remember…we hadn’t taken ANY formal photos yet except for first look moments. Cue the tricks…the last trick being photoshop, of course! That’s the one thing about me…I’ll vow and promise to do whatever I can to give you perfect photos. This was no one’s fault…it’s my job to fix it. So, from posing her a certain angle to using that big, beautiful bouquet to cover it…to simply removing it in post production…we were going to do it all. Celeste remained calm…I would NOT have been calm if I was her!

Ok! SO…back to photos. Rosie…sweet girl….was having a nervous TIME being away from home with all these people. Celeste opted to not have her brought over for formal photos. I insisted…I REALLY thought she was going to fight me on it. I get it…doggie babies come first. She was worried about her…but I told her in a week she’d regret not having photos with Rosie! So, shoutout to Sam who brought Rosie over to us AND is actually in these photos (behind Celete’s dress holding the leash). This is a common trick for us but never once has someone been so good at it you literally can’t see him and I’m so mad I didn’t get a photo behind the scenes! I was still fixating on the makeup on the dress in the back of my brain!

Then, we got right down to portraits and ooOOOo my goodness ME! Where do I even start?!

Let’s start right smack dab in front of Oglebay’s mansion!

Then, let’s mix it up again but still on the mansion’s porch! AGAIN WITH THE NO BAD ANGLES!

HOW?!

Fun fact…this veil was $18 from Amazon and it was a STAR of the show!

Here I am always making it weird under the veil! I’ll do anything for a photo like this!

More angles…more beauty!

OooooOoo Celeste! GIRL! I could photograph you all day long every day!

This is Lacey’s signature shot. I don’t know if grooms even know when she is doing this!

Makeup on the dress? What makeup?! My gosh…what a DAY! I hope every bride for the rest of this year feels the joy that Celeste was positively oozing on this day! Oozing is an odd word for a wedding blog now that I’m proofreading it back but I’m Hannah…and YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!

Then, the bridal party arrived. We got to hang with them a bit in the morning but this is always the moment I can tell how the next part of the day will go…and they were a DREAM bridal party to work with…especially when I started to feel rain drops and my husband was texting me warning me about the rain (remember…he’s the ultimate wedding day weather man). Nothing to see here…as Lacey ran to the car and grabbed the umbrellas. I do believe I said, “you know ummm…can you go grab the stuff behind my seat”…they knew what I meant. Good news…we didn’t need them…yet. Celeste told me later she DID hear someone say “umbrella”…whoops!

So, I called the bridal party’s attention and we got right down to photos. Again, we photographed so much this day…these are just a small batch of them. Everything that was requested was taken, edited and delivered so if you’re looking for a particular photo we took…with the couple’s permission…I’m happy to share! Just get a hold of me! I’ll share the traditional ones!

Bridesmaids!

We put everyone together (minus the flower girls…not pictured and who we photographed later). I don’t put my kids on social media so I always ask and want to keep the kiddos more private! BUT THEY WERE ADORABLE…just like the rest of the wedding…trust me!

…and now the men!

Erik may be one of the calmest most chill grooms this year! And he looks very dapper in a grey tux!

**just googled “dapper” to make sure I wasn’t having a Hannah moment…it’s good…it’s correct. HA!**

…and then we did some more bride groom formals before we left for the ceremony! I don’t encourage my couples to do first looks…but I think after this wedding I can honestly admit I DO prefer them! We get time for SO many more photos! SO many photos!

Back to the mansion porch…because I didn’t think we’d utilized ALL the angles yet! Still no bad ones! Shoutout to Mara for all the prompts here!

We took a detour on the way to the ceremony to grab a few quick photos of the Almost Heaven West Virginia sign recently put up (last year?) at Oglebay!

And that’s it! I could take somewhat of a breath and head to the ceremony. After sharing some directions and a pin with the party bus driver, we raced off to Oglebay’s West Spa Patio and it was GORGEOUS…and also…I’ve done a LOT of weddings on this patio and none were set up this way. The wedding just kept getting better and better!

Lots of couples worry there will be no emotion if they do a first look. Let this be yet another wedding where that theory is wrong! There’s usually MORE emotion…because all those nerves (well, most of them) are gone! Shoutout to Lacey for that shot from the back!

It was a beautiful ceremony too and they included a lot of their Faith which was such a nice touch!

THEN, it was all hands on deck for a very long list of family formals because they’ve got pretty decent sized families…and it was starting to thunder…and my husband was taxing me to “take cover”…and I hadn’t DONE ANY OF THE FAMILY FORMALS YET. Cue the professional bossy Hannah panic. That’s what I call it…I go from loud but always sweet and professional to very loud…more assertive…well, yes…bossy…and extra loud. We had to…and I thank and commend every single person who got their photo taken for putting up with me! We did it!

And we got a photo of the couple with their beautiful homemade cross which I LOVE and told Erik he should rent! Hit me up if want to rent this…I know some people! And then CHEERS…all the hard parts of the day were done!

Then, we packed up and headed to Oglebay’s Glessner Auditorium! As always…and as expected…it was STUNNING! Masterpieces of Old Town ALWAYS outdo themselves!

Plans for Perfection always lets the couple see their reception before guests enter. Jonathan (of Finest Events…who probably won’t read this…but I always stick this in there to see if he DOES) was on it and started playing the couple’s first dance song which was PERFECT because I got the most stunning photos of them dancing all by themselves in their decorated reception hall. Again, something I’ve never done before and now I want to do it all the time!

After announcements, they went right into speeches including one from the couple!

Then, after dinner, they cut their cake!

…then they got to do their first dance in front of everyone with special effects!

Parent dances were a sweet vibe and so genuine!

Then, before we took off, Jonathan opened the dance floor and the party got STARTED!

OooOO man. Where to end this one? From the moment Celeste first emailed me to six months later when I got an email from her and she hired me…I loved her. She’s so sweet and kind and still…I had NO idea what Erik would be like but then I met him too at their engagement session and I just knew this wedding would be something…but I sure didn’t expect this level. My heart is SO full. This is one of those weddings that practically everything just flowed…it just happened the way it was supposed to be. And GUESS WHAT…it never even really rained…just a drop of two despite the horrid forecast. Nope! I could ramble more and more but this wedding was perfect as is so please shoutout and give this couple all your Hannah Barlow Photography love! Thanks for reading everyone!

OOooOo WAIT! STOP! Slam on the wedding blog breaks! I forgot Golden hour and champagne! See? My brain is just in la la land! SO, ENJOY! See? A good wedding photographer would go back and edit the blog…nope. Not here! This is how it played out in my head…this is HOW I would tell the story to someone who wasn’t there so that’s how we write the blogs!

They walked. They danced…they ran. It was…once again…a whole moment!

…and then I promised them I could make it look nighttime too!! These were taken right after the above photos! Cool, right?

CHEERS!

*cue champagne pop sound*!

Ok. Now, I’m done!

---

Disclaimer: Hannah Barlow Photography blogs only represent a small portion of photos the couple actually receives in their private gallery.  The blogs are meant to highlight favorite photos and favorite moments of the wedding day and do not represent an entire gallery.

---

Vendors

Venue/Catering – Oglebay in Wheeling, WV

Wedding Coordinator – Plans for Perfection

Bridal Gown – Winnie’s

Bridesmaids’ Gowns – Birdy Grey

Men’s Attire – The Black Tux

Hair – Luxe

Makeup – Make Me Blush (Sabrina Selcer)

Florist – Masterpieces of Old Town

Videographer – Mara Shields (M20 Media)

Cake – Bonnie Belles

DJ – Finest Events

Transportation – Heavenly Coach

Stationary – Truly Engaging

Officiant – Jared Sams (Brother-in-Law)