Kelsey & Ronan’s Fall Greek Wedding

Hello, everyone! This sweet couple is still on their honeymoon and their wedding is ready to be seen on the blog! Their full gallery will also be on its way once they return! So, let’s do this! You all know…if you know me…I’m not a cookie cutter kind of photographer. Every couple is different. Every wedding is different and every couple’s post wedding experience for photos is different. This couple opted to delay their gallery until after their honeymoon so that gave me some extra time with their photos and story! They DID tell me to go ahead withe the blog… SO, please give the VERY sweet Mr. & Mrs. Ronan Butts all your Hannah Barlow Photography love! Their wedding was filled with love AND beauty! ENJOY their blog!

Ashleigh and I started the day at GrandVue cabins where the men and women were getting ready in side by side locations. I got to meet some new vendor friends too. Huge shoutout to my new makeup friend! She’s FAB and we got to chitter chat while she was doing makeup (at SUCH an impressive speed…may I add) and the makeup looked 10/10 great and lasted all day! Hair (who I’ve worked with before…Hey, Amichi!) and makeup was zooming away and right on time! There were times too throughout the day we got ahead…got behind…but it was no fault of anyone’s…just a “regular” wedding day and I’ll take it! Kelsey…as she always has been with me…was calm, cool and collected!

Seriously, Kelsey has been so sweet from the day I met her in the studio…she’s so laid back and easy going! Her wedding very much reflected that through my lens straight down to her details!

…and her getting ready moments! The weather was PERFECT too!

This is a perfect example of her being so easy going AND fun. Right before the first look she said, “Take a photo of me with the owl..” and so we did! This will absolutely be in the outtakes blog at the end of the year too!

Then, we did a first look with her dad!

…and one of her sisters played part time wedding videographer (and huge shoutout to Jake, not pictured here, who also filmed much of the day next to me)! These moments left us with lots of candid photo opportunities!

Then, I ran over to meet up with Ronan and catch some last minute moments of him getting ready!

Time for the first look with the couple! We even had a walker passer by-er “whoop” at the couple! I asked, “Do we know them?” The couples responded…”Nope!” HA!

Then, we zoomed right into bride and groom formal photos while Ashleigh gathered the bridal party!

My favorite color is purple…so is Kelsey’s…so I was super excited about these details and that “pop” of color I love SO MUCH!

I’m convinced that bridal parties…all bridal parties…are just great anymore. Never a problem…all about photos..and even offer suggestions! This group wanted to do the “tush push”…I asked who of them were Eagles fans…none of them, turns out! They just wanted to have fun! SO, we did!

The ladies then had their own fun too!! This is such a small batch of what we actually took…it was VERY hard to choose for the blog! So, if anyone wants their copies….let me know (with the couple’s permission, of course)! I couldn’t believe the speed at which we were flying through photos and the variety we were getting.

There is seriously nothing I love more than a big pop of bold color on a beautiful backdrop!

Kelsey….GIRL! You were SUCH a beautiful bride!

Sibling photos! As an only child, I’m always so envious!

We had caught up…then we fell behind…then we caught up again! That’s just how wedding days go! I excused the bridal party to go back up and prepare to leave for the ceremony and we then took this couple to take some more portraits just the two of them! Off we go!

Kelsey wanted fall! I promised her I’d find fall and make it fall! We did it!

They take SUCH good photos! AHHHH!!! I have black and white photos too but I just love all this color SO much!

Then, we raced off to my FIRST GREEK WEDDING ever!!! AHHHHHHHH!!! The excitement and anticipation. I couldn’t even wait! I’d heard so much about them. I’ve seen them in movies too BUT I wanted to see what it’s like in real life in person…because you know you can NOT trust the movies. After ten years, I can’t even believe this was my first one! The church was gorgeous! And this ceremony didn’t disappoint!

Here comes the bride! Ashleigh and I tag teamed all the angles!

I was originally told I would not be permitted on the alter. And I’m A OK with that…that’s a “rule” at almost all churches and I respect that…heck…I respect that at ANY wedding even if we’re outside. No one needs a photographer running around during a wedding ceremony…and while we DO need photos…that’s not the important part in these moments. To my surprise, Father gave me permission to be up there…and I was actually shocked…and it felt wrong. Every wedding photographer spidey sense was going off in my body…but he actually encouraged me to go up there so I could “see” and get good photos. I’m SO appreciative! And shoutout to the bridesmaids…especially Hannah…who made space for me so I could “see”!

Ok…Okayyyyy…we need some color too!! Because again, this church was GORGEOUS!

After they were pronounced husband and wife, they recessed outside and went into hiding…and then we went right into family formals. LISTEN…I don’t consistently show family formals in my wedding blogs BUT…not one person went missing or was unavailable for photos. AND I REPEAT BECAUSE IT NEVER HAPPENS…not one person was missing. I was never pushed to a “halt” to go find someone. It’s a wedding…it’s a lot of people..it’s unrealistic to think everything will run smoothly with such a huge amount of people…and Boy OooOO BOY was I wrong with this group! SO, I’ll give you another preview of just a few we took. Again, let me know if you want a copy of your group! Thank you EVERYONE for making this one of the most smooth family formal events to date!

Then, they wanted some photos outside the church celebrating with their bridal party!

Kelsey’s dress has the most beautiful cover for the bodice and arms. She put it on right before the ceremony and I NEEDED some of it in my photos afterward. So, we did some photos outside of just the couple too! Huge shoutout to Suzanne’s in Elm Grove, West Virginia…this extra piece didn’t come with the dress and that shocked me too. It was so perfect together!

Then, we headed off to the Carnes Center in St. Clairsville, Ohio to get the reception details photographed and to get this party started!

Then, the couple was announced and welcomed into the reception and we got right down to first dances and parent dances!

Another thing I LOVE about bridal parties these days is that their speeches are SO good!

I always tell my couples there is “no exact timeline” and “every wedding is different” and this wedding was the PERFECT example of that! Their dinner schedule ran later than tradition so we were able to catch so many more candid moments…less dancing (no dancing actually because they danced later) and MORE candid, genuine moments with their guests. Their reception gallery was ALL moments they shared with the guests…table photos…hugs…love…and family! So, here’s just a few!

I said it in the sneak peek and I’ll say it again. This wedding was alllll…ALL…love and family! My heart would be SO full if my own children’s weddings one day were like this one. You could just feel that family vibe everywhere you went and looked. I was so excited for my first Greek wedding and it did NOT disappoint! A HUGE congratulations goes out to this couple! It’s been 10 days since they got married and I sure hope they are having the BEST time…and in Greece, of course!

So, one more time…please give the NEW Mr. & Mrs. Butts ALL your Hannah Barlow Photography love! Thanks for reading everyone!

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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.

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Vendors

Church – St. John the Devine Greek Orthodox Church Wheeling, WV

Officiant – Father Demetrios Tsikouris

Reception Venue – The James Carnes Center in St. Clairsville, Ohio

Florals – Shadyside Flower Shop

Desserts – Reisbecks and Sweet Abes Bakeshop

Catering – Chef & Co.

Bartending – Olivia Evans

Hair – Amichi Salon

Makeup – Abby Cadavera (Cadavera Glam Makeup Artistry)

Band – The Meraklides

Planner – Leigh and Co. Events (Abby Crowder)