The Vendors
Venue: Steam Plant - Dayton, Ohio
Dress Designer: Designer—Bahar and Reza
Bridesmaid Dresses: Amazon
Groom/Groomsmen Attire: Price Bros
Florals: The Flower Shoppe
Music: Dan Edwards
Donuts from Bills Donuts in Centerville
Assorted Desserts from Dorothy Lane Market
Kohler Catering
Happiest Wedding Wednesday! Today we are sharing Lauren & Jamie’s wedding with you! And today, I want to speak to you as the photographer, as Ali. Today, I’m talking to you from my heart.
I always put a lot of pressure on myself for each wedding I shoot. I mean, I go into every wedding as if it were my best friend’s big day. I don’t want to miss any detail that you’ve spent so much time planning to perfect. I spent time getting to know you (hello engagement sessions!), asking how you met, genuinely interested in your story. I meet your families and friends and get to sit in this really intimate space on one of the biggest and best days of your life.
And, I’ve never felt more pressure to get it right than I did on this day. If you know this family, you know their story.. I received no pressure from the bride or groom or their family or friends, but the gravity of this day was undoubtably on me to capture this beautiful love story, and all the pieces that support it.
Lauren and Jamie planned their wedding in just two months. Yes, two months! I’m still in awe of how absolutely magical this entire day was. Teacher that she is, Lauren even presented me with the most beautiful timeline of the day.
There is a lot to think about as a photographer and you have to think about it all at once: Lighting, location, posing, timeline, details, details, details. I’ve spent years training myself on a process. This wedding made me remember why I named my business Story Told Photography. Sure, I’d love to have the most beautiful lighting at all times, and have gotten pretty good at anticipating where I need to be to get the moment and the light, but sometimes moments happen when you don’t have control, and this wedding taught me that if I have to choose, I don’t choose the light that’s going to look best on the blog, I choose the moment, the one that tells the story. The one they’ll tear up show their grandchildren.
And typically, I curate a blog post with only images you’d find in a magazine, because that’s what someone else has taught me that others want to see. But I’m not a magazine editor, I’m a story teller.
So on this blog post, you’ll see more of their story, not mine to tell in words. You’ll see all the pretty details like always, and you’ll see smiles, and tears, but you’ll also see goofy moments I may not have shared before, like Jamie crashing their first look with his groomsmen on scooters. And you guys, I almost couldn’t handle poor, sweet, beautiful Lauren standing in the most gorgeous wedding gown, waiting on her groom, missing her magical fountain photos… but Jamie insisted that we go along with his plan and that he wanted to make Lauren wait on him for once! It all unfolded and I had no control: Lauren didn’t even realize her groom was right beside her on a scooter for a moment, but when she finally did, to my biggest surprise, SHE LAUGHED… hysterically! And while I was imagining worst case scenario, Jamie knew Lauren would laugh all along. That’s them. I even included the grand entrance slip and slide below!
And with those big laughs, I cried every single time I opened my laptop up to edit these images. My husband can attest.
So while I went into this wedding ready for the moments, the Steam Plant and the Lord blessed us with beautiful natural light all day, and I’m so grateful for all the beauty that is gracing Story Told Photography’s blog today, from the bride and groom down to the little details, but I’m mostly grateful for a couple that chose me to capture their happiest day and reminded me to choose moments first. Cheers to forever, Lauren & Jamie!
Oh. And we still got those magical fountain photos.
Here are my faves (:
