Kara and Mark’s celebrated their first wedding anniversary yesterday! Getting the opportunity to shoot their wedding was very special to me since Kara and I went to elementary school together and many of her bridesmaids were high school classmates as well! Ashley and I had a blast shooting their engagement photos since Mark and Kara are both optometrists and wanted to incorporate some fun optometrist themed eye-catching details into their day.
Growing up, Kara was always athletic. Her family lived just a few miles down the road from mine. I remember passing her jogging along the roadside accompanied by her best running partner, her Dad. For her wedding day, she cut a blue heart out of one of this race t-shirts and sewed it inside the hem of her wedding dress. He was at the house all morning helping out while the girls were getting ready. One of the reasons I love weddings is that it’s not just a celebration between two people but
Another friendly face at the house that morning was Kara and Mark’s dog. This story really can’t be told without Larry, their west highland terrier. (You can see more Larry pics on the portrait section of the website!)
One of my favorite details was a handkerchief that Kara carried with her which came with a note from her grandma written 26 years ago.
Kara’s Dad also wore special cufflinks with a message. When she was ready to leave for the church, he helped her put her wedding shoes on the same way he helped her with her shoes for many many races.
The ceremony was at Kara’s home town church.
Sometimes I torture the guys just a little by asking them to pin their own boutonnieres on. They actually did a really good job!
Meanwhile the girls were waiting outside on the party bus. How to fight off last minute jitters? Giant pink plastic eye glasses 😀
After a little hiccup with the organist, the tension was broken by applause as Kara’s Dad walked her down the aisle to Mark.
After the ceremony, we grabbed some quick portraits at the church in the beautiful light of the stained glass windows.
Another favorite shot from the church.
When we left for the reception, the party bus made a quick detour for someone very important. Larry! Kara’s brother, Matt, and her maid of honor were first to hop off the bus and help Larry into his tuxedo so he could give the bride a kiss and pose for a few photos with his family.
Their reception was at Westmoreland Country Club and we got to take a few photos on the golf course.
Westmoreland Country Club looked beautiful. Each table had it’s own eye-themed title, from “Brown Eyed Girl” to “Love at First Sight”.
Mark dancing with his Mom.
After dinner, we took Kara and Mark back outside for some sunset photos while guests were finishing their meals.
The party on the dance floor was awesome – Jason Kendall Productions did live renditions of everything from the Beatles to Pharell.
Mark carried his bride to the car through a tunnel of sparklers at the end of the night!
Happy first anniversary ! 😀
