Year: 2015

laura + nathan // timberlodge

Filed in weddings shot by on at

Laura and Nathan’s beautiful wedding at the Timberlodge in Akron, New York was able to come together flawlessly with a little help from their family and friends. Lucky for us we were there to capture all of the important moments. Scroll on through their summery nuptials and I bet by the end all of their sweet memories will have you wanting s’more! (See what I did there??)

Laura: “Nathan and I planned our entire wedding from another country. No small task! Jenn and Ben were so amazingly accommodating. We Skyped once and I knew I could rely on a quick email reply to all my questions along the way. I even was able to turn to Jenn for some vendor advice when I was having trouble finding one. When we finally met in person just a few days before the wedding Jenn and Ben brought examples of their work, just in case we wanted to see more. Of course I had stalked their blog and Facebook page and had seen it all online beforehand, but I thought it was a really nice gesture.”

Laura: “Our first look area was about a 5 minute golf cart ride away from our ceremony site. I was pretty nervous to see Nathan and trying my best to not start crying. Jenn was great at telling stories to keep my mind occupied. It was a small touch, but really appreciated!

Laura: “Our first look was amazing. I don’t like to be the center of attention and let’s be honest, that’s what a bride is. For our first look I was so excited, but also so comfortable because it was just Nathan and I. It was so personal and special.

Nathan: “The first look was really incredible. I admit I was pretty nervous, especially waiting to see Laura, but once we were together all the nerves just went away. It was great to enjoy the moment: just the two of us, surrounded by trees, and away from all of the craziness. Just to see how happy Laura was – that was probably my favorite moment of the day.

Laura: “I chose to do a unique take on my bouquet. Our ceremony started with me pausing at the end of the isle and receiving a flower from each of my closest friends and family to make my bouquet. I felt this made my bouquet more meaningful. It was one way to quickly connect with the most important people in my life and take a piece of them down the aisle with me. Then once I got down the aisle Nathan was waiting for me with the last flower for my bouquet. A perfect ending and addition to my support system.

Nathan: “During the wedding planning process, Laura had told me about ‘groom’s cakes’ and I told her that I didn’t need one (as long as there was indeed cake). She never brought it up again. On our wedding day, I was then quite surprised to find not just a groom’s cake, but a cake made entirely of Oreos and fish-shaped gummies (I’m a fish ecologist). It was both awesome-looking and delicious. When I learned that the cake was made by my sister-in-laws I was blown away and appreciative of all the effort they took to make the day that much more special.

Laura: “I really enjoyed sneaking off for more photos at sunset. As much as I wanted to party with family and friends, it was great to have a reason to sneak off together and reflect more on our day.

Laura: “Nathan and I are not the ‘golfer’ type. I never in a million years would have thought we’d get married on a golf course. But, one fun thing that came out of this was a golf cart ride with tin cans dragging behind us. It was a lot of fun (come on, who doesn’t love driving/riding in a golf cart) and provided for some great photos. My only regret is that we didn’t ride in it longer!

Laura was kind enough to offer some words of advice to upcoming brides:

If you’re considering a first look, do it! The first look was a very special time for us to spend together. We were able to speak more freely to each other than we would have at the ceremony. Not only was I able to see Nathan’s reaction to me in my dress, but also hear his comments instead of just a smile or whisper. Also, Nathan is one of the best people in the world to help calm my nerves and being able to laugh, hug, kiss, and see each other put me at a much bigger ease for the ceremony. Lastly, Nathan and I didn’t do any engagement photos so the first look allowed us some time to get used to a camera on us at all times (not that I even noticed Jenn or Ben during the ceremony!). One concern I think a lot of people have is that the first look will take away from the ceremony. Even with a first look, I still had tears in my eyes during the walk down the aisle. Hearing the music and walking down the aisle with my dad was still just as special to me. If anything, I felt like I could focus more on the ceremony because of the first look. I don’t regret a thing about our first look!

Advice that was given to me that I found extremely true: This is a very unique time in your life when family and friends are more than willing to help you with anything! People will offer out of the blue! And, it’s awesome to have so many personal touches in your wedding. So, don’t hesitate to take some of the help. My sister-in-law married us, my friends created our cake topper, my sister-in-laws created our groomsman cake, and friends and family saved glasses for our center pieces and my brothers helped make them. With some minor direction I even let the venue pick the aisle decorations. Involving others in my details resulted in some outcomes that might not have been exactly how I imagined or would have done it myself, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.


Wedding Vendors Include

Ceremony and Reception: The Timberlodge
Hair and Makeup: So Chic Now
Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal
Groom’s Look: Moores
Florist: Lipinoga Florist
Cake: Wegmans

 

  • 3 Reasons Why We LOVE (and highly recommend) First Looks SAYS...

    […] “The first look was really incredible. I admit I was pretty nervous, especially waiting to see Laura, but once we were together all the nerves just went away. It was great to enjoy the moment: just the two of us, surrounded by trees, and away from all of the craziness. Just to see how happy Laura was – that was probably my favorite moment of the day.” – Nathan + Laura […]

ashley + brett // brookfield country club

Filed in weddings shot by on at

We’ve always been so fortunate to be able to work with so many incredible couples and Ashley and Brett are certainly no exception. Even a surprise rain shower right in the middle of their outdoor ceremony at Brookfield Country Club wasn’t enough to make them lose their cool on their big day! Instead, they took it as a blessing and made the best of the moment (which made for some seriously stunning photographs). We just love these two!

Ashley: “Like most brides, I loved my dress and couldn’t wait to wear it.  I had tried it on many times through the fitting process but putting it on that morning for the wedding was like falling in love with it all over again. Seeing all the pieces comes together – the jewelry, the shoes, the dress, the veil – gave me the first of several skipped heart beats for the day.

Ashley: “I was so excited to see Brett and for him to see my dress. We decided on a first look and photos before the ceremony (so glad we did this and would highly recommend it!). I came down the staircase behind Brett with our wedding party and family looking on and had such nervous anticipation for his reaction.  His reaction was priceless and it was such a fun moment that eased the nerves for the rest of the day.

Brett: “The anticipation of seeing Ashley in her dress caused a whirlwind of emotions!  I was nervous and excited but knew that I needed to demonstrate patience. Regardless of how quickly I wanted to turn around to see how beautiful she was I knew I needed to take my time to enjoy the moment.  When she was not far the bottom of the stairs I bowed my head and quickly thanked God for putting Ashley in my life and when I turned around I had never been so happy he did!

Brett: “Hanging out with my best friends/groomsmen the morning of the wedding was a great time.  We hadn’t all been together since college.   I was quite nervous as one could assume and my Best Man, Josh, did a great job of keeping things loose and lively.  His friendship is something that I will cherish for all time.

Ashley: “I wasn’t expecting to get really emotional on our wedding day. When it was just my dad, my maid of honor Amanda and me left in the back waiting to walk down the aisle a wave of emotions hit me and I started to get a bit choked up. It was such a special and symbolic moment to be walking down the aisle with my dad and have him give me away. I’m forever grateful to have shared that moment with him.

Brett: “There was supposed to be only a very small chance of rain throughout the entire day for whole Buffalo area.  In fact, the pocket of rain was so small that it only could have covered Brookfield Country Club.  The rain started as Ashley was walking down the aisle and ended when we walked back down the aisle together as husband and wife.   The 30 minutes of rain that came during the ceremony can only be described as our loved ones who are no longer with us letting us know they are looking down on us as we began our lives together.”

Ashley: “Walking back up the aisle as husband and wife was such a great feeling and one of my favorite memories. I loved seeing all of our cheering and smiling friends and family.

Brett: “Turning around [after the ceremony] and seeing all of our friends and family smiling and clapping is an image that I hope will stay with me for all time!  Walking hand in hand with Ashley, seeing her smile, seeing the crowd smile was icing on the cake to an unforgettable ceremony!

Brett: “Ashley and I both wanted to do something special for the first dance and I could not have been happier with the outcome!  The crowd was cheering along with every turn and twirl which definitely brought a smile my face and made the dance lessons worth every minute! We were even able to choreograph the dance to one of our favorite artist’s songs: Ben Rector – White Dress.

Ashley: “I love to dance! It’s one of my favorite parts of a wedding. We had such much fun dancing together and with our guests. My bridesmaids even dedicated Ironic by Alanis Morissette to us to laugh at the rain on our wedding day.

Ashley: “Fireworks are a tradition in my family so we were excited to treat our guests to a show at the end of evening. It was a spectacular show and a perfect ending to an amazing day.

Brett: “Fireworks – Wow!  This was definitely the big surprise/cliffhanger that we had for the reception and I think everybody thought it was a great finishing touch to an incredible day.  It was such a great treat to share and guests still talk about!

Wedding advice from Ashley: 

The general theme for my advice is to relax and enjoy! Ironic coming from a type A person but I tried to follow my own advice below and am glad I did!

Enjoy this time in your life and the process! It’s easy to get caught up in all the planning and related stress but try to take time to enjoy being engaged and relishing in that special time (and all the fun and celebrations it brings!) because it will fly by. When you get to the day – or even the few days before the wedding – turn off planning mode and turn on celebration mode. What is going to be is going to be. Trust in all the hard work, planning and organizing you did.  This is YOUR wedding day, enjoy!

They even had a few very sweet things to say about us:

We had a great time working with Jenn and Ben on our wedding day. They were extremely patient and up for a little adventure as we drove around the golf course at the venue on golf carts looking for fun picture locations.  They made the process fun and relaxing and captured the beauty of the day –including the rainy ceremony!


Wedding Vendors Include

Ceremony and Reception: Brookfield Country Club
Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero
Bridesmaid Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids
Grooms Look: Men’s Wearhouse
Florist: The Floristry
Cake: Ohlson’s Bakery
Music and Uplighting: Phenomenon Events

 

  • Ayres Photography SAYS...

    Thank you so much, Nevica! We are huge fans of the “first look,” too! :)

  • Nevica Vazquez SAYS...

    Love all of the details you captured! And I love that he decided to see her and her dress before walking down the aisle. That made for such a great shot!

    Amazing work telling the story of their day!