The forecast called for rain on CJ and Ashley’s wedding day in Mentor, but that wasn’t going to slow them down one bit. These two were prepared for anything and I knew it would be a great day.
Starting Out the Wedding Day In Willoughby
The day started early in Willoughby at Lindsay London Beauty. Ashley and her bridesmaids had their hair and make-up done there. Lindsay London is one of my favorite make-up artists in Cleveland and I was glad to hear that Ashley had chosen her salon for her wedding day make-up.
Cj and his guys prepared for the day a his house in Painesville. This made it easy for him and his guys as they could hang out and relax before the wedding ceremony. I spent some time capturing candid photographs and CJ, his son Caleb and the rest of the guys. These tend to be my favorites on any wedding day as they capture the true essence of the day. Nervousness. Camaraderie. Anticipation. After a few creative wedding pictures I left to meet Ashley at her parent’s house, where she would be putting on her wedding dress.
I like that Ashley chose to get ready at her parents house. It’s the house that she grew up in so this added an extra element of intimacy to the the pictures making them more meaningful. One of my favorite details was Ashley’s pearl necklace. It was the exact necklace that her mom wore on her wedding day. A true family heirloom at this point. We also did some standard family pictures there so that added meaning to the pictures as well.
Wedding Ceremony at St. Gabriel Church in Mentor
Ashley arrived at St. Gabriel Church before the rain rolled in. After a full mass, we wanted to head to downtown Cleveland for wedding pictures but it was pouring. So much so that we couldn’t be outside for any length of time. Some quick thinking took us to a very popular spot for wedding pictures in Cleveland. We decided to go the the Cleveland Public library for wedding photos. This was an excellent decision since its indoors (duh) and it’s a beautiful facility. We had great success there. It was still raining a bit as we left the library. The whole reason that we were in downtown was because Ashley and CJ wanted wedding pictures in Cleveland. So we decided to go to a spot that overlooked the Cleveland skyline and got a few great photos in the rain (nothing was going to stop these two). Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the first half of the wedding day in Mentor. Watch the blog for their wedding reception in Perry.
Update: see their wedding reception in Perry -HERE–
