A St. Dominic’s Catholic Church Wedding

One of my favorite things about my job as a wedding photographer is getting to know my brides. I especially love when I get to work with brides that have been bridesmaids at some of my previous weddings! This is my third wedding with the same friend group and it was finally Mary Catherine’s turn to be the bride! But, if it hadn’t been for the pandemic and postponements, I might not have been the one that had the privilege of capturing this beautiful day.

I first met Mary Catherine at Sharon and Brandon’s wedding last year and a few months later she was a bridesmaid once again in Annie and Christopher’s wedding. At this point, these ladies feel like longtime friends! I was so excited when Mary Catherine emailed me that she was engaged…until I saw the date in her message. I was already booked on her date. Why do conflicts like this always happen with people I know?! I was so sad to have to email Mary Catherine back and tell her I wasn’t available because I just knew it would be so much fun working with her!

Then the pandemic happened and many brides like Mary Catherine found themselves postponing their spring weddings. We were at the beginning of the stay at home order when I received another email from Mary Catherine. She and Russell had decided to postpone their wedding until August and the photographer they had booked for their original spring date wasn’t available on their new date. She wanted to see if I was by chance available and by some miracle I was! After rescheduling almost all my spring weddings, it was amazing she picked one of the few open dates on my calendar!

A Joyful Day

This wedding day was so full of JOY! I cannot imagine two people being more excited to get married and what is so wonderful is how much joy their friends brought to the day as well. The whole day felt so festive and fun. I’m so thankful that I got to document all the moments for these two! After a beautiful nuptial Mass at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, we all headed downtown for a reception at The Steeple on St. Francis. It’s ironically my third wedding in a row at this venue! It’s crazy how that happens sometimes, but it’s fun to see how each bride chooses to set up the space differently. Another fun fact is that this was my third bride in a row who chose both The Steeple for their reception venue and Belle Bouquet for their flowers. Once again, the florals were gorgeous!

I was super excited that Mary Catherine wanted to slip out of the reception for a few Golden Hour portraits! After checking the timestamp on my camera, we officially knocked these out in seven minutes flat, which is amazing considering we had to wait for traffic to clear the area I wanted to shoot in. Thanks to the security guard at The Steeple for helping with keeping the road clear for a few brief minutes! It was so worth it!

Cheers to the newly Mr. and Mrs. Reilly!

It feels like yesterday that I was photographing Sharon getting ready for her walk down the aisle in this room, but it’s been almost a whole year since her wedding day!

I love this photo that my second photographer, Toni, captured of Russell and his brother just before the ceremony began.

Mary Catherine and Russell had a unique going away vehicle that has been in Russell’s family for years!

 

Second Photographer | Toni Goodie

Photographer’s Assistant | Alexis Williams

VENDORS

Planning | Bella Victoria Event Planning & Design

Ceremony | St. Dominic Catholic Church

Reception | The Steeple

Flowers | Belle Bouquet

Cake | Pollman’s Bake Shop

Catering | Mama’s

Rentals | Mobile Popcorn

Entertainment | Mobtown DJ

Bride’s Gown | I Do Bridal and Formal – Essence of Australia

Bridesmaid Dresses | I Do Bridal and Formal – Morilee

Groom + Groomsmen Attire | Randall’s Formal Wear

Makeup | Amy Jones

Hair Stylist | Leigh and Co. Salon & Spa