Leah's Floral Artistry at Mike & Bea's Wedding!

Mike and Bea had their family and friends contribute to their wedding day by providing the many beautiful details that made their day so special and beautiful, like the invitations, programs and flowers. It was a great blessing and these gifts were so special and ABSOLUTELY beautiful. Leah, a floral artist and one of Mike's cousins from Toronto Canada did a spectacular job with the flowers! You can contact Leah at her business: Elegance by Tridel Toronto Canada tele: 519.999.0888 email: trideljump@aol.com. Here is a slide show of Leah's floral artistry - the arrangements were truly breathtaking!

EXCITING NEWS!

I've been plugging away all week at all the necessary details involved in getting TWO new websites and a Pro blog ready to be launched!! They could be live as soon as today or tomorrow - I'm so excited! Here is an itsy-bitsy sneak peek of the splash page of the site... I'm going to miss my old site but may be keeping its format for my commercial/advertising and event photography...we'll see; haven't made that decision just yet. I've got to give it a visual once-over to see how that will work. So, with the onset of this exciting news, please feel free to comment here or to send me an email and let me know your thoughts. I'll be anxious to hear what everyone thinks about it! Looking forward to hearing from you! Best, Joanne

Beatrice & Michael, July 21 2007!

Beatrice and Michael...another wonderful love story! Eleven years of togetherness filled with tons of fun, family and friends and wonderful adventures. I'm telling you, these stories of love just keep getting better and better! WOW! It really is an honor to play such an important role in your lives! It was another day of perfection: the couple, the wedding party, the weather, the ceremony and reception sites, the details (made possible by family and friends) and the new Harry Potter book! Did I say Harry Potter? Yes, you read correctly; even Harry Potter's final book made it to the wedding by way of a stop off at Borders before the reception! I spent the day with Beatrice, Michael and their family/friends and we had a blast photographing all over Pittsburgh. Their ceremony was held at Heinz Chapel and the reception was held at Phipps Conservatory; two of Pittsburgh's most beautiful venues! Digby was a peach at Heinz and Bruce was so helpful and kind at Phipps. And, if you haven't been to Phipps to see the Dale Chihuly exhibit, it is definitely worth the trip - it is a must-do experience, both day and night; it is breathtaking. As I said, it was a great day; everything about it was simply perfect! Per usual, I created a ton of beautiful imagery from Beatrice and Michael's wedding, but it wasn't too hard to for me to create such great images because all the best ingredients were there: beautiful and cooperative people willing to have fun and enjoy themselves and beautiful settings. One of the things I liked so much about the images I created was the blue sky with puffy white clouds. The scenery simply put a smile on my face everywhere I looked! I'm so glad you chose me as your photographer Bea & Mike, and I hope you enjoy this brief slide show of your wonderful day! I created so many wonderful images throughout the day that I could barely decide which images to use and probably could have created at least three slide shows from the various images. In the end, I chose to focus on Bea and Mike completely. Enjoy! My best to you, now and always, Joanne

Ashley & Matt's Slide Show...as promised...

...you know, I'm amazed every time I look at the photographs I've created for my couples, be they recent images or weddings from years past; all the emotions; the tears of joy; there is so much meaning in these images from every wedding; so many important people; so many important stories... Each story of love is so beautiful and Ashley and Matt's story was no exception! Nor was the previous wedding (Charity & Mark), nor this past Saturday's (Beatrice & Michael). Honestly; I am so lucky to meet and work with all my couples and their families, then witness these most important stories and capture them for all time! Your love, your story is a gift! A gift that I get to create from. Are we all lucky, or what?! And although these snippet slide shows can't even begin to encompass the breadth of the emotions of the day, they are a wonderful teaser to keep everyone's excitement a bit "at bay" until all the images are released. Ashley and Matt, I hope you enjoy this little show of a few of the important moments and people from your very special day. Enjoy the show! My best, Joanne

Ashley & Matt, July 14, 2007

Wow...what a fun wedding! Who knew...Ashley & Matt have been going out together since they were fourteen and from what I witnessed, they are absolutely as CRAZY IN LOVE with each other as ever and I can only imagine that this is one of those loves to last for all time! How lucky am I to have been the photographer to document their wedding day?! They literally have grown together and their families have been melded together through the history of Ashley & Matt's love. What a beautiful story; what a sweet love. I had an absolutely wonderful time with Ashley, Matt their families and friends all day long. The Wedding Party was a blast; Ashley & Matt's families were so sweet and generous it truly was a perfect day! Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Schueler for taking such good care of me at dinner! Father Dennis, or Father "D" as he is affectionately called, of Christ the Light of the World Church was so much fun but truly delivered a beautiful ceremony for Ashley & Matt - I got some killer shots of him during the ceremony... Before we headed off to the Willow Room in Belle Vernon for the reception, we headed to Zolock Gardens to photograph the bridal party and Ashley & Matt. THE LIGHT WAS EXCEPTIONAL at the gardens and I created some absolutely beautiful imagery for them! Here are a few shots from the gardens... Matt doing just as I asked...giving Ashley that "oh yeah; I'm sexy" look and Ashley giving it right back to him! Then, Ashley alone, looking stunning in that absolutely gorgeous gown of hers from Anne Gregory Bridal Salon! Then, Ashley and Matt lost in each other's love... These two are made for each other! Here is a scene from their first dance... And then a few more of the sexy shots from later that night...I love this one because it is so mysterious... Sexier... Hot... Hotter...how about this one Matt?!!! ...or this one?... And the final one... These are the types of stunning and unique images I love to create and am able to create when working with couples who value my creativity enough to afford me the time to create them in. Ashley & Matt, thank you for loving what I do and for relaxing with me so I could shower you with my creativity. I had a great time with you all day and I can't WAIT for you to see all the images. With fondness to you both and to your families...Joanne

Charity & Mark's Wedding, June 30, 2007

If you recall, in March I posted a "Save the Date" slide show for Charity & Mark. This past weekend was their wedding and it was so special... Everything about the day was touching...the five darling nieces dressed as princesses, the ceremony, which was really one of the sweetest I've observed due to the story of how Charity and Mark's love grew (which was told so cleverly!), Jimmy's participation as the best man for his father and his speech which was so very funny, Charity's father having survived two liver transplants looking as handsome, proud and healthy as could be as he walked Charity down the aisle. It was a completely moving and lovely day and I was so happy to document and create from all that love and emotion! These are the incredibly important little stories, so intricate and so important for me to preserve for my clients. Charity, you were beautiful! Mark, dashing! It was an absolute honor to spend the day with you both and with your families. Thank you for trusting me to perform such an important role! My best to you, now and always. Joanne Enjoy the Slide Show!!!