Dan & Amy | Summer Wedding at Laube Hall in Freeport, PA

Dan and Amy have “this thing” – call it a tradition, a habit, a custom – whatever you like, but it’s something that is “theirs”.

See, Dan and Amy love adventuring and they love the great outdoors.
Early on in their relationship, they would take Dan’s GoPro with them to record their experiences.
And specifically, they would record a time-lapse of either a sunset or sunrise – depending on where they were traveling.

So last summer, they went to the beach with Dan’s family.
Since they were on the East Coast, Dan and Amy picked a morning, got up before the sun, made some coffee, and trekked out onto the beach to watch the sun come up.

Dan set the GoPro up, but instead of setting it up to take a time-lapse, he just set it to record in the normal video mode.
Amy, of course, was completely oblivious – because, after all, this is just what they do.

But that’s where the “normal” tradition, veered off-course and became something completely different.
Dan led Amy out on the sand, and as the waves softly crashed behind them, and the sun came up, he got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. (All the while just praying that they were somewhere in the frame of the GoPro. Good news! They were!)

Amy was 100% shocked and surprised, but her answer was the easiest one she’d ever given.

This past Saturday was (finally) the big day. Dan and Amy hadn’t even been engaged for a full year – but they were ready to get married. Can you say: when you know, you know? And trust me, it’s very obvious that Dan and Amy were created specifically with each other in mind. They are soulmates at the deepest levels.

The day was beautiful, emotional, and triumphant. Dan and Amy’s faith is very important to them, so they put a lot of emphasis on their ceremony and the commitment they were making to one another. It was magnificent and marvelous and felt just so perfectly right.

Dan and Amy got ready at Laube Hall – their reception venue. I looked and looked and could not find any photos of their getting ready spaces online – so I had no idea what I was walking into. You can imagine my surprise (and delight) when I walked in and saw THIS!

UGH – Amy was radiant (and I couldn’t stop swooning over how amazing she looked!)

As I said, Dan and Amy’s faith is central in their relationship – and so they wanted to get married in their church (nevermind that it was a 45 minute drive from and then back to Laube Hall).
It helps that their church is mind-bogglingly beautiful! I could have just photographed the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church all day long and still felt like I didn’t see it all!

Shout-out to my amazing second-photographer, Millicent, for this shot from the balcony!

And then it was back to Laube Hall for the rest of our portrait time!

Dan is a bridge engineer, so there were A LOT of bridge jokes throughout the entire day – of course they had bridges set up on their cookie table – and you know I couldn’t pass up shooting their rings on the bridges!

I don’t normally post group photos like this on my blog – but I was just so darn impressed with this group! They not only assembled themselves, but they arranged themselves so they could all be seen, and then simply called Dan and Amy out to jump into the photo. BRAVO family – could you teach every large group to do this?

Amy and her Mom did a choreographed Mother/Daughter dance – it was SO GOOD!

But the part of the reception that absolutely broke me – Dan and Amy did an anniversary dance. If you don’t know what that is: it is very common at wedding receptions. The DJ calls all of the married couples out to the dance floor to dance with the bride and groom – and then as the music plays, he starts calling out numbers of years – and if you’ve been married less than that number, you have to leave the dance floor. The idea is that you’re left with the longest-married couple on the dance floor.

So, as the anniversary dance was happening, DJ Jimmy Mac called out for couples to leave who had been married 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, and 50 years or less. At that point, there was one couple left on the dance floor – and normally, they would have been declared “the winners”, but then he called out “55 years or less” and they left the dance floor – leaving it empty.

That’s when he directed everyone’s attention over to the very edge of the dance floor – where he explained that there was a couple who couldn’t quite make it out onto the floor, but they had been married 66 years – and they were officially the winners.

As this sweet couple made their way to their feet (with the help of some family and friends), everyone cheered and congratulated them (and I melted into a puddle of tears). How sweet are they?!

Huge shout-out and thank you to the amazing team of vendors, as well as friends & family, who helped make Dan and Amy’s wedding day absolutely perfect!

Ceremony: Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, PA
Ceremony Music: Luke Ponce
Reception: Laube Hall in Freeport, PA
Venue Coordinator: Kellie Meeder
Catering: The Chef and I in Brackenridge, PA
Bakery: Moio’s Italian Pastry Shop in Monroeville, PA
Hair and Makeup: Fashions Ahead in Leechburg, PA
Florals: Bernie’s Flowers in Oakmont, PA
Bridal Gown: Bridal Elegance in Erie, PA
Bridesmaids Gowns: David’s Bridal
Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Men’s Warehouse
Wedding Rings: Noah and Gabriel Co. in Pittsburgh, PA
DJ: DJ Jimmy Mac in Bethel Park, PA
Transportation: Elite Coach Transportation in Pittsburgh, PA
Second Photographer: Millicent of Native Bloom Photography in Pittsburgh, PA
Photographer: Kara Abbey Photography in Irwin, PA