Emily & Bob | Burgundy & Navy Fall Wedding in Johnstown, PA

It was the summer of 2018 and it was one of those rare times when both Emily & Bob were home at the same time. Between college, Bob serving in the Marines, Emily going to medical school, and Bob going to the police academy in Harrisburg – it was rare for the two of them to be in the same town, at the same time. (And, as someone who did the whole “long-distance relationship” for most of Derrick & I’s dating-relationship, I get it. It’s hard, but you look forward to those small pockets of time that are spent together so fiercely & it makes that time so much more precious.)

Bob’s sister reached out to Emily & suggested they go meet Bob together. And, it didn’t take long for Emily to realize that something else was definitely going on.

Unknown to Emily, Bob has set up a scavenger hunt for her. He enlisted the help of his sister to help guide Emily thru the hunt – and so the “Let’s go meet Bob” request was actually just a ploy to start off the scavenger hunt.

The hunt took Emily to 4 different locations and at each location she collected a “clue”. The last location was the bowling alley where Emily & Bob had had their very first “official” date.

As they arrived at the bowling alley & Emily received her fourth & final clue, she laid all of the papers out on the table. The 4 clues were simply pictures: a photo of Will Ferrell, a photo of a sheep, a photo of the virgin Mary, and then a photo of Bob. Emily is going to school to be a doctor, so she is ridiculously smart – however, in the moment, she just couldn’t figure out how these 4 photos related to one another. (To her defense, she recognized Will Ferrell as an actor, but didn’t know his name, so that definitely made things harder!)

After a few moments of Emily struggling & Bob’s sister trying to help (without giving the answers away), Emily turned around to see Bob walk in. Of course, the moment she saw him, the bowling alley & the puzzle all faded away – she was simply so happy to see him.

He walked straight in & proposed. And, you probably guessed it, Emily said yes.

As they celebrated & admired Emily’s shiny new diamond ring, Bob asked: “Did you figure out the clues?” and Emily said, “No!” They laughed as suddenly it seemed so simple & obvious: the photo of Will Ferrel was “Will”, the photo of the sheep was “Ewe”, the photo of the virgin Mary was “Marry”, and then the photo of Bob – “Will you marry me?”

This past Saturday was the big day! 10/10/2020 – the most popular wedding day of the year! That doesn’t mean that getting to their day was easy – like every couple who planned to get married in 2020, the pandemic definitely made things more “interesting”. But in the end, you can’t stop love, and Emily & Bob ended up with a perfect day.

Emily & Bob – I know that this past year has been absolutely crazy for you guys! Between medical school & the police academy – oh and a pandemic – getting to the place of actually getting married has not been easy! If it isn’t obvious thru all of your other accomplishments in life: hard obstacles (that other people would straight up avoid) are what you guys seem to enjoy tackling before breakfast! It’s just your personalities – you love breaking barriers & pushing thru to get to the finish line – and Saturday was the most glorious finish line ever! If you both don’t change the world, I don’t know who will – you both are fabulous wonderful amazing people & I wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin life together.

While Bob got ready over at the church, Emily got ready at her Grandparent’s house. She obviously has the sweetest relationship with her grandparents, so it was only fitting that she get ready for her wedding day in their living room!

Emily did a “first look” with her Dad & it was such a sweet moment!

What a big, beautiful wedding party!

Emily’s Mom made her veil & it was stunning – not all veils are created equal & this one definitely stands above all the rest! It was soft & flowed so effortlessly – obviously a huge labor of love that Emily will treasure for the rest of her life!

If you can’t tell – the dip-kiss is Emily & Bob’s signature move! They are SO good at it!

And then we were off to the reception!

I loved that every table was set with a different centerpiece – but my favorite were these tall glass cylinders that had goldfish in them!!

So, I don’t always post photos of the bouquet & garter toss – but this one was so epic, I just have to share!

Okay, this is where it starts to get good. If it isn’t obvious: the single guys had hoisted this one guy up on their shoulders – he was obviously the one who was supposed to catch the garter.

And he got SO close! I can’t even believe that Derrick got this next photo – but it is perfect – it shows just how close he was!

So, what do you do when you were supposed to grab the garter & it gets stolen right out of your fingertips? You steal the girl instead!

And then you stand by to make sure nothing crazy happens with that garter!

So, I didn’t know this – but during dinner, the videographer mentioned that sometimes, people go up on the roof for photos. I sent Derrick off to ask if we could get up on the roof & the manager said, “Sure!” He took us up & as we walked out – it started lightly raining – not hard enough that you’d want to dash back inside, but just hard enough to show up in my photos. I’m obsessed.

And then the evening ended with sparklers!!

If you’d like to read the beginning of Emily & Bob’s story, plus see the highlights of their engagement session – click here!

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

Ceremony Venue: Our Mother of Sorrows in Johnstown, PA
Reception Venue: The Johnstown Masonic Temple in Johnstown, PA
Catering: Anthony’s Catering in Johnstown, PA
Cake: Baked by the Bride
Cookies: Kathleen Smathers, Debbie Crownover, and other family members
Pies: Tammy Maskrey (Bob’s Aunt)
Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist: Cera Swartz & Bella Smith from London’s Salon in Blairsville, PA
Bridal Gown Retailer: MB Bride in Greensburg, PA
Bridesmaids Gowns Retailer: MB Bride in Greensburg, PA
Groom & Groomsmen Attire: MB Bride in Greensburg, PA
Florals: Julie Silvis from Indiana Floral & Flower Boutique in Indiana, PA
Invitations: Designed by Erik Baxter (Emily’s cousin)
DJ: Color My World Entertainment in Johnstown, PA
Videographer: Bridge Perspective in Johnstown, PA
Photographer: Kara Abbey Photography in Irwin, PA