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Chester Springs Wedding Photographer: Biss & Matt at Meredith Manor

An elegant, classic, vibrant & fun Chester Springs wedding…
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UK residents, Biss & Matt, initially bonded over their dogs, Ellie Kelly & Harry Barry!  It sounds like they named them together, but they were named completely independently, with the Barry family naming Harry!
Before moving to London together last year, Matt & Biss were legally married, they contacted me to photograph their sacrament of marriage in her home church outside of Philadelphia, Saint Elizabeth Parish in Chester Springs and their friends and family celebrating their union at Meredith Manor in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
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If this home looks familiar, it’s because I also photographed Biss’ sister’s Villanova wedding day preparations here as well.   My approach to each wedding was tailored to fit individual couples and their personality, relationship, and day so while the location is the same, the photos are quite different.
While I captured a more traditional image of Bess’ wedding gown as well, this reflection of her wedding gown in her parents’ dining room chandelier also caught my eye.
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Here Biss’ mother helps her into her wedding gown.  I love how the lighting illuminates Biss and how the blinds create lines that lead your eye straight to this beautiful mother-daughter pair.
Biss shared that one of the hardest parts of being in London is being far from her family.  She misses her mom, though they talk and text daily.  She said it meant so much to have her mother help her into her wedding gown at her family’s home, and that her mom continues to be one of her very best friends.
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Matt said that a few of the qualities that he loves most about Biss are that she has a huge heart and is incredibly loving and caring.  He said, “She is classy, sassy, elegant and beautiful” and he loves her for it.
Biss mentioned wanting traditional portraits that were timeless, elegant, classic– she also loves a pop of vibrant color.  I like this portrait of her because I think it captures those qualities, including her beautiful eyes!
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Biss attended Catholic school with all of the bridesmaids (including her sisters).  She said seeing them all together gave her a little flashback of everyone in thier Villa Maria Academy uniforms, haha!
This is the moment that her bridesmaids saw Biss as a bride for the first time, veil, gown and all.  There is so much love and joy in their bright smiles:
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As I shared, Biss is a fan of color, and chose apple-tini green for the bridesmaids dresses and navy for her sisters’ along with pops of fuchsia in the roses and ribbons.
Biss loved the editorial inspired bridal party photo from her sister’s wedding that showed the bridal party striking a pose, here is a similarly styled shot for Biss and her ladies.
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While I showed the more traditional bridal portrait earlier, this one shows Biss’ love of the outdoors.  She shared that she loves animals (like the horses that typically graze on the other side of this fence).  She spent most of her childhood outdoors, so this relaxed countryside setting seems to capture a whole different side of Biss…
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Biss purchased monogrammed totes in pink and green to help her bridesmaids carry everything on the wedding day.  She thought the bags were cute, reusable and would certainly came in handy on the wedding day.
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The rings– I wanted to meld Biss’ love of the countryside with Matt’s love of city life for the photography of their wedding rings.  I settled on this garden location for its’ organic feel (for Biss) and the smooth, sleek composition and framing to give it a more modern aesthetic (for Matt).
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Keeping with that sleek, urban feel, here is Matt fastening his cuff-links in preparations for the day.  This is his more serious, traditional portrait which allows you to see the hard-working, focused, driven person that he is…
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Here Matt is in a completely different light (literally, haha).  Biss shared that while they have a lot in common, it is their differences that make Biss and Matt a perfect pair.
Biss was drawn to Matt’s sense of adventure, spontaneity, his ability to see everything in the best light.  Matt is fun to be around, a kid at heart, while also being caring and considerate.  I think those qualities really come across in this portrait…
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Here he is with the rest of his groomsmen outside of St Elizabeth Parish in Chester Springs…
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While his groomsmen have a serious side and are quite driven as well,  they are also fun, outgoing, and very high-energy.  They have been friends forever and had a blast being together– fireball!
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Classic and timeless were a few words that Biss used when talking about her wedding day, this portrait of Matt is just that, timeless– if you said it was taken in the 1960’s, I’d totally believe it!  🙂
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Speaking of classic, here a string quartet accompanies Biss and her father as they process down the aisle…
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While I love photographing portraits and getting creative with details, I also enjoy capturing candid moments like this.  Here Biss’ father and Matt shake hands at the foot of the altar and he wishes them both all the very best.
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Another candid moment, this photograph shows the minister, Father Mullin, blessing the couple as they pray together.  I love the lighting in this image, as his hand appears to be radiating blessings on Biss and Matt.
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Lots of excitement!   Matt shared that he is one of the last of his friends getting married and Biss is one of the first of hers– all of that enthusiasm really comes across in this photo!
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A more traditional bridal party portrait at the entrance of Meredith Manor
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I enjoyed working on the grounds of Meredith Manor!  The mature, tree-lined drive, the winding paths and open fiends made for a pleasant walk and beautiful scenery for these two to soak in following their ceremony.  It was really only the beginning of what these 10 acre grounds had to offer…
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(shout out to Erin for her help here)  I love this photo– it captures the timeless, classic, elegant feel that Biss and Matt were so drawn to (especially in black and white) and also has an element of fun and romance with their smiles and her flowing veil…
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A more traditional wedding portrait…
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Blue skies, sunshine and a super happy couple…
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Attending cocktail hour was super important to Biss and Matt, especially since they live so far away from the majority of their friends and family, seeing them was a real treat & priority for these two.  I made sure to work with them ahead of time on the schedule and keep an eye on the time on the wedding day to help them have plenty of time at cocktail hour with their guests.
If there was a theme to cocktail hour it would be travel.  Not just because of their guests coming from all over the map, but also because Biss and Matt travel as much as they can– they have been to Amsterdam, Spain, Paris, Dublin, Cologne, and aren’t finished yet!  They want to take time to travel as newlyweds as much as they can before settling down to a more traditional, family life.
The place cards for the reception were personalized maps on cork luggage tags.  Biss made these herself and tried to put a significant place on each guests’ tag!
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Matt’s brother, Jimmy, is attending the University of Hawaii finishing his PhD, so during his best man toast he brought in a touch of Hawaii.  He gifted the couple with two Hawaiian leis which they exchanged at the start of their reception.
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Biss’ bridesmaids lit up the dance floor with their huge smiles and energy.  They love dancing, singing and making people laugh.  The reception was great, and definitely a time when everyone enjoyed themselves!
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At the end of the night, Biss and Matt felt grateful to have such truly caring and supportive families and friends.  They felt blessed to have found each other and happy for this time in their lives where the two of them are the center of a new family together.
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Biss & Matt, thank you for sharing such an important day in your lives with me!  It was a pleasure to get to know both of you better and it was so nice to see Biss’ family again.  I wish you all the very best and hope that these photos (and the hundreds of others that I captured) help you and your family/friends to relive your wedding day for many years to come!

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