The Bond Wedding Photographers: Kim & Alex in York

March 28, 2019

Intense colors, artistry and love abound for this unique couple at their York, Pa Bond wedding…

Kim shared, “There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted you to be our wedding photographer! When I first saw your photos, I was amazed by the bold colors of each creative photograph. You have an eye for good lighting, unique angles, and play with shadows and shapes to create outstanding, artistic images. Each photograph is thoughtful, a work of art.”
Alex added, “Our wedding day was amazing and I’m looking forward to re-living it all over again– the excitement, fun– it will be great to have those moments and memories captured.”
Kim continued, “I also loved how involved you are with the couples you shoot. I love that you took the time to get to know us and understand where we are coming from and what we were hoping for with our photos. We also had such a great time on our ‘trial run’ exploring downtown Carlisle during our engagement session.”
Thanks so much, guys! I was so inspired by all of your artistic choices and felt that you 100% trusted me and would go along with whatever. This really made the sky my limit and I was able to get such personalized, cool shots for you! I did really amp us the color and creativity for you two!

Kim and Alex are a unique couple with artistic sensibilities. They wanted simple elegance but with pops of funk and wow did they chose the perfect venue for it– The Bond in York, PA. Just like Kim’s dress it has these classic, chic elements but then adds a pop of modern art, fun, and drama.

Kim’s shoes were fabulous! I’ve photographed hundreds of weddings and never seen anything quite like them.
Kim laughed, “My shoes were so bedazzled and unique. Even the wait staff and the chefs loved my shoes, some of them even pulled out their phones and took photos of the shoes!”

Kim continued, “My bouquet was enormous! I wasn’t expecting the immense bouquet, but it was everything I could have ever dreamed!”
Here I incorporated both her bouquet and the ceremony backdrop. I loved the light in the room and wanted to give Kim a frame that felt intimate and would bring in another element of interest…

Kim shared, “I wanted my girls to feel comfortable and look their best, which is why they all had unique dresses. I told them to pick from a selection of colors, but the rest was up to them!”
Their dresses were fantastic! And totally complimented the chic, modern feel of the The Bond and all the artistic space surrounding it! There are several murals to play with, and I thought the colors of this one perfectly complimented Kim and her bridal party…

Kim shared, “Josephine did such an incredible job with hair and make-up . She was such a sweetheart and amazing to work with. She knew what she was doing, and she made getting my makeup and hair done so fun. She made me feel beautiful on my wedding day, and I can’t thank her enough.”
Kim you *are* so beautiful!

Kim shared, “Marla, ‘the sunflower lady,’ really deserves a shout out, because she really took time to communicate with me to create the perfect bouquets. She built the most beautiful bouquets I have ever seen. My bridesmaids absolutely loved theirs, and I loved mine- it was enormous! Marla put so much effort into the arrangements and I couldn’t have been happier!”
One of the bridesmaid’s bouquets– so unique!

Ok, so now it’s the men’s turn in the spotlight– check out those kicks!

Another cool mural backdrop as photographed by my second photographer for this wedding, Priscilla.

The gang’s all ready– time for Alex’s first look!

Alex shared, “The first look was the thing that stood out to me the most on our wedding day. Awe-struck is probably the best word for how I felt. ”
He continued, “I was a little nervous, not as nervous as I thought I’d be. I was excited to finally see Kim after being separated since the night before. It was such a special moment and Kim looked absolutely beautiful. I will never forget that.”
I brought in some soft elements in the foreground to add some color, visual interest and to capture the intimate feeling of the moment.
The look on his face says it all…

Kim shared, “I was thrilled to see Alex at the first look. I couldn’t wait to see him and see what he looked all dressed up. It was a perfect, such a great, intimate moment for the two of us.”
She went on, “I was in awe when I saw him during our first look. He was so handsome and he just looked so nervous but excited about finally getting married. I look forward to continuing to build our lives together and to start a family of our own.”

Because The Bond is located in the heart of downtown York, on the Royal Square where Prince, King and Queen intersect, there is so much for me to work with creatively.
It is not every day that you have intense reds and yellows, a brick wall with ivy and construction equipment to work with! I paired it all with framing and a tilt shift technique…

The same location, but a different lens (literally) and totally different vibe…

Here is a marriage, hehe, of both the portrait and construction…

Kim shared, “We work well together because we have taken our time getting to know each other and to understand each other. We’ve been together for nine years, so we’ve been through most of what life can throw at a couple.”
Here they walk hand in hand, taking on the world together. The fall colors in November were awesome. I found this street where the light was perfectly illuminating the fall foliage…

Kim smiled, “I fell for Alex because of his personality. From the moment I met him there was something magnetic about him and once we went out on our first date, I knew he was someone special. He’s so charming, confident, loving. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him more over the years.”

“He’s also really funny and has this way of making me laugh. His sense of humor is what gets me the most.”
Laughter ensued after this giant owl attack for sure…

I had such a blast working with these two on their wedding day exploring downtown York– the murals, the streets, construction sites haha– they were game for every idea I had from fleeing giant owls to traveling down a dark alley together! It is such a gift to be able to have no limits on what I can do creatively.

Kim shared, “I literally adore everything about Alex, even his opinionated strong-willed side, I like it all. He’s honestly everything I could have ever hoped for. He’s become my best friend, our bond is incredibly strong. I feel so lucky to have him in my life.”

Alex added, “Kim’s personality is really the biggest reason I fell for her, too. We both feel so comfortable around each other. It’s exciting, fun, and interesting whenever we are together. I still feel that way and we’ve been together for several years!”
Awww the look on his face, again…

He went on, “We share similar interests, but we also have interests of our own too, so there’s never a dull moment.”
I thought this photo really illustrates that idea well. Never a dull moment for sure… I love playing with reflections!

Alex concluded, “I look forward to spending the rest of my life with her and continuing to build our life together on this new path.”
To me their path is surrounded by color, adventure and authenticity. I love how this image shows all of that and them simply together in the middle.

Alex explained, “You know, people always say your wedding goes by so quickly, that you never get a chance to enjoy the moment before it’s over. That wasn’t how I felt at all. I had such a great time with everyone. I made sure to take the time to enjoy the moment and spend it celebrating with Kim. We took the time to soak it all in.
He went on, “Our wedding day was smooth, and went on without any issue, everyone enjoyed themselves, and they were happy for us. I was most excited to spend the day with my wife as well as family and friends, and just have a great time. I really felt that we got to do that.”
One thing that I do for all of my couples is work up a wedding day timeline. That way we can build in as much time as they need to do everything that they want. For Kim and Alex this meant getting a good chunk of quality time to be alone and stroll around town together. We did that. And yes, everyone was overjoyed for these two!

Ahhh reflections, my favorite! Here Kim puts finishing touches on her vows before the ceremony starts…

Kim shared, “I loved how unique The Bond is, unlike any other venue in the area. The industrial/modern look is one of my favorites, and the muted colors really allowed me to choose any look or theme I wanted.”
Alex added, “I liked the lighting of the venue, that’s one element that stood out to me. It looked like two different rooms from morning to night. The large windows gave the perfect amount of light for the ceremony.”

This little man was ready to get the show on the road:

Here these two little princesses prepare to walk down the aisle… I love capturing candid moments like this, you can almost feel the anticipation of everyone waiting in line.

Kim shared, “My favorite part of our wedding day was the ceremony. Walking down the aisle and seeing Alex was so amazing, seeing his face looking back at mine was so comforting.”
Aw her eyes say so much…
I love working with two photographers on a wedding day. Here we were able to get both the traditional shot of the bride walking down the aisle and this colorful silhouetted one, both speak so much to Kim and Alex’s day and I’m so happy they have both!

I was able to get both the silhouette and this shot from that back that to me feels so elegant, timeless and emotional… all of the guests, the space, the chandeliers and Kim’s gown brilliantly glowing…

Kim’s father “giving his daughter away”

Aw he’s so smitten! A lot of brides worry about this, that if they have a first look, prior to the ceremony he’ll be “over it” and the ceremony won’t be a big deal. I haven’t seen this be the case.

I love to get unique perspectives and angles during the ceremony. Here I captured the glow of the gold light on the ceremony floor and the chandelier…

Kim shared, “His vows were beyond amazing, it was one of the moments I’ll never forget.”
I love that they are hand written on a piece of notebook paper. There is something so sweet and authentic about it!

Everything that they shared was so genuine and heart-felt. That backdrop though, wow!

I love to capture authentic emotion throughout, here Kim wipes a tear from her eye as she states her vows. I played up the color in the frame including the intense glow of sunlight from the outside window.

Kiss the bride…

Alex shared, “I liked seeing how it all came together, especially the music during the ceremony. We had some uncommon ones that were quicker and bolder than the typical ceremony music.”
Kim added, “Ending the ceremony walking down the aisle as husband and wife was such an amazing moment, there was so much energy between the music we chose and the feel of the room.”

Kim shared, “I loved seeing everything come together at The Bond. The little touches such as the painted mural and the beaded curtains right when you walk in.”
Lol, when looking for a shot that showed off the beaded curtains I found this, one of my shots of the flower girl haha!

Talk about color, how about these drinks?

Kim shared, “I was most excited to experience everything. It was amazing to see all our hard work and planning pay off into the most beautiful day I’ve ever had.”
Her cake looked like a work of modern art. I have several shots of it, but I like this one with all of the background.

Her cake was so pretty. I really wanted to capture the glitter and play with the vintage illustration and shadows here. I played with a purple tint for the wall to bring out the purple on the cake and topper, too…

Kim explained, “I didn’t have an exact theme or look for our wedding the closer we got to the actual day. I wanted some vintage style, which is why I made my centerpieces the way I did. They were muted pinks and silver floral pieces. Overall, I wanted it to look elegant and simple.”
I pulled in more purple with my lighting and brought in the gold and blue tones from the sky that was fading into twilight.

Again I pulled in the purples and blues from the outside scene, they seemed to compliment the indoor one so well:

For this first dance shot, I really wanted to pull in the entire scene.

A little magic …
Kim smiled, “The Ugly Bowl an interesting tradition in my family. Each time a member gets married, the person who gets married before them presents the “ugly bowl” to the newlyweds during the reception. It’s been passed down since 90’s and everyone signs their names and wedding date inside. It’s one of those things that keeps us close, a nice inside joke for the family!”

Photobooth fun!

I love all of the emotion captured here:

This is not photo shopped, I just used elements in the room to bring in this ethereal feel to the father-daughter dance:

Kim shared, “Hiring The Bond was a great choice for Alex and I. Abby and Megan were absolutely amazing to work with. They listened to everything I had wanted and made my wedding day more beautiful than I could ever imagined. I’d also like to say thank you to the staff for the JDK Group. They were so professional and great with everything and the food was beyond amazing.”
Dancing the night away– here I played with some gold tones…

“You cannot look into someone’s soul and not fall in love with them. I looked into your soul once, I am trapped for eternity.” –Cynthia Go⁣⠀

Kim and Alex, thank you so much for inviting me to capture your wedding day! It was such a pleasure for me not only just to be there, but to get to know you and have such a unique environment and free reign creatively to really capture the two of you with all of your artistic style and influence!
If you’d like to see more of Kim and Alex, check out their engagement post here.
If you’d like to check out some of their wedding vendors, feel free to do so here: