Simple, timeless and exquisite–
An intimate wedding ceremony in a rural chapel followed by an elegant York city reception at the Bond in York…

Lara & Wade contacted me looking for crisp, vivid wedding photography that would be creative, emotional and capture the unique locations of their York PA wedding.   The image above shows Lara and Wade at their stunning reception venue, the Bond, located in downtown York’s newly developed Royal Square.
I’ll begin with Wade and his groomsmen (all immediate family members).  Here you are introduced to the beautiful setting where the Miller Meeting House is situated.  Surrounded by woods, nature, and general peace and quiet.  I like how one of Wade’s groomsmen is reaching out and touching his shoulder here:

Here is Wade looking like the dapper gentleman that he is :).  He is a teacher and Lara said she was first drawn to his patience and kindness.
He is wearing a navy suit from JCrew, a dotted bow tie and a simple boutonniere  with roses and snowdrops.

The chapel was decorated beautifully!  It was timeless, elegant, simple and incredibly beautiful!
These flowers were actually from Lara’s aunt and mother’s gardens!

Lara and her mom and a few other ladies  decorated the chapel together the evening before the ceremony.  They used candles, roses, baby’s breath.
This lovely arrangement was behind Lara & Wade as they exchanged vows:

Wade shared that he fell for Lara “over time, from a distance”.  They were introduced by a mutual friend and wrote to one another before meeting.
Wade was drawn to her gentle personality and her ability to be brave, strong and hopeful.
Here Lara stands alone at the door of the Miller Meeting house, it is such a simple photo, but to me you can see the attributes that Wade described…

The Miller Meeting House is perched on the top of a hill.  As the processional begins I was outside with Lara and her father.  This image really gives you a feel for this charming and beautiful setting.
What a moment!  Lara’s father is ready to walk her down the aisle and you have a sense of the intimacy of the space and moment with just the two of them framed between the trees and sun:

The ceremony was just as classic and charming, Lara’s aunt played the flute her grandfather led singing and they sang “for the beauty of the earth” together.  It felt romantic and almost timeless.
I like how this family member is holding the worn hymnal as the sunlight lightly brushes it’s pages and her hands.   For me, this really captures the feeling of the ceremony, too.  Completely natural, organic:

Lara & Wade chose to exchange traditional vows because it was incredible to think of how many people have promised eachother thier love with those words throughout history.
They did add a few of thier own vows before the traditional oaths, which was a real stretch for them as they are both introverts, and don’t normally discuss such deep emotions in public. 😉
I like how this black and white photograph draws your attention to the emotion being experienced and the high contrast letters behind the minister: “Love endures forever.”

Following the wedding ceremony, guests tossed flower petal confetti, another classic touch that was simple and brought a lot of color to the joyful celebration.
I chose to photograph this image with a wide-angle lens.  I anticipated capturing the happy couple as well as the flower petal path, sunlight, blue sky, guests & floating petals all in one frame.

I like to give my couples an eclectic mix of creative photography that captures emotional moments and more traditional portraiture, too.
Here is a classic wedding portrait of Lara and Wade I like how happy they both look here:

A lovely apple orchard was adjacent to the chapel.  Lara and Wade took some time to spend time with each-other and relax.
The apple orchard was a perfect fit because Lara and Wade are both teachers.  I composed the photograph to have two apples in the foreground and two apples over head of these two teachers.  😉

For this image, I shot through a crate of apples.
To me, it feels more private that way, almost like a stolen moment…

When I asked them why they work so well together, they shared that they give each other a certain measure of grace daily and that they challenge each other in their own way.
Wade challenges Lara to slow down and notice the little things in life.  Lara challenges Wade to love deeper and enjoy life.
All of the couples that I work with set aside time like this to walk, talk, and “stop and smell the roses.”  It is usually their favorite time of the day.

I love this photo.  It  shows all the elements that Lara & Wade wanted to see in their wedding photography– crisp, colorful, emotional, while capturing their unique wedding location.
I used a  narrow aperture to keep everything  clear and give the sun that lovely “starburst” effect.   I also maximized the vibrancy of the sky & foliage using composition & camera settings as well.

We moved from the more rustic, rural setting of the Miller Meetinghouse in Fairfield PA and traveled to The Bond Wedding and Event Venue in downtown York, Pennsylvania.
On the way there we stopped at the York Central Market.  I like the perspective of this photo, I was above them in the parking garage as we headed to the market…

The York Central Market plays an important role in Lara’s family history.  Her great grandparents started their own vegtable business and butcher shop there many years ago.
Her grandparents worked there selling meat at J.L Miller & Sons.  Her father worked there too, and even Lara worked there growing up.
Visiting York Central Market is like coming home for Lara.  Wade comes from a farming family, too, so it fits.

I like the shadow of the tree in the image above and really focused on the shadows in the image below.

Lara took some time to visit a mural that features her great grandmother, Ella Markey.
Ella sold vegetables at the market and became a well known and well loved vendor and has been memorialized in a mural outside of the market.
I like how little orbs of light snuck into this image– it gives a surreal, nostalgic feeling…

Next we headed to the Bond where the JDK Group was hard at work decorating the gorgeous wedding reception space and buttling hors d’oeuvres at cocktail hour.
Lara & Wade chose The Bond because it was really a blank canvas for them.  The exposed brick had a natural, historic feel and the large windows kept it bright and airy.

The space at the Bond is really exquisite  and it reminds me very much of  venues I have worked in in New York City, like the Liberty Warehouse.
If The Bond looks familiar to you, it is probably because I wrote a blog post about them when I photographed their promotional materials in the spring.
It is newly renovated and has a unique feel with both natural and industrial elements as well as several elegant crystal chandeliers.

The table numbers were lovely, they looked like miniature water color paintings standing in birch bark.
Wade last name is Owlett, so their cake topper featured sweet owlets dressed in wedding attire.
The illuminated lanterns that JDK arranged in the entryway really looked beautiful, especially at night.

Delicious and beautifully presented hors d’oeuvres were provided by the JDK catering & event group.
My favorite was the bacon slider: candied bacon, brie cheese and roasted apple raisin chutney served on a cinnamon bun– just incredible!

I am in love with the frosted glass at the Bond and noticed when the sunlight was hitting just right to give a really colorful effect.
I silhouetted Lara and Wade against that bold, vibrant background.

The traditional wedding dances were sweet, light and fun.  I liked the idea of showing the loving expressions on both Wade and her father’s face as they danced with her.
I also wanted to show off the beautiful detail of Lara’s dress and also caught light from the chandelier dancing in the background of both her first dance and the father-daughter dance.

The guests really danced the night away.  I have several close-up images of guests dancing, but I really like this one from farther away.
I like how everyone’s hands are raised and how the chandelier appears to be fuschia!
The lens I chose to use for this photograph gives it an almost surreal feeling and allows you to see the empty tables because everyone is out on the dance floor.

At the end of the night Lara and Wade stepped out for a bit together and got some fresh air.  They said that they felt so loved by everyone and that they wished that the day would never end 😉

Lara and Wade, while the night did end, hopefully these wedding photos will help you to re-live the experience over and over for many years to come :).
It was a pleasure to work with you two and I wish you both a lifetime of love, joy and happiness!