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Wedding Photographers at Gettysburg Seminary and Liberty Mountain

Come on baby light my fire 😉
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Laura and Nathan chose Rhinehart Photography because they were looking for a photographer who was able to capture creative, artistic photos as well as elegant, traditional photos and had a great eye for detail.
The image above shows a creative photo that we captured at the end of the night by the fire pit at Liberty Mountain Resort and the photos below show many of the details that were photographed during the wedding day preparations at Gettysburg Seminary….
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Laura chose a fall wedding date because she has always loved the changing of the seasons and the vibrant colors and crisp days of autumn.
I made sure to incorporate various leaves into her detail photography.  I also found a silver platter that perfectly echoed the silver of the rings, invitation, shoes and tuxes.
I like how the combination of the leaves and silver ties everything together so nicely here:
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The photo above is pretty significant it is Laura’s great grandmother’s engraved silver bracelet.  Once Laura married Nathan, her monogram changed to be the same as her great-grandmother’s!
Here Laura finishes glossing her lips against a lace curtain.
She loves silhouettes and I think it is fitting to keep this elegant beauty mysterious at this point.  🙂
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OK, enough mystery.  Here is Laura in all of her sweet, bubbly beauty:
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As Laura and her maid of honor, Stephanie, finished their wedding day preparations, they were tickled to see a ladybug!
Ironically, ladybugs are the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority mascot and Laura and Stephanie are sorority sisters!  Such a sweet moment!
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What a beautiful bride!  Poised, elegant and framed in fall foliage with Gettysburg Seminary campus in the distance.  Laura, this needs to go on the cover of a magazine!
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Laura’s bridesmaids were thoughtful, fun and organized.
They wore long coral gowns.  Laura is a fan of vibrant color!
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When describing Nathan, Laura mentioned his generosity, kindness, patience, decisiveness and how he always makes sure that everyone else is having a good time.  What a great partner!
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Wow– now that is one fine bow tie!  Laura & Nathan’s friend, Allison, designed the ties and had them special ordered from Italy for them!  Nathan can’t resist a nice bow tie and the colors fit Laura’s coral color scheme perfectly!
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The entire bridal party was great to work with, they were thoughtful and fun which made posing them for formal photos a breeze.  Love the background here!
Laura’s brother (far left) flew in from Oregon to be a part of the wedding festivities.  He actually has horrible food poisoning in this photo, but held it together for the pre-wedding formal photography.  🙁
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The couple bought each other very clever wedding gifts, Nathan purchased a necklace for Laura featuring her new monogram.
Laura bought Nathan a watch and had a note about the time of their “first look.”  Very clever!
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You can almost feel the anticipation– here Laura & Nathan stand a moment before their “first look”
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I chose to focus on Laura in the image above and Nathan in the image below.  I think it adds a bit to the mystery.  🙂
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Nathan turned around and was absolutely beaming!
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Gettysburg Seminary was a lovely location for the ceremony and photography.  There was plenty of room to explore and beautiful scenery of the Lutheran Theological Seminary.  (It also played a significant role in the Civil War, more for history buffs here)
It also really had that timeless, classic look that both Laura and Nathan are drawn to.  Such a happy couple!
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While I love more candid photos like the the one above I also really enjoy traditional portraiture as well:
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Gettysburg is such a charming setting.  In this photograph, I set out to capture the vibrant color palette of the purple mountains and changing leaves as well as Laura & Nathan chatting on the porch:
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I wanted to emphasis all of the fall leaves on their wedding day and tilted my camera a bit to get a few more in the frame, haha.
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Nathan shared that he loves many things about Laura, but one is that she is an independent woman who is able to stand on her own, but is also incredibly appreciative of his help.
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Against the blue sky!  The sun sets so early in November that even before the ceremony there was a slight periwinkle tone when I underexposed the sky.
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Husband duties start now– haaaaa!  I love this photo of Nathan holding all of the bridesmaids clutches.
Laura said that this photo shows how thoughtful and helpful he is.  She said Nathan is a fantastic cook and will cook for all of her friends on a girls night in (and clean up!).
She was not surprised to see him pitching in and helping her friends out at all.
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I love to get a good mix of photos during the wedding day, using different perspectives etc.  I photographed  this classic, full-frame editorial-style portrait of the bridal party (above).
I also captured this wide angle photo that shows their wedding venue, the Gettysburg Seminary Chapel as well as some clever posing by the bridal party.
This photo will look great enlarged on a canvas, full page of your wedding album or even your facebook cover photo, guys.  🙂
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It was time for the ceremony to begin.  They had a balcony which really gave me a bird’s-eye view of everything.  I like the way you are able to see all of the friends and family’s reaction to seeing Laura and her father during the wedding processional!
This shot is very difficult to get, not from a technical standpoint, I’m fine with all of that, but from a logistical one.  What I normally see when I try to capture guests expressions like this, are guests focused on their cell phones concentrating on trying to take photos of the moment rather than experiencing it first hand.
Unplugged— Before the wedding processional began, the minister announced that Laura and Nathan wanted their guests to be fully present during the ceremony and kindly asked them to turn off all cell phones and cameras.  They graciously complied and this is one of the lovely results:
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The Gettysburg Seminary Chapel is beautiful with it’s organ and intricate woodwork.  It fit the timeless, elegant feel of this wedding so well!
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What a lovely bride!  Laura, you remind me of Grace Kelly here:
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I cannot even begin to share how wonderful it was not to have people’s cellphones (even ipads) protruding into the aisle at this time.  I love the visual interest at the bottom of the frame, too.
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One of my favorites from their day from a creativity standpoint.  No, this was not photo shopped. 😉
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Laura said she didn’t realize how emotional the ceremony would be for her.  She has known the pastor since 8th grade, so it was incredibly meaningful that he be the one to perform the ceremony.
Here you can see the exact moment when Laura slid the ring on her husband’s finger…
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One of Laura’s favorite moments of the ceremony was when they exited the chapel.
She said it was so exciting to see everyone that they love all in one pace and as they walked together she couldn’t help but marvel at that fact that she and Nathan were now husband and wife!
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Laura and Nathan arrived at their tented reception at Liberty Mountain Resort at twilight.
The handsome tent had a warm golden glow against the deep blue sky.
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Cakes by Susie created an elegant, tiered cake for these two foodies.
Each tier was a different flavor– chocolate peanut butter, vanilla with fresh strawberries and cream, and Nathan’s personal favorite, carrot cake!
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Laura and Nathan stunned all of their guests with their first dance!
It was to a classic 1960’s song “Never My Love” and was *fully choreographed* by Caitlin Milhimes of First Dance.
They had found a vinyl record of the song and played it when they practiced at home.
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The guests were all smiles in the elegant, fabric-draped tent.  Just lovely, Liberty Mountain Resort!
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Party time!  Mike from Coast2Coast Productions is a true professional and does a fantastic job.  He had everyone out on the dance floor all night.
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Laura loves sunsets and silhouettes so I can’t think of a more fitting final photograph to end with than this:
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Laura and Nathan, it was such a pleasure to work with both of you and your friends and family on your wedding day!  I loved how you two were up for anything, and that “unplugged ceremony” idea was genius!  Thanks for inviting me to be by your side during your big day.  I wish you all the very best!

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