This iconic summer wedding included bare-feet, fireworks, *twenty-five* different pies, a packed dance floor and united two best friends forever in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania…

Chelsea shared, “I was drawn to Rhinehart Photography because she is versatile and caters to a couple’s particular style and priorities. We especially wanted a combination of sweet/romantic couples photos, family portraits as well as fun, upbeat, natural photos of our guests.”
She continued, “On the wedding day it was clear that Lisa came prepared to work.  She had the whole day planned in her mind and she didn’t miss a beat. If I didn’t know what came next- she did! She catered specifically to our priorities so we were able to relax and enjoy our guests and those last few moments of sunset alone!”
I opened the blog post with one of those “sweet, romantic, couples’ photos,” this next photo is a “natural photo of her guests.”  One of her bridesmaids was seated below the clock as she rocked her daughter, the flower girl, while two other bridesmaids reached for Chelsea’s wedding dress.
I love when multiple things are happening in one frame and for me this photograph tells the story of the passage of time.  There is something special about the child in mom’s arms looking up towards the women with the wedding dress, the clock in the background was so perfect!

I also like to play with reflections and love how this photograph allows you to see the front and back of Chelsea and her wedding gown all at once in a very natural way.

Chelsea shared, “Brandi Hill was my makeup artist – I always knew I wanted to do my make-up for my big day!
I caught a cloud of spray in mid-air as Brandi put a finishing touch on Chelsea’s make-up…

Christopher shared, “Chelsea looked so beautiful on our wedding day!”
He went on, “I love my wife because of who she is.  Chelsea truly completes me, she helps me to be a better person.”
Gorgeous…

It was very important to Chelsea and Chris that they did not see each other prior to the wedding, so I found a sweet little cove that would allow her to be hidden…
Chelsea shared about her color palette and the overall look of the wedding, “I wanted a soft, romantic, summery wedding. We wanted elegant, yet “we’re ready to party” style… if that makes sense!”
She continued, “I chose deep jade dresses with ivory, blush, and hints of fuchsia and greenery. We chose gold as our accent colors. I wanted sultry colors, deep hues that I thought represented the end of summer with the pops of blush and ivory for that soft and romantic feel.”

A mother-daughter moment…

Chelsea shared, “Christopher is confident, hardworking, an active listener (even when you think he isn’t), he is kind-hearted and a true southern gentlemen.”
She explained, “My favorite quality in Christopher is his confidence, it’s something I admire most about him and something that he challenges me to work on daily.”

I love photographing weddings at The Lodges at Gettysburg!  There is so much to work with creatively from forests, to rolling hills to the wide-open sky!
Here Kris really captured all of those elements with the groomsmen, especially that vibrant blue sky!

I love their expressions in this shot– you can even see a bit of Chris’ truck in the background…

The ceremony began with a long procession from the woods to the lake, here the flower girl helps to escort the ring bearer– so sweet…

Chelsea and her father began the long walk down the aisle as guests looked on…

Chelsea shared, “He was so handsome standing by the lake during the ceremony – he looked anxious to see me which took me by surprise as Christopher is normally extremely calm and collected, while I am the nervous one!”
She continued, “On the wedding day though, Christopher and I exchanged these characteristics. I was very relaxed all morning and even felt that way standing up at the alter.  Christopher was very nervous all day. I find this sweet and sentimental that it brought out a different side of him.”
Christopher shared, “She looked so beautiful in her dress.  I honestly was so nervous that I thought I would faint!”

He continued, “Having Chelsea by my side was such a huge relief. When I’m with her I feel so relaxed!”
If you look at his expression before Chelsea and after that point is Chrystal clear, haha!!!

Another element of The Lodges at Gettysburg that I absolutely love is their ceremony space.  Somehow is wide open yet intimate.  I tried to capture the way the wedding ceremony space feels in this next photograph.
Chelsea shared, “I couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather and the breeze by the lake was calming during the exchange of vows.”

Butera Florists from York, Pennsylvania did a beautiful job on the floral arrangements.
Romantic roses framed Chelsea and Chris throughout the wedding ceremony…

Sealed with a kiss…
Chelsea and Chris hopped in his truck immediately following the ceremony to spend some time alone.
Chelsea shared, “Christopher’s first words once in the truck were how nervous he was standing up there waiting for me. He said, ‘I just needed to see my best friend and they kept making me wait.'”
I used a technique to allow the truck to be in sharp focus while the background is intensely blurred to capture the motion of them driving away into the woods…

Christopher was pretty go-with-the-flow when I asked him about his priorities for the wedding day.
He agreed that photos of friends and family were important to him, as was enjoying the day, but if I could get some photos of Chelsea’s “big smile” the “real one” that he would really appreciate it and if we could get some photos with his truck that would be nice, too.
This photograph incorporates both her beaming smile and the truck, I’m guessing he’s going to like this one :).

As I shared earlier, I love reflections, and I really like how the blue and green play together here as Christopher looks down at his wedding band.  It also incorporates the truck in a subtle way ;).

Not everyone that meets Christopher sees him for the gentle sweetheart that I see him as, it normally takes some time. But he would probably tell you that’s what he has me for  – the sweet and soft side of the relationship.
There is a line from a Jason Moore song that fits us well… “I’ve got a rough side, a wild side (at least a country mile wide), a fightin’ side, after a few if they wanna see my sweet side, my soft side, my best side, I just point at you.”
She continued, “I like bringing out his softer, gentlemanly side every now and then.”

Chelsea explained, “Christopher actually makes me feel more confident.  I am a much more confident person with him beside me.”

While I love capturing more natural, candid moments and emotions, it is also important for me to capture some more traditional portraits as well.
It depends on what the couple wants, but I generally capture posed group photos of friends and family and some traditional portraits of the bride and groom, too.
This is my favorite shot of Chelsea and Chris, you can see how comfortable they are together and how happy they are.  For me, you can even see that bit Christopher said about Chelsea completing him represented in a visual way…

Here I used a branch from a young maple tree to frame Chelsea and Chris– they are in the shadows while vibrant colors dance on the lake and in the background.

Chelsea shared, “I’m looking forward to sitting back and relaxing with my best friend in the coming months now that all of the wedding planning is over.” 🙂

Christopher shared, “I am really looking forward to growing a family together in the future.  There is no better person to start a family with– she will be the greatest mother!”
I love his expression here and the way the sun is peeking through the trees…

Now I’m peeking through the trees, haha!  I love the color, depth and dimension this adds to the photo!

Chelsea shared, “August is time for warm nights, watermelon, cherry pies, bare-feet, barbeque, sweet tea, wildflowers, camp fires, ripe tomatoes, lightning storms, lemonade & love”
I love that her bare-feet are showing in this photograph…

…and this one– it just says happily ever after to me 🙂
I really wanted to show off the beauty and character of the Gettysburg Lodges ballroom in this photo– the hardwood floors, the lighting (chandeliers, windows and string lights), and Chelsea & Chris’ decor… 

Here is a closer shot of one of the centerpieces– you can see the gold vase, the deep jade tablecloth and blush florals with accents– I really like the hand-written wooden look of the table numbers as well…

Husband & wife!
Chelsea shared, “The room was so filled with love – and the balcony of guests standing at the railing, watching from above was truly touching!”

Chelsea continued, “‘You give me the sweetest love, you must be straight from above.’ – that is a quote from our first dance song and how I feel about Christopher in a simple line. I think it also fits the theme of our summer wedding and where I got a lot of the inspiration for wedding plans, flowers, and the simple things of summer that I wanted to be included in our day.”
She went on “The first time Christopher sang this song to me in college (Love Grows Wild – Dierks Bentley) was when I knew I was going to marry him.”

Chelsea’s father chose “I loved her first” by Heartland as their father-daughter dance.  He had teased her for weeks leading up to the wedding about songs he would choose, but this one really hit home for both of them.
Here are a few lyrics: “I loved her first, I held her first, and a place in my heart will always be hers.
From the first breath she breathed, when she first smiled at me I knew the love of a father runs deep.
And I prayed that she’d find you someday, but it’s still hard to give her away– I loved her first.”
Here a tear rolls down her cheek as she listens to the lyrics:

Chelsea shared, “The slideshow was a surprise, but totally something I should have expected from our parents.”
She went on, “It is true that we share the same birthday – we were born on the exact same day, only eight hours apart!”
Chelsea and Chris were all smiles throughout the evening– laughing at speeches and the like.

25 pies– go big or go home, haha!
Chelsea explained, “Ever since I was a little girl – I told my mom I was having pie and ice cream at my wedding. That dream came true thanks to Lois at Stone House Cakery in Taneytown, MD. She took my idea of a pie bar and encouraged us go over the top (25 different pies with all different crusts/crumbs/flavors/fruit/chocolate/classics).”
She continued, “Lois seemed surprised by the idea and made sure we were going to do it right! The most popular that didn’t make it past the first half hour – peanut butter (Christopher’s favorite) and strawberry rhubarb.”
Here are 6 of the 25 pies!!!

The guest favors– whoopie pies…
Chelsea said, “The whoopie pies are a favorite treat of Christopher and I. Lucky for us, my parents have a lady at their family business who makes them. She was so excited to hear that we wanted her to make 250 whoopie pies for our wedding favors!”
Capturing action on the dance floor was important to both of them and wow, that dance floor was packed!  Here are just a few of the antics, there are literally over 100 more!
This one on the top right corner made me laugh out loud– I’ve been to a lot of weddings but never one where the groom bounced a groomsman like a basketball!

The fireworks display was nothing short of spectacular and really took the summer wedding theme to another level!
Again it was hard for me to pick a favorite, but I think I can settle on these two:

I showed Chelsea the back of the camera after taking this shot, she said, “It’s my favorite color, green, too!”

Chelsea and Chris– it was such a pleasure getting to know you two over the past year+.  I enjoyed capturing all of these memories for you and your family and friends and hope that these photos capture the love and romance between the two of you as well as the events of the day and energy of your friends and family members.
If you want to see more of Chelsea and Chris, check out their engagement session on Skyline Drive with Christopher’s truck here.   I also have hundreds more photos coming to their gallery link soon.  🙂