An elegant, Hotel Dupont wedding for two people with hearts of gold…

Jackie shared, “From the moment I first looked at your website, I knew that I needed to have you as our photographer.  I love the creativity in your work, but you also make sure to get classic photos, too.  You were super easy to work with, the photography timeline you created for our day was seamless.  It also definitely helped to have the experience with you from our engagement shoot so we knew what to expect, how you worked, and that we could relax and trust you to capture the perfect shot.”
Mark added, “We had a great experience working with you– you were positive, friendly, caring and professional.  There were a few snafus during the day and you rolled with the punches like a champ.  You were able to get really creative and thought outside of the box all day long.”
One thing that Jackie mentioned when we first met was how much she enjoyed my bridal party shots, that everyone was classically posed, like something in Vogue, GQ or Vanity Fair.  I *love* capturing images like that, here is yours, Jackie…

Jackie shared, “I was impressed with your idea to get photos of our rings the clock.  I noticed it as a cool concept because it made me think of marriage, it’s really about promising each other to stand the test of time, and the rings are the symbol of that.”
She went on, “Over the years, we’ll go through so much together, good times, bad times, happy and sad, but we can always go back in time to look back on this day and remember how perfect it was and how much we love each other.”
Jackie you are one deep lady!  Aside from the time-tie in, And loving the sun/moon detail, I also liked the gold touches on the clock, I felt like it really worked well with her color scheme.  I carefully balanced their rings right where the shadow fell, so they would pop against the background.

Jackie explained, “I actually let the florist, Meg, do a lot of the flower decisions on her own.  For the most part,  I gave her my colors and we talked about some basic things, the feel I was thinking of, any particular flowers (snap dragons are my favorite so I definitely wanted them included in my bouquet), etc, but I pretty much just let her do her thing and everything turned out better then I could have thought!”

More gold tones and detailing– for this shot I wanted to show the embroidery on her veil and crystals on her shoes.  For brides who want “the little things” captured, photographing the details like the flowers, rings, shoes, etc are what I do as soon as I arrive…

Jackie shared, “My cousin, Ashley Kane, is the co-owner of Forevermore Paper Co, and she did our save the dates and invitations for us.  We have gotten SO many complements on both of these items and we absolutely loved how they turned out! One of our friends, told us they were the nicest invitations he’s ever seen. I can’t thank her enough for her work on them, and being able to have a family member contribute her talent, makes it that much more special.”

I asked Jackie if there was anything she was hoping to see in her photos, she explained, “I absolutely love the reflection shots you do, one of my favorite shots from our engagement featured a reflection and I just really like how you play with them.”
Here you are seeing double, as Jackie applies the finishes touches on her make-up…

Jackie smiled, “My matron of honor, Megan’s  daughter,  Lilian, was my flower girl.  I was there at the hospital the day she was born, and I’ve had the privilege of being her “aunt Jackie” and watching her grow.  I loved watching her excitement on my wedding day, and still remember her putting her basket in the window of the room we were getting ready in so “everyone could see you’re getting married.”

Jackie, you are beautiful!!

Jackie shared, “My dress is from Claire’s in Wilmington DE, everyone told me that I had to go there.  I also had a certain designer in mind, Essence of Australia, and they carried that line.  I LOVED this dress, between the delicate lace, with just a little bit of sparkle in the bodice, and the overall elegant look, I was sold.”
I like to pack a lot into one shot– in this one I wanted to show the detailing of her dress and the way the light hit that and her veil, the ornate draperies and park view out the window.

Jackie shared, “I wanted an elegant wedding, and Hotel DuPont is the perfect venue in our area to have that timeless, classic look.  The architecture there is so beautiful and detailed.”
The Hotel Dupont is so incredible, that you really have to see it for yourself to believe it, especially the ballroom, but I did my best to capture different elements of the architecture throughout the day, this photo also features the bridesmaids…

Jackie shared, “My matron of honor is Megan who has been my best friend since we were partners in chemistry class.  I also had my friend Rachel who I met our freshman year of college, we were both pre-pharmacy students and living in the same dorm at Pitt.  My sister in law Cassie and my cousin Emily round out my crew.”

Jackie shared, “Mark is the best person, he always puts others first, he’s caring, loving and always, always makes me laugh.  He looked extremely handsome in his tux.”
Here my second photographer, Richard, captured this reflection of Mark in the mirror, I’m guessing you are a fan both of the subject matter and creative approach…

Jackie’s choice of gold matched everything in Hotel Dupont so well.  There were many gold accepts throughout the hotel and many of the rooms themselves were bathed in gold light, too.

Jackie and Mark were wed at Grace United Methodist Church, at 900 N. Washington St in Wilmington, Delaware.
Jackie shared, “We were looking for a Methodist Church near Hotel Dupont, as my home church is about an hours drive away, and happened to notice this one was just a few blocks away.”  Again, love the architecture…

Aw such a handsome groom– I love how Richard placed him in front of a tree with burgundy blooms, way to incorporate the color scheme!

I grabbed this candid moment as Jackie exited the limo, arriving at the church.  I liked all of the layers– the vibrant blue sky with white puffy clouds, the modern buildings of downtown Wilmington, the limo and all key players on Jackie’s side…

Jackie shared, “My favorite part of the day was actually our ceremony.  Being able to stand up in front of our family and friends and become husband and wife.”
She laughed, “I was so nervous about walking down the aisle because I don’t like to be the center of attention and have everyone’s eyes on me, but as soon as I started that walk with my dad and saw Mark, all the nervousness disappeared and nothing but excitement and joy was left to marry this man I am completely in love with.”
Here she begins her walk down the aisle with her father…

Mark smiled, “Watching the bride come down the aisle was definitely my favorite moment of the day.    I was stunned, she looked so gorgeous.”

Jackie’s dad gave her a big hug after walking with her and passed her hand to marks.  I like the intimate feel of this photograph, shot between two wedding guests, as well as the symbolism here, you have a father, husband and child all in one photograph…

Mark shared sheepishly, “I will admit  I did tear up when I saw Jackie.”  So sweet:
 

Jackie explained, “When we went inside to see the church, we fell in love.  Between the stained glass windows and the pipe organ, it was just what we were looking for.”
The light in the church was incredible.  I had so much to work with in that space.  Here you can see gold light streaming in the stained glass windows…

Mark laughed, “If you know my grandmother and/or saw her shoes #goldshoes, I knew she was going to do something.  She has been supportive and loving my whole life, and true story, her heart sign is still being talked about as of this day, it was memorable for sure!”
Grandma’s are the best!  Take a look at her sign…

Jackie continued, “Working with Pastor Edwin was fantastic, we couldn’t have asked for a better pastor to work with through our journey and he gave us a phenomenal wedding ceremony.  He is very kind and even had a sense of humor, too.”

I climbed up to the choir loft for this shot.  I wanted to capture the pipes of the organ, the stained glass, light fixtures, wedding guests… the entire scene & the kiss 😉

A modern portrait of the newlyweds…

Mark shared, “Jackie and I just work.  I think we work so well together because we really balance each other out.”
A nod to the classic architecture…

Jackie explained, “I look forward to starting a chapter in our lives- buying a new house together, starting a family, creating memories, laughing together and falling more in love with him every day.”

Again the sky and modern architecture was calling me… look closely and you will see Jackie and Mark silhouetted in the foreground.

The ballroom, was just spectacular…
Jackie shared, “We wanted a very classic and elegant look and feel, with a little bit of romance thrown in.  I found a color palette I like that included burgundy, blush/rose gold,  and gold tones and loved it.  It also worked super well because we could play off the gold in the ballroom.”
She continued, “We didn’t have to do much in the way of decor as the ballroom is gorgeous on its own so that worked to our advantage.”

Jackie smiled, “I knew I wanted calla lilies and snap dragons from the start and the gold-blush-burgundy palette and really let, Meg go from there.  Everything turned out even better than I could have imagined.”

Love the gold up-lighting, too– such a great touch!  Mr & Mrs Forbes!!!

I loved playing with all of the lighting in the room– the gold up-lighting combined with the band’s shades of blues and added my own little burst of light there, too.

Such a beautiful scene…

It looks like something out of a painting and actually will be!!!
Mark stated, “The painting will be a treasured piece in our home.”
Jackie added, “Mark’s cousin had a painting done at her wedding and I thought it was the coolest thing.”

The father of the bride welcomed everyone…

As did the mother of the groom– it was definitely a family affair!
Mark smiled, “To quote the great Dr Theresa T Forbes- I really did hit a home run by marrying Jackie.”

The band was incredible!

They definitely got everyone to let loose on the dance floor!  Love her energy and that pop of red, stunning!

The kiddos were super sweet, too.

I used the candle light and champagne bubbles to bring some interesting effects into the maid of honor’s speech…

Mark shared, “My best man was my college roommate, we are very similar.  We can go months without talking to each other and pick up right where we left off.  He did a great job on his speech, laughs all around.”
He definitely had everyone laughing, the maid of honor and even the band members are smiling!  With the best man’s toast I wanted to capture the full scene, so I put Jackie and Mark in the foreground of the composition, framing him.  
Father-daughter dance:

Mother-son:

Cake cutting:

Jackie shared, “Bananas foster is my favorite dessert, we had to have it, and the flambe presentation made it all the more fun!  Servers really made quote a show of it!”

Lots of energy out on the dance floor for sure!

Especially from the little ones– I could not get over all of the detailing on the ceiling and decided then I’d incorporate it again later in the night!

Mark smiled, “My friends are a lot of fun.  Despite living in different states and having busy lives, we make time to bust each others chops almost on a daily basis.  For example: when I woke up on my wedding day, I was awoken to text messages – who’s taking bets on whether Jackie will actually show up or not. After a few responses, someone then proceeded to call dibs if she doesn’t show.” 

The band was really top notch.  One of my favorite moments was when they joined the guests out on the dance floor– Jackie and Mark got a kick out of that, too.

Jackie reflected, “People told us the night would fly by, I don’t think we actually believed them until it was the end of the night and it had literally flown by.  But at the same time, everything was perfect and I couldn’t have been happier with how the day turned out. ”

Jackie smiled, “And of course I was super excited to leave the next morning for our honeymoon in the Maldives!”
Mark joked, “What our wedding is over? Didn’t we just start 20 minutes ago? I have to wake up in 5 hours!”

If you’d like to see more of Jackie and Mark, check out their Omni Bedford Springs engagement session here.  Their full set of wedding photos will be live next week with several hundred images :D.
Wedding Vendors:

• Venue: Hotel DuPont
• Tuxes: Joseph A. Bank
• Band: The FM Band
• Painter: Celebration Paintings
• Flowers: Sweet Peas of Jennersville
• Gown: Claire’s Fashions
• Bridesmaids Gowns: Azazie
• Hair and Makeup: Kristen and Jenn from Lavish Lounge Hair Salon
• Save the Dates and Invitations: Forevermore Paper Co