Blog | Columbus Wedding Photographer

Hillbrook Club Cleveland Wedding – Carolyn & Jason

It’s hard to put into words how beautiful Carolyn and Jason’s Hillbrook Club Cleveland wedding was. The attention to detail invested in the wedding design was simply stunning. Carolyn’s plan for an autumn-themed wedding design permeated everything at the Hillbrook Club. More importantly, the moments throughout the day were truly special.

Carolyn and Jason both wanted a relaxed and comfortable wedding day. Certainly nothing too formal and traditional. As an example, Carolyn cutely wore her favorite boots under her wedding dress. The relaxed, autumn styled details carried from the ceremony right through cocktail hour and the wedding reception. In the backyard of the Hillbrook Club, the wedding ceremony aisle was headed by pumpkins, hay bails and decorative grasses. The aisle itself was beautifully lined with pots of heather and rose petals. Tables inside the club we adorned with sunflowers, roses, daisies and red autumn flowers.

I love some of the smaller details as well – pumpkin flower arrangements, Carolyn’s beautiful necklace, and an engraved rock Jason used to propose to Carolyn. More importantly were the moments throughout the day, starting with the first look before the ceremony. Jason seeing Carolyn for the first time was priceless. Following a beautiful and heartfelt ceremony was a reception filled with amazing toasts. I particularly liked the last toast, filled with useful gifts, like relationship glue 😉

From start to finish, Carolyn & Jason’s Hillbrook Club Cleveland wedding was certainly an amazing event and with gorgeous weather, which you can see in the highlights below. Enjoy!

An autumn Hillbrook Club Cleveland wedding by Hunter Photographic An autumn Hillbrook Club Cleveland wedding by Hunter Photographic An autumn Hillbrook Club Cleveland wedding by Hunter Photographic An autumn Hillbrook Club Cleveland wedding by Hunter Photographic

Rain Brings Luck at this Blair Center Wedding

Weather in these parts turned rather fowl at the start of autumn. We don’t normally catch rain on wedding Saturdays, but for a few weeks straight it seemed to rain constantly. So was the story for Samantha and Scott’s Blair Center wedding in Westfield, Ohio. The rainy forecast could be clearly seen days before hand. It would certainly rain, and it would rain a lot.

However, where there is rain, there is always a silver lining. Samantha and Scott’s wedding was at the Blair Center, which is beautiful inside and out. Even if it poured cats and dogs, the inside is just as beautiful as the outside. Furthermore, there are some great covered locations outside. We could simply stand under the ceremony tent, portico or passageway and capture some great natural light photos.

In fact, that is exactly what we did. In the morning and early afternoon, it rained hard. So we simply remained inside or stepped out under cover. It’s hard to tell in the photos below, but it was raining during the bridesmaids photos. Then by some magic, it cleared and we could pretty much go anywhere for the rest of the day.

More important than the logistics of the day is the wedding itself. It was emotional, friendly, beautiful and simply perfect. I absolutely love Samantha’s dress. It wasn’t white or even off-white. It wasn’t quite blush either. It was like a pale champagne and she looked smashing in it! Her jewel-encrusted shoes made the perfect accent. I also love how Samantha and Scott incorporated their personal story into the design. They originally met at Baldwin Wallace University, home of the Yellow Jackets. Being big sports fans, they pulled this idea into their wedding design. Suggesting they were meant to “bee”, they gave each guest a jar of local honey.

Samantha & Scott’s Blair Center wedding was definitely one of the most fun this year, and I hope you enjoy the highlights below.

A Blair Center wedding in Westfield, Ohio with Samantha and Scott A Blair Center wedding in Westfield, Ohio with Samantha and Scott A Blair Center wedding in Westfield, Ohio with Samantha and Scott A Blair Center wedding in Westfield, Ohio with Samantha and Scott

I love that last frame. The poor ring bearer was so tired by the end of the night. He slept continuously through all of the dancing.

Tesse & Ryan – A Cleveland Maternity Session for a Growing Family

The plan was complex from the beginning – one session to capture the couple, their two dogs, and lets throw in some maternity photos. I absolutely love maternity sessions, and I love furry friends even more. We had all the time we needed, so the complex plan turned out to be easier than I thought. Plus, Tesse and Ryan are absolutely wonderful clients, making for a wonderful day.

When I pulled into their driveway, out came the dogs, filled with energy. And these are not normal dogs. Both are mixes and one is likely part Great Dane. They are big to say the least. They are also sooo sweet. After a little time, they settled down and immediately started to ham it up for the camera. They truly made life nice and simple. A personal favorite is the black and white photo of both dogs sitting next to each other, both with gray chins.

After spending ample time with the furry friends, we headed off to the Cleveland Museum of Art for the maternity portion of the session. Previously, we had caught some rain and had to reschedule our session. However, we could not reschedule it far since Tesse was due imminently. Thankfully, the day turned out to be all sun. Tesse and Ryan really lucked out and got some fantastic autumn weather.

As we walked around the museum campus, we chatted about how they found me, their somewhat recent wedding, food, relatives and a whole lot more. Below are some highlights from this maternity session featuring Tesse, Ryan and their growing family. I certainly hope you enjoy.

A family maternity session for Tesse and Ryan Ruhlman captured in Cleveland A family maternity session for Tesse and Ryan Ruhlman captured in Cleveland

For the technical among us, the above was all shot on a Contax 645 with Fuji 400H film. Except the first frame, which was shot on a Leica M6 with Kodak Portra 160. Developing and scanning was done by my trusty team at Richard Photo Lab.