The Love Wedding

Thursday, June 19, 2014

My little sis, Kayla got married the last weekend in April and it was absolutely wonderful.   They got married in Pittsburgh, PA in the strip district.  She married Ryan Love which means the wedding was for Mr. & Mrs. Love.


We made our way to Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon and after a smooth rehearsal at the church, we all headed over to Bado's Pizza Grill & Ale house for a delicious rehearsal dinner.  Afterwards, the kids were anxious to get back to the hotel to get some swimming in before bed and then it was off to sleep before the big day!



The day was fantastic.  We had great weather, despite a forecast of possible rain.  My two kids were enlisted as the ring bearer and flower girl while Tasha and I acted as co maid & matron of honor.  The girls spent the morning getting glam'ed up while the amazing photographer:  Shell Bailey Photography and videographer:  Nathan Hamblin caught all the best moments from start to finish.  And the boys, well, they did what they do - sh*t, shower, and shave basically.  (Grey jumped on the hotel bed for approximately 4 hours straight).

Let me just preface this by saying that this post is photo heavy.  But because it needs to be.  Kayla and Ryan did an amazing job planning everything with beautiful and meaningful details.  So much of the ease of the day is credited to Kayla's amazing planning and the support and help of the day-of wedding planner, Shayne of Soiree by Souleret.

My beautiful sister.  -Shell Bailey Photography
The Bride and her maids in Etsy robes; a gift from the Bride.  -Shell Bailey Photography
Abba & Gemmi.  -Shell Bailey Photography
Booboo helping Aunt Uch get ready.


Gemmi in her cupcake style flower girl dress from Etsy.  -Shell Bailey Photography

My heart.  -Shell Bailey Photography

the Bride.  -Shell Bailey Photography

After the morning swim and all of the bed-jumping, by the time we were getting ready to head over to the church, our no-nap kids seemed a little cranky and whiny.  Grey bailed on his dress shoes and wore his sneakers instead.  And it was a long while before Gem refused to take off her Bubble Guppy jammies to wear her flower girl dress.  Brandon and I were feeling a little anxious about whether or not they'd make it down the aisle.

Shoe change and unbuttoning of the top button needed to make this kid happy.

on the busride to the church.  Cranky/Sleepy Gemmi Girl
But, in a miracle of miracles, both kids walked perfectly down the aisle while I choked down a lump in my throat to see my two impossibly grown babies walk the length of the church aisle with grace and proud composure.  

photo credit:  Taryn :)

My big boy.  -Shell Bailey Photography
My sweet girl.  -Shell Bailey Photography

The ceremony was beautiful and touching.  My three younger cousins sang a gorgeous rendition of Hail Mary in honor of our late grandmother and both of our kids fell asleep only a few minutes into mass; which meant they were quiet and well behaved through the whole thing!

Brandon and Kevin walked my Mom down the aisle. - Shell Bailey Photography

Dad & Kayla.  cryfest.  -Shell Bailey Photography

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Ryan Love.  -Shell Bailey Photography

Adams Family photo with two sleeping grandkids!  -Shell Bailey Photography
The Bridal party headed out to take pictures while Brandon and my inlaws (Gigi & Pappy) took the sleeping kids to walk around the Strip District before the reception at the Pittsburgh Opera House.

The wedding party.  -Shell Bailey Photography

SCF.  Sisters come first.  -Shell Bailey Photography

Studerbaby#3 in the photo with the Bride!  hehhe.  -Shell Bailey Photography

The newlyweds.  -Shell Bailey Photography
The reception began on time and after entrances, the first dance, and the cake cutting; Tasha and I sat looking at each other in nervous tension as we had two big hurdles yet to jump.  Our speech and our big secret surprise that included half of the guests at the wedding!

"You are the best thing" sung by the talented bridesmaid; Stacey Resavage.
Cutting the cake.  -Shell Bailey Photography
Tash and I made our speech which included a bit about Kayla & Ryan's shared love of running.  They have trained and ran together in multiple 5Ks, a Tough Mudder, and the Pittsburgh Half Marathon.  In our speech, we talked about how Kayla once mentioned that to encourage her and Ryan to train on a day they hadn't felt like it - she reminded him how much easier it was to run on the day of the race when all the spectators were out there cheering for them.  And just like it's easier when people are watching and cheering during a race, we reminded them that everyone there at the wedding were those people - the cheerleaders encouraging and supporting them through the marathon of marriage.  At that, we had folks wave their napkins, cheer, and hold up banners.  It was seriously awesome and we want to thank everyone who helped make our speech finish strong.  


After our speech, we wildly transitioned into the big, super secret surprise:  a flash mob!  Tasha choreographed the whole thing to Bruno Mars "Treasure," and even created a step-by-step dance video that we sent to guests and family members weeks before the wedding.  The bridesmaid started first which wasn't all that surprising for the newlyweds as we're a bunch of dancing weirdos anyway (hah!) but by the second verse, the groomsman got up too.  And then loads of guests made their way onto the dance floor to join us.  It was awesome and Kayla & Ryan were so surprised and cracking up.  We are so grateful that we had people happy to join us in the big surprise - thank you!!

Flash Mob!  -Shell Bailey Photography

The rest of the reception went off beautifully.  So much dancing, laughing, and great times.  The kids really loved dancing and showing up their moves for everyone.  It was such a wonderful day for my little sis and her new husband.  

Team Studer
Dancing 




In case you need a little more loveliness from the Love wedding, check out some pinspiration from her wedding here, or watch their wedding trailer:



Love Wedding from Nathan Hamblin on Vimeo.


Congratulations to my little sis and brother in law, Ryan.  What a wonderful day for such a wonderful couple.  We love you guys so much.







2 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures for a beautiful day and beautiful bride. I loved her dress. When the first pictures came out, a few at a time, the artist in me kept saying "I want to see the BACK of the dress!" And then I did and it was beautiful!

    As a writer, I know that I used the word "beautiful" too many times... :-)

    Love,
    Melodye

    As a

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Need more coffee... not sure where that last "As a" came from

      <3 Melodye

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