After a quick change into some formal wear we made our way down to the South Street Bridge.

And of course no photo shoot in Philadelphia in September is complete without some Phillies gear.

Cynthia and Zach were married this past October. If you would like to check out a few sneak peeks from their wedding click HERE. Lots more to come over the winter!

Jessie and Michael requested we do a first look so they could see each other before the ceremony and get their picture’s together done early which left time for them to enjoy the cocktail hour with their guests. Since they were both getting ready at the Inn we had to find a spot where we could sneak each of them outside without the other seeing before they were allowed. The covered back patio with a view of the canal and river made a perfect spot. My assistant Charlie did a great job of capturing these shots of Jessie patiently waiting for Michael to come out and see her for the first time in her dress.

After giving them a few minutes alone to get reacquainted, we headed down along the tow path to get some pictures of the two of them together.

Charlie captured this shot of Michael while I was taking his individual portrait.

I’m not sure if it was the heat or the fact that they were about to get married but these two could not stop giggling.

After a quick visit inside for some AC it was time to get the ceremony under way. Their ceremony was held on the back patio with a gorgeous view of the river. The tent came in nice and handy as well to block the guests from the hot mid day sun!

The Centre Bridge Inn does a great job of utilizing the outdoor space quickly turning the ceremony site into cocktail hour then into the dance floor for the first dance and speeches.

While guests relaxed outside the inside was being prepared for their sit down dinner. Elite Florals did a fabulous job with the floral arrangements that day ranging from the ceremony aisle decoration, the bouquets, table arrangements and even the flowers for the cake!

Jessie and Michael danced the night away to a sound track hand picked by the couple themselves.

Nothing rounds out the night like a little air guitar to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing!

A big thank you to Jessie and Michael for inviting me to be a part of your big day! Also, a big thanks to Charlie for shooting with me that day. To check out his amazing illustration work click HERE. Also if you would like to check out Jessie and Michael’s engagement photos at Valley Forge Park click HERE. Thanks for stopping by!

They handmade these owls to use as name cards on the tables. They also made for a cute backdrop for a shot of their rings.

Michele and Jon live out of state so they made most of their arrangements over the phone site unseen. She gave the florist some color ideas but had absolutely no idea what her flowers were going to end up looking like until that morning. Needless to say The Rhoads Garden in North Wales did an amazing job because this is one of my favorite bouquets to date and Michele was thrilled!

The ceremony took place in the living room area in front of the large stone fireplace.

After the ceremony we took everyone outside for some family shots on the front porch.

Since only the family was in attendance we had plenty of time to walk around the property with just Michele and Jon to get some photos of the happy bride and groom.

After making a pit stop to get their photo with the carved bears we headed back behind the Thomas Wilson House where we were lucky enough to find the family of wild turkeys that live in the woods behind the property. We had to take a photo of them because Jon didn’t think anyone would believe us when we returned back to the reception telling everyone we saw a group of wild turkeys. Well Jon here you go!

We finally headed back to the house so they could enjoy their luncheon.

Thank you to Michele and Jon for inviting me along on your special day! It was great working with both of you! To check out the photos from their Old City Philadelphia engagement session click HERE.

Since it was a fairly warm day, we headed down towards the river hoping to catch a cool breeze.

Without much luck we made our way down to the shaded path along the canal.

Pete just had to have a picture with his baby…he was nice enough to let Krissie in the shot too! She was a bit skeptical about the car shot but it turned out to be one of my favorites from the shoot.

Their wedding day is quickly approaching so be sure to check back later in the year for their wedding photos. I look forward to seeing you both soon!

To give them a break we did some individual photos. They were all great helpers standing next to me when it wasn’t their turn trying to get their cousin to laugh and smile.

As you can see these two guys are practically inseparable.

We thought it might be cute to have them all lay in a circle…as you can see it was easier said than done but still quite cute!

Get used to seeing this family and their adorably cute faces because I still have a wedding to post and hopefully another kids shoot once the newest members to the Towers family are born. To see shots from Jack’s family shoot from last spring click HERE. Thanks everyone for a fun filled morning!

The girls got ready at Sindia and Dave’s apartment which ended up being close quarters for a bride, 7 bridesmaids and a flower girl as well as a variety of family members that stopped by to join in on getting Sindia ready for her big day but they made it work.

I was able to sneak Sindia outside for some bridal shots which is usually a greatly welcomed break from all of the chaos going on inside. Being in the middle of an apartment complex we had to get a little creative on the cropping but thankfully they had a little patch of grass with some nice landscaping for us to use.

Here are some shots of the bridal party members…

Once everyone was ready we headed off to the church in downtown Allentown.

Many churches have the organ up in a balcony where you can’t see it so I was quite pleased this one was on the main level. I had no idea they had so many keys and knobs.

Sindia’s dad walked her up the long aisle to meet Dave at the front.

I typically like to get a lot closer for the ceremonies but we were asked to pick a spot and not move so I respected that and was able to get some neat shots of them using the wide angle and fisheye lens. They also have a no flash during the ceremony rule but thanks to the marvel of modern technology we were able to get clean well lit shots without the use of a flash or tripod.

We did a few quick portraits on the altar then we were off to the Brew Works to party.

We had originally planned to do the bridal party photos in a little park area downtown but to our surprise there was a large block party/BBQ of sorts going on in that exact location. With the rain approaching and a stretch limo full of people we had to quickly come up with a plan B. For any brides that follow this blog, it is important to have a back up spot for photos in mind just incase the original one is not available. It saves us from wasting precious photography time in a tight schedule. Thankfully the PPL building is right across the street and provided a nice backdrop for the bridal party photos.

The temperatures were starting to drop and the wind was picking up so we sent the bridal party inside and spent about a half hour with just Sindia and Dave getting some pictures of the newly married couple.

Often times my weddings are off in more rural areas with beautiful landscaping so it was a pleasant change to have a city atmosphere to work with this time around for something different.

Back inside guests were mingling in the downstairs lounge area complete with red oriental umbrellas on the ceiling and a pool table to keep guests entertained.

Upstairs staff was getting the banquet room ready on the 3rd floor for the reception.

Finally the party was underway with the entrance and the first dance.

A great way to fill in the break between each course being served is to have some of the more formal events like the parent dances and toasts occur. This way once dinner is done everyone can get right on the dance floor to party.

Everyone took a quick break from the dancing to cut the cake.

The one thing they mentioned to me they wanted as far as pictures were concerned was a shot of them at night with the PPL building all lit up in the background. The PPL building at night is kind of Allentown’s equivalent to the Empire State Building in NYC. It’s the tallest building in the area and also the most colorful so it can be seen from miles away. With the help of a small video light we were able to get exactly what she wanted. I just love all of the different colors in the background.

And of course no wedding is complete without the bride getting arrested at the end.

Okay okay you caught me. It wasn’t the bride (and no handcuffs were actually used incase the Allentown Police Department comes across this). Thank you for the entertaining photo op though! And thank you to Sindia and Dave for letting me be a part of your big day!

Next we headed a little ways down the street and found an empty house for sale which had this cool slate porch on the back.

No engagement session is complete without a stop at the Doylestown Court House…

We made one last stop on the way back to the cars on this set of steps…

Since I am way behind on my blogging Amie & Dave have been married already for a few months now. Check back soon for pictures from their beautiful wedding at The Highlands Mansion in Fort Washington, PA.