Jessica and Austin Marry at the Lancaster Host

The Thanksgiving holiday gives us a reminder to give thanks for the blessings in our life. What an incredible way to remember our gratitude for the ones we share our lives with than to marry and have a wedding anniversary at Thanksgiving. This is how Jessica and Austin began their life together, marrying each other over the holiday weekend.



Joy and I greeted our relaxed bride as she was hanging out in her bridal suite, watching her bridesmaids touch up their hair and makeup. She was ready to be dressed and our cameras were in hand. I love the moment that she and her mother share as they admire her in the mirror, in her wedding gown.

One of my great pleasures is to watch all of the details that my couples decide upon during their planning process actually come into a reality on the wedding day. Jessica and Austin's details were beautiful and classic. We were in the middle of photographing Jessica with her bridesmaids when one of her groomsman arrived carrying a large gift box, beautifully wrapped in metallic pink paper. Just for fun, the large box led to a smaller wrapped box of beautiful diamond earrings. A timeless gift from groom to bride that can be passed down from one generation to the next. It was magical to photograph her surprised smile as she held this gift. I wondered what her gift would be to Austin and it was just as timeless; a stunning pocket watch. Not wanting to see each other before the ceremony, it was important for us to photograph the gift opening so that they could see each others' reactions. It's these little moments that I just adore.

During the ceremony, the bride and groom gifted their mothers with roses. The smiles on their faces was beyond words. It's the wedding ceremonies that have the mixture of tears and smiles that pull at my heart strings the most. The reception also flowed so seamlessly with It's Showtime DJ Entertainment. DJ Chris Poje kept the dance floor moving all evening with everything from a Twist competition to the Anniversary Dance. It was such a pleasure to capture every one's dance moves along with our videographers JKM Productions. It was just a perfect wedding. Thank you to Jessica, Austin and their families for allowing us to share in this day.

Slideshow Featuring Master Photographer Joy

Check out this slideshow featuring weddings photographed by Master Photographer Joy.

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Check out our latest slideshow showcasing some of my favorite wedding moments from the last few years . . .

Roan & Ryker's Home Hay Bale

I had the pleasure of photographing my nephews, Roan and Ryker, playing with pumpkins atop a hay bale all in their own back yard. Nothing can make children more comfortable in a portrait sitting then when they are in their own home so I was able to slip in and out with ease. They ran around the yard playing with their toy lawn mower and red wagon while I took turns photographing them. I just love photographing this time of year with all of the colors, natural props and great light. What a great way to celebrate the most gorgeous time of year with your family in moments and memories that you can enjoy forever.

Heather and David's Twist on a Halloween Weekend Wedding

What an incredible month. We wrapped up October with having photographed ten wedding and what better way to celebrate the end of an amazing month with a fantastic wedding and a dual photography team. The final wedding was so special because we photographed for a bride who loves to photograph as well. Her passion for photography and love of the camera had our four-photographer crew on our feet taking fun candids all night long. In the slideshow you will see photographs from myself, Joy, Leslie and Tara.

Heather and David married this Halloween weekend and had some gorgeous twists to bring a flavor of the holiday into their wedding without designing the entire wedding for Halloween. Orange was featured throughout the wedding in her flowers and details but instead of black, she paired the orange with blue and it was gorgeous! Her orange and blue went beyond the flowers. Instead of bubbles at the end of the ceremony, her guests threw candy corn, handed to them in beautiful blue bags. Their getaway car was a blue Camaro with an orange “Just Married” sign in the back. At the reception, each table was decorated with an oversized wine glass resembling vase filled with blue stones and orange colored fish. How fun is that? It was a ball to photograph and we could not have captured the details and so many precious moments if we had not had the full team there.

Some special moments that you will see in the video . . . Heather and the girls writing wedding messages before getting dressed and the girls tossing their shawls into the air when they decided not to wear them during the ceremony.

Heather and David were so sweet and ready to go with the flow. The dance floor was still occupied with the buffet line so we switched gears to get their party started. Instead of doing their first dance and bridal party dance on the dance floor, they danced on Liberty Forge’s gorgeous spiral staircase with their bridal party cheering them on. For a taste of Halloween, the DJ opened the evening dancing with Thriller and brought the guests out on the dance floor for a great celebration, wild cake cutting and laughter filled bouquet and garter toss. Thank you to Heather and David for hosting such a gorgeous and fun filled wedding.

Sandra and Eugene Marry at Riverdale Manor

All I can say is that I cried several times this day.

Sandy and the girls had fallen a little behind schedule from their morning salon appointments and I know that she was stressed and frustrated when she arrived to Riverdale Manor. Once she was in her bridal suite I ran upstairs and threw my arms around her and told her that everything was fine, we had plenty of time to get her dressed and to take pictures. Her nerves were still a little rattled so we had Maureen (Riverdale’s owner) bring Champaign so that they could relax and re-focus on the celebration. Tara searched for different fun tunes on my iphone to play for the girls as they dressed and nothing was quite hitting the right note until Tara picked out “Heaven” by Bryan Adams. Sandy laughed at this and joked how Gene wanted this to be their first dance. I asked what they did choose for their first dance and it was Ben Fold’s “The Luckiest”. Luckily I had it on my phone, Tara played the tune and then the tears fell. I felt so awful that I already had the bride crying while she was dressing but she insisted that the song continue to play. This was their song and with that, she was dressed and truly ready to begin the day.

Years before, Sandy had lost her mother and Gene his father so I knew that there would be extra special tears at this wedding with their parents. Sandy had wanted the moment that her father saw her in her dress to be special and this moment was just as important to me. I wanted to be sure to share this moment in the video. Every detail of the day was so special. Around her flowers, Sandy wrapped lace from her mother’s wedding dress and a locket given to her by Gene with a picture of her mother.

I watched Gene follow her as she came down the aisle and was touched at how instantly tears came to his eyes. The ceremony was stunning along the river and the minister struck just the write note of laughter, sermon and sincerity. Their smiles were so great during the ceremony. After they walked off the aisle, I approached the table where they had poured the sand for their sand ceremony for a close-up photograph. I have never seen this before but there was a perfectly shaped heart on the table beside their vase, made from the sand that had spilt from their vases. I was so amazed that I went to show Sandy the photograph that I had taken while her mother’s sisters were all around her. She gasped and her one aunt exclaimed that this was the work of her mother. Tears filled my eyes again.

The reception was just as touching. Their best man shared that their union made him believe in the magic of marriage, their maid of honor cried through her entire toast, barely gasping how amazed she was by her friends. Everyone seemed to agree, that Sandy and Gene are a couple who sets the standard for relationships. After dinner, they cut the cake but with a special surprise. Their cake toppers were characters from their favorite Anime and they cut the cake with an enormous actual sword just like their favorite characters would have. Then they stepped into their first dance and began a long night of dancing and singing. The singing? Well as Gene went to remove Sandy’s garter, all of the men in the room jumped behind him and they sang “Build Me Up Buttercup” to her. They whole day was filled with moments, just like that.

Meghan & Bryce Celebrate at Lauxmont Farms

Meghan had explained to me that for her, the photography could not just be about the photographs, it had to also be about the experience. That is why she came to our studio and this is why I knew that Joy, would be the perfect photographer for her. Though Meghan and Bryce are from York, they were living up North at the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon throughout their engagement. I have a dear friend from this area and know just how beautiful it is. For their engagement sitting, they asked to spend the weekend with Joy, in their beautiful town up North. The three bonded on a level that few photographers get to experience with their clients. For Joy, this weekend was a homecoming as well because she had lived in that area for four years until her graduation from Mansfield University. The stories from her trip were great and the pictures were even more amazing. I knew that after that weekend, that this could possibly be one of Joy’s favorite weddings of the year, maybe ever.

Wow was I right . . . and I know this as I was a wedding crasher. Leslie and I were photographing Tim & Deidre’s wedding in Lititz while Joy and Alicia were at Lauxmont Farms with Meghan and Bryce and our wedding ended just in time for us to head to LF and join the party with our crew. I walked into the most amazing site. So many times, weddings can crash early and only a few die hard guests remain till the end. This was not the case that night. We rolled in at 10:30 PM to find nearly every one of the 150 guests rocking the house. People were outside singing around bon fires, inside shouting “OOOOOOOHHHHHH” while posing for Joy and tearing up the dance floor. Only one DJ company could do this and it was It’s Showtime DJ with Shawn behind the speakers. Leslie and I roamed to find our bride laughing with her guests. Joy’s bond expanded to the entire bridal party and I got to watch as the bridesmaids and groomsmen were constantly running over for photos, to fist bump and to relive the stories from earlier in the day.

Shawn called for the closing circle, which became the loudest and craziest closing circle of all time. A closing circle is a great way to wind down an evening with the few remaining guests circled around a dancing bride and groom, passing a microphone and extending their best wishes and advice for a happy marriage. This however was a closing semi-circle with an enormous crowd (since all the guests remained till the end of the night). There was no passing of the mic, instead guests took turns running up beside the groom shouting excitement, rapping, hollering for Penn State and with the conclusion of each new speaker, everyone held their glasses in the air and shouted “OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”. It was awesome. Congratulations to Meghan and Bryce, they certainly knew how to throw an amazing party to conclude such a gorgeous wedding day.

Below: Joy, Meghan & Alicia shouting “OOOOOHHHHHH” at the end of the night.