From the beginning of our correspondence with Ryan, I knew this was going to be a fun wedding!  I say Ryan, because he was our point of contact throughout most of  the planning for this wedding.  Kathryn knew he had an eye for photography, and she let him take the reins when it came to their photography! Being that the two of them live in Chicago, it was mostly emails. When we finally got to meet this energetic couple we instantly feel in love with Kathryn as well!  Between the two of them, they have the most awesome smiles!!

From Ryan–“I met Kathryn in 2014 while visiting college friends in Chicago for a Christmas Bar Crawl (called TBOX) in Wrigleyville. We were both attending the same pre-game party but I didn’t talk to Kathryn until we were at a bar. Unbeknownst to us, when we did get to talking, we were amazed by the fact that we both attended Ohio University, graduated in 2012, hung out with the same group of friends, and Kathryn even partied at both my houses my Junior and Senior year of college. It was crazy! I knew all of Kathryn’s friends and roommates and Kathryn knew all my friends and roommates. We were blown away how we never met each other while in college (our friends still cannot believe this)! At the time, I was living in Cincinnati and Kathryn was in Chicago. We exchanged numbers, kept talking to each other, and found ourselves doing a long distance relationship. After about a year-and-a-half of long distance, I decided to make the move up to Chicago to be closer with Kathryn”.

The night before their wedding, Ryan and Kathryn treated their family and guest to a night of shuffleboard and Bario tacos! This was the second time we had been to Forest City Shuffleboard for a wedding rehearsal dinner and we love it!  So much fun for everyone, plus so many ways to provide the dinner. Last time our couple used Taste of Excellence to cater a big BBQ buffet, this time Ryan and Kathryn had a taco food truck.  Both times the food was amazing!

The wedding was held at the beautiful Hilton Cleveland Downtown.  Known for it’s amazing views of the city and Lake Erie, it’s a beautiful location for weddings. Both Ryan and Kathryn had their morning preparations at the hotel.  After a beautiful morning of primping and photographs, we all made our way to  St Raphael Catholic Church in Bay Village.  The ceremony went on without a hitch and was full of love, as well as a few laughs and giggles.  I mentioned earlier that this was a fun couple!

Being the second weekend of November, I was really wanting to take advantage of some of the color (leaves) that was hit and miss around the area. So, being familiar with Bay Village, we decided to brave the cold and photograph at the local lakeside park.  They all were freezing, but and allowed us to capture a few quick photos, and I’m so glad they did. For the rest of the day, we headed downtown and were lucky enough to photograph in one of the library’s rooms that is usually filled with displays. John photographed some fun shots of Ryan and the guys, while I photographed the girls.  Then we added Kathryn to the groomsmen just for fun!

As fun as all the picture time was, the big fun really began when we all made it to the Hilton for cocktail hour.  As you walked into the cocktail hour,  you were greeted by musicians playing beautiful music, a super cute drawing of the couple that you could sign and a large ice sculpture, completely surrounded by seafood!  This raw bar at the Hilton, was stunning as well as delicious!  What a treat for everyone and the Hilton Downtown really knows what they are doing!

As wonderful as the cocktail hour was, it was nothing compared to walking into the Hope Ballroom reception! From the Casper (see-through chairs) to the unique “tree like” floral arrangements on the tables, everything was breathtaking.  The flowers were by Plantscaping & Blooms.   The centerpieces were made of what looked like driftwood and twigs, with beautiful flowers attached.  There was even  glass balls hanging with candles from the limbs.  Just stunning and so creative.  The head table was placed in front of a draped wall with a trellis and more beautiful greenery and candles.  I could go on about the details and the wonderful food, but just look at the pictures, that’s much more fun!

Thank you to Ryan and Kathryn for entrusting us with your beautiful wedding’s photography and for just being so great to work with!  And also thank you to Jacqlyn from the Hilton, for all your perfect assistance as well!  Congratulations Ryan and Kathryn!

Hair/Makeup-The Perfect Hair & Makeup (by Agne Moraru) 

Rehearsal-Forest City Shuffleboard Arena and Bar

Dress Shoppe-La Blanca Bridal Boutique

Invitations-Paper Trails

Wedding Reception Venue-Hilton Cleveland Downtown

Flowers-Plantscaping & Blooms

Chairs/Rentals-All Occasions Rentals

Cake-Wild Flour Bakery

Band-Grand Avenue

Video-The Image In Motion

Forest City Shuffleboard for Ryan and Kathryn’s wedding rehearsal dinner! It’s wedding day!