Daniel and Laurel came from the beautiful state of Washington, more specifically, Seattle, for their wedding at St. Colman Parish and the Union Club.  Wondering how this Seattle couple ever got together?  Well here it is the answer…”It was move-in day at Northwestern University, 2010. Daniel was spending his first full day on campus as a wide-eyed freshman. His parents met him there after a week long backpacking trip, excited for his first days of college. There to greet him and his family was Laurel, vice president of the dorm. That year Laurel and Daniel became close friends in a larger community. They formed a sketch comedy club, ventured into Chicago to see live music, and talked on the phone as the school year faded to summer. They crushed on each other, but neither knew the mutual interest one another had. And then he chased her, and she chased him, back and forth again for three years. Ultimately, they confessed their love for each other and started the rest of their lives. Together.”

One of the many unique things about Laurel and Daniel, is Laurel is founder of the award winning company, Heylo, a cannabis extracting company. As stated on their website,   “Heylo was founded on the idea that cannabis can open doors, open minds and heal.  Laurel, is an environmental chemist who studied at Northwestern University and worked in gastroenterology labs before entering the cannabis industry. She set out to build an extraction company that does things differently than most. By only sourcing the highest-grade flower she could find, she goes against the industry standard of processing trim and sugar leaf. She commits her extraction process to retaining flavor and unique cannabinoids and terpenes.”  In celebration of the benefits and business of Cannabis, they incorporated a bit of it in Dan and Laurels flowers!  Can you spot it?

So now onto the wedding!  Laurel is originally from Avon Lake and this is where she prepared for the day, at her parent’s home.  As a photographer,  it’s always nice to start the day in your own town, but it’s also super nice when the bride has a staircase like the one pictured!  Oh sooo pretty! Laurel was pretty laid back about the wedding preparations.  Both her and Daniel are the nicest people.  John and I had so much fun with them for the engagement last fall and we knew the wedding would be the same.   Dan and his groomsmen (and lady) were closer to the church, in a cool Airbnb. I liked the way Daniel and his brother did a handstand for John…even in their wedding clothing.

The ceremony was held at one of my favorite wedding churches, St. Colman Parish.  This is such a magnificent church and so beautiful for a wedding.  Laurel had the prettiest wedding gown with a very long train, it was perfect for this church! What was really nice is how they allowed us to capture the vow exchange from the side door of the alter!  Thank you!  Then there is the bubble exit down those majestic steps!  I thought it was so sweet how Laurel reached out to her father at the end of the steps and then Daniel did the same.

After some formals in the beautiful church, the wedding party hopped on the Trolly and we headed to the well known Willow tree at Edgewater Park.  This was a request from Laurel.   I think we were crazy for this…we knew it was Labor Day Weekend, but what we didn’t think about was the Cleveland Air Show that was going on!  There were people and traffic everywhere at the park! But, it just made things a bit more challenging and fun!

The reception was held at the gorgeous Union Club of Cleveland.  Also, one of our favorite venues….so many favorites at this wedding.  Laurel and Dan’s florals were so unique.  The center pieces had floating candles and gorgeous greenery on either side of the flat bowls, just so different and fabulous!  Also different were the pies, no wedding cake for this couple, just lots of yummy pies!  But to kick the reception off right, this fun duo danced to the most incredible routine!  The guest were practically on the tables trying to get a better view of this awesome dance and couple!  Well, that dance certainly set the tone for the rest of the night!  Look at all the fun that was had by everyone!!  What a great night and wedding.  Thank you Laurel and Dan!  We loved sharing in the day with you and getting to know you over the past year!  Looking forward to seeing you when you come back to Cleveland!

Makeup and Hair-Angelika Zalewski

Dress Shoppe-The Perfect Bride

Dress Designer-Justin Alexander

Florist-Martha Vandayburg and Pat Steinman

Church-St. Colman Parish

Venue-Union Club of Cleveland

Pies-Miles Farmers Market

Band-We Are The Radio

Proud and happy father Brother and “man of honor” was so helpful! A young girl brought Laurel this 4-leaf clover!