Ashley & Jason’s Wedding – Circuit Center

Saturday, June 19th started out as a beautiful, but very hot, sunny day. Oddly enough, my 2 1/2 year old son Jonas started the day by asking if he could go downstairs and open the Christmas tree. ?!?! I explained that it was June, and not Christmas time, but rather Ashley & Jason’s wedding day. He insisted on the Christmas tree. Eventually I discovered that he was trying to say “rice krispie treat.” That made a lot more sense, seasonally, although rice krispie treats are not a typical breakfast in our house. (And now I must say that I loathe having to type “krispie” and not crispy. I’ve never understood why words are intentionally misspelled, makes me crazy.)

Ashley & Jason’s day began at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church. Ashley wore a stunning strapless beaded gown by Maggie Sottero.

I’ll let this next one speak for itself first…

Yep, Ashley decided to do a few push-ups before putting her dress on. I don’t think that it would be humanly possible to be more fit and toned than she already was, but a few more never hurts.

Ashley kept an eye on the arriving guests.

After the ceremony, the bridal party stopped at the Mellon Institute in Oakland. It’s a popular spot. There were two other bridal parties there at the same time, and another arrived just as we were leaving.

I loved the turquoise J. Crew bridesmaid dresses (with pockets!) paired with the hot pink shoes.

Here Jason was going to dip Ashley – I think he dipped her a little lower than she expected!

Jason thinks socks are for the birds. Never wears them. Why change that on wedding day? No reason. You saw Ashley’s shoes above with the bridesmaids’ shoes, but she opted to change into something a bit more comfortable. And representative of her. Sneakers, of course!

This beautiful portrait is by my second shooter du jour, Jennifer Stein.

At this point, our hot, sunny day was evolving into a humid, overcast day with rather ominous skies. After a quick stop to refresh at the reception venue, The Circuit Center, we opted to hope for the best and head over to the Hot Metal Street bridge. I had a good feeling this time that we would have just enough time for a few pictures on the bridge, and that it would start to rain as soon as we returned. That was more or less was happened. This was the last posed photo…… and then we started to feel a few raindrops. Good thing Ashley had those sneakers on. I had a hard time keeping up!My favorite detail to photograph is always the cake. It’s a mystery to me, because I’m not that into eating cake. But they’re so gorgeous to look at.

Ashley & Jason met at Penn State. There were about 50 alumni and students (plus me, class of ’96) among the guests! As you might expect from the #1 Party School, the reception was one big party. Which began with some spirited entrances…

Photo by Jennifer.

Below, Ashley reacts to the Best Man’s toast. Next to her is her maid of honor and sister, Allison. I’m so, so happy to be photographing Allison’s wedding in November. I cannot wait to see what Ashley has to say when she gets to toast Allison and has the last word.Like I said… the reception was one big party. The dance floor was packed nonstop.See you too in November, Dennis…Nothing makes me happier than to see the bride and groom together during the reception. And on the dance floor – bonus!When wearing sneakers, always keep them tied. What a great maid of honor, doing her duty and tying the bride’s shoes for her. I like that Dennis just keeps right on dancing here.Congratulations, Ashley and Jason!

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The Credits

Ceremony: Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church

Reception: The Circuit Center

Caterer: Fluted Mushroom

Cake: Lincoln Bakery Bellevue

Florist: Jim Ludwig’s Blumengarten

Bride’s Gown: Maggie Sottero/MB Bride

Hair & Makeup: Salon Cercone

Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew

DJ: Mike Grecca