Weddings
Engagements
Portraits
Posted on February 8, 2010
Three days after our huge snowfall, many roads still aren’t clear. Driving in to Oakland from the east suburbs Monday morning was no easy task. Traffic was very heavy, people were getting stuck all over, and there were heavy delays everywhere.
Traffic was completely backed up on Forbes Avenue going through Frick Park. After sitting still in traffic for about 20 minutes, several SUVs started to cross the center line, which was covered in snow, and then drive around all the traffic on the wrong side of the road.
My Forester probably could have done this, but I didn’t feel in such a hurry to drive into oncoming traffic. I watched as a number of SUVs and then a Mazda 3 drove through the mounds of snow. Then, looking in my sideview mirror, I saw this:
I took the above photo with my phone, so quality is not good. Here’s a crop of the same photo for a closer view. 
Yep, that’s a Mini Cooper, trying – and so far, failing – to get through the drift of snow in the middle of the road. You have to give that little car some credit for giving it a try. Or, you could think that it was a little silly to think it could get through snow almost as high as its windshield.
Posted on February 3, 2010
If you haven’t hired a planner to help coordinate your wedding details, I encourage you to consider doing so.
Why?
Planning an event as complicated – and important – as a wedding is a huge task. Countless hours will be spent looking for vendors, evaluating your options, reading contracts, calculating your budget and making sure all the pieces fit together. And that’s just the beginning! Then there all the phone calls, e-mails, and meetings that you have to keep track of, making sure everyone is on schedule to do what you’ve asked them to do. The wedding planning becomes a full-time job, and unfortunately, most employers don’t have a provision for wedding planning leave.
A wedding planner will help you manage all of your details and ensure that everything is taken care of. A skilled planner will not make your decisions for you, but will discuss your style and ideas with you and then see that your vision is carried out. She (or he) will be your point of contact with all of your vendors so that you are not burdened with having to communicate and coordinate with everyone involved in your wedding.
Sometimes not everything goes as expected on a wedding day. The guests’ shuttle doesn’t show up, and instead of guests being driven to the reception as you promised, they’re left standing in their hotel lobby. The florist gets lost on the way to the ceremony. If you’ve hired a wedding planner, these wayward vendors will have a point of contact other than you – so that you can relax and enjoy your day, and not have to be bothered with these details.
Brides and grooms getting married in Pittsburgh are lucky to have the opportunity to hire Sumer Schmitt of Simply Perfect Weddings. Sumer is the owner and principal wedding planner, and offers several different options for wedding planning services. You can opt for full-service planning, with management and support throughout the entire planning process. Day-of coordination is also available, and Sumer is also now offering hourly consulting services.
Why hire Sumer? When she talks about the brides she works with, her eyes light up. She has so much energy, motivation and love for her work, and such warmth for the relationships she builds with her brides. I first met Sumer at a wedding. She was focused on making sure everything went according to plan (and it certainly did!). She was calm and confident, but also fun and upbeat and happy. I am sure that her reassuring presence was a large part of why the whole wedding party was able to relax and enjoy their celebration, knowing that she was taking care of all of the details.
Posted on January 3, 2010
We celebrated New Year’s Day by going to see the lights at Hartwood Acres. We missed it last year, and I was determined to make it this year. It hasn’t changed much, but it is still quite spectacular. I captured a little bit of video of my favorite parts with my point and shoot camera.
Leo fell asleep on the way there but woke up and stayed awake for the whole tour. When we first arrived, Jonas said, “yay, lights!” but then went into sort of a daze as he sucked on the collar of his coat. But he did stay awake too, for the whole trip through the park and even the whole drive home.
It was snowing a little bit. There is one section where there are blue lights on all the trees and then twinkling white snowflakes scattered all around. I said, “hey, it’s snowing!”
Matt’s reply: “it’s a light snow.” How I laughed! I’m such a sucker for bad puns.
Here’s the one-minute-plus video.
Posted on December 28, 2009
Brides and grooms choosing to get married in Pittsburgh are fortunate to have a wide variety of venues for their weddings. This is the third in a series of features on some of these sites. I hope that these photos will be helpful to those trying to narrow their search and envision their wedding at any of these places. I can remember when I was planning my wedding, I could never get enough or see enough when trying to imagine how all the details would come together.
Springwood Conference Center
I had the opportunity to discover Springwood while shooting with the amazing Heather Lahtinen of Weddings by Heather this past summer. Springwood Conference Center is located on a quiet, woodsy street in Verona, about 15 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh, and just a few minutes from Oakmont and Monroeville. A long driveway leads through the grounds up to the farmhouse.
Just next to the farmhouse, down a few steps, is a level courtyard, beautifully landscaped into the hillside. This is a perfect spot for a wedding ceremony.
The grounds at Springwood are spacious, well-kept and provide numerous opportunities for portraits of the bride and groom.
Receptions are held inside the airy, bright glass atrium. The doors at the far end open up to the dance floor.
For couples desiring a wedding in a quiet, peaceful setting, but still close to the city, take a look at Springwood.
Springwood Conference Center
1000 Indiana Road
Verona, Pennsylvania 15147
412-793-7453