Leo’s end-of-soccer-season picnic. That’s him in the blue shirt in the middle of the throng of girls (and one other boy).

Jonas’s first date with Addie. Way over the stroller weight limit at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Baby birds in our front yard! They’re gone now and the nest is vacant. Random cuteness. Cousin quality time. My niece Kate turned one! After Kate’s birthday, Matt and I spent two days alone – no kids – in Boston. This kind of sums up our time in Boston – great food, great weather and mimosas. Cooling off in the fountain at South Side Works. These boys were also photographed by Justin Merriman, and his photos appeared on the Tribune‘s website. My birthday – I requested that we spend the day at Ohiopyle. First we went to Laurel Caverns.And then we cooled off in the Youghigheny. Not this part obviously – here we just enjoyed the view. Finally – in August, we were pretty excited to catch a little bit of the filming of the final Batman movie. Can’t wait to see it next year!

Since Heather and Bill had their ceremony on the Gateway Clipper, and the boat dropped us all off at PNC Park, at the end of the night I got on another Gateway Clipper boat to be shuttled back over to Station Square where I’d parked my car. That gave me a great view of the fireworks and these photos.

It’s pretty difficult to get a great fireworks photo without a tripod – and I was not going to be carrying a tripod around all night – so I had to make do with leaning on the railing of the boat.

As the boat was moving, I decided instead to focus my attention on non-fireworks, like these amazing reflections in the Allegheny River. And this downtown building looking kind of demonic from reflected red fireworks.

Happy 4th of July!

Heather and Bill aren’t all that different from many couples getting married. They’re clearly madly in love with each other, and they also share a deep love of Pittsburgh and baseball and PNC Park. So it seemed a perfect fit for them to plan their wedding ceremony to take place on the Gateway Clipper, and then celebrate at that evening’s Pirates game.

What’s so unusual, then? Well… they live in Canada. Not just Heather and Bill, but every one of their wedding guests traveled all the way from Canada (except for a few who came from even farther away). That’s right – this was a destination wedding, right here in beautiful Pittsburgh. I was so very honored to join in the wedding festivities and get to know all these fabulous foreigners. Going to a baseball game with them was especially fun since I got to hear them say “out” a whole lot. Love that Canadian accent!

I began the day with Heather and her bridesmaids as they got ready at the Sheraton at Station Square.

Then it was just a short walk over to the Gateway Clipper. Heather’s dress had pockets!Outdoor ceremonies are pretty worrisome, but we had a beautiful day for the ceremony, which took place on the top deck of the Gateway Clipper. There was quite a bit of giggling during the ceremony. You really can’t get a better view of The Point than right here on the water. After the ceremony, Heather and Bill had their first dance on the top deck. And then Bill made a little speech, thanking everyone for coming all the way to Pittsburgh. Heather offered a few thanks too… and got a little choked up and handed the microphone back to Bill. It was HOT and these folks needed no encouragement to remove their shoes and step into the water. Refreshing! Heather and Bill were so excited to go into the stadium! Those people trailing a ways behind them are all of their guests. They couldn’t keep up with the happy couple’s blistering pace. My favorite. Could they be any happier?!With a sign like this, you’re likely to end up on the Jumbotron.Indeed, that didn’t take long! It’s the first inning and they’re already up on the Jumbotron. Shouts of congratulations followed the newlyweds everywhere. It’s a small world, after all… in the adjacent suite, another wedding party was celebrating the night away. Then we caught a glimpse of the groom. Okay, so these two really don’t look anything alike at all, unless you count the lack of hair on their heads, same facial hair, and tuxes with black vests… pretty surreal.

Last one: Heather and Bill with the Parrot!

Congratulations to two amazingly wonderful people! I hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay in Pittsburgh and have a fabulous trip to New York.

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The Credits

Ceremony:
Gateway Clipper

Reception Venue:
PNC Park

Flowers: Jim Ludwig’s Blumengarten

Heather’s Dress: Juliz Bridal

DJ: DJ Cha Che

Dessert Table: The Pretzel Shop

Caricature Artist: Ron Kantrowiz – Mugshotz

Assistant Photographer: Aaron Varga