The planning has started a year ago when Chris realized that Alicia is his life and future and proposed to her. The awesome Pinecrest Country Club was reserved for their wedding. The next one, was the photographer. I was the lucky Philadelphia wedding photographer who got to share these two people’s special day. We met for their engagement session at the Historic Valley Forge Park and had some wonderful moments together. Both Chris and Alicia warned me that Chris was not a big fan of photos but he warmed up to being photographed a lot sooner then I expected. Well, we had a great time. And if you want feel free to check out their Valley Forge Park engagement session photos part1 and there is another part of their beautiful engagemnet session in Valley Forge Park.
Going forward to their wedding day, it came a lot sooner than everyone expected, just like it always is. Like most brides and grooms, Alicia and Chris were hoping for the sunny, no-rain day….but well, we don’t control a weather. And let me tell you, it turned out to be a beautiful rainy Pinecrest Country Club wedding that everyone is going to remember with the most sunny thoughts!
Bride Getting ready at Pinecrest Country Club
The day has started with Alicia and her bridesmaids getting their hair and make up done. The ladies became even prettier than they already were. And while they were getting their hair and make up done, I had a few moments to grab a few photographs of the pretty details Alicia would be wearing that day. Gorgeous fitted strapless wedding dress, amazing sparkly wedding flats and elegant jewelry, were all waiting to be put on by this gorgeous bride.
Alicia and her bridesmaids wore the cutest matching t-shirts that said ‘ bridesmaid’, ‘maid-of-honor’ and ‘bride’ respectively. It wasn’t the set of shits that made them cute though, it was their wonderful friendship and history together that made it so fun to work with them.
I normally like having a combination of natural light and flash photos for the getting ready, but there were no windows where Alicia was getting ready, so I just used off-camera flash for it and some available light.
And then it was time for Alicia to get into her beautiful dress and be ready for the Big day to start!
Alicia’s bridesmaids adore her look and were ecstatic to see her in the wedding dress!
A letter from Chris was delivered to Alicia and when she read it, all the feelings came her way! Tears of joy and laughter! So beautiful!
Groom preparation at Pinecrest country Club
In a mean time Chris was getting ready too. Hair – done, and no make up :).
Chris serves our community as a police officer so the use of American Flag was very appropriate in their wedding photos.
And when Chris was reading a letter from Alicia he got very emotional as well. So touching!
First Look at Pinecrest Country Club
Finally the time came for Alicia and Chris to see each other for the first time that day. I was raining so we had to do in under covers. Thank God, Pinecrest Country Club had a very convenient spot for it with lots of natural light. There was an overhang right next to the golf carts garage and that’s where we did it. Alicia grabbed her cute clear umbrella and went to meet her soon to be husband!
They loved seeing each other and Chris was super happy with the way Alicia looked. From Alicia’s comments I got the idea that Chris thought that Alicia’s dress will be very different from what she wore. And well, Chris was totally in love with his bride’s look!
Here are a few under the umbrella wedding photos of these two wonderful people.
And a few moments later, their bridal party has joined us for some photos. What a good-looking and fun group they were!
The girls wore bright blue long strapless dresses. They were simply stunning bridesmaids.
Wedding Ceremony at Pinecrest Country Club
Finally it was the time for Alicia and Chris to officially tie the knot. Chris impatiently was waiting for his bride to walk down the isle. His daughter was a flower girl and she was simply adorable with the way she was throwing petals.
And here she came! Gorgeous Alicia!
Wedding Reception at Pinecrest Country Club
And here they were married and happy!!! After a few more wedding portraits, everyone headed to the cocktail hour, and then the wedding celebration began!!!
I would love to talk about a few wedding decoration details from Alicia and Chris wedding. All weddings are gorgeous and have beautiful details, but here everything was so meaningful! The table with a place cards had a beautiful framed blue American flag customized to have their new last name on it. Their favors were a donation made out to the service organization that was close to their hearts. And their wedding cake topped was a groom wearing a police officer’s hat! I loved it!!!!!!!!!!!
And then the fun began! Alicia and Chris entered the reception, danced their first dance in the most beautiful way, listened to the funnest and most touching speeches and then the real fun began!
I simply loved how groom’s grandma was taking photos during their first dance!
And here is the party!!!! I am telling you, these people danced ALL NIGHT LONG!!!! This was probably the first wedding in my experience where wedding guests didn’t stop dancing all night. And I am not exaggerating! They did not stop until the last song and the dance floor was full all the time!
Chris’s dad and sister performed 2 songs and stole the spotlight from an awesome wedding band that were leading all the music.
The day and the night were pretty much perfect and it ended perfectly as well! I was able to steal Alicia and Chris for a night-time photo and look what happened! After dancing all night long, Chris and Alicia were SO HOT that they literally were steaming when we went outside. A pretty cool effect if you ask me :).
Well, I felt so happy to be a part of their wedding day at Pinecrest Country Club and capture their wedding photos! Congratulations, you guys, and God bless you!!!
And here is Alicia and Chris’s wedding slideshow that I love making for my clients! It includes a few more photos that didn’t make it into the blog post.
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All images are copyrighted to Yana Shellman – fun, sweet, energetic photographer serving as a South Jersey and Philadelphia Wedding Photographer. She adores photography that shows natural and loving relationship of people. Clear instruction, genuine laughter, and long-lasting sweet memories is what you will get with Yana as your wedding photographer.
http://www.yanashellmanphotography.com
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If you have questions or would like Yana to record your special event, please drop Yana a note at yana@yanashellman.com or contact her through the contact form.