Jessica and Andrew will always be near and dear to us. When Elizabeth and I decided to move our family and business to Pittsburgh about two years ago, it was a bold and somewhat scary move. We had a successful, thriving wedding business eight hours away in Indiana but with a young, growing family, we wanted to raise our kids closer to where both of our families live (Cleveland and New York). We chose Pittsburgh because we both loved the city and it was the best in between point to our families. The downside? We didn’t know anyone. And after five years of building our business and reputation in Indiana, we were starting fresh with no word of mouth working for us. I’m pretty sure Jessica was one of the first to contact us and her enthusiasm towards our work was an immediate boost. We met during our first trip here looking for houses and they hired us on the spot, if my memory serves correct. They gave us the boost we needed when they told us that that had looked through around 100 wedding photography websites and kept coming back to us. Any doubt we had subsided after they hired us and it’s been full speed ahead since then!
Their wedding was as special as they are and the emotion and love Jessica and Andrew show towards each other is inspiring to watch. I met Jessica at Clips Salon in Regent Square, where she and the girls enjoyed a few Mimosa’s while Jessica’s mom did her best to try not to cry everytime she looked at her only daughter. Jessica continued on to her mothers house, and with Andrew across the street at her grandmothers home, a dilemma occurred. She wanted to see Andrew but not “see” him, so her mom and bridesmaids quickly thought of blindfolding them so the could give each other a hug. Except no blindfolds were handy, so kitchen towels would make do! They each got ready at Bellefield Presbyterian Church where I was joined by super talented Pittsburgh Tribune Photojournalist Phil Pavely, (Elizabeth had just given birth to our third baby boy a few weeks earlier!) who documented Andrew and the guys while I did the same with the girls. The ceremony was exceptionally emotional, and the photograph of them skipping down the aisle is one of my all time favorites! Jessica and Andrew’s reception was under a tent at the Pittsburgh Zoo and it was incredible! The food was unreal, the dancing was inspired and Jessica and Andrew were inseparable. It was a truly special night and I was honored when one of the last things they did before leaving the reception was to ask for a photograph with me, telling me how special I was to their day! Does it really get any better than that? Congratulations Jessica and Andrew, I hope you know how special you both are to us!
