The morning of the wedding Crew played tennis with his dad at the tennis court right behind the hotel. I love that. Oh, and Crew… nice serve! Mike… nice photo! Crew… nice calves! Mike… nice uhm… butt! 😉 PS. I don’t know what a nice serve would look like… but doesn’t this look impressive? HOWEVER, I DO know what a nice butt looks like… on THAT I’m an expert 😉

….meanwhile….

OHHHHH the smellllll of kiwi! Brought back some army memories. 

three words: MON • O • GRAM!

Oh, I’m sorry that I photograph the prettiest brides on the planet…  BOOOOOYAH!!!!!! 😉

“FAIR IS FAIR!!!!” If you get that… I’ll be quite impressed… 😀

This is a close contender for favorite… but not quite number one. HELLOOOOO HAPPINESS!!!!

They met while at the University of Dayton. On the left, Crew with his roommates in front of their old college house. On the right… Caitlin with her roommates in front of THEIR old college house. 😀 Cute, huh?! Now, Mike and I have a similar story… but we met at Indiana State University in good ol’ Terre Haute, Indiana… if we got photos in front of OUR old college houses, it CERTAINLY wouldn’t be pretty… and if you’ve ever been to Terre Haute… you KNOW what I’m talkin’ about! (For the record, I have NOTHING but love for that city… 🙂 )

Crew, in the middle. To the left of Crew… that’s his brother. To the right of Crew… that’s his other brother. Can you tell by the craziness?!

There was a requirement to be in this bridal party… and can you tell what it was? Well… lucky for you I’m going to tell you… HOT LEGS!!!!! MAN OH MAN… are you KIDDING me with those?! I definitely wouldn’t have made the bridal party cut… mine are short, stumpy  and EXTRA white (these legs haven’t seen the sun since 7th grade… I’m SO not exaggerating) 🙁 Though, I definitely would have been willing to buy gold shoes… I mean… just in case you need a fill in for your vow renewal 😉 PS. I’m kidding about the requirement… but these legs sure do make it seem like there was!

WACKY BOBBI STRIKES AGAIN!!!!!

Thank you wind. 🙂

Probably our most asked question by fellow wedding photographers: “How do you get your brides to sit/lay down in their wedding dress?!” My answer, “I ask”. 😉 Yes, we have amazing brides willing to sit almost anywhere in their wedding dress. No, her dress didn’t get even 1% dirty by sitting there. Yes, my brides trust that I would never allow that to happen. Yes, we’re lucky 🙂 Oh, and… Yes… you only wear it once anyway! 😉

I’m a fan of this. Thought you should know.

BLUE SKIES SMILING AT MEEEEEE… NOTHING BUT BLUUUUUE SKIES DO I SEEEEEE!!!!!!

Crew sent me an email that went something like this, “I know you guys go to a lot of weddings and hear a lot of bands… who are the best ones?” To which I responded… “Zanna-Doo! if they’re not available, I’ll give you a list… but check there first, because really… there’s no one better.”  Well, they were available… and willing to come to Dayton. 😀 THIS BAND DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Zanna-Doo! was THE talk of the night… I don’t think I’ve everrrr heard so many guests rave about a band like they did that night. 😀 One thing you should know about us… we don’t give a recommendation unless we 200% believe in it. I suppose that’s from my waitin’ tables days 😉

This is SO Crew!!!!

Because I hadn’t picked out the photos for the blog until after I’d received Caitlin’s and Crew’s questionnaire… I was able to incorporate many of the things they mentioned (as you’re about to read) into this blog entry.  One of Caitlin’s favorite moments of the day was when her sister and Crew’s brother hopped up on stage and danced it up wit
h the band. So, here you go Miss Caitlin… a favorite moment 😀

Yeah yeah yeah… they’re kind of a big deal… Sarah Silverman was in the bridal party. (or maybe just someone who looks IDENTICAL to her… 🙂 AYKM with the identicalness of them?!)

BB+MK FAVORITE!!!!! ❗ + ❓ The PERFECT way to end an awesome day!!!!!

……………………………

dayton, ohio

event planner | Heather Meta, Day of Détente Coordination
hair/makeup |  Square One Salon
florist | The Flower Shoppe
church | Corpus Christi Catholic Church
reception venue | Dayton Masonic Center
band | Zanna-Doo!
cake | Dorothy Lane Market
dress | Watters
bridesmaid dresses | j.crew

……………………………

their songs:

First dance: “Forever my Friend” – Ray LaMontagne, sung by friend & groomsmen Chris Albanese
Father/Daughter: “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
Mother/Son: “I Hope You Dance” – Lee Ann Womack
Groom/MOB & Bride/FOG dance: “How Sweet It Is” – James Taylor (since Crew has only brothers and Caitlin only has sisters Crew’s dad will never have a father/daughter dance and Caitlin’s mom will never have a mother/son dance so we wanted to have a special dance for them because they now have a daughter / son)
Wedding party introduction: “Just Dance” – Lady GaGa
Bride & groom introduction: “Beautiful Day” by U2
Cake cutting: “I Got You Babe” – Sonny and Cher (Crew’s request – he loves this song!!)

caitlin+crew:

What was the most memorable moment of your day?
Caitlin: Ohh, there were so many!  But when I think back about the day I always think about my walk down the aisle with my dad.  I was looking right at Crew and just had this feeling of calm and joy all at once.  Chris singing our first dance song was also amazing.
Crew: I definitely have 2 memorable moments: 1) I will never forget when the doors were swung open and I got the first glimpse of my bride.  I knew at that moment that I was the luckiest man on the planet.  2) When Caitlin and I were introduced at the reception it was such an amazing feeling.   The music was blaring and all of our guests were on their feet cheering – it was awesome.

What was your favorite detail?
Caitlin: I have to say, I loved the ribbon wands (thanks to Grace for making all 200+ of them!!)!  And really loved our c&c monogram. 🙂
Crew: I had many favorite little details, but one of my favorites was the c&c monogram that we used on all of our programs, notes, etc.  I complained about buying the stupid embosser but it turned out to look great.  I also really liked giving out communion at the ceremony; it was a great touch and another awesome way to interact with our guests. 

Funniest memory from your wedding day?
Caitlin: think seeing my sister and Crew’s brother dancing on stage with the band.  I am not sure how they got up there but they had some sweet air guitar dance moves going on.
Crew: So we could not get a cab home from the bar after the reception so Caitlin and I decided to walk home from the bar to the hotel (a 10 minute walk).  We made a quick stop at the concierge house (“party central” as my mom called it) where we had another beer and some more champagne.  Then we proceeded to walk back to the hotel with a bowl of Doritos, and 2 Milwaukee’s Best Light (“Beasts”) beers, Caitlin still in her dress and me carrying her shoes.

Any advice for future brides/grooms?
Caitlin: keep the engagement short!  And hire at least a day of coordinator to set up your weekend for you – that way someone else is worrying about the details and you are just having fun!  Also, don’t go to cocktail hour and instead sneak away with bb+mk for some photos at your venue that are unique and fun and allow you to calm down for a few moments before the party starts.  Lastly, make your ceremony as personal and unique to you both as you can – it will shine through and all of your guests will feel how special it is and will help set the tone for your whole celebration.
Crew: There definitely are going to be some ups and downs throughout the entire wedding planning process but just remember that all of the little details will not matter on the actual day – no one will notice if the ceremony brochure is a ½ inch or a full inch from the center fold.  Also I would recommend the bride and groom to do something that they enjoy the morning of the wedding – I played tennis with my dad and really was able to calm some nerves.

What was your favorite wedding purchase?
Caitlin: I loved our flowers – I was in love with my bouquet of peonies and the bright orange and yellow for the rest of the wedding party looked so bright and fresh for spring. 
Crew: I loved the green argyle socks and custom cufflinks to match the green dresses of the bridesmaids that I got all of the groomsmen.  It customized the guys’ look and made the classic tuxedo a little more fun.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Fiji – heaven on earth.  HIGHLY recommend for a beach get away packed with fun excursions and total relaxation on the other side of the world.

😀 and this is a first… me with my brides… and a bun in the oven! 😀 HELLOOOOOOOO MARYJANE!!!!!! Oh, you’re MORE than welcome to name your future child Bobbi/Bobby… I wouldn’t be offended… after all, it IS a great name 😉

And THIS was one of MY favorite moments of the day 😉 PLEASE don’t judge the hair… it was a l
ong/hot day!

bobbi+mike:

What was our favorite part of the day?
bobbi: 1) I ADOOOORED these bridesmaids! 2) Seeing SO many familiar faces from Maryjane’s and Jon’s wedding… most remembered us and gave us hugs and high fives. 3) the priests have known Crew’s family for 1000 years (give or take) and their ceremony was so personalized and funny. 4) when I told the bus driver to pull over at the spot I wanted to shoot the wedding party. “REALLY?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO SHOOT HERE?!” My response, “amazingness, you’ll see…” HA! 🙂 5) THE FULL MOOOOON! 6) The moment right before Caitlin and Crew were announced at their reception. Crew was SO flipping excited… he couldn’t stand still 7) Zanna-Doo… NEED I SAY MORE?! 7) Watching Caitlin and Crew dance it up at the end of their reception. 8 ) When Crew INSISTED on getting a photo with me at the end of the night… as in, he was already running late and he delayed the party to make sure that we were in the photo booth together. TALK ABOUT MAKING A GIRL FEEL SPECIAL?! Thank you friend 🙂
mike: While there was lots of comedy with these two crazies… Crew presenting the full moon to the guys in the bridal party who were hollering and teasing while we were taking photos of just the two of them was great (scroll to the end to see)!

MUCH LOVE FRIENDS!

~bobbi+mike  ❗ + ❓

::said like Mary Katherine Gallagher:: Sometimes, when I get nervous, I like to hold my camera up to my mouth and quack like a duck like this…. QUACK QUACK QUACK! (Seriously… WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!)

Why does my husband look like a rag doll? No, really? Why do you sit like this? That can’t be comfortable! I mean… what the hell do I know… I have lady parts and you have… well… not lady parts. Okay… I’m shushing now.

Another blessing from Bobbi. You’re welcome 😉

Caption this! No, wait… DON’T! We gotta keep the blog as kid-friendly as we can! 😉 I’m going to go ahead and say that THIS is THE most hilarious “in-action” photo to date. To me, this looks right out of a Monty Python movie! Here’s what happened… I was getting ready to place the bride and groom in a photo when his groomsmen started to get ornery. Crew dropped his pants and busted out a full moon. Mike was at the top of the hill ready to capture the amazingness that is that whiiiiite moon… I see what’s going own and as quickly as I can, dropped to the ground attempting to get out of the shoot. For the actual full moon photo, all you can see is a pile of red hair laying on the ground. After he pulled his pants back up I sat up thinking the photo moment had passed and proceeded to laugh uncontrollably. Mike, of course… didn’t think the photo moment had passed 😉 SO funny… especially if you don’t have this photo in context!

❗ + ❓