Brent and Tawnya: Wedding

I am so excited to finally post pictures from Brent and Tawnya's wedding. When I went home two weeks ago, I had a lovely time helping my mom shoot their wedding day. I'll forewarn you - there are A LOT of pictures included in this post. I was just so pleased with so many of them that I just couldn't choose between my favorites! I'll quit typing and let you get to the pictures. :)

There was some beautiful light coming into Tawnya's room.

Tawnya's bouquet was plain, yet beautiful. It photographed very well.

The bridesmaids all wore silver shoes. These were my favorite. Very diva-like.

Again, beautiful light! And beautiful Tawnya.

Brent and Brian, his brother, waiting for the leading ladies.

I was in this church the last time I shot a wedding with my mom. You have to admit, the details in the high ceilings and the hanging lights really create a nice picture.

Grandparents and parents watching.

Finally Mr. and Mrs.! With some bubbles!

When we returned to the front of the church to take formals, the proud family members quickly took a seat and enjoyed the show. Here are Tawnya's parents and the cutest grandma I've ever seen!

Brent and Tawnya were just so cute and so willing to smile the entire day!

It was my idea to put the bride and groom in the middle of the road.

In Connellsville, PA, most brides and grooms get married around 2pm, hang out with their photographers for an hour or two (awesome, I know) and then head to the nearest bar for some wedding party fun before the reception. When we got to the best bar in Connellsville, Bud Murphy's, Tawnya asked some people if she could get on their bike! Made for a cool picture, eh?

Now it's time for wedding party shots! Yep, my mom and I were allowed behind the bar to snap some pictures. :)

Tawyna's dress had millions of little ties hidden underneath for bustling. OK, maybe not millions, but somewhere in that ballpark. It took all the hands she could get to get everything tied right!

So my mom does a lot of weddings. She does a lot of weddings in Connellsville. Her best marketing method has been word-of-mouth so she always knows lots of people at each of her weddings. At Brent and Tawnya's wedding there were seven couples total present, including the bride and groom, that are and were clients of my mom! Here is a picture of my mom with those seven couples. Mom is standing to the left of Tawnya. Is seven couples at one wedding a record? Go mom!

No flash at the dark reception venue. Yep, I did it and yep, I said it.

The flash quickly returned when the crazy dances got started. Tawnya was definitely stealing the show, and she so should have been!

The garter and bouquet traditions took up lots of time at the reception. Brent, Tawyna, their wedding party, and their single guests were sooo into it all! The DJ played Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies" and Tawnya and Lauren totally rocked it out!

I love this moment between Tawnya, her brother and her mom.

In the southwest part of PA, we do something called a "money dance" or "bridal dance" at every reception. For some dollar bills (usually tied in crazy knots so the bride and groom struggle to get them untied) guests can dance with the bride while the DJ plays a crazy polka song (usually put on repeat for about 40 minutes - yes, the bride dances the whole time) and other guests stand in a circle around the bride and wave hankies. Oh, and did I mention that each time you dance with the bride you receive a shot and/or a piece of cake. The money dance is a total blast. Everyone should try it! Note: those are cherries soaked in moonshine at the bottom right.

Big guys usually sweep the bride off her feet and swing her around in circles. Like this.

Did you know that there are hankies and napkins made especially for the purposes of waving at money dances!?! Yep.

Someone got the mother of the groom to do shots during the money dance. Bobby Renzi.

After the bride dances with her mom and dad (they are usually last), everyone crowds around her to create a blockade from the groom. The groom is to then try his hardest to break through the blockade and come out successfully with his bride. People are usually hard core about this. When Brian and I got married, Brian was surprised when my uncles literally picked him off his feet and moved him away from the dance floor. We are serious about this stuff.

This groom went crowd surfing to get to his bride. Like I said, hard core.

Whew! That's a long post and that's a lot of pictures. I had a great time photographing Brent and Tawnya's wedding and I am so pleased at the way they turned out. You can see more of my pictures from their wedding on my Picasa page.

Well, Brian and I are near ready to begin packing for our three-day weekend in Portsmouth, VA. Our friends Will and Alisabeth are getting married at the most beautiful waterside hotel in Portsmouth on Saturday. It's going to be a very hot weekend down south (mid 90's!), but I am so pumped to be in a new place and to be attending a wedding. You know I'll have some pictures to post from the wedding and the weekend when we return. Hoolleerr!!!