Classic Spring Wedding at Antioch Shrine Center in Dayton Ohio | Sam & Lisa

Each couple I have the chance to work with is so unique. They have their own story. Sam and Lisa, well, they’d been waiting five years. Five years of back and forth, really long distances and a whole lot of patience. Just the past few months, they’ve actually been unable to talk via any form of technology and had to write letters back and forth to each other. To say that they were excited for Saturday was an understatement! And what a day it was! Each moment was so incredibly special, especially their first look! In between the meaningful details and the joy that radiated, Sam and Lisa finally became husband and wife!

In their engagement session post, I told all about how I’ve actually known these two longer than they’ve dated one another! Sam and I actually grew up in 4-H together! We talked a bit about that throughout the day and remarked about how we couldn’t believe we were even old enough for a day like that to happen! Sam’s mom shared the same disbelief! But even in that disbelief, I still felt so honored. To be able to celebrate and share in a day like that with old friends was so much fun! And I think that may have been my favorite part! You never really think about those things when you’re growing up. You see the future as a distant thing that isn’t coming for a long time, but somewhere between showing rabbits at the fair and card games while waiting on shows and their wedding on Saturday, we blinked. And in that blink that distant future became our reality!

Another one of my favorite moments of the day happened in the bridal suite. See, Lisa decided to wear her grandma’s dress. And that dress was made by her grandma’s mother! Just wow! How special is that! Sweet emotions filled the room as Lisa’s mom and sister helped her with the finishing touches. They slid out of the room right before Lisa and I took her bridal portraits. And her special request was to include a silver frame with a picture of her grandma on her wedding day, wearing the same dress that Lisa was wearing on her’s! Goodness! Can you just imagine the legacy that Lisa will be able to share for generations to come? And the silver frame that they’ll be able to pass down? That gives me chills just typing this!

Sam and Lisa love to travel! In between the periods of long distance they endured, they took time to go long distances together! Each table at their reception was a montage of elements and photographs that represented each of the places they’d visited! And actually, their entire wedding was travel themed! It suited them both well and was such a great picture of their journey together so far!

Oh my word! There are so many other parts of the day that I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about! The whole wedding was just that special! From the ample amount of portrait time in front of a house we found in Germantown (I joked about writing a thank you note to the owner! It was that pretty!) and then being able to have a second time to steal away and take more at Riverscape in Dayton, to the first look and watching Sam’s reaction as he saw his bride for the first time! (You won’t want to miss those!) The ceremony, the reception, the in between, every single part made Sam and Lisa’s day as perfect as it was! And you’ll just have to scroll on through ALL these favorites of mine to get an idea! If you’ve been around here before, you KNOW that my favorites list is usually WAY too long! And this post is no different! So enjoy!

Both of these things were Lisa’s grandma’s! Her dress and her handkerchief! So pretty! I love this one!! Lisa you are STUNNING!! This first look!! Just wait! Oh! Look at their faces!! Especially his! I love this one! Thank you to the owner of this house for having a pretty house! The way he looks at her!!
Another favorite! But y’all already know I have WAY too many of those! Such a great bridal party!! You’ll see what I mean as you keep scrolling! Another favorite! I know you’re probably thinking, Rachael, all of them are your favorite! And honestly, you’re probably right!! The Flowerman does it again with incredible bouquets! I love working with them! So much joy! They’re married!! More portraits! I love that having a first look allowed us two sets of portrait time! Sam and Lisa got so much more time just being together! This twirl! I love their laughter in this! Lisa! Girl! You’re beautiful! Forehead kisses are the sweetest! You guessed it, ANOTHER FAVORITE! All the travel things for their reception! It was so cute! AmyCakes made that amazing cake and the cute cupcakes! Another vendor that I love! Love these two!