Natalie + Evann had the most exciting wedding day in Cleveland! I’d been looking forward to this day for a long time, especially since their Washington DC engagement earlier this year! Their Cleveland Museum of Art wedding was absolutely gorgeous, full of laughter and love, and had a few surprises!
My assistant Emma and I jumped in a car and headed up to Cleveland that first Saturday in September. We began at the Hilton downtown, where we greeted Natalie and Evann in their suite. They chose to spend a bit of that morning together, hanging with their wedding party and taking turns showing off some moves on the pole. 😉 They also had a fabulous view of the Cleveland National Air Show!
Once the two separated, each got dressed and we staged their first look just outside the hotel as planes from the airshow did stunts overhead. I just loved both of their reactions! They hadn’t been away from each other for that long, but they still blew each other away with their wedding day looks.
From there, we had a whole plan to go to several locations around downtown for portraits, but we found ourselves stranded at the hotel due to an issue with their party bus! So as we waited for our alternate transportation, we went ahead and photographed right there at the hotel side entrance. I think the spot actually turned out to be a great backdrop for portraits! And really, both of them and their wedding party were so gorg, it would be impossible to take a bad picture of them! When our new cars did arrive, we were on limited time, so we visited just one location – East 4th Street, always super fun – before arriving at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
We did a few more portraits there, both outdoor and indoor. The setting sun outdoors and the art galleries indoor produced beautiful backdrops. And we had a brief moment to check out their reception space, all set up in the grand atrium – and it was just stunning! The Urban Orchid knocked it out of the park with their florals.
At their ceremony on the museum steps overlooking Wade Oval, Evann entered with the wedding party, and Natalie entered from the doors of the building – a less traditional grand entrance and so fitting. During their ceremony, some sunset light peaked out from between the clouds, and more air show planes did a surprise flyover halfway through! Their ceremony was capped off with a handfasting before the newlyweds exited back to the doors behind them.
After Evann and Natalie’s ceremony, we squeezed in a few more portraits before it began to sprinkle. Suddenly, their niece screamed “rainbow!” We looked up and sure enough, a lovely rainbow had appeared overhead. I handed the couple my clear umbrella to shield from the rain as I took the last of their “just married” portraits. A more perfect portrait moment couldn’t be imagined!
At their reception, there were various toasts, dinner, an outfit change and a first dance, before guests got down on the dance floor to the tunes of the Bluewater Kings Band. Before the night was over, I invited the couple out for a couple night shots to cap it all off – and they turned out amazing!! Congratulations to Natalie and Evann! It was a total honor and pleasure to document their wedding day, one I won’t soon forget!
