A Cleveland Wedding | Kylee + Robert
Hello from Matt + Holly with 5:5 Photography! What a beautiful wedding these two have put together all the way form Texas. Starting our day getting ready at the Double Tree by Hilton, then moving on to St Peters Catholic Church in Cleveland, Oh for the ceremony. Our creative photos will be around various iconic places in downtown Cleveland Ohio and our night will finish with an incredible reception at the Cleveland City Hall. We cannot wait.
Your Wedding Day from
Your Photographer’s Perspective
Written by: Holly Michelson
It is the day after Kylee and Robert’s wedding. I assume friends and family are enjoying breakfast and lunch together reminiscing the wedding day’s special moments before they get ready to head home from this mini wedding vacation. We are reminiscing as well. You see, the photographers have an interesting perspective of the wedding day. We see it all and are involved in it all, but we do not know the whole history behind the family’s dynamics and relationships. Maybe this little detail helps us see the beauty in moments someone in the family might not notice. This is my recount of Robert and Kylee’s wedding day.
When we arrived at the Double Tree Hotel in Downtown Cleveland, Oh, Robert’s room was our first stop. He and his father were there, almost completely ready, and entirely laid back. Robert had no signs of stress, his father was supporting him like any great dad would, and they both just smiled the biggest smiles of anticipation. A short walk down the hall was Robert’s soon to-be-bride, Kylee.
Kylee’s best friends, her mother, and her almost in-laws surrounded her. Kelsie, admired Kylee’s beauty as she sat in the makeup artist’s chair. I took a photo of this moment, then Kelsie tried to dodge my camera. I teased her how I would be there all day taking photos relentlessly. That moment was so sweet, and I am so glad I was able to catch it before she noticed me. Throughout the day, all the bridesmaids continued to show their love, admiration, and support for Kylee just as Kelsie had in that moment. The hair and makeup perfection were coming to an end I could tell Kylee was getting a little anxious, but she hid it well under her calm disposition.
Now she is dressed, all ready to become a Mrs.. Her hair and makeup are done to perfection, her jewelry and garters are on, and now she is sitting on the edge of the bed getting ready to open the gift from Robert. There is a letter and a box. She started to read it, then skimmed to the end knowing her perfect make up was in danger of being ruined by tears. It was at this point in the day that I started to see how deep the love is between Kylee and those around her. Her mom and dad cried as soon as they opened their gifts from Kylee. Her phone rings and they all suck it up because the limo is here.
On the drive to St. Peter’s Church Kylee makes a couple of points to her parents about the service and how they can make it run smoother than the rehearsal did. As they all talked I interjected that when they are announced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Robert Herberger, she should revel in that moment. For that is the first time she will be looking out at all those people whom they love the most. Everyone in that limo listened so intently to what I had to say that it almost surprised me. But I’m glad they were because I know that is a special moment that is easily overlooked.
St. Peter’s Church is one of the most beautiful churches we have had the privilege of photographing in. Side note, if I were to design the renovation of an old church for the purposes of photographing weddings, this is exactly how I would have done it. The ceremony was beautiful. Their grandparents proudly looked on them the whole time. Then as the two stood up there ready to be announced I saw that look from Kylee. Now, I don’t know if she actually looked around but, it seems as though she had. Their faces were full of joy as they walked down the isle hand in hand. Their guests showered them with bubbles and cheers.
The limo waited to take us to Voinovich Park. We piled in, the whole bridal party, their significant others and three coolers of food and drinks. The limo drive was a party in and of itself. I heard the phrase, “This is my jam!” more times than I could count. Party poppers were handed out, then we walked to the end of the pier. The weather was absolutely perfect. Erin, one of the guests on the limo, volunteered to help with the group photos. She and Callan shared the job of holding the reflector in just the right place to blind those being photographed. Of course we apologize for the pain of the reflector, but I promise it was absolutely necessary. The party continued on our way to the Cleveland City Hall. For those of you who thought I had worked some sort of sorcery, this is when I took the opportunity to uploaded, edit, and posted their same day wedding photos.
While the bridal party and I were doing all this, Matt was at the Cleveland City Hall photographing the beautiful venue and all the details from Luke Bryant’s uplighting to the Texas shaped “guest book”. The bridal party and I arrived. They waited to be announced, the MC with Rock the House Entertainment got ready. He asked the guests to cheer if they were here for Robert, and they did. Then he asked them to cheer if they were here for Kylee and the room got louder. Then he asked if they were here for both of them and the whole place roared. Each bridal party couple entered in their own quirky way. The best was Katie and Jarrett in the sumo suits. Jarrett was nervous on the limo as Katie tried to tell him it would be great and everyone would think it was awesome. But when he walked out in that bikini sumo suit you would have never known he was nervous. He was being such a clown and everyone loved it just as his sister Katie had assured.
The reception festivities played out beautifully. Countless memories were captured. Our favorite moments of the night, by far, were those during the anniversary dance. It always starts as a sweet dance with the bride and groom quickly getting booted off the dance floor for being the newest couple. Then Kylee and Robert stood at the edge of the dance floor and watched as most of the couples stayed dancing to represent 30+ years of marriage. Matt and I are always touched at the testimony this is to young husbands and wives like ourselves. 30+ years in marriage is a beautiful, brightly shining light of hope in a time of much negativity towards marriage.
Through the lens of our cameras, we noticed tears on just about everyone’s face. We turned to see that they all looked with love to sweet grandma who was dancing with different family members to represent the number of year she and Grandad would have been married. Robert cut in, buried his face in her shoulder and lost it. Grandma hugged and kissed Robert and whispered to him what I can only imagine were perfect words off wisdom. Then Kylee and I lost it. This breathtaking moment is one they will never forget, and not because Matt and I took a million photos of it. It is always an honor to be a part of a wedding day. To see a completely raw side of a whole family for an entire day, and to be able to document beautiful moments like all those I have mentioned in this story. But weddings such as this are some of our favorite because they show a deep deep love that is more memorable than any photograph we could ever take.
Did you sign up to see Kylee and Bob’s Wedding photos? Here they are, all ready for you to view!
Click HERE to view Kylee and Bob’s Wedding Photo Gallery
The password to enter the Gallery is Kylee’s maiden name (Last name only and with an uppercase G) Enjoy!
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Scroll down to see a few same day wedding photos!
