You don’t want to miss this romantic, joy-filled, fairy tale wedding at Mount Saint Mary’s Chapel and The Gettysburg Hotel…

Connelly shared, “As soon as were introduced to Lisa’s work, I instantly fell in love with her style of photography and knew that we had to have her be a part of our day. All of her photos were so colorful and crisp and seemed to capture the style and personality of each individual couple. I have never seen photos quite like Lisa’s, truly timeless, classic photos that will be family keepsakes and heirlooms.”
She continued, “Lisa made what seemed like an overwhelming process become so easy and seamless. She has been EVERYWHERE and knew our venue and how our timeline should run after just a few minutes of speaking with us. Lisa truly cared about what we wanted and what we were looking for, which was so important to us. She is more than an expert and our complete trust in Lisa was confirmed after our engagement photo shoot, I have never been a fan of photos of myself and I loved every single one our engagement photos.”
She summarized, “Lisa put both Dominick and I at ease in front of the camera and that carried with us to the wedding day. Everything about her level of organization, personality, and experience just kept the day flowing and made the photos fun.”
Wow, Connelly, thank you so much for your very thoughtful and kind words!!!  I hope these are just the sort of timeless, classic, family heirlooms that you were hoping for…

For the detail photos I worked with the overall look and feel of the wedding, that timeless, classic look– I used Connelly’s mother’s scarf that had the navy and a classic design and brought in a sprig from the bouquets…

Connelly explained, “My overall wedding style was classic and timeless.  I wear a lot of things with bows (I LOVE BOWS) so my shoes had to have a bow on them in some way shape or form.”

Speaking of timeless, the painting behind this mother-daughter pair and all of the details come together and give just that vibe.

Connelly shared, “My bridesmaid, Angela, made each of us rosaries that we wrapped around the flowers and used to pray in the morning before the ceremony.”

Sometimes it’s the little things- here I captured Connelly’s perfume…

Connelly was so joyful and living in the moment, taking it all in.  I love brides who just trust me and let go and don’t worry about the photos, and just roll with the moments.
I *love* moments and authentic emotion.  Here Connelly giggles as her mother places her veil, such a “bride” moment:

Connelly’s friends were the sweetest and had the cutest reactions to seeing her in her wedding dress!

Dominick shared, “I fell for Connelly the moment I met her.  Connelly is one of the kindest, cutest and smartest people I’ve ever known. I was instantly drawn to her amazing personality.”
He continued, “When I saw her on our wedding day, I was in tears because of how beautiful she looked.”  I can see why…

Connelly’s parents were totally on the ball and ready for her big day.  The love in their home was nearly palpable.   How much does this papa bear love his daughter?  How loved does she feel?

It was awesome to see what a strong and supportive team Connelly’s parents were.  At this point they helped to get her in place for her bridal portraits.  As they smiled and walked away hand-in-hand, it was obvious how proud they both are of their daughter.

During her bridal portraits the sun was *intense.*  Normally people comment about intense sunlight being a bad thing, and it totally isn’t, you just need to know how to work with it.  It requires more photography knowledge and calculating for sure but has some really huge rewards.
Here I used it to bring out the blue of the sky, the green of the grass and illuminate her veil and cheeks… it almost looks like a painting:

Friends for life- Connelly’s maid of honor:

Connelly shared, “Our colors were deep jewel tones: Navy, Burgundy and Gold which we thought were romantic fall colors.”
How stunning are these ladies?  Wow!  I framed them with their bouquets and the tree line.

She continued, “We both also wanted all the elements of the wedding to be tied to things that were sentimental to us… We chose sunflowers because those were the flowers Dominick would always buy me.”

The air was cool and crisp and it was windy, but all the girls were so lovely, all smiles.
I love this show and took the idea of framing a little further incorporating a bough of a tree overhead.

Connelly explained, “The chapel at the Mount is absolutely stunning and is the reason why I chose to go to college at Saint Mary’s in the first place, so I knew from the beginning that I wanted to have my wedding there.”
The chapel was stunning and as I arrived guests were already filing the pews, some with heads bowed.

Dominick shared, “I’m told all the time that I always look calm, cool and collected, even under pressure. That couldn’t have been farther from the truth on our wedding day!”
He continued, “I not only wore my emotions on my sleeve, but on my entire body. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled or cried so much in a single day. Some of my friends and family have never seen that side of me before, and it took one amazing woman to pull all of that emotion out of me.”
Here even during Dominick’s portrait you can see the emotion in his eyes.

Dominick laughed, “None of us could fold a pocket square to save our lives. Two future pharmacists and a future PA in the room and we were struggling hard.  They are a great group of guys and I’m lucky to have them in my life.”

The Limo pulled up to the Chapel if the Immaculate Conception on the campus of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland and the priest warmly greeted everyone and congratulated Connelly.
I captured that emotional-filled moment along with the reflection and stunning building and intense sky all in one shot.

Connelly’s father escorted her into the chapel, holding the train of her dress and offering her a helping hand.
I just love this photo, especially in black and white, it could have been taken 50 years ago or today, and is, I think just the look Connelly loves. 
The organ began to play…
Connelly started tearing-up, “Before walking down the aisle together at the start of the ceremony.  My dad told me how much he loved me, how proud he and my mom are of the woman I have become, and how glad he is that I found Dominick.”
I’m not sure, but I think it’s fair to say her father is holding back tears, too…

I get a ton of exercise on a wedding day– I’m on the move, quietly nimble like a ninja, ha ha, always seeking to get the most interesting angles and perspectives– this time it was all about the symmetry and graphic designs on the tile, the rhythm and spacing of the processional.  To me, you can almost feel the beat!

Connelly shared, “When I saw him on our wedding day, I was so happy just knowing he was there and that we could finally start our lives together.”
Dominick added, “Connelly looked absolutely amazing and I felt like the luckiest man in the world in that moment, and I still do.”

My second photographer, Jim, captured this image and I love his creative use of framing here as the groomsmen frame the speaker.  It is so creative, unique and one of the reasons I love to work with him.

Connelly smiled, “Dominick always would kiss me on the hand after every date, whenever we had to say goodbye. I guess it is fitting that he kissed me on the hand during the ceremony because we really will never have to say ‘goodbye’ again.  I think it was my favorite moment of the day.”

Connelly’s friends were each so beautiful, as this bridesmaid watched a single tear began to roll down her cheek– she almost looks like a painting to me…

Dominick shared, “I’d have to say that my favorite part of the wedding day was sitting with Connelly at the altar in front of all of our friends and family. It was so surreal, so much in fact that I was constantly looking back and forth at Connelly because I couldn’t believe that I was actually getting married to this incredible person. I had never felt so much joy and happiness.”
I love playing with reflections, gold looks so stunning…

Connelly shared, “The flowers before Mary is a Catholic Wedding tradition that was very important to both of us. We wanted to honor The Blessed Mother  by placing yellow roses before her during the ceremony (we chose yellow roses because those were my Nana’s favorite flowers).”

Dominick shared, “I knew for a while that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Connelly.   She always made me smile, even on my off days. She was somebody that I could tell anything and never be judged, and every day that I spent with her was a good day.  I love her for those reasons and many more.”
Dominick and Connelly were so sweet and affectionate throughout their wedding day, I captured this moment as they kneeled together on the altar.

Those sweet ladies again…

Dominick shared, “I’d have to say that my favorite part of the wedding day was sitting with Connelly at the altar in front of all of our friends and family. It was so surreal, so much in fact that I was constantly looking back and forth at Connelly because I couldn’t believe that I was actually getting married to this incredible person. I had never felt so much joy and happiness.”
Connelly reminisced, “I fell for Dominick almost instantly. I met him in high school and only about two months after we met, we started dating. I was instantly drawn to his sense of humor and his intelligence. He is so smart and I most admire him for his drive to succeed and his caring personality.

They agreed, “We are both so lucky to have both sets of our parents with us and married to each other. They have been such wonderful support systems to both of us individually and as a couple and they have provided us with such good examples in how to be married and stay married.”  How joyful are they?

Dominick shared, “Getting married at the Mount holds such sentimental value to us, and the chapel there is gorgeous. We would always go to mass there together when I visited Connelly on Sundays, so it was the perfect place for us.”
I couldn’t help myself, another reflection, I had to catch it and the richness of colors!

Connelly added, “My second favorite part of our wedding day was probably when he surprised me by dipping me during our first kiss!”

Connelly shared, “Our family and friends mean so much to us and we really prioritized making everyone know how much we valued their presence on this day. We had people flying out from California for less than a 15 hour visit and that means the world to both of us. I mean, when are you going to have every single person you love in the world in the same exact location? It is hard to not be so joyful, especially when you get to marry your friend on the same day.”

Celebrate!!!

While most of the photos I capture on a wedding day are candid moments, I also capture traditional portraits as well.
Here is an editorial inspired portrait of the full bridal party.  I used a tilt shift effect to even make it pop a little bit more.   This would look incredible blow up on a canvas for sure.

Here is another more traditional, classic portrait of the happy couple…

One thing I love about working with two photographers is how different our perspectives can be.
Jim captured this photo and I love how there are two separate benches and now they are joined together on one bench.  For me it is a great, symbolic capture.

About a minute later, in the same location, I captured this image, while shooting through a tree with interesting fruit.  The feeling of their expressions feels much more intense and dramatic.  Lining up all the tiny oranges(?) was tricky, but worth it!

Dominick shared, “Connelly and I work together well because we complement each other. If one of us struggles in one area, the other usually picks up the slack. We also have good senses of humor and know how to lighten the mood when things get tough.”
He continued, “She challenges me to be my best self, encouraging me when I feel down and always supporting me in everything I do. I support Connelly in all of her endeavors, and am always her number one advocate.”  You can really see how supported she feels.

Dominick explained, “The Mount has been a part of our relationship ever since Connelly started there. I would always make the drive up to visit her on the weekends, and it holds a special place in our hearts. “Our spot” at the grotto had one of the most beautiful views in the world, and that’s why I proposed to Connelly there.”
I have several photos at this spot, but in this shot, I adjusted my aperture and focus because I wanted to draw attention to the incredible view and allowed them to fade out in the foreground.

Connelly commented, “Dominick is so supportive of me and my goals, he puts me first and prioritizes me. I have been able to do so much more because he has been there giving me confidence in myself and cheering me on. Whether it is making dinner after a long night of school and work or just listening when I have had a stressful day, he is always there for me.”
Checking out those shiny new wedding bands at “their spot”…

We headed to the Gettysburg Hotel, a place I love to photograph.  I was happy to see Great Scott Productions there and ready to go upon our arrival, his up-lighting looked fantastic and I knew he’d get the party going for sure!
“We chose our first dance song to be set to Coldplay’s “Sparks” because it was a very emotional song and is connected to us because of our mutual love of Coldplay that we shared in and bonded over in the early stages of our relationship.”
I played with symmetry in this shot:

Here I wanted to capture the incredible architecture of the Gettysburg Hotel and the sentimental emotions experienced during the father-daughter dance.

Dominick’s mother wore sure a radiant smile throughout their dance!  I love color and bringing in those jewel tones in Connelly & Dominick’s palette was really fun.

Friends and family joined together and swayed during the parent dances, it was super cute:

Dominick shared, “Dipal was an awesome best man.  He knows how to make me laugh and calm my nerves, and that’s why I wanted him at my side throughout the day.”
I wanted to bring a little pizzaz to this photo and brought in some of the sequined background from the photo booth in the corner here, along with his beaming smile:

Happy tears…

They smiled, “We both promised not to shove cake in each other’s faces and (thankfully) we both kept our promises.  Though we might have gotten a little messy.”

Each venue I photograph has different special features and elements and each couple’s personal style seems to bring them out differently for me.  Here, at the Gettysburg Hotel, the ornate ceiling really caught my eye.  I wanted to layer that architectural feature along with the wedding guests and the joyful dancing and movement of the happy couple.

Here the ring bearer is showing off his dance moves– he was such a pleasure to photograph, this is one of many shots of him hamming it up:

Everyone was out on the dance floor!  Here several ladies formed a circle around Connelly’s mom:

One of my favorite things about photography is its ability to stop time.  Here I captured the flower girls’ gorgeous hair mid-air!

They shared, “We danced with our friends, our siblings, our parents and grandparents. The best moments were seeing the children and our grandparents and dancing!”

Dominick continued, “I married an amazing woman and I thank God every day that she came into my life. I’m looking forward to going forward in life together. We both graduate from our respective graduate programs in a couple of months, so I’m looking forward to having some free time together and going on our honeymoon in Rome this summer.”
I love to play with layers and framing, here I brought in layers of buildings to frame the couple and brought out my special radio transmitted flash to really make it pop.  This was my creative solution to not being able to see sunset since it was blocked by the tall buildings– to shoot from way above…

In summary they shared, “Overall, the day was more than we could have ever imagined or hoped for. We had such wonderful people surrounding us and we had SO much fun.”
If you’d like to see more of Connelly and Dominick, check out their Gettysburg Engagement Session here.
If you’d like to check out any of their wedding vendors, you can do so here:

• Entertainment: Great Scott Productions
• Florals: The Flower Boutique
• Attire: Betsy Robinson Bridal Collection
• Venue: The Gettysburg Hotel