r1whiteweb-1-png

Shippensburg Wedding Photographers: Sophie & Luke

A simple church and back yard wedding celebration for a creative, generous, kind couple… what started out as a full-on 350 person wedding, due to Covid-19, ended up being a small family gathering in the church, and an intimate backyard picnic with cake as well as a portrait session with yours truly…

“To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven. My dear, there is a light that fills you when you enter it. There is a warmth in that light, not a normal sort of warmth that hovers on the outside– but a deep sort, that penetrates and soothes as it does. There is a remembering of all the goodness, and a forgetting of all that isn’t. There is a taste of heaven in all love.” –Karen Sunde.
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-101

Why Rhinehart Photography?

Sophie & Luke explained, “We chose Rhinehart Photography for many reasons. Lisa has taken photos of Luke’s family for several years and on many different occasions. Also, Mr. Rhinehart taught both of us history, so we were both very familiar with our photography team going into our wedding day.”

They added, “We knew we could trust and work with the great creative process of Rhinehart Photography while also having our own creative voices be respected and heard.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-102

Natural, authentic, candid moments

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” –A.A. Milne.

Sophie is a photographer herself, and finds that she’s most comfortable behind the camera.  For that reason she asked me to keep the photos as authentic, natural, and candid as possible with minimally posed or forced moments– yaaas, that’s my thang!  Luke on the other hand amitted that he loves being the center of attention, haaaa, but agreed that authenticity is the way to go.

I had such an amazing time with them exploring the fields behind her family’s home…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-103
Sophia shared, “As far as the look and feel, Luke and I wanted simple.”

They chose an elegant emerald green palette green along with whites.  I loved incorporating a few of the bronze statues in her family’s 1700’s farm home to really bring the look full circle.
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-104

Photographer/Bride:

As I mentioned earlier, Sophie is a photographer herself.  She collects antique cameras and this one is a polaroid-95 and still has the original filters.  I used it to display their wedding rings.
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-105
Fisher’s Florist has lovely flowers, they actually created my wedding bouquet when I married Kris years ago :).

Sophie explained, “We bought all of the flowers from fishers florist in Shippensburg. And Amy (Luke’s mother) and my great aunt and cousins put them together for us.”
White flowers with varying shares of green perfectly complemented her look, I set them on cigar boxes I found in the family’s sitting room.
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-106

Award winner?  I hope so!

I am obsessed with this photo.  In many ways, it’s just a simple photo of a bride getting dressed, but I was captivated by all of the layers.  It is a reflection in a mirror, with lots of business in the foreground and background with photos, jewelry, and artwork.  For me, it’s like she’s being surrounded by all of those memories, literally…

A window illuminates Sophie’s gown as her friends help her into it,  her back is in shadow and such a similar color to the wood of the mirror’s frame, so I waited for the perfect moment when Sophie’s shoulder seemed to mimic the shape of the mirror from my angled vantage point:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-107Sophie and Luke were married on a bright blue sky day, which gave me so much interesting light to play with!
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-109

Emerald, navy and white…

What a beautiful balcony, and look at all of the emerald and blue, it all fits Sophie’s look so well with all the green & white and pops of navy!

Sophie’s dress is from Anthropologie’s wedding line, BHLDN, one of my all-time favorite stores and wedding gown lines.  This timeless classic is “Sawyer.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-110

Something special about Sophie…

Luke shared, “I first met Sophie in 7th  grade.  I immediately realized that there was something very different about her. What that meant didn’t really ‘hit me’ until a couple years later.”

Speaking of popping blue, wow, Sophie your eyes and that Mona Lisa smile, I love it!!  Something different indeed:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-111
Sophie is stunningly beautiful, elegant, and pulls it off with such grace and ease.  If she were an animal, I could see her being *this* cat, straight down to the coloring and lean build, haha.

I love the balance of Sophie in the mirror and the cat on the stairs.  I was waiting in hopes of him grooming himself with the water bowl but no luck.
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-112Simple pearls amount the antique mirror and emerald green leaves of houseplants seemed to fit perfectly:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-113

The Wedding Party:

Sophie shared, “I have beautiful relationships with all of the girls who are in my bridal party and I love them all dearly.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-114
She continues, “My relationship with my friends is a wonderful part of my life. I am so happy they were there with me. Forcing me to put on makeup and sit still as I had the largest amounts of bobby pins of all time shoved into my head, haha– they are definitely supportive.”
Their support is almost visible here:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-115I love elegant portraits like are seen in Vanity Fair, I love posing bridal parties for these…

Vogue called, they want their models back!
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-116She added, “I also have a very close relationship with my sister and I am beyond  happy that she was there for me as she always is.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-117The vibrant sky and her parent’s beautiful farm was in a colorful display.  I love all of the textures at play here, too.  The clouds, lines of the barn, brick, and stone, and how it all plays with the textures and lines of Sophia’s dress:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-118

Luke was made for this moment 😉

Sophia smiled, “I fell for Luke because he challenges me unlike anyone else– we complement each other so well– while I sometimes struggle to find the right words to say (like now) Luke is able to communicate almost effortlessly and with such confidence.”

She continued, “We have already been through so much together.   Marrying Luke was the easiest decision I have ever had to make.  I look forward to a lifetime of decisions with him.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-119
A little tilt-shift magic from my partner in crime, and better half, Kris Rhinehart.  Somehow he pulls off being an incredible teacher while also assisting me with weddings in the summers, and taking some incredible photos, too– the dude’s got game :).
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-120

Shippensburg Select Diner:

I knew it was paramount to include the Shippensburg Select Diner in Luke’s wedding photos from the moment we started planning.

Luke explained, “Select has fulfilled many different roles throughout the years for both of us.  A place for Sophie and I to go for a date or a late-night talk, we’d also go there to meet with friends, it was also a place I could go to work late into the night on projects and stuff.”

He continued, “I’m glad we got the photo there as I have had a meal at some point or another with every one of my groomsmen at select.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-121

Preparing for the wedding ceremony…

This shot really brought back memories for me, as I also got ready for my wedding day in the same room of the same church.  I love all of the hustle and bustle of the day and how everything is framed in this shot.  I also know Sophie has a soft spot for black and white photos:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-123Guests began arriving, sitting in family groups, this little guy enjoys a lollipop:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-124

The wedding ceremony begins…

Organ music began to play… I know Sophie loves black and white photos and hope she likes this one:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-126
All of the wedding nerves, I remember this feeling, Sophie!
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-127
The masked groomsmen arrived, among the beautiful pipe organ, woodwork, vaulted ceiling, and stained glass…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-128
Luke smiled, “Sophie and I have been together for five years and have been through so many adventures together. When I saw her walk down the aisle it seemed like every moment we had shared together flashed through my mind. I knew at that moment I couldn’t wait for moments and adventures both good and bad.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-130

The beautiful church: 

On a wedding day, I try to get a wide variety of perspectives, this one, like the black and white of the men’s entrance really shows off the beauty of the church.
Sophie shared, “My aunt, Karlin, owns the wedding venue, Heritage Restored, and loaned us the ferns for the inside of the church.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-131
Sophie smiled, “I have always loved my church and I love the stain glass windows and the history of such an old and beautiful church.”
Here is the same scene but captured with a different lens to get a different perspective and really show off the stained glass:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-132

More candid moments:

Awww I love capturing moments, especially when kids are involved:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-132b

The Unity Candle

Their two individual candles really did join to create a huge flame:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-133
The kiss– I love her sister’s joyful expression!
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-133b
As soon as it was official, they looked at each other with tears in their eyes, so beautiful:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-135
A moment alone before heading back to her parent’s farm…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-137

Back to Sophie’s family farm…

Color, lines, textures, and the sweetest couple… how can I ask for more?
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-138
Alistair showed up to make a cameo appearance…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-139
Sophie smiled, “Alistair is wearing navy because *he is* my something blue.
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-140
Sophie grew up riding horses, and one of her family’s horses strolled towards us, probably stopping to see what we were up to…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-141

Wandering in the fields together…

Luke shared, “We have always loved spending time walking together and talking about everything together.  Sophie’s family farm is an important place for us.  Many times we have talked while wondering the fields, this time on a very special occasion.”
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-142
I may be a little biased, but Shippensburg has to be one of the prettiest places on the planet, no?  Add in all the love here, too:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-143
And belly laughs…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-144
Sophie’s photographer’s eye noticed the top of this hill right away.  She was like, do you want us to go there?  I was like yaaaas!
I backed up so that the leaves of this old tree framed them, too.
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-145

Soul-mates:

I really love reflections, and pulled out my cell phone to play with this one…

I don’t know exactly how it did this, as I’ve only tried this technique a couple of times before, but somehow clouds showed up through their silhouettes.

For me it had this surreal, heavenly, soul-mate feel:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-146

Let them eat (wedding) cake!

The authenticity kept flowing with the naked cake surrounded by greenery…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-147Sophie and Luke had an even smaller gathering in their parents’ back yard.  The key component of which was the cake cutting…
I wanted to tell a story with this shot– to get the cake and the couple eating and the crowd, especially that cute kid as well as the setting of the string lights and tent all in one shot…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-149
OMGGG that cake, though!!!  All those layers of raspberry, I’m getting hungry just looking at it!
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-150
A make-shift navy and white apron feeding Alistair seemed to be the perfect ending to the feast!
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-151

Romantic sunset portraits…

We hopped back out to catch the last few minutes of golden hour and sunset…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-152
While I know formal portraits were last on their list, I did make sure to get a few here and there, this is one of them, sitting in a field of wildflowers:
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-153
Swept off her feet…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-154
This feels like an old-school polaroid to me– and so we come full circle…
shippensburg-wedding-photographers-creative-best-central-pa-155Congratulations!!

Luke and Sophie, I am so happy for you two and feel so fortunate to know you and have both of our families intertwined for such a long time!

I would have never thought, back when Luke was 12, that I would be photographing his wedding day, that seemed even too far away to imagine!  Now, after all the years of Lyman family portraits, and the museum worth of my photography in Luke’s parent’s house and all my time working with Karlin at Heritage Restored, and both of you having Kris in class– we find ourselves here :).  I am so thankful and can’t wait for your upcoming reception!!

Shippensburg Wedding Team

1 thought on “Shippensburg Wedding Photographers: Sophie & Luke”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *