Carl & Stephanie | Cork Factory Hotel | Lancaster Pennsylvania Wedding

 

I am so happy for Stephanie and Carl! Their beautiful backyard micro wedding last year was wonderful, but I am so happy that they were finally able to have the wedding of their dreams. Carl and Stephanie’s Cork Factory Hotel wedding took place on August 29th, the exact date of their one year anniversary. I honestly cannot think of a better way to celebrate an anniversary. Maybe we should make this an annual thing? 😉

As with most weddings, I am a chronic photo over-sharer. I gravitate towards images that have a certain mood or have a nostalgic and story telling quality to them. I’m a story teller and I like to tell the story of my couple’s wedding day. A lot of photographers and people in the industry tell me just to share only the most perfect portfolio worthy pictures and to post much less, and there is a grain of wisdom to that, but for me, the in between and less than perfect moments is where the true story of the wedding can be found. If people only want to see the most perfect of my photos then they can happily scroll through my portfolio. In many ways, the less than perfect images are the most beautiful of them all. They’re real. They capture our memories and the way that we felt and experienced a moment in a way a posed portrait simply cannot. The blog post is a place to tell a wedding story and I’m sticking to that motto.

I took approximately 4,000 images at Stephanie and Carl’s wedding day at the Cork Factory Hotel. Of those 4,000 not every image makes the final cut. Whether people blinked, the lighting changed, or my flash did not fire; I narrow those down to the best of the bunch and the blog post is just a snippet of that entire collection. The blog post skims the surface of the day. I always wonder if I chose correctly. Sometimes the pictures I decide are the best are the ones that perhaps others overlook. All in all, I hope that you enjoy this small preview.

One of the best parts about having an “I Do Part Two” as we’ve nicknamed them, is that the entire day is far more relaxed than your typical wedding day. When I arrived to the bridal suite early that morning both families were hanging out together as the bridesmaids began their hours of hair and makeup prep for the big moment.

 

I cannot believe it has been several years since I photographed Ashley and Raymond’s wedding day. I love seeing my couples at new weddings and watching them thrive year after year.

When it was time to get down to business and get ready for the big day, Carl made his way to the groom’s suite to hang back with the guys.

 

I have to say, out of all of the weddings I have photographed, Chris has been the absolute best best man. He was attentive to Carl and Stephanie throughout the day and acted as liaison between the bridal and groom suites.

Back in the groom’s getting ready suite, the gentlemen were preparing for the ceremony.

Last year the guys were using vases to tie their bowties, this time around I have no idea how a knife became a bow tying tool .

By the time they decided to join up for a casual first look, sunlight had peaked out from the clouds outside and filled the bridal suite.

I took so many portraits for the big day. If you don’t see a certain picture you were looking for, Carl and Stephanie will be getting them all. I wish I could fit more into the blog post.

Stephanie scouted for locations before the wedding day and found these incredible industrial walls. She has the eye for photography. Most people would look at this brown wall and think it would be something to avoid, but she knew that with a little bit of bokeh and soft sunlight it would turn into the perfect peachy backdrop. I wish every wedding had walls like this one. The pictures we took here turning into some of my absolute favorites. Stephanie’s bridesmaids lifted her train and fled the scene (numerous times) to capture this shot of her gorgeous train billowing behind her.

The groomsmen huddled together to look at an old photograph and recreate an old photo from their Navy days.

Pretty spot on, fellas!

The ceremony, and later on the reception, took place in the beautiful industrial ballroom of the Cork Factory Hotel.

The ceremony began with a whistle introduction and the bride and groom entered the ceremony together. I am absolutely in love with this idea.

Their dog Murphy made a couple cameo appearances in their wedding decor.

While the guests enjoyed the cocktail hour and music by Aaron Abercrombie, the ceremony location was transformed into a formal ballroom for the reception.

When it comes to the dancing photos, I know that people are going to absolutely love me or hate me after seeing what I’ve captured. Dancing photos are not always the most flattering, but they are the most fun! If you are out on the dance floor I see it as free game for my camera. I respect boundaries and don’t interrupt people at their tables unless they’re talking in a close group and I ask for a group shot. (No one wants those uncomfortable eating at the table photos anyway!) I make it a priority to get at least one good picture of every single person who makes it out on the dance floor. If you don’t see yourself here it is because there simply was not enough room in the blog post to share them all. (Even though I wish I could!) If you see yourself in a photo here and wish you hadn’t, I hope you can forgive me because I posted the photo because I thought it was fantastic. I hope that when people look back on the dancing photos they see all of the fun that they had. The dancing at a Stephanie and Carl wedding so far has been unparalleled.

A few of my favorite reception photos ever!

Congratulations, Stephanie and Carl! I’m so happy for you and I know that your families are too.

 

 

Please leave some love for Carl and Stephanie in the comments below and support the incredible vendors that made this day so special. If you enjoyed my photography, please support my work by liking my page on Instagram @LiveLovelyPhotography and also support the other vendors who brought Carl and Stephanie’s wedding dreams to life by clicking on their links below.

 

Photography: Courtney of Live Lovely Photography

Venue: The Cork Factory Hotel

Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist: Envy Studio

Wedding Gown: Jaehee Bridal

Party Dress: Harriman Clothing Company

Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Grooms Suit: The Black Tux

Florist: Heather Heagy of Custom Florals

Justice of the Peace: Dave DiRaddo

DJ: Howie of 3West Productions

Ceremony Violinist: Erin Marshall 

Ceremony & Cocktail Hour Guitarist: Aaron Abercrombie 

Lighting & Draping: Shumaker Designs