Horticultural Hall has been on my list of venues I’ve been wanting to work at for quite a while, so when Hannah and Sam reached out towards the beginning of the year about photographing their wedding day there, I was extra excited! I have a few new to me venues on my schedule this year and it’s truly the BEST. A lot of couples think that their photographer needs to have a lot of experience at their venue, but I honestly think the opposite is true. It’s great to be familiar with a space, but it’s also easy to fall into a creative rut when you are at the same places over and over. So, when you have a photographer that is working in your venue for the first time, (at least in my case) they will feel more inspired and creative. It’s also likely you’ll end up with images that might feel different from everything else you’ve seen in that venue from photographers who have their go-to shots after working there many times. There are always pros and cons to everything, but the question of whether or not your photographer has worked in your venue is a good one, but should not be the reason you do or don’t go with someone!

Ok, getting off that soap box haha! I am SOOOO excited to share this beautiful wedding day! It was a perfect May Saturday for Hannah and Sam – the sun was out and the temperature was not too hot and not too cold. Their priority was to get married, include some Jewish tradition, and throw an awesome party. They wanted their images to be more on the documentary side, so we did some of the usual family and bride/groom portraits, but most of the day I was capturing things as they happened and that’s my favorite way to work. Their were so many sweet moments, and their reception started off with the most fun and excitement I’ve EVER experienced! They were introduced and went right into the traditional Hora dance, and the dancing went on for a full 30 minutes, led by an awesome band that they had travel from Ohio for their day after seeing them at a friend’s wedding. Hannah and Sam care so much about their people, and they even wanted to go through the dinner line last to make sure all of their guests ate first, which tells you a LOT about them as people. I could go on and on, but I’ll let the photos do the talking.