Christine + Ryan are married! Can I just say I love downtown weddings!  When I first met with Christine to discuss her vision for the day three things got me really excited. Most importantly, the day was about them. Yes! Awesome. Second, she was wearing a BHLDN gown. Cue the heart eyed emoji. And then she told me she was OK with shooting in an alley! YES!

Their urban and intimate city wedding began at the Renaissance Hotel and ended at the Le Mont. The rooms at the Renaissance have the most beautiful lighting. I might gasped a little when I walked in.

Christine was relaxed and excited. She prepared for her day with the help of her best friend and cousin. They slipped her into her gown, helped make final jewelry decisions and nodded in approval. Ryan joined us for their first look on the streets of Pittsburgh and well, I’ll let the photos take it from here.

Five years ago today, I married my best friend. My high-school sweetie. The Star-to-my-bucks. I am by no means a writer (if you couldn't tell from my terrible grammar in my blog posts) so I am going to narrate our wedding photos Pop-Up video style. What can I say? I was a child of the 80's and VH1 was a big deal back then.  

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The preparations. It seemed like this part of the day took forever! But it was so fun having my mom, my college bestie, my cousin, and two of my oldest friends by my side. We prepped, danced, and drank champagne all morning. It was perfect.

While we chose not to see each other until the ceremony, we did have time for photos with our bridal party and some with our families.

Our wedding was before Pinterest exploded on the wedding scene. So my 'pin board' for inspiration was a piece of foam core with magazine clippings glued to it. I carried it everywhere with me along with my wedding binder and Michael's coups. These are a few of our decorations.

The venue was Chestnut Ridge in Blairsville, PA. It was so nice to have everything in one location since we had family coming from out of town. The ceremony was on the golf course, cocktail hour on the patio, and the reception in the ballroom. After our ceremony, we got to hop on golf carts and ride around for bridal party photos! Our families decorated our golf cart before the ceremony and we had no idea. It was so fun walking up to that afterwards.

The final part of the evening: our reception. It. went. so. fast.  But it was the best time I have ever had. The speeches. Our first dance to Michael Buble - 'Everything'. Dancing with my dad. Cigars on the patio. Our crazy families and friends dancing all night, to every song! All of it was perfect. Fun fact: we cut our cake to the song 'Love you Madly' by the band Cake!

Even though the wedding had to come to and end, our adventures haven't. We have done a lot in five years. Bought our first car, raised a puppy, bought a house, started a business, switched jobs, and traveled to Italy. And at the end of every day, the person I want to call first, see more than anyone, and walk with until I'm old and gray, is him. I'd say that's a pretty good first five.

{photo credit to Milla C. Photography - I will cherish these until the end of time}

It's September! It is one of my favorite months. The start of autumn. I love pumpkin flavored everything, the changing leaves, and the smell of the air. It is also the month that Chris and I got married. This year we are celebrating our five-year anniversary. So I thought I would do a #tbt in honor of our anniversary month. In 2003,  we went to our first homecoming dance together. I cut my hair short at the start of junior year. It was a memorable style to say the least. Somebody took notice, and well, the rest is history. :) We went to separate colleges (Penn State for me and Kent State in Ohio for Chris). It just worked out that way. But we never stopped dating. We visited when we had the chance and saw each other on holiday breaks. Everyone said we would break up and that no one goes to college as a couple and stays together. But we did.

In December of 2008, we got engaged at an overlook on Mt. Washington. Chris tricked me, I had no idea he was proposing, and was able to capture it on camera. I couldn't believe it was finally happening. I was going to marry my best friend. When I returned home the night we got engaged, my mom had wedding magazines spread across my bed. The date was set for September 18th, 2010 and the planning began.  {Engagement photo by Milla C Photography}