Molly & Paul -5.27.16

Posted on June 24, 2016

So truth be told, there are two weddings that I always look forward to photographing. Offbeat Weddings (because frankly they’re awesome and unique every time) and small intimate weddings. Now… I’m not saying I don’t enjoy every wedding I photograph, but there is something wonderful about having less then 25 people at a wedding… and that’s including the bridal party! There just tend to be more little moments throughout the day, less timeline rushing drama and a loving bond is always evident in everyone that’s attending.

Molly and Paul’s wedding was just that! I mean, we fit all the guests in one photo and you can see everyone! That’s definitely not something you get at every wedding. Check out all these lovelies in attendance, seriously, aren’t they fantastic!

I’ll tell you though… this was probably the hottest wedding I’ve shot to date. I mean it was a good 98 degrees.. plus, like a gazillion percent humidity. This photog had to go home and wring out her clothes afterwards not to mention, chug like 10 gallons of water. It was nutty! Everyone was a trooper though, I mean, look at all those smiles!

Molly and Paul were perfect too! They champed through the heat and absorbed some sunshine for their photos. These two both have a love of the outdoors, hence the beautiful estates of Allenberry Resort Inn and outdoor ceremony, small ring box made to look like a tree stump (with their initials carved into it), and a beautiful flower covered arbor. Paul also has a love of fishing (note Yellow Breeches Creek in the background). He makes a lot of his own flies too. They even incorporated a fly into his boutonniere. How cool is that?!

Their ceremony was beautiful from beginning to end, starting with the groom’s son leading both mom’s down the aisle followed by his daughter with a huge bouquet of flowers! The bride’s father gave her away under that stunning arbor, much to the smile of her groom! The vows went swimmingly and everyone had a chuckle when the ring bearer struck a pose handing off the rings. The first kiss was had and the couple, all smiles, walked down the aisle for the first time as husband and wife. A tiny intimate reception followed with unique candy apple favors, a lovely three-tiered cake (the kids helped pick out the flavors!), ‘butterfly kisses’ and lots of laughs! What a wonderful day it was for these two! I was so honored to be a part of it, so without further ado, I give you Molly and Paul’s wedding:

Photography and writing by:

Alysha Yoder Photography

(b) www.alyshayoderphotoblog.com www.alyshayoderphoto.com

(e) alyshayoderphoto@yahoo.com (p) 610.762.7810

Vendors:

Venue: Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse

Cake: Snickerdoodles Bakery

Flowers: Royers

2 Comments

Lizzy and Nate – 5.21.16

Posted on June 17, 2016

Oh man.. Lizzy and Nate’s wedding! Sometimes… just sometimes…. one of those couples comes around that are just so unique and awesome that when they ask you to photograph their wedding… you start doing a happy dance in your living room. THIS was one of those couples. And THIS was one of those weddings. I mean, two people that met at an invitational board game convention, does it seriously get any more offbeat and up my ‘favorite wedding alley’ than that?

When I got an email originally from Lizzy asking for information for their wedding at KNOEBELS, I was a little more then just excited. Our original consult went off swimmingly, which left me wondering… ‘I wish these two didn’t live all the way out in Washington State because I would like to hang out with them quite regularly.’ Have you ever been so excited about something you just find ways to bring it up in every conversation? Literally me. For about a week after I booked their wedding. For example, random stranger… “Oh hey Alysha, how are you today?” Me, “I BOOKED A WEDDING AT KNOEBELS.” I’m sure I left a lot of my coworkers scratching their heads lol.

So why did these two, from Washington, decide to have a Knoebel’s wedding in Elysburg, Pennsylvania? Wellllll, originally Lizzy is from this area. These two actually got hitched earlier in the year and now wanted to share in their celebrations with friends and family! They’ve actually had a few different weddings, from one side of the country to the other. In turn, bringing together their friends and family that they have all of the US. How cool is that? The way they described their wedding celebration day was, ‘a lot less formal and more like a big family reunion.’ And that’s exactly what it was!

Two people, surrounded by the friends and family who clearly love them and all their uniqueness to death! I was sooo excited to meet these two after many phone/Skype calls and when they saw me, I got a big running hug! That’s how the whole day went. Lots of hugs, laughter, funny stories and I mean.. duh.. lots of rides. It was a theme park wedding after all!

For their ceremony, these two had a hand-fasting ceremony on the entrance of the Phoenix! Yes, the Phoenix. I mean… it’s only one of the top TEN wooden rollercoasters in the world! Hands tied together, these two literally took their first ‘plunge’ with their guests. While they did have the Pheonix for an hour, they also planned to meet up at various rides and take them over throughout the day. We took over the Carousel and the Bumper Cars. What fun! Plus, Knoebel’s staff was awesome and helped me throughout the day. We even got the brass ring at the Carousel for some fun ‘ring’ shots and bumper cars placed in just the right way for couple shots!

What a wonderful day! Plus, a totally and awesomely unique couple. They’re like a unicorn and they only come around every so often (not to say I don’t love all my couples, but I mean… rollercoasters.. come on!). So here’s to a gazillion more years of mutual weirdness for these two!

Photography and writing by:

Alysha Yoder Photography

(b) www.alyshayoderphotoblog.com www.alyshayoderphoto.com

(e) alyshayoderphoto@yahoo.com (p) 610.762.7810

Vendors:

Venue and Catering: Knoebel’s Amusement Resort

Cake: La Dolce Vita Bakery

1 Comment

Joan and Tim – 4.16.16

Posted on May 11, 2016

What a wonderful wedding to start the season with! These two lovebirds have been together for 17 years! After a long romance in the summer of 2015, Joan proposed to Tim on their boat with the light of a thousand candles and their children’s cheers from their dock. While neither was looking for love, Joan and Tim met out on the water where Tim was captioning the boat Joan had been assigned to. With a mutual love of the water, biking, and hiking, it was a match meant to be!

There wedding day couldn’t have been more beautiful (especially considering the previous weekend it had snowed!). Along with their family, they made a lot of the decorations too! Even creating custom cocktails for the event (mojitos and Italian guava bellinis). They even had the florist create a beautiful floral piece around a piece of driftwood they had found. The wedding was held in their backyard right on the water in beautiful Calvert County, Maryland. It was rustic, but chic with tiny touches of elegance throughout. They even set up a popcorn machine with Italian sodas and a movie screen to boot!

Guests watched these two get hitched, with heartfelt speeches from their children and touching moments between them. Joan’s grandson even walked her down the aisle. After their first kiss was shared, a big family hug was had by all! Hugs, laughter and smiles were shared between friends and family at the reception. You couldn’t find a sad face in the crowd! At one point, Joan even tried to pull Tim into the water! What a fun wedding this was! I couldn’t have been happier to have this be my first wedding of the season. So without further ado, I give you Joan and Tim’s wonderful Maryland wedding:

This is one of my favorite wedding moments. The bride’s granddaughter had drawn her a picture and she’s giving it to her grandma right before the wedding. The look on her face as she gives Joan the picture is just priceless.