Chelsea & Brandon Wedding – 7.22.18

Posted on September 5, 2018

Bowling alley, Elvis, mariachi band?! Yes, yes, and yes! Not only did Chelsea and Brandon seriously plan an epically unique wedding, but these two and their guests were a blast to photograph! This was definitely a first for me, shooting in a bowling alley, but I hope it’s not my last! To begin their day, I started off at South Bowl Philadelphia, where they had rented out the event space on the top floor. Not only does it have ample seating space indoors and outdoors, but their guests got to play old pinball games, bowl at the private lanes (complete with Chelsea and Brandon graphics), and snack on finger food and a tower of pies that the groom drove all the way from New York!

Not only that, but the groom and groomsman were decked out in sequin jackets, while the ladies rocked more rockabilly type dresses. Chelsea and Brandon were all about the details from the wedding program they designed to look like a bowling score sheet but with all the wedding details guests needed, to the ‘gif’ video generator guests could make on a green screen, even down to the bowling sock take aways, and the bowling pin guests got to sign as a ‘guest book’ when they arrived. Once the wedding begin, Elvis serenaded guests as everyone took their seats and then the mariachi band played in the party and the bride and groom. After a hilarious service with plenty of Elvis puns, these two love birds were hitched, much to the cheers of their family and friends. The couple then walked down the aisle and did their first dance along with the bride’s parents (whose anniversary it was) to a rendition of their song by the mariachi band. Following some family and party shots on the bowling lanes, I headed downstairs with the happy couple to get some shots of them at the shoe check out and the vintage dining area with a huge light up ‘SPARE!’ sign. With our couple shots done, the bride went to change into her second party dress while I went upstairs to grab some detail shots.

The night continued with guests dancing, bowling, and pin-balling the night away. The couple fed each other pie (they even had a custom ‘pie cake topper’ featuring them), took group photos, and tore it up on the dance floor. As I was leaving, the bride and groom were having the time of their lives dancing with guests on the dance floor. To quote The King, “When I get married, it’ll be no secret” and with these two, it definitely wasn’t a secret, and their family and friends will certainly always remember this day of awesomeness! So here’s to many more years of happiness for this wonderful couple!

Photography and writing by:

Alysha Yoder Photography

(b) www.alyshayoderphotoblog.com

www.alyshayoderphoto.com

(e) alyshayoderphoto@yahoo.com

(p) 610.762.7810

Venue: South Bowl Philly

Catering: South Bowl Philly

Pies: Lemon Meringue Pie from Beiler’s

All other Pies from NYC – Rudy’s Bakery and Cafe

Mariachi Band: Mariachi Villasenor

DJs: Mon Amie – Kyle Art Threat – Edan

Officiant: Ryan Downy as Elvis

Dresses: Bridesmaid’s Dress from Asos

Flowers – Matlack Florist

Hair and Makeup – Pretty on Arrival

Nish and Hamza Wedding – 4.21.17

Posted on June 3, 2017

Take an elegant wedding with a modern twist, add in a wonderful couple, lots of bright colors, and a stunning venue and you have Nish and Hamza’s wedding! A wedding for the photo books for sure! Not only did I have a great couple, but it was held at the beautiful venue, The Waterfall. The Waterfall, decked out in purples, golds, and reds, with fresh flowers draped throughout, two exquisite stages, and dreamy outdoor spaces for photos provided a lovely backdrop for their big day!

Nish was surrounded by her closest friends and family throughout the day. Her two aunts, who are like second moms to her, flew in from India to share in the celebration with her! You could tell by all their love and support throughout her day that Nish is certainly cherished by all who know her!

These two lovely people came together to create a truly memorable wedding day! They have quite the back story too! While both vacationing in Florida, fate collided and these two met! Nish went back home to Pennsylvania and Hamza went back home to Texas. These two continued to talk and spent a year flying back and forth between the states to see each other! Soon after, it was clear that these two were meant to be! Hamza came with his family to formally ask for Nish’s hand in marriage! Nish accepted and they had a traditional formal engagement. This leads up to their beautiful wedding day!

Following the lovely traditional ceremony, everyone gathered for photos, while guests sipped on drinks and enjoyed appetizers. With Grecian columns, fountains, and waterfalls, there were certainly TONS of great photo opportunities. The couple was then led to the reception area, where they were formally introduced and shared their first dance as husband and wife. The maid of honor, Valerie, gave a beautiful speech, to be followed by professional dancers preforming for the couple and their guests.

Dinner was served shortly after as guests wandered up to take photos with the couple on stage, and others headed to the photo booth. Once everyone had their fill of all the delicious food, the couple headed to center stage to cut the cake! The DJ began the music, and the dancing began! Everyone headed to the dance floor to dance the night away! I snuck away with the couple to take some night shots (which ended up being some of my favorite shots of the night!). As guests slowly began to call it a night, the couple was presented with gifts, adorned with flowers blessed by their family, and the couple and groom’s family headed out for the night in the luxury car waiting for them. A stunning end to a beautiful day! So without further ado, Nish and Hamza’s wedding! Congrats to the happy couple!

Photography and writing by:

Alysha Yoder Photography

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

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

Venue: The Waterfall

DJ: DJ Ravi Jackson

Flowers:

Bouquets – Patel Flowers

Sweetheart Table and Sign-in Table – Rhoads Garden

Cake: Isgro Pasteries

Decorator: Wedding Design New Jersey

Catering: Palace of Asia

Puja & Michael – 9.12.15

Posted on October 16, 2015

Puja and Michael, this was one of those couples that I think I was just as excited to photograph their wedding as they were to get married! I got an email saying they wanted to do there pre-wedding shots at a comic book store followed by a reception and ceremony at an art gallery. Like holy cow, talk about an awesome opportunity! Comic book store, SIGN ME UP!

These two were just so fantastically amazing to work with and photograph. From the moment we had our first video conference to meet each other I knew this was just going to be a blast to photograph. Puja and Michael both emit this happy nerdtastic vibe that got everyone excited (including this photographer!) to spend the day with them, celebrating their marriage.

Even meeting and getting to know each other was kind of a happenstance #dorklove story made by the cosmos. While attending Drexel (two completely different majors mind you, Engineering and English) they happened to cross paths in their final semester while taking a Philosophy in Science Fiction course. They bonded over their love of science fiction and as Puja put it, “the British musician Imogen Heap for some odd reason.” They said they both knew that they were each other’s plus one after spending a night meeting up for tea and closing it (and multiple other places down). They kept moving from location to location, chatting about life and common interests. It still took them like another few weeks to be forced to recognize by common friends that they had feelings for each other and were, in fact, dating though.

Their whole reception was completely them too. This is always great for a photographer who shoots so many weddings. I got to see something new and unique that was totally Puja and Michael. Their love of art, books and literature showed throughout the night. The centerpieces were made of antique and used books that they had spent months finding at various public library sales. After the second library they had more than enough books but they were so excited about finding new rare books that they discovered their new love of ‘book treasure hunting.’ Each place setting also featured library book checkout cards featuring details regarding the 2nd part of their weddings celebrations. Their cake featured their ‘love formula’ and they picked food from their favorite restaurants to cater.

Throughout the whole experience this couple was just so lovely to work with. Every time I got off the phone or sent an email I had a smile of my face. All the unique ideas and love these two had for what they were doing, made my job so much more fun and enjoyable. It was such a honor to get to photograph something so unique, capturing the love that Puja and Michael’s family and friends have for them, and the love they have for each other. So enjoy the photos below because seriously… who wouldn’t enjoy wedding shots in a comic book store!