Haley and Matt. More than just a bride and groom on our blog, more than just clients of ours – they are possessors of a true, authentic, and joyous love.
The image above is one of my very favorite works of art from the year – the wind was catching Haley’s veil just perfectly during our creative wedding photography session in downtown toledo.
I first met Haley in 2009 when I photographed Lisa’s wedding. Haley was one of the bridesmaids in the wedding – not only was Lisa’s wedding awesome, but Haley was so much fun to be around, I had hoped someday I’d get to create imagery and art with her again.
I didn’t meet Matt until years later, when Haley excitedly emailed me that she was engaged. Those are the most fun emails I get as a wedding photographer – when a bride has already decided she wants me to be her wedding photographer, well before the engagement happens.
When Matt and Haley came in, I was so happy to see how excited they were about their wedding photography. Matt was a perfect fit for Haley, and I loved watching the two of them together. I knew then that we’d have a blast creating their wedding imagery together!
After their Wedding ceremony in a suburb of Toledo, we jetted out the door, but not into the traditional limo, but in something a bit more airborne. 
Matt is Pilot (also an actor, starring in an ABC show last year!), and had secured a private helicopter for us to travel around in for their wedding photography after the wedding.
We embarked on a private helicopter ride around toledo. It was a beautiful fall afternoon, and seeing the city and surrounding areas from thousands of feet in the air was a special treat for this wedding photographer.
Yes – that’s me 🙂 And yes, I’m a goober. I was pretty stoked (and slightly freaked out) about being so high up. I’m not scared to fly – but it was certainly different than being a 747.
As we flew around the city, I was thankful I had brought my long lens (70-200 for you photo nerds) to capture some once in a lifetime landscapes of the city.
It was such a beautiful day, and such a beautiful moment for Matt and Haley to take a breather and enjoy their wedding day. The sun peaking around the clouds in the sky was simply magical.
We soon landed and got to explore some really fun and funky areas of the city for our creative wedding photography session. Although we’re based in cleveland, I am a wedding photographer in Toledo a few times a year, and have gotten to know the city quite well. 
An abandoned set of buildings I had found yielded an opportunity for some striking wedding images with Haley’s veil. Haley’s veil was beautiful and long – and the wind loved it.
And I loved the wind.
Above – one of my very favorite images that came about due to random experimentation and happenstance. I LOVE shooting this way. Photographing and creating “out of the box” forces a wedding photographer to be creative and on his/her toes. 
Haley’s smile shines – I found a wall of autumn-fading foliage, and took advantage of it.
Haley’s bridesmaids were freakin’ hilarious. I laughed just as much as they were as we were creating together.
The men were a blast too!
This was super fun to coordinate and conduct them into – it came out really cool!
Love. Took me a minute to set it up, but it’s such a fitting tribute for Matt & Haley and their bridal party. 
The party was UNREAL. Dance floor popping all night, and just loads of fun – I really enjoyed this one!
Vintage Cake-topper ring shot for the win!
