Dayton Weddings | Echo by Design | Wedding + Portrait Photography

..Tim + Courtney Part I | Asheville, North Carolina..

After such a gorgeous afternoon and evening with Tim and Courtney at the ..Biltmore Estate.., I could hardly wait until their wedding day! They had some gorgeous sunshine to kick off the Memorial Day weekend, and it was prooving more and more that it was going to be a hot one. I arrived to greet the beautiful girls at the Grand Bohemian, where they were getting ready. I couldn’t wait to start on all the details as I was swooning over the dress, the shoes {oh my goodness the shoes!}, and all the rest of the goregous details. Courtney was finishing up and was so happy to finally be getting in her dress! Her step-mom, Val was the one to do the amazing honor, and it took everything she had to keep it together. They could barely even look at each other! Shortly after Courtney stepped into her gown, I took off to meet the guys and ready Tim for his first look at Courtney!

After doing some of the guys portraits, we heard that the ladies were making their way to the aboretum and to keep a watch out! We didn’t want to spoil Tim seeing a sneak of Courtney until we were all ready. Tim faced me, shifting his weight back and forth as he nervously held his hands together. He could hear the girls in the distance as Courtney slowly made her way towards him. I squeeled and whispered, she is coming!! He could barely contain his excitement, and resisted the urge to spin on his heels to greet his bride. She came up right behind him stopped and dropped her dress so that he could have the full view when he turned around. Then finally after building up immense anticipation, I let Tim turn around. His eyes lit up and he took a giant step towards her. They couldn’t believe that the moment they had prepared for all morning had come.

I spent some time letting them soak in the moments. Such sweet and tender moments and so much to talk about! Their friends whom they love and adore then joined us for the rest of their portrait session! Courtney and Tim wanted them all to be able to enjoy the cocktail hour after the ceremony, so they opted to have all of their portraits taken beforehand!

Stay tuned, because the best is yet to come! Courtney and Tim tie the knot overlooking the mountains and you don’t want to miss all of their gorgeous details!

..ANTICIPATION..

love, echo

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..Wine Tasting with Tim + Courtney | Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC..

Courtney and Tim swept me off my feet when they asked me to photograph their Asheville, North Carolina destination wedding last year! I knew it was going to be a blast and I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to see the breathtaking Biltmore Estate, built by the Vanderbilts! The day before their wedding, they treated everyone to a house tour {sorry no photos were allowed inside…wish I had something to share} and a wine tasting event on the Estate. The friends and family who had traveled to Asheville were invited to the wine tasting event, where they could try the renowned wine made right on the Estate grounds!

After the wine tour, everyone had the chance to savor the great wine, mingle, and get to know each other’s families more! Courtney is originally from the Cleveland area, while Tim is originally from North Carolina. Their lives intersected while each of them attended school near Asheville, and they thought of no better place to have their marriage ceremony then where it all began!

The soft scape mountains were enough, but add in a stunning Estate and you have yourself a beauty. Check out the amazing grounds!

After the wine tasting event {and after it cooled off!} we snuck away from their guests to head back to the house! I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a mini session on such a gorgeous piece of land!

There is so much more to come! Make sure to check back to see the gorgeous wedding day that these two had!

..STUNNING ESTATE..

love, echo

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..Awaiting Baby Ava | Oh Baby..

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to hang out with Adam, Angela, and their sweet little baby bump! I’ve known Adam ever since I was a little girl! Our parents were friends, and my mom and his dad even had their lockers next to each other in high school. So I remember going to their house often for summer barbeque’s! Angela is one of my younger sister’s best friend’s and has been around our house for years now! They have been married for just over 4 years and are anxiously awaiting Miss Ava any day now.

I was ecstatic for them when I discovered their pregnancy and I can’t wait to meet their little bundle! Angela says, I can’t wait to meet her and we tried for her for so long! I found out I have PCOS, which makes it hard to get pregnant, so we definitely had some bad times when we thought we might never get a chance to have our own baby. Ava is our little miracle!

Baby Ava is going to have two amazing angels watching over her when she comes into this world! Sadly, both of Adam’s parents {Abel and Linda} have passed away from pancreatic cancer, both within a year of each other. They had this sweet little bear made out of the fabric from one of Linda’s dresses! It even has a purple heart on the rear to remember and raise awareness for pancreatic cancer victims. I just loved it and thought it was such a sweet touch to give to their daughter!

Adam and Angela, thank you for asking me to capture this sweet and special time in both of your lives! I can’t wait to meet Lady A and I’m sure she is going to be a beautiful little girl!

..TWO ANGELS..

love, echo

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..Aaron & Carly Part II | Marry Me..

It finally was official! Carly and Aaron had sealed the deal. Tied the knot. Become husband and wife. The evidence of it not only was on their ring finger’s, but streaked across their faces!

After their beautiful ceremony at Holy Rosary, we whisked them off for their portraits. It was a splendid afternoon and the temperature was just right! The sun was making it’s way towards the west horizon, as the evening was coming to a close. After the bridal party pictures, I had some one on one time with Carly and Aaron! {My favorite time of the day!} Since we didn’t have the chance to do the engagement session, I warned them that I require aLOT of cuddling! The simple attraction that they have for each other almost created an invisible bubble around them! It was almost as if I didn’t even exist, except that my shutter button was making quite a bit of noise! He couldn’t help but kiss her and she couldn’t help but smile as she wrapped her loving arms around him. I could have photographed them all day!

Amongst the amazing moments of Carly and Aaron’s happiness was a spirit of thankfulness too. Just a few months prior to their big day, Carly’s dad was hit by a vehicle while he was working construction on the turnpike. He was hospitalized and had serious injuries. You may have noticed in ..Part I.. that Mr. Roudebush walked his daughter down the aisle with a crutch. With each passing step he winced a little, all the while smiling through the pain. He wouldn’t have missed this moment for the world! At the reception he had the opportunity to lead his daughter in a dance. I was lucky to be behind the camera, as I choked back tears watching a moment that only by the grace of God was able to take place. Each of them shared tears and smiles, but most importantly they clung to each other for the few minutes that were claimed as their’s.

Mr. & Mrs. Majewski! It was my esteemed pleasure to have been asked to join you on your truly special day. You waited so long and you both deserved the fascinating afternoon! Thank you so much to the Roudebush/Olson and Majewski families and congratulations again!

..INVISIBLE..

love, echo

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..Aaron & Carly Part I | Marry Me..

Eight years ago in the concession stand of the Mudhen’s stadium, Aaron and Carly caught each other’s eye. Carly was 13 and volunteering, while Aaron worked in the pizza stand. At 15 years old, he shot Carly a smile and she said, I was caught! After some time, she told her mom that she knew she was going to marry him. High school and college came and went, and then a sweet proposal came at the gates of Seaworld. Carly and Aaron were spending Valentine’s Day in the park that afternoon. {What a way to kick off the day!}

Shortly after ..Abby & Jeff’s Wedding.. last June, Lynn {the MOB} contacted me for my services. For some reason she just knew that I was the perfect fit for Carly and Aaron’s day! {Even all the way from Florida!} I was so honored and I waited for months to meet them! Unfortunately due to them living in Florida, I wasn’t able to do an engagement session to get to know them like I always do. So we settled for a few skype dates instead!

May 19th finally came! As I walked down the hall towards Carly’s suite, Lynn greeted me with a big ol’ hug. She was grinning from ear to ear and escorted me into the room. She announced with such joy that I had arrived. I felt like the red carpet had been laid out for me, and it wasn’t even my day! Carly came running towards the door to greet me with a huge hug. Yeah…my love tank was overflowing at that point! *Gush.*

The day moved forward and I was equally excited to meet Aaron! We exchanged hugs, but you could tell that no one except for Carly was on his mind. He couldn’t wait to see her. To have the first glimpse of his bride walking down the aisle toward him. To have the sweet girl that he has loved for all of those years finally be his and only his. With nothing but happiness and tears streaked across their faces, it surely was a cherished moment. Their hands quivered as they held on tightly to each other while the ceremony commenced. The officiate read their responses on why they wanted to be married to each other, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room! What most likely seemed like hours, Aaron finally had the chance to kiss his bride and hear them pronounced as man and wife. Their simple response of shrugging their shoulders in pure joy was the only way to captivate their emotions.

Carly and Aaron! I am so blessed to have gotten to know you both and to witness the love that you both truly have for each other! Thank you so much for allowing me to be such a big portion of your day! {Be sure to stay tuned for Part II coming soon 🙂 !}

..PURE JOY..

love, echo

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echoes of love