Dayton Weddings | Echo by Design | Wedding + Portrait Photography

..Elise & Bryan 4.17.11 Part I | We Said I Do..

Last year when I met Elise and Bryan and had the opportunity to discuss the plans that they had for their wedding day, I knew I was in for a real treat. As I shared in Monday’s ..Sneak Peek Post.. these two have a love that is unexplainable. Something so deep I don’t know if I could truly justify it through my images. You put them next to each other and they are instantly magnetized. So was their story during the wedding weekend…

Saturday afternoon I left Dayton and made the road trip up to the ..Glidden House.., a beautifully historic Inn nestled within Cleveland. Elise and Bryan both greeted me with hugs before I joined them at the rehearsal and the dinner to follow. I had the wonderful chance to get to know the families and share in the special memories they had with the couple growing up. I bid the couple goodnight as I headed up to the hotel room that I was to settle into. I had an early start time in the morning and I could hardly wait.

Sunday morning came and I made my way to the hotel suite that Elise was preparing herself in. I could hear the laughter as it carried down the hall. Jaylene joined me for the day and we entered into the room of women that were having so much fun. The moments passed that would take us closer and closer for Elise to see her groom for the first time. The couple had decided that they were going to do a first look before the wedding. (It made for a smooth day!) As soon as Elise was dressed and ready to go we made our way down the elevator for ‘the moment.’ I could feel the nervousness and excitement within the corridor of the front lobby. Elise slowly made her way towards Bryan, and Bryan could barely stop smiling and he hadn’t even seen her yet but knew she was approaching. She came right up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and greeted her with a kiss that was so sweet. A tear began to fall onto his cheek and she brushed it away as they embraced again. The other end of the hall was filled with women who “awwed” like teenage school girls. We gave them a few more minutes and then swept them away for their pictures.

Even though guests were enjoying their breakfast as we started the couple’s portrait session, they had no problem hiding the emotions that they were both feeling. At one point, Bryan couldn’t help but shed another tear out of pure joy and excitement of what was to come. We captured some images within the warmth of the inn before we made our way out into the brisk weather. I knew the wind carried kisses of cold past us with great speed, but that didn’t stop this couple from braving the weather. I just couldn’t pass up the beautiful lawn, and the architecture of the Glidden House. I know it isn’t easy to subject yourself to some of the elements nature has to offer but Elise, Bryan, and their bridal party members did a fantastic job!

Jaylene caught this image of the rings. Each have very personal messages written within the bands.

Jaylene’s viewpoint…

One more from Jay…

Part II coming at you next week with images from the ceremony and reception! Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy it with your family and loved ones!

..FIRST LOOK..

love, echo

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echoes of love

..My Everything | Free to be Me..

Everyone knows after you get engaged the decisions that flood your brain are endless and mostly stressful. Unless you have planned a wedding before, thinking about every waking detail can be overwhelming. That was the spiral I was in while we were nearing our wedding just a little over three years ago. I thought picking the song that we would first dance to as husband and wife seemed like an easy task. After all, I had that one constant picked out…or so I thought.

After a long day of work I walked into the apartment that my Brad and I would soon share. He had a song that we both loved playing on the computer, “You Are Everything” by Matthew West. He smiled looked up at me and said, “This is the song I want to dance to for our first dance.” I shook my head. I already had ‘our’ song picked out. He started the music again and said, “Just listen to the words.” I sat there by his request and ‘saw’ where he was coming from. I had never listened to the song in that ‘perspective’ before. After it was over I told him I would think about it.

The following day as I was traveling in the car on the way to our apartment, it came on the radio again. I listened to more than just the song and lyrics that were coming from my radio speakers. I heard something stir inside of me, telling me that every decision up until that point had primarily been mine. After all, our husbands-to-be don’t typically have a whole lot to say, they just want us to be happy. However, my husband-to-be had picked out just one thing, and I almost refused it because it wasn’t what I had planned. I walked in the door looked at him and told him that I wanted to dance to Matthew West on our wedding day. I can remember him saying, “Really?” as the biggest smile spread across his face. He hugged me and thanked me for allowing him to pick.

Our wedding day was there before we knew it, and it came the time to dance to our first song together as Mr. & Mrs. Dearsman. The lights were dimmed and Matthew West serenaded us with some of these words as our guests saw our love for each other on display:

You are everything that I live for
Everything that I can’t believe is happening
You’re standing right in front of me
With arms wide open
All I know is Every day is filled with hope
You are everything that I believe for
And I can’t help but breathe you in Breathe again
Feeling all this life within
Every single beat of my heart

I think of those words and how next to who this song was created for, that Brad is MY EVERYTHING. He is the one who is there through thick or thin with me. The one who knows every part of me, who has been there for me over the last 11.5 years, and who would give his life for me if he ever had to. As one of our groomsmen said in a toast that night, “He is her knight in shining armor.” I can’t imagine life without him and thank God every day that he designed this wonderful, amazing, strong, God-fearing man just for me. I love him and can’t believe yesterday marked three years of marriage for us. I can’t wait to see the blessings that are in store for us in all the years to come!

Here are two of my favorites during our first dance. Hope your first dance song is just as special as ours became. If you would like to listen to the whole song by Matthew West ..click here..

..LISTEN..

love, echo

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echoes of love

..Sneak Peek to Cleveland | We Said I Do..

This weekend I had the distinct opportunity to share and photograph in Bryan and Elise’s wedding day. I can’t wait to share all the amazing details of yesterday’s main event, because that would spoil it all!

I do however want to share some of the blessings that these two families bestowed upon me. I think if I would have let my pregnancy hormones take over that my tear ducts quite frankly would have overflowed. From the moment I met both Elise and Bryan I fell in love with them! In learning more about them, I have found out that Elise has a very distinct knowledge in what she wants. That is why I call myself honored when I am chosen to be with a couple on such a blessed day in their lives. After getting to know them, I knew they must have come from equally amazing families. It is rare that such people filled with love, compassion, and heart-felt caring come from families that aren’t so. The Weinberger and Bonder families were more than that. They were welcoming, charming, and more than hospitable.

By the end of my afternoon with them I received two very distinct compliments that just melted my heart. One came right before dinner when Bryan’s father walked over after a family picture to thank me. He said, “I appreciate you taking the control of my family, you were quick and efficient while maintaining profession.” He went on to explain that the Bonder family is like herding cats. I have never heard that expression before yesterday, but chuckled just thinking about the referral. The second compliment came from Elise’s mom as I was wrapping up to leave. She stopped me and stated, “I just had to tell you how amazing you were this weekend. You were professional in capturing everything while staying unobtrusive. I can’t wait to see the images because I know they are going to be beautiful.”

It is one thing to receive such compliments after they have seen the work of the day, but it is a whole other world of satisfaction to receive those words before they have seen a single image I had taken that afternoon. I once again call myself honored to hear such words from such amazing people. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

More on Elise and Bryan’s wedding day at the end of the week. Be sure to check back in to see more!

..COMPLIMENTS..

love, echo

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echoes of love

..Josh & Alexis Design Preview | Album Show Off..

I can’t believe Friday is already upon me, I feel like this week FLEW by. I guess that is what happens when I’m staying busy though. I am SUPER stoked about this weekend’s wedding so be sure you tune in Monday to see the sneak peek!

Alright, let’s get to it! Two years ago at WPPI in Las Vegas, I happened to sit next to this awesome girl, Jenny Solar! We introduced ourselves and began chatting. She is from Kansas City, MO and runs this rockin’ photog biz with her husband, Josh who is equally cool! Anyways, one of the things that we started talking about is workflow and album design. I explained how I was doing all of my design work, she shook her head and suggested a much better and faster approach to album design. Who doesn’t like faster right? Yeah for more time and less work! I wasn’t expecting to learn from the people sitting next to me, I thought the people on the platform had all the ideas. Not Jenny, this girl literally saved my world. The secret…InDesign! Duh, it’s a page layout program for designers…why didn’t I think of this before? She was sweet enough to start me out with some tips and layouts, which I will forever be thankful for.

Although I wasn’t able to put it to good use last year with my tight schedule, I have been hard at work this winter on revamping how I do my album design. I wanted my albums…correction…YOUR albums to look clean, modern, and smoking hot. Not only that but I wanted to have everyone asking who took the images/designed such a marvelous piece of art for you as a couple! After using Jenny’s tips as a basis, here is one of the layouts that I came up with for my New Year’s Day couple ..Josh & Alexis.. Hope it makes your heart leap out of your chest!

..FASTER DESIGN..

love, echo

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echoes of love

..Spring | Free to be Me..

I have debated for years over what my favorite season is, most years I go back and forth between everything except Winter. This year I have decided that my favorite season is Spring! I say that for one reason, Spring is a time for growth and new life. That couldn’t hold more true in my life, business, and the new little one that is growing within me. It’s a time when everything comes out of it’s dormant stages of Winter and shows off all the beauty it has to offer. I think it’s absolutely breathtaking seeing the signs of lush green patches pop out of the ground. I call myself blessed to witness the first of the buds forming on the trees. I’m even more in awe of the new life with chicks hatching, baby deer finding their legs, and even with the growth of my body nurturing a baby to life. The colors of the flowers, the shades of blue in the air, and the song of the birds overhead are enough for my heart to pitter-patter.

There are days however that clouds and rain can take over all these elements as described, but I know without it none would be possible. Spring has it’s days of gloom and grumpy behavior, but don’t we all? One of my favorite things I loved doing growing up was to sit on the front porch swing and watch the storms come in. I loved to see the air just brew up the clashes of thunder and lightning that lit up the sky, all followed by a torrential down pour of rain. Oh the smell of fresh rain, there is not a thing like it.

After the clouds break there is nothing more marvelous than witnessing a rainbow. I have seen a few rainbows in my day, but the promise that the rainbow holds makes it even more amazing. After God flooded the Earth, he made a promise to Noah that it would never happen again. Genesis 9:16 states, “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the Earth.” It makes me smile every time I see a rainbow, and who knows…maybe there will even be a pot of gold at the end.

I am all too excited that we are FINALLY seeing the effects of what Spring has to offer. Enjoy it!

..NEW LIFE..

love, echo

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echoes of love