Chelsea & Ryan are best friends. Their wedding day was full of tearful glances during the ceremony, lots of laughs with childhood friends & family in their wedding party, beautiful chartreuse reception details incorporating fresh apples & chalkboards to emphasize the teacher theme since they’re both elementary educators, and fun-filled dancing throughout the entire wedding reception at Avion on the Water. We were blessed to be a part of the day & enjoyed seeing them begin their lives together.
I started the day with Chels & her girls at the couple’s home. The most stress-free wedding mornings are usually spent at home when talented hair & makeup artists come to YOU. 🙂 Green Girl Envy did an amazing job with the girls’ wedding day styles! They’re fantastic on wedding days because they’ll come to you. No worrying about traveling to & from a salon before your ceremony!
Chelsea was all smiles! 🙂
Her dress from Elizabeth Renae’s Bridal in Salem was just stunning! She was born to wear this gown.
She & her mother put the final touches on her bridal bouquet. It incorporated flowers & various brooches that had belonged to family members. Personal touches like that make a wedding that much more special.
While I was with the ladies, Josh was with Ryan & the gentlemen.
Ryan left the room to attend to an errand & his groomsmen hurriedly placed these stickers on his shoes. We’re not sure when he figured out they were there.
Ryan & Chelsea exchanged gifts the morning of the wedding. Chelsea’s Maid of Honor (her cousin Davina) helped deliver Ryan’s gift.
He loved his new personalized house key. The previous owners had left him a Pittsburgh Steelers key, but Ryan is a Cincinnati Reds fan (he even went to a game for his bachelor party). Chelsea also had a little keychain engraved with “God picked you for me 01.11.14.”
Ryan’s best man (his cousin Matt) brought Chelsea the gift from Ryan.
It’s safe to say that she was quite touched by the necklace Ryan had designed for her using the diamond from her mother’s engagement ring (her mom has upgraded her ring & wasn’t using the diamond anymore). Her faithful bridesmaids helped fan & keep her tears from smudging her makeup.
Then it was WEDDING DRESS TIME!
Chelsea. . . seriously! You’re gorgeous.
All of the bridesmaids lent a hand.
Ryan’s grandmother game to visit Chelsea prior to the ceremony.
So handsome!
So very pretty! I love everything about her look.
Josh snapped a few quick groomsmen shots outside even though it was chilly.
Her bouquet was wrapped with lace from her mom’s wedding dress.
Chelsea’s mom designed & crafted all of the bouquets & reception centerpieces. She is very talented.
Gorgeous ladies!
This is one of my favorites. Chelsea & her soon-to-be father-in-law shared a few laughs prior to the wedding ceremony.
Salem First Christian Church:
Ryan’s reaction to seeing his bride walk down the aisle was priceless:
Chelsea & Ryan lit a Unity Candle, but they also built a Unity Cross together. This was the first time we’d seen this done. It was a fantastic symbol of their unification with one another & God.
Although it was very windy & getting colder by the minute, these two didn’t mind; they just pulled each other closer.
Avion on the Water looked very pretty on this cloudy day.
They were all blowing away 🙂
This one was Chelsea’s request. The guys pulled it off . . . maybe a little too convincingly. 😉
The bright green apples & the little chalkboards were just perfect.
Guests were asked to write the newlyweds messages and place them in the bottle to be opened on various anniversaries as noted on the bottles.
Davina’s MOH speech was cute. She talked about growing up with Chelsea & pretending to be brides in their dream weddings with their Barbie dolls. . . and now those childhood dreams had come true for Chelsea with the perfect “Ken doll”. . . Ryan. 🙂
Matt’s Best Man speech also talked about growing up with his cousin Ryan. He mentioned how Ryan has always been inquisitive. It’s a great thing he asked Chelsea one question in particular . . . to marry him. 🙂
First dance loveliness:
Chelsea’s dance with her daddy:
And Ryan’s dance with his mother:
Jamie Bosley made the adorable cupcakes.
Then the dancing commenced & didn’t stop until the evening came to a close!
Glow sticks!
No one was really having very much fun 😉 hehe
Chelsea & Ryan, we’re so thankful you chose us to photograph your wedding day! We had a lot of fun with you & wish you a lifetime of love & happiness through the sad times & the great times!
If you’d like to check out Chelsea & Ryan’s engagement photos that we shot, they’re HERE.
Interested in Josh & Danielle photographing your wedding day? Great! 330.651.4849 or info@menningphotographic.com
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