One of the best things about life is love and we get a front seat to real love stories just about every Saturday during wedding season. Janet & Ben’s story is really special. They both went to Skidmore College at the same time, which is a small college (only about 2500 students). Both being creatives at heart, they were involved in the theater program there. They also had mutual friends there. In fact, they found a large group photo after they ended up meeting years later that they were both in. But they didn’t meet in college. It simply wasn’t their time yet. After Skidmore, Ben went back to Boston where his family is from and Janet traveled around a bit before deciding to attend grad school at Lesley University in…you guessed it- Boston. (Cambridge, more accurately, but I digress). Due to the wonders of the Internet, they finally met on a dating website. When they started talking on their first date, they realized an incredible amount of interests that they had in common and they also realized that they both went to Skidmore and were both in the theater program and had mutual friends and so much more. Thanks to Janet’s heartfelt personal vows during their ceremony, we all learned that her spirits as she walked home after that first date could not be diminished due to the harsh Boston winter weather; she was on Cloud 9 (she also gives some credit to her favorite Eddie Bauer parka lol). She told her grad school friend Daniela (who was a bridesmaid Saturday) that she thought this could turn into something special. And now they’re married. We are so grateful we got to be the ones to photograph this wedding day at Happy Days Lodge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park- the first day of Janet & Ben’s marriage.
Ben has one of the warmest & kindest smiles we’ve ever seen. He’s the kind of guy everyone wants to be around.
His grandpa loved bowties and Ben wore one well, which we thought was a lovely way to remember his grandpa on the wedding day.
Janet & her mother Katie; I loved getting to witness their close mother-daughter relationship and how Katie described it during her toast as an invisible string that connects their hearts.
One of my favorite parts of Ben’s wedding vows was when he said that Janet is simultaneously beautiful and extremely cute. Accurate. 
Once Janet was ready to head to Happy Days Lodge from the hotel, she shared a First Look with her dad and it was so sweet. 
This tugs at my heart strings so hard!
Janet’s dad started a restoration project with this car after high school. Until the year of Janet’s wedding, nothing too urgent was pushing him along, but they decided they’d really love for it to be ready for September 28, 2019 and he did it (along with some help from his friends).
The guys were all ready in their suits at Happy Days Lodge. 
And then it was time for their First Look. This gave me goosebumps.
That moment when Janet got to show Ben that her dress had POCKETS!
They make everyone happier around them by being authentically who they are.
Rockin’ that Nordstrom suit.
Lovely classic updo by Studio Taylor.
Janet’s dress was the best twirling dress we’d ever seen. Every twirl she did that day was completely warranted & enthusiastically encouraged. 
Heights Floral Designs was the wedding day florist. Janet’s bridesmaids were awesome; she had high school friends, college friends, and grad school friends by her side. 
They all looked lovely in their RenzRags dresses from Etsy! 
Janet’s wedding day timeline was detail-oriented, had buffer time included, and allowed everything to be relaxed and fun! We LOVE organized brides! (Or grooms in the rare case that a groom designs the wedding day timeline). Because of their First Look, they were able to get bride & groom portraits, bridal party photos, and family portraits finished before the ceremony. Their day was joyful, unhurried, and full of love.
Their ceremony was really intentional and meaningful in lots of different ways. 
Janet’s brother was the officiant. 
They told the guests to get their photos out of their system right away & then put away their devices and be present with the bride and groom. We LOVED this.
Ben’s sisters shared a beautiful reading together. And Janet’s sister-in-law did, too. I’m going to have to ask Janet what book Emily read a passage from because I want to read it again.
And I know I’ve been talking about their vows a lot, but I can’t help it because they were perfect. I hope they frame them and hang them on the wall of their home.
Their reception decor was pretty and meaningful to them; each table number card had a national park theme since Janet & Ben love nature and hiking together. 
The couple’s dear friend Diana made their cake. It was really cute and I heard it was delicious, too.
We snuck these two away for 5 minutes because. . . golden hour. Janet donned the amazing jacket that her aunt made for her from the train of Janet’s dress; her aunt is a costume designer. I’m pretty sure every bride needs an Aunt Phoebe, just saying!
There should never be a doubt whether newlyweds should enjoy some romantic golden hour portraits, but if you’re a bride and you are for some reason on the fence about this. . . I rest my case. Golden hour portraits- always a yes.
After a delectable dinner by Spice (seriously, AMAZING wedding food with a great team of people assembling everything to perfection), it was time for parent dances. 
Janet’s bridal powers were super strong. 
The dancing with this group of guests was like nothing we’d seen. Theater friends make great folks to invite to a reception! It also helped that their DJ Jared Plotts was a great time. Ben & Janet met Jared during their weekly Monday night trivia tradition and knew they wanted him to DJ their wedding; he left his family vacation in Colorado a day early because Janet & Ben are awesome.
When Spice put out the dessert table everyone stopped what they were doing to get in line because OH MY GOODNESS. Huge shout out to the awesome folks from Spice who held back the crowd for 30 seconds after this was set up so we could grab photos of how pretty it looked before it was in everyone’s bellies.
What a lovely start to Janet & Ben’s marriage! We are honored we got to photograph it and can’t wait to share the full gallery with them!
If you’re a new blog reader, hello! Thanks for stopping by! We’re glad you’re here! We’re Josh & Danielle, a husband and wife wedding photography team based in Northeast Ohio & available for travel. We’ve been married since 2010 and photographing weddings together since 2011. We love God, our two adorable children, and being outside. Feel free to follow along with our photography adventures & family fun here:
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If you’re engaged & looking for your photographers, please reach out. We’d love to chat & hear all about your vision for your wedding day.
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