Sara and Hugh were married way back in February of this year and I've really wanted to write about it because it was such a unique wedding.

You may remember Sara and Hugh from their engagement session last fall.  If you haven't had a chance to see their engagement session I would encourage you to check it out.  There were some beautiful fall colors that day [along with just a bit of wind :-) ]

The thing that made Sara and Hugh's wedding so interesting was that it took place in the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, an old vaudeville theater that was built back in the 1920's.  They used the theme of a theater for the wedding, from their decorations down to the programs they gave their guests.  It was really unique and a lot of fun, and, from what I understand, this was the first wedding ever held at the theater.

The day began with the Sara and her girls getting all gussied up at Salon One in Jamestown.  A little while later Hugh and the guys met for lunch at Taco Hut in Jamestown.  Luckily the restaurant is only a couple of miles from the salon and I was able to scoot over and get some shots of the guys before they were done.  Once everyone got to the theater they moved downstairs to the dressing rooms.  It was really neat because it was like everyone was getting costumed up to be in a play.  For a gift, Hugh got all of the guys super hero cufflinks, which I thought was really cool.  And, to even further the fun and uniqueness of the day, the boutonnieres the guys wore were made of comics.  We eventually went upstairs and did some formals on the stage, the girls first and then the guys.

Just before the ceremony started we did something I'm pretty sure you've never seen done at a wedding.  Back when I first met Sara and Hugh, Hugh told me of an idea he had to start the ceremony.  I thought it sounded like a lot of fun and told him that I was pretty sure we could pull it off.  His idea was to pass out those cardboard 3D glasses to all the guests when they came in to the theater and just before the ceremony started we would have everyone in the crowd put on the glasses and then have me take a picture of them.  The idea was to make it look like one of those old photos of people watching a 3D movie back in the 1950's.  Now, normally I try and be as unobtrusive as possible when photographing a wedding but that wasn't the case this day.  There I was marching out onto the stage and setting up some lights and telling the crowd what was going on and what I needed them to do.  I asked them to pretend they were watching "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" and that the creature had just appeared and they were all scared out of their wits.  We did that three times and it actually turned out pretty good.  Even if it hadn't turned out all that great, everyone had a lot of fun anyway.

Also, before the ceremony began, they played a video about Sara and Hugh that told all about them growing up and how they met and what led up to this day.  It was fun and a nice touch. 

The ceremony itself took place right on the stage.  The girls all came down the aisle of the theater and then up the stairs onto the stage where the guys were waiting.  Part way through the ceremony a friend of mine, Alex Conti, sang a song from the balcony.  At one point Sara and Hugh did this little ceremony where they nailed a bottle of wine inside a box.  A little reading was then done that said something to the effect of, "If one day things get really bad between us we will open this box, share the wine and remember this day."  I had never seen that before and the sentiment of it was really nice.

After the ceremony there was a cocktail hour that took place out in the lobby while we did the formal family and wedding party photos.

The reception itself was also held right on the stage.  All the tables were set up behind a curtain so you couldn't see them during the ceremony.  For table numbers they used hinged picture frames with the number of the table on one side and a mini movie poster on the other. The food was provided by Sandee's Catering and was delicious.  I particularly liked this Reuben sandwich dip stuff they had for the cocktail hour.  Whenever I had a spare minute I found myself walking past the table with the dip and scarfing one (or two) up.  My good friends at Prime Time DJ Services provided the music for the reception.  They did a great job and had the joint jumping the whole night.  DJ Sizzle even provided a little extra something when he whipped out a fiddle and played along with "Cotton Eye Joe".  

The father daughter dance is always a special time during the reception and this one was made even more interesting because Sara and her dad were serenaded by one of the bridesmaids who sang to them from one of the box seats in the theater.  The funny thing about that was that the bridesmaid didn't know all the words to the song so she was reading them off her cell phone.  Ahh, technology.

All in all it was a fun and unique event and I pray that Sara and Hugh are able to keep that "fun-ness" alive for their entire marriage.

Here are some shots from the day.

This is what you see on the ceiling when you lean your head back to get your hair washed.

Her unique and beautiful bouquet was made of broaches. (note: the 15th was their wedding day)

Best photo bomb of the year so far :-)