Allison & Anthony- Red Clay Room Wedding

Allison and Anthony’s Red Clay Room wedding fell on a beautiful day full of beautiful people. We started at Allison’s parents’ house with the ladies getting ready. Salon by Dominic did all the girls’ hair and was putting the finishing touches on Allison’s makeup when we arrived. We started with the dress…a stunning Casablanca gown with beaded lace appliqués accented with Swarovski Crystals, pearls, and silver backed sequins over Luxe Satin. I just loved the pearl encrusted spaghetti straps; such an unexpected and delicate feature! Then I grabbed her shoes and jewelry. Allison had beautiful heels for the day, but also custom made Nike sneakers with her soon-to-be last name on them. They were a gift from Anthony. I also had to get a few shots of the family dog, Kooper. He was very friendly and fluffy! Once makeup was done, we went upstairs to get Allison and her bridesmaids in their cute bride and bridesmaid tank tops. Then everyone went to get dressed. We stepped out so Allison could get into her gown. Her mom and sisters helped her get her shoes, jewelry and veil on. We grabbed her bouquet from Fresh Designs Flora and Events which was overflowing with white and pale pink roses, peonies and ranunculus. I don’t know if it smelled or looked more amazing! We asked everyone to step out of the room so Alan, the videographer from VideoGems Videography, and I could focus totally on Allison. She looked amazing and was so natural in front of the camera…she made my job easy. Next we stopped at Anthony’s mom’s farmhouse; it was gorgeous! There were horses everywhere and the barn and pond made for fantastic backgrounds for photos with her bridesmaids.

Now it was time to make our way through the crowded streets of Kennett Square to get to the Red Clay Room wedding venue. With the Mushroom Festival in full swing, we had to maneuver around lots of closed streets, but we arrived with plenty of time. Guests were being seated in front of a beautiful gazebo along the banks of the White Clay Creek. There were programs, water and even beer for guests as they arrived. The chalkboard read “grab a program and a beer, our wedding day is finally here!” They even had custom Allison and Anthony beer cozies! The couple exchanged vows in front of their family and friends and sealed the service with a sand ceremony. As guests head to cocktail hour, we gathered both sides of the families for formals. Then we had some fun with the wedding party before taking Allison and Anthony off for some portraits. I took them straight to the small covered bridge that I had been eyeing up before the ceremony. I knew it would be perfect if the clouds would just get out of the way. We had to be patient, but finally we got some sun and I wanted to make the most of it. Allison’s dad came out and told us we better get inside before we missed the reception.

While the wedding party got ready for entrances we met DJ John Scibello, who filled us in on the order of events. The parents danced their way in, followed by the wedding party and finally the bride and groom. Then everyone’s attention was directed to the screen over the dance floor where a video of Anthony’s proposal played. They then enjoyed their first dance to “To Make You Feel My Love,” sung by Garth Brooks. Anthony danced with his mom to “God Gave Me You” by Blake Shelton and Allison danced with her dad to “I’ll Be Your Man” by Zac Brown Band. After the blessing came the speeches. Allison’s matron of honor and twin sister spoke about the special bond that twins have, they’ve been best friends since day one and they share everything….even Anthony! You see the two dated for about a week back in 6th grade.  Allison’s older sister also toasted the couple and gave Anthony some great gift ideas for future anniversaries. Last, came Anthony’s brother and best man. He spoke of how he’s always looked up to Anthony and loved playing baseball with him. He said that Anthony had some pretty great home runs during his baseball career, but non as impressive as the home run he landed in Allison.

While guests enjoyed a delicious spread by Capozzoli’s Catering, I shot the rings and some other details of the reception. After dinner DJ John got everyone on the dance floor; the kids were really tearing it up. And everyone loved doing the Polka for the dollar dance! After some more dancing, the newlyweds took a break to cut their gorgeous cake from Master’s Baker. Allison and Anthony had some cake smashing fun, but not into each other’s faces. They surprised everyone and smashed the cake into the faces of the matron of honor and best man! It was hilarious!

Allison and Anthony were such a fun couple to spend the day with and I’m so pleased to have had the opportunity to photograph their wedding day. Please enjoy the highlights and slideshow below.