Genevieve Nisly Photography Blog – Cleveland Ohio Wedding Photographers

Adam and Nicole officially kicked off our season on Saturday with their wedding at St. Paul’s in Akron and reception at the Firestone Country Club. It was a really fun (if a bit chilly) day and despite a few setbacks with our photo location plans, we were able to get some great stuff of both the bridal party and the couple before we headed into the reception. The highlight of the reception had to have been when the MOH rapped her entire speech to everyone’s surprise, and she killed it!

Together, Justin and Alexia are a fun loving couple with a taste for the irreverent, as you can probably see in the photos below. While the drenching rain may have brought the ceremony indoors, it little effect on the mood of the day, and in the end, we still made it outside for portraits of the bridal party and Justin and Alexia together.

Joe pinched himself. He couldn’t believe the day had come and he was about to turn around to see his beaming bride Jackie. Maybe it was nervousness or maybe it felt to good to be true and he was afraid to wake from this dream. Thankfully it wasn’t a dream!

After 6 years Jackie and Joe finally decided to tie the knot out in the country at Conrad Botzum Farmstead. Both were heavily involved in the wedding planning process and gained a lot of inspiration from the 1940s. A lot of the details were hand made including the different signs that Joe painted himself. While rain was looming in the forecast all day and made some appearances, we still managed to get great images near and around the farm.

No couple wishes for rain on their wedding day but when it happens, everyone needs to adjust and make the most of the situation. That is exactly what Katie and Ryan did for their Stan Hywet wedding. Sure they were hoping for a outdoor ceremony on the lovely grounds surrounding the mansion but they were quick to make the most of it regardless. Ryan and Katie, along with their bridal parties and families even braved some rain to take outside images for which we are appreciative (and I’m sure they will be as well once they see the images). Thanks for your flexibility! It was such a pleasure being around you both all day and witnessing your sweet temperaments. We are thrilled with the images and hope you will be too!

The fact that Eren and Erin met while they were both volunteering for a Habitat for Humanity house actually gives a pretty good indication what kind of people they are; kind, gracious, loving, and generous with their time and attention. We started the day right off the bat with a first look on the porch leading to the ever famous Birch Alley at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron. We took our time with the bridal party and couple themselves before heading over to Portage Country Club for a perfectly timed ceremony. How perfectly timed was it, you ask? So perfectly that the first kiss was precisely synced up to the first crack of thunder we heard all day. Coincidence? I guess we can all decide for ourselves.

For those of you who weren’t at this wedding (and for those that were, you’re going to hear the story one more time) Matt and Meghann had a very interesting first date. Meghann, being an avid runner, suggested they go on a run together. What Matt wasn’t aware of is that to Meghann, “going for a run” means fourteen miles of pavement beating. If I have the story right, Matt kept with it until mile twelve then spent the last two miles babying his feet and muttering choice words under his breath. At that point, I speculate that it might not have felt like a good decision to go on that run, but looking back, I doubt he has any regrets about that day.

Bryn and Brian’s wedding this past Saturday was a delightful morning garden ceremony at The O’Neil House in Akron. The morning ceremony and the garden theme beget a list of unique aspects to the day, from the brunch reception serenaded by a four string quartet, croquette, mimosas and more. The early finish meant that we had just about as much time as we wanted to create a wide variety of beautiful portraits of the two of them both at the O’Neil House and in nearby downtown Akron.

We first met Ashley as a bridesmaid for Rachel and Jared’s wedding a little over a year ago. Ashley and Buck were already dating at the time, but who knew that just one short year later, we would be shooting their wedding as well! As far as we could tell, but Ashley and Buck had a blast on their wedding day and they weren’t afraid to show it, as you can see below.

Summer has spent some of the last few weeks at our office getting oriented for her new job with us so we have had the opportunity to hear of some wedding planing issues that tend to creep at the last minute. Brides, I feel for you. As stressful as it may have become, it all seemed to dissolve away when the day came. I’m sure it’s part good planning, and part just letting things go, but the day seemed effortless despite the usual craziness surrounding family portraits, but hey, how you are going to avoid that?

We got to make the most of the short amount of daylight we have this time of year then we headed to one of my favorite photo locations ever; the Akron Civic Theater. We got to squeeze in between performances of The Nutcracker and had free reign of the place for almost an hour. The historic and magnificently maintained theater provided a dramatic backdrop for photos. We then headed over to the Akron Hilton West’s Grand Ballroom for a fantastic reception with both a DJ and a live funk band.

Caroline and Andrew’s wedding took place at one of my all time favorite ceremony spots; a quaint little white chapel nestled within the outdoor, living museum of Hale Farm and Village. Because the village and all of the remaining structures throughout the village have been so maintained and protected by the Western Reserve Historical Society, you really have to look hard for anything that would tip you off to the fact that it’s not currently mid 1800′s. Throw in some amazing fall colors, and you have something really special. We might have had to dodge a few rain drops, but all in all, the day went superbly well. The reception followed at the almost as beautiful (almost, that is) Portage Country Club in nearby Akron.

We’ve always had cheerful and fun exchanges with Jeff and Natalie including their engagement session so I knew their wedding would be no different. Natalie spreads smiles and laughter wherever she goes so it was nice to capture her expressive nature. You would think after being together since High School their outward signs of affection would have cooled by now but this is clearly not the case: if anything Natalie and Jeff are more in love than ever.

This stuff just never gets boring. One week we’re shooting on the roof of a hotel in downtown Cleveland, and the next we are on a historic farmstead nestled snuggly in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. From the old fashion lemonade stand, to the lawn games, bluegrass band, and hay bails as seats, Matt and [...]

Well, it’s another late Tuesday afternoon blog post, but no one was checking for a blog post yesterday because you were all busy spending time with friends and family honoring our veterans, right? Right???  Well, we took some time off yesterday as well, but now that we are back at it, we have a really [...]

We first met the Brazle family a little over four years ago when we photographed Kristina’s sister, Rebecca’s wedding. We had a blast at Rebecca’s wedding and we were immediately made to feel quite welcome and wanted, so you can imagine our excitement when we were contacted last year about Kristina’s wedding at Hale Farm in the valley. We gratefully accepted the assignment and were quite honored to be able to document another wedding for the Brazle family. As the day progressed, and we got to interact with Caleb and his side of the family, we came to find out that the Meeks expressed many of the same qualities that we appreciated about the Brazles. The combination made for an amazing environment to be around the entire day.

I’ve been looking forward to Tim and Laura’s wedding ever since our frigid but fun engagement session a few months ago (seen here). Neither Genevieve nor I had ever met Tim or Laura before meeting with them about their wedding, and the more we talked, the more we found out that we knew a LOT [...]

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of photographing Doc and Kelley’s wedding on a beautful, crisp spring day. Kelley’s carefree personality kept the mood light and fun and combined with Doc’s cool and collected countinance made for a fun, relaxing day of shooting. Sarah, the Maid of Honor, helping Kelley dive into her wedding [...]

I seriously doubt that when Brock and Jennifer imagined their wedding two days after Christmas they didn’t imagine it with 60 degree weather. While Jennifer planned for a typical chilly and snowy December wedding with a lovely white cape, we decided to skip it halfway through the photo session in downtown Canton.

I also know that we haven’t seen a groom that is as conscientious and punctual as Brock. It’s such a pleasant experience to have a groom so involved in is own wedding. After almost 12 years of being together it’s obvious Brock really and truely cares for Jennifer.

This wedding was one of the very few weddings I shot solo and met the couple on their wedding day. Thankfully Ian and Libby were very comfortable having me around. They are such a sweet and tender couple. Being able to do all the formals before the ceremony and using Walden Inn which was so nicely decorated helped make this a smooth day.

Chandra and Eric’s wedding was full of interesting little details that together, made their wedding stand out amongst the rest. From the communal vow renewal during the ceremony to the unusual but very interesting choice of location for photos between the ceremony and reception, we could tell that Chandra and Eric really wanted to make their wedding their own which was really cool to see.

Rob and Jessica’s wedding on Friday was the fourth and final installment in the results of our 2008 Free Wedding Photography Essay Contest.  With the help of the very talented and gracious photographers Andrew Jordan and Tom Forrest, we were able to get free coverage for all four of our finalists!  So far, we’ve seen [...]

Sean and Tabitha were one of the finalists for our free wedding photography contest this spring, and thanks to the generosity of Ohio photographers Andrew Jordan, Tom Forrest, and Sam Carrington, we were able to provide free photography to all four finalists!

Aaron and Madeline were the second winner for our free wedding at the beginning of the year. This time Andrew Jordan was in charge and I got to sit back and relax…well maybe not quite. It was fun though to see him calling the shots. Aaron and Madeline had the biggest bridal party I had [...]

Remember the wedding contest we did at the beginning of the year? Well Scott and Christina were the winner and I had the pleasure of photographing them. One thing I must say, there was no shortage of emotions at Scott and Christina’s wedding. There are times I am happy I have a camera to hide [...]

There are few environments in Northeast Ohio that offer as much beauty and variety for weddings as Stan Hywet in West Akron. Dawn and Phil definitely made the most of it with the ceremony near the West Overlook and a hybrid indoor/outdoor reception at the Carriage House. The bridal party had our sympathy with the tuxes and dresses in the sauna like conditions but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect on their spirits.

What a beautiful day for a beautiful couple Saturday was for Tony and Kara’s wedding in Akron. From the first time we met Kara, we knew she had great taste so we were excited to see how everything came together. Sure enough, the dress was stunning, the flowers from Roses for Weddings were beautiful, and the room at the Blue Heron Golf Club was breathtaking.

Becky and Nick did a fantastic job of peppering their wedding day with little things that made their wedding very much their own. Everything from the pickle pin favors (there’s a really good story behind that), the gifts to each other, the date, and locations chosen all had specific meaning behind them and all served [...]

The central theme that popped up time and time again during Grant and Jennifer’s wedding day was their relationship with God in their individual lives and how they were using that as the foundation to start their new life together. It was great to see this impact various parts of the day from the prayer before the ceremony, to the ceremony itself and the toasts during the reception.

Pete and Alyssa planned for a nice fall wedding and included fall colors as well as leaves in the decor. Nice weather was vital for their outside ceremony and little did they know it turn into a very NICE and balmy 89 degree day. Taking photos of Alyssa and Pete felt more like hanging out [...]

This past Saturday, Steve and Libby made legal what started for them in law school years ago. Despite a few hiccups with the flowers early on, everything went just as Libby had planned, and planned, and planned and……..ok, you get the idea.

Damon and Carrie officially got married last weekend up in Michigan, but we had the pleasure of shooting their Ohio reception this weekend at The Conrad Botzum Farm situated in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Damon and Carrie are actually good friends of ours as were a good number of the guests which made for a very fun, enjoyable, and relaxing day of shooting.

It’s been a little while since I’ve been able to take wedding photos. Paul and Nicole’s wedding was my first attempt at dipping my toes in without taking the full plunge. And what a wedding it was for us to capture! We had a fantastic time capturing the fun and vibrant couple. Thanks for making [...]

Billy and Sarah have such bubbling personalities. That’s probably what initially drew them together but their relationship with God is what has kept them together to become husband and wife. Sarah must have inherited part of her fun loving personality from her Mom who I think smiled all day long. Flowers by Dick and Son. [...]

Angie and Joe are all about about Akron city. They live minutes from downtown. Their ceremony took place at St Bernard’s which is a landmark in the city. The photo time immediately following included some cityscape. Finally the ceremony was held at the Crown Plaza. In case you have not stayed there, Akron’s well known [...]

This was the first Wednesday wedding for me but hopefully not the last. Part of the reason for this mid-week wedding is because Ryan has military duties that forces him to leave Anna on Christmas day. For some reason I expected Ryan to be a serious and tough guy but he was so sweet and [...]

Larisa and Marc came in from California for their wedding. Guests travelled in from 13 other states and coutries as far as Japan and England. Ohio of course had to be temperamental with throwing snow at us but luckily the sun came out allowing for the outdoor photos Larisa and Marc had hopped for. Despite [...]

Another lucky day weather wise this past Saturday September 9th. Brian was probably hoping rain would come sooner so he could get out of taking photos (something he strongly dislikes). We tried to keep the portrait time short for that reason but made it a goal to get smiling candids. Kristen meanwhile had a beaming [...]

If I had to describe Amy and Nick’s wedding in 2 words, it would be classic elegance. With Amy being well versed in spreadsheets, the schedule and details were perfectly coordinated. Meanwhile Nick had a more laid back approach so that the couple complement each other so well. The ceremony took place at St Paul’s [...]

We had a gorgeous day for Andrea and Tom’s wedding on July 8th. The ceremony took place at Holy Name Church in Youngstown and the reception followed at the Dutch Village Inn. Once the ceremony was over, the couple relaxed and we captured some great smiles. We thankfully missed the crowd at Fellows Riverside Garden [...]

We hardly ever do 2 weddings in one weekend but when Erin and Jason approached James and I, we couldn’t refuse. Ja has a photography degree himself and wanted photos you would see in an art gallery. They even worked their date around our availability to Sunday June 25th. Talk about being challenged! The ceremony [...]

We had a gorgeous day for this past Saturday June 24th, after a series of rainy days. Since the ceremony took place on the grounds of the O’Neil house in Akron, that was pretty important. Janelle wore a stunning Vera Wang dress and smile all her own. Ben looked pretty good too! One place they [...]