Genevieve Nisly Photography Blog - Cleveland Ohio Wedding Photographers

I thought Evan summed up the weather situation quite nicely when at the hotel before heading to the church, he looked out the window and jokingly said “huh, November in Ohio; I thought it would be a lot nicer than this.” Well, I don’t know what Novembers are like in Vermont where Evan is from, but Saturday was about as “November” as November gets. Near freezing temperatures, a mile thick layer of cloud, and rain coming down more sideways than down. Lots of rain. Rain on a wedding is a good sign, right?

Here are my photos, I started with the guys at the Wyndham:

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 [...]

About one month ago, I asked by Pink Papaya Events if I would consider photographing an Emerald wedding anniversary at Oakwood Country Club. While this was a little outside of what I typically do, I am always willing to try something new. I loved the idea of photographing a couple still in love after 55 [...]

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!

Last week I got a call from the Toronto based film and photo company called StillMotion asking to help them cover a very large Indian wedding taking place in Columbus.  This sounded like a very interesting opportunity and since I rarely get to second shoot at weddings, I accepted.  I had a great time working [...]

Brandon and Megan were the very first couple to book us for a 2008 date which means it has been a loooong time since we first met them to talk about their wedding. We had been looking forward to shooting another wedding at The Mooreland Mansion as we had not been there for [...]

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 seen [...]

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 [...]

Almost 2 weeks ago, I had the pleasure of trying something very different for me. My friend Michelle Turner asked me to second shoot a wedding with her which I had never done before and the destination for this couple was Puerto Vallarta Mexico, another first. Thankfully Michelle is familiar with the area and prepped [...]

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.

Mary and Erik got our season off to a great start on Saturday. We were both hoping we hadn’t lost our edge since we haven’t shot a wedding since January, but once we started shooting, we fell into a groove right away and the ideas and inspiration flowed. It’s always a little risky hoping for outdoor photos in early April, but Mary and Erik got a really nice break in the weather and we were able to have all kinds of fun near their reception site at the Old Courthouse in Downtown Cleveland.

Well, we finished off the year with a fantastic and very unique (at least for us) wedding. Vasilios and Elenie planned a beautiful Greek Orthodox wedding at St. Haralambos in Canton with a fantastic reception at the new and very promising Metropolitan Center in Downtown Canton.

Even though the ceremony didn’t end until after 5PM, [...]

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 [...]

How do I begin to describe kindness and sweetness of Danielle and Michael and not to mention smartness? For starters, because of a water main brake they took the time to write and draw out maps for a detour route when they should have been getting ready. They frequently checked in with us making sure we had enough food and drinks and I know they took good care of all the guests that traveled to celebrate this special day with them. James and I feel lucky and blessed they asked us to photograph their wedding. They made our job easy by showing their genuine emotions throughout the day.

What a wedding to end the season on! I can’t believe how all the details came together beautifully. Everything was present:
gorgeous church, yep
stunning light, definite yes
fun bridal party, check
desire for unusual photos, but of course
beautiful decor at the Renaissance, yes

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.

On Saturday, we had the honor of photographing Matt and Christina’s wedding; a beautiful affair that began and ended in the heart of Downtown Cleveland. We had an early-ish ceremony which gave us a ton of time to go all around Cleveland for a relaxing and fun time capturing images of the couple and [...]

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 with [...]

This past Saturday, I had the good fortune of second shooting with Jamie Jansen. It was the first time I have ever shot a wedding that we hadn’t booked ourselves, so it was a very interesting experience. Jamie shot with me in July while Genevieve was on bedrest due to complications with her [...]

We’ve been looking forward to Jenn and Ollie’s wedding since we did their engagement photos and saw Ollie’s contagious smile. Of course he did not disappoint on the big day. There were some tears too but they were of happiness so of course we captured them.
Jennifer got ready with her ladies at the Renaissance.
She and [...]

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 [...]

This past Saturday, we had the pleasure of joining Paul and Mandy for their wedding in Chardon, Ohio. One thing was certain, and that is that Paul and Mandy know how to assemble a really fun bridal party. Hanging out with them was a true pleasure, and it made the day go buy [...]

It turns out that a morning ceremony combined with an evening reception makes for a really long day, but the time was well spent with Mike and Cheri and their entourage of no less than 18 bridesmaids and groomsmen this past Saturday. We arrived at Cheri’s parents house bright and early to get the [...]

What a wonderful time with a wonderful couple on a wonderful day we had this past Friday. If you think I’m exaggerating, it’s because you don’t know Kyle and Carolyn. They are some of the kindest whole hearted people you’ll meet. For being a tough guy who likes to play football, Kyle also [...]

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 [...]

So how many of you remember Faith and Jamie from back in January? That’s right! They are the couple that won the free wedding contest! We got the feeling from their submission and the comments from those who voted that Faith and Jamie were fantastic individuals greatly deserving of whatever blessing we were [...]

July 14th 2007 turned out to be a very big day for not only Jeremy and Julia, but for Genevieve and I as well, as you have either already read about, or are soon to read about in my next blog post. It was an elegantly simple affair with a strong fabric of family [...]

Kevin and Jessica chose the grassy terrace at the Atwood Lake Resort overlooking the lake as the setting for what would turn out to be an awesome ceremony under perfectly blue skies. These two really knew how to relax and take in the day and where a joy to work with.
Getting Ready:

The ringbearers provided [...]

Last Saturday, we headed off to Wooster, Ohio to photograph Jodi and Larry’s wedding at the College of Wooster. This is the second wedding we have photographed in Jodi’s family, the first being Jason and Robin’s back in August of 2005. Seeing so many familiar faces made the whole day a lot of [...]

Brody and Monika’s wedding was a refreshing change of pace. It took place on a horse farm about 20 minutes outside of Marion, Ohio, which for those that are not familiar with the area, is the middle of nowhere.
It was really cool to see the very eclectic crowd, ranging from Brooklyn, to California, [...]

After being together for 7 years, Mike and Robin planned their wedding in a few short months. Friends and family traveled from as far as Florida, England and Ireland to celebrate with them. What a gorgeous day it turned out to be. Despite some initial glitches all the details came together beautifully.
Getting ready and [...]

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.
Guys praying [...]

We had the pleasure to photograph Doug and Jenn amidst fickle weather. You’ll see what mean with the photos of the windy ceremony at the Lakehouse Inn and Winery. At least we managed to avoid the rain.
Doug (on the left) is the brother of Marc (on the right) who’s wedding we captured in January. It [...]

What a fun day we had with Heather, Patrick, their bridal parties and family despite the heat. Everyone was pretty easygoing which made for some fun and laid-back photos. It’s obvious these people know how to have a blast together.
Heather got ready at the Marriott at Key Center where we eventually came back to to [...]

The second wedding we covered was on Sunday for Rebecca and Eric at the Club at Hillbrook. It was fun to see Eric bring out the best in Rebecca, especially her smiles. His easy going, fun-loving personality is just one of the reason Rebecca and his son Ben love him such much. Rebecca meanwhile brings [...]

Our first double wedding weekend started on Saturday May 26th with Jen and Joe. They are such a great couple with wonderful taste from decor to food and fashion. While the overall feel of the wedding was glamorous (and Jenny looked amazing with her dress, deep red lips and birdcage veil), they asked us for [...]

What a great way to officially start wedding season with Missy and Joe’s wedding. The setting for the ceremony was her grandparents house in Martins Ferry on the bridge built by grandpa himself. One great part was incorporating the restored Ford pick-up truck into the photos. But more than the little details that surrounded Missy [...]

What started out as a pretty rough day turned into one fantastic wedding for Brent and Victoria at the Glenmoor Country Club on Saturday. Victoria spent the morning at the emergency room for a back injury that happened several weeks earlier, but decided to haunt her the morning of her wedding anyway. I’m [...]

It was a bitter cold day for their wedding last Saturday but that didn’t dampen the spirits of Todd and Sheri. In fact Sheri was a real trooper and chose not to wear her coat when we asked to do some photos outside in the snow. It was good practice for their honeymoon in the [...]

Happy and heartfelt are the main words I would use to describe Marc and Megan. They are so happy to be around eachother, their family and their friends. The couple kept smiling the whole day (even if some tears of joy also flowed). Since their happiness is so warm and genuine, you can’t help but [...]

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 [...]

The Friday before Christmas we had the pleasure to photograph Emily and Matthew. Normally the bride is the nervous one but Emily seemed totally poised, calm and definitely happy waiting to meet Matthew before the ceremony for some formals. Matthew on the other hand appeared nervous but once he saw his bride, he was finally [...]

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 [...]

This past Saturday December 2nd, was a cold one in Cleveland. Anthony, Patti and the whole bridal party were a great sport about doing outside photos. It probably helped that we did a couple stops at bars for “warming” beverages.
Patricia was stunning in a Vera Wang dress. The overlapping translucent fabric and black bow [...]

Lauren and Jeff celebrated their 7 year anniversary this past Saturday as well as their wedding. It will make it easy to remember key dates! After being together that long it migh be easy to seem content or almost bored with the relationship but Lauren and Jeff were very much excited, happy and affectionate throughout [...]

Despite the cold weather, Leah had the fall wedding she had hoped for. Glenmoor was a great compliment in colors to the golden yellows and reds already present. Her dress was simple and yet so elegant complimenting her figure. Chad was also looking handsome.
Leah’s daughter, Aiden, was one of the flower girls and an [...]

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 [...]

Amy and David both worked hard to plan a stylish retro wedding with an emphasis on the city which they like so much. Those efforts were rewared with a cool atmosphere and gorgeous day. While being 50s oriented, the wedding kept a modern, fun and hip feel to it.
David enjoys photography and has entered [...]

This is the kind of couple you would love to relax and share a few drinks with. They are fun and laid back (despite the minister showing up minutes before she was to walk down the aisle) with a great style. So maybe I’m a little biased since she chose red as a main color. [...]

Jenny and Mike are such a sweet couple. During the ceremony at St John the Baptist, they couldn’t keep their eyes off each other and smile. Friends and family also spent most of the day smiling, laughing and enjoying spending time together. After 7 years together, Jenny and Mike are already part of each other’s [...]

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 [...]

This couple and their friends were such fun to be around. Christina and Joe are carefree, easygoing and willing to do almost anything for their photos (including laying on rocks near a waterfall). Thanks guys! Enjoy your honeymoon in Hawaii.
Christina having her veil attached

Waiting with Dad to walk down the aisle at the Church [...]

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 in [...]

A gorgeous wedding at Glenmoor with a gorgeous couple… We even lucked out and the rain stopped early enough for us to take the formals outside on the greens. The funnest part was driving the golf carts (even the bridal party said so).
James’ capture of Deborah’s grand entranceFlowers provided by Neil LeesonDeborah and Joshua [...]

Ever known a couple with a heart of gold? We had the pleasure of photographing one this past Saturday at Raintree Country Club. Ashley and Eric are so obviously in love with each other and God. It can be seen in their words and actions which is truly refreshing.
Eric’s surprise pink sapphire ring certainly got [...]

Michelle and Jason had lots of family and friends to support their commitment on Saturday August 5th. Having 23 people in the bridal party is a great example of their devoted friends. Rhyan, Michelle’s daughter, did a great job as flower girl.
Michelle was not afraid to be different. From her dress, to her flowers and [...]

If you were in the Canton area this past Saturday, July 22nd, you might have noticed sporadic rain and ominous clouds. That wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of Kim and Doug on their wedding day. They were surrounded by friends and family, some that came all the way from Holland. It was nice to [...]

Mina and Greg had an intimate wedding at his parent’s back yard in Bay Village on July 16th. Friends and family gathered from near and far, very far. Mina’s Mother, sister and cousin came from Japan to witness this special occasion. The readings were the most diverse and meaningful I have ever heard. When his [...]

Tina and Mike are beautiful people inside and out. Their contagious smiles and attitudes is no wonder they have plenty of devoted friends. It was fun just spending the day with them.
How they managed to stay cool and composed on such a hot and humid July 15th, is beyond me. Their wedding was very elegant [...]

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 [...]

We had a great time capturing Tricia and Stephen’s wedding this past Saturday June 17th. This couple and their friends are all involved in theater so they are very expressive and not camera shy. We all had a blast! The ceremony was at St Joseph’s and the reception at the Players Guild both in Canton. [...]