shanie & brendan | st. cyril of alexandria ceremony | grand hall at the priory reception | pittsburgh wedding photography

Shanie and Brendan were married on an absolutely perfect Friday afternoon in April. Spring weather is always unpredictable, especially in our lovely little city of Pittsburgh, but these two lucked out!

I met Shanie at the Pittsburgh Pet Expo (if you didn’t already know I’m a pet photographer, too!) back in 2015, when she booked a session for herself, Brendan, and their three dogs (one of whom has since gone onto the Rainbow Bridge). That session happens to be one of those ones that never got blogged because I’m a recovering blog slacker, but it was a lot of fun and I loved getting to know these two! They’re both veterinarians, and they met at vet school (LSU) and have been together ever since. Brendan is from the Pittsburgh area, and I’m so glad these two chose to start their lives together here in Pittsburgh, and that our paths crossed!

I photographed their engagement session last spring, and it was featured on Lace and Loyalty on the couple’s wedding day. These two have such a natural chemistry, and they’re so at ease in front of the camera!

We started off at the Priory, where both halves of the wedding party got dressed and prepared for the big day.

Shanie’s bouquet included her grandmother’s rosary beads, and her beloved Jolie’s bow. Jolie was a beautiful Rottweiler that Shanie and Brendan sadly lost to cancer earlier this year. I loved this tribute to her, and you’ll see another adorable tribute later on in the blog post <3

Can we talk about how gorgeous Shanie’s gown is? She customized it from two separate Hayley Paige pieces, and requested additional alterations to ensure it was absolutely perfect – I’m gonna go ahead and say she nailed it.

Talk about a beautiful (and delicious) cookie spread! Even with a southern belle as our bride, we lucked out with this amazing Pittsburgh dessert tradition. I’ve been thinking of adding “must have a cookie table during reception” to my contracts – what do you guys think? 😉

Shanie surprised Brendan with this Groom’s Cake – he loves Jurassic Park, and I love that the couple’s dogs were incorporated into this, and I’m sure they were both so thrilled with how perfectly it turned out, right down to the little halo over Jolie’s head!

DJ Mobile Mix did an amazing job, and I’ll definitely be recommending him to future couples who are looking for excellent wedding entertainment! (link to his site below)

Brendan surprised Shanie completely with the honeymoon! The only things that she knew were that she needed her passport, and that it was tropical 🙂 I loved this idea so much, and the groom shared his secret with me on their wedding day that their destination was St. Lucia, with a helicopter escort from the airport upon arrival – what a way to kick off married life!

Huge congratulations to this beautiful couple, here’s to many more years of happiness together! Thank you so much for allowing us to be a part of your day!

. . .

Ceremony Venue: St. Cyril of Alexandria Church

Reception Venue: Pittsburgh’s Grand Hall at the Priory

Wedding Planner: Your Big Day

Photography: Custom Portraits by Charlene

Catering: Priory Hotel

Florals: Kohlers Florist

Bakers: Madison Avenue Cakes & Priory Fine Pastries

Entertainment: DJ Mobile Mix

Bridal Gown: bride custom designed this gown from Hayley Paige pieces via Bridal Beginning

Bridal Makeup: Valarie Panei

Bridal Hair: Amanda Herb