Oh, man, where to begin?!? This Rochester wedding was everything I hoped it would be and more. Brianne and Pat had a lovely Catholic ceremony in their childhood church, St. Margaret Mary’s. It was followed by awkward yet enthusiastic dancing at the unique wedding reception location Artisan Works! Their Rochester wedding photos at Artisan Works art gallery are full of fun, excitement, love and whiskey.
I met the couple years ago at Pat’s brother’s wedding and was sooooooo thrilled that they decided to also hire me as their wedding photographer. There is really no greater flattery than being able to work with a family more than once. Especially the Bond family!
Also exciting in the Vintage McKay’s Photography wedding files was being able to finally work with esteemed videographer, Kraig Adams. Fun fact: nine years ago I photographed Kraig’s sister’s wedding! I also had the pleasure of photographing both his and his brother’s high school senior photos! So to see Kraig as Western NY’s top wedding videographer and be able to see him in action is a wonderful full circle!
Really, Brianne and Pat hired all of my favorite wedding vendors! I’m madly in love with the letterpress studio Type High Letterpress and have been following Tony’s work for years and years. Also, their wedding cake was made by my good friend at Premier Pastry!
OK, I know… enough wedding vendor love!
This wedding had all it’s own sentiment without me hijacking the blog post… One special element was this red patch that was sewn into Brianne’s wedding gown. Do you know what that symbolizes??
This was a small piece of Brianne’s father’s shirt. He is no longer with us and Brianne found a very special and unique way to have him there with her on the wedding day. She also had a small photograph of her Dad clipped to her wedding bouquet. A perfect way to remember her Father on her wedding day.
The rest of the day was all love and laughter! Really… it was hard to get any serious or romantic images from the day because both families just like to party. I was lucky to capture this beautiful image during the wedding ceremony’s first kiss though.
Fun fact: a wedding guest had photo bombed me by leaning into the aisle with his camera, blocking my view. Unlike other photographers who just complain about your guests, I made lemonade out of lemons by using said guest’s arms to create the negative space in this image and frame the Bride and Groom! Thanks, photo bomber! You rock after all.
Anyone who follows my Blog or knows me, knows that I love love love love capturing my couples in meaningful locations… not just blindly following trends or going to lame locations like the Sunken Gardens. So, what did Brianne and Pat come up with for us??
We went to their elementary school for really cool and unique bridal party photos!! I won’t tell you how we got inside 😉
Fun Fact: Like Maureen and Brendan, Pat and Brianne were childhood sweethearts and even went to Junior Prom together!
After all the formal pictures were finished, we headed over to the reception at Artisan Works and I got to ride in the limo! Maureen was trying to get me drunk and Brendan was feeding me sandwiches, but I did manage to capture a few really hilarious images anyway. Thanks, guys.
Once at Artisan Works, the rest of the wedding was just a big party. The food was amazing, the dances and toasts were touching and the DJ played the BEST dance music all night long. At some point, I snuck the Bride and Groom a shot of whiskey and watched as Pat kept spinning his new wedding ring on the table like a toy top.
Thank you so much to the families for being so wonderful to work with yet again. Both Bond weddings are some of my all time favorites ever and it is people like you who keep me plugging along in this very competitive market. From Brendan trying to get me drinking with him during the reception, to Maureen’s sisters pushing me onto the dance floor, I feel like one of the family.
I feel blessed to have this job that I love. Thank you thank you.
Top Rochester Wedding Professionals:
photographer: Heather McKay and Patrick Luke // videography: Kraig Adams // cake: Premier Pastry // catering: Madeline’s // ceremony: St. Margaret Mary’s Church // reception: Artisan Works // save the date, invitation, programs: Type High Letterpress // DJ: Breakthrough Entertainment // lighting assistant: Alan Presutti // flowers: Personal Design Florist // limo party bus: Esteem Limo
