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Guys – last Friday’s wedding at Hilton Christiana in Newark, Delaware was such a fun day!  It has been such a privilege to work with Devin and Lindsay from the first time we sat down together, through their engagement session, and planning for their wedding photography. 

We started the day with some fun preparation shots (check out Lindsay’s beautiful bridal robe!) and I had a blast doing some detail shots with the beautiful bouquets from Ramones Flowers (Wilmington, Delaware).  After a first look in the Hilton’s beautiful club room, wedding jitters subsided some from just being able to be together.  The courtyard looked beautiful for their ceremony, we finished family formals quickly afterwards, and had a blast trying to get the champagne to ‘pop’ and ‘spray’ for a bridal party photo (which we nailed!).  AND THE FIRST DANCE.  I kid you not, Devin and Lindsay MEMORIZED the dance from the end of ‘Silver Linings Playbook.’  They were so confident they played the movie scene in the background while simultaneously dancing.  It was amazing.  Best first dance ever!  I probably need to do an entire blog post of just that dance. 

We ended the night with some fun shots outside.  You know you love your job when you jump around in excitement over a successful sparkler shot!  Congratulations, Devin and Lindsay!  Best wishes to you both, and thank you for the honor of capturing your wedding day memories! 

 

 

Last Saturday was a beautiful (though hot!) first day of June.  Steve and Rosa got married at the Landenberg Barn in Pennsylvania.  We grabbed any shade we could whenever we could!  I think the ladies at the bar MAY have gotten tired of me asking for water (gotta stay hydrated), but despite the heat, things turned out beautifully.  The Landenberg Barn has a grassy opening perfect for ceremonies, and on Saturday the archway at the ceremony site was decorated with gorgeous flowers (see below).  The grounds surrounding the barn provide plenty of options for photos.  The barn itself, the stone wall by the barn, the surrounding greens, etc. all make for great backdrops.  This is just a liiiittle sample of what was captured – enjoy scrolling through!

 

 

 

 

 

This venue spotlight features one of our frequented and favorite venues.  Throughout 2016-2017 their hotel rooms and banquet facilities were renovated and though beautiful before, now have a sleek, modern vibe that is just stunning.  Besides great spaces inside AND outside (many of which you will see in this blog post), the Hilton Christiana also has sales manager Leah Markiewicz.  Whenever clients come to me who are getting married at the Hilton I always, ALWAYS say “you are in great hands there with Leah.”  Because its true!  We have worked together for mutual couples for the past 10 years.  I never doubt a day will run smoothly while she is in charge.  I recently had the chance to interview Leah over lunch about her role and what the Hilton Christiana can offer.  Here’s your chance to get to know her (and the Hilton!) a little better.

Katie:  Leah, what makes your venue unique?

Leah: Definitely our food and beverage experience.  We have developed a farm to table concept over the last few years.  We have a herb and vegetable garden in our courtyard – Chef picks daily from what is in season there.  We are also sourcing other menu items from local farms.  There is often a common misconception that ‘hotel food’ is mediocre at best.  NOT HERE!  We hold ourselves to very high standards in order to leave guests with something to talk about!

K:  What do you love most about your job?

L:  I love going from the initial meeting (learning a couple’s vision for their day) and forming a relationship through the process.  It’s so much fun to see everything come to fruition the day of.  Things like seeing the bride in her dress excited for everything to begin, the ceremony and reception sites set up according to our plans, etc.  My absolute favorite is when the relationship with my clients turns into a friendship and we stay in touch over the years.  I love when clients return for baby showers, their kids’ first birthdays, christenings, and other celebrations.

K:  I agree!  That’s something that is really fun about our occupations – seeing things come together for our clients’ big day – but also seeing where life takes them next and how their families grow.

K:  Last question.  You’ve served a ton of couples over the years.  What is the best advice you can offer to help their day go smoothly?

L:  Don’t sweat the small stuff.  You’ve hired professionals to make the day run smoothly.  Enjoy yourself, and let them work their magic!

Scroll through the images below for more magic from the Hilton Christiana (all blog images by Katie Sica and Aaron Hamrick and copyrighted by Creative Image Weddings)

 

I’m telling you – we have the best couples.  I knew from their engagement session that Phill and Sarah were going to be so much fun to work with.  Saturday was a frigid but beautiful December day.  We organized the schedule so that we did a little out in the cold (a first look and some couple formals), took a break indoors for family formals, went back outside for portraits of just the bride and groom, and then came back in to warm up once more and chill out a bit before the ceremony.  (After which we managed to sneak away from the crowd for some gorgeous night shots in the Hilton’s courtyard – check them out below!)  One of the sweetest parts of the day was working with Sarah’s grandparents.  Her grandfather was kidding around with me during family formals (telling me I needed to make the same silly noises for him as I do to make the young kids smile!) and I just loved that.  Later, during the reception, the DJ and MC from Wired up Entertainment started an anniversary dance.  Have you seen these at receptions?  All married couples go out onto the dance floor.  Bit by bit couples are asked to leave if they have only been married for a year, 5 years, 25 years, etc until you are left with the couple who has been married the longest.  In this case, Sarah’s grandparents were the winners!  Afterwards they were asked to give some advice to the bride and groom.  What a great memory for the newlyweds to hold on to.  I’m excited to share this little sneak-peak of their wedding day!  Congratulations, Phill and Sarah!  

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Hilton Christiana

Flowers: Belak Flowers

Hair/Makeup: Fusion Salon Brides

DJ/MC: Wired Up Entertainment