It’s that time of the year! Here are our favorite real wedding moments from 2018!

Bethany and Greg didn’t want to drop tons of money on their wedding. Instead they opted for a simple front porch ceremony at their Ohio home to celebrate the day.

Cassandra Zetta is a photographer whose work we have admired for a long time, and once we had her speak at {un}convention in Richmond last November, we knew her dedication to LGBTQ+ couples meant she was the absolute right fit for our vendor community.Get to know Cassandra Zetta and how she's making the world of wedding photography a better and more inclusive place. 

We flew back to Ohio in the winter of 2016 to view venues, and in about one foot of snow. We visited several places, but the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland (MoCa is how it is branded) fit with our contemporary theme and was totally unique. We were able to purchase the entire venue for six hours and have all the art exhibits to ourselves and our guests. It was something most of our guests said they never had experienced before.

When Janean first inquired with me about shooting her wedding, she described the wedding as "invoking old fashioned elegance, but not fussy by any means." Janean and Andrew got ready in the home they’ve been renovating over the last year, along with their cat, Pam. Then came a pop-up wedding in Glen Echo Ravine, and it was a very short and sweet ceremony. Led by a flautist, the guests played follow-the-leader to the bride and groom’s Clintonville home for a cocktail hour (catered by Al-Tubasee Street) and a serve-yourself-bar of mini champagne bottles. After toasting the bride and groom, the group moved to the sister of the bride’s house, which was only a few blocks away. The DJ spun records, and the tacos from Taqueria El Fogoncito were plentiful on a beautiful October evening. Janean made the invitations and all of the signage. Hannah Hoffman Jewelry made their custom rings and jewelry.

After meeting and falling in love in D.C. while on deployment, Mack brought Jeanne back to Cincinnati to continue their love story. And so, on a warm, spring day, adoring family and friends near and far traveled to witness Mack and Jeanne wed in an intimate ceremony nestled in the woods. Light poured in through the trees, shined onto the couple, and illuminated their faces during this mystical moment. Jeanne’s mother performed a chant ritual bringing goodness, gratitude, and love into the space. The ceremony concluded with handwritten vows and a joyful exit. Back at the barn, Jeanne’s sister presented a slideshow of the story of Mack and Jeanne, filling the reception with laughter and the happiest tears. The evening ended with a gorgeous golden sunset, and a dancing celebration.

Cleveland holds such a special place in their hearts. It is where they first met, bought their first home, are raising their fur baby Napoleon together, and are saying their "I DOs" this summer. Of course, Edgewater Park was the perfect location for this beautiful couples engagement photos!

While wedding websites and blogs are a great destination for inspiration, wedding photographers are the original sources for beautiful wedding images, most of which are never published on blogs, in magazines, or on websites. If you are looking for original, nontraditional, and diverse wedding inspiration — or just a daily dose of love — then do yourself a favor and follow these talented artists:

We met in person for drinks and were unanimously feeling we had picked the perfect couple. Our first evening together was spent listening to stories of their meeting: an almost-missed connection, driving hours to meet halfway for a first date, facing a fear of heights, falling in love, moving to the same city, revisiting the first date and Carolina’s fear of heights during the proposal (“I still don’t know what the view looks like.”). We felt that Sarah's entire body seemed to smile while talking about Carolina, and Carolina's deep, soulful smile and tenderness toward her future bride were qualities we couldn't wait to convey.

Adam Barehl and I decided that we’ll ask a different photographer to document our lives around our anniversary every year. So that over time, we can look back at our real life and see the mundane through someone else’s eyes…see all of the subtle changes over the years, like what the kitchen looks like or the growing number of gray hairs on our head. Thank you Sarah Mulder for these photos.

And you thought we were done! The Columbus team of vendors that brought you One Couple Three Ways: Grunge, Sweet Floral, and Royal also styled Elaina under the theme of Hunger Games. Enjoy!

“Let’s do a shoot that involves cats…and motorcycles!” That was the sentence that began this project. Later we’d add to the list: deer teeth, parachute pants, and a grungy bouquet of flowers with roots still attached.

“I wanted to be part of the styled shoot because it seemed like something Elaina and I would have a lot of fun doing. I also thought my mom would be thrilled to see us dressed up in wedding clothes…I’ve learned more about event planning, floral arrangements, photography, hair and makeup in one day than I ever had before. It was just such an unusual day for me that when I think about it, it feels like a breath of fresh air.”  —Bryce, Groom

A group of us creatives meet our perfect match: a young couple married two years, who never had their wedding day in the sun. They married at a courthouse before moving abroad to teach English in Korea. There was no first look, no dress shopping, and no being doted upon. Even before we met our couple, we decided to stretch ourselves and what we consider possible by using one couple and one base outfit — but in wildly different aesthetics. 

This styled shoot steps away from the more traditional wedding attire and keeps the focus on the couple's connection, supporting the free and wild spirits out there and showcasing that marriage and love truly is meant for everyone, no matter who you are, where you are, or what you're wearing. 

Having your wedding in an Electric Sign Museum in the heart of Cincinnati and your portraits taken in the middle of a cemetery are some bold moves, but that's just what Megan and Dustin did with their day. Their whole day was cool, creative, and reflected the things they love. They had a small wedding party with just their best friends and kept everything as simple as it should be. I explained to Megan that fighting against the lighting inside of a neon sign museum would be pretty much worthless, and we might as well just embrace the warm glow of the lights — and she was all for it! The whole day was full of positive energy, laughter, and amazingly bright neon lights.

Julie and Christina are an interfaith, interracial lesbian couple who enhance, rather than diminish, each facet of their individual lives in their wedding(s!). The pair, who met playing roller derby in Ohio, hosted their first wedding at a gorgeous synagogue in San Francisco followed by an all-out reception at Fire House 8. Their follow-up wedding was held in their home state of Ohio with only their closest friends and family. This is a couple who really knows where their values lie and were able to create the best of all worlds: the extravagant, fun and exciting San Francisco wedding contrasted with a humble, family-oriented celebration in the majestic fall forest of Hocking Hills, Ohio. Their story is beautiful; the pictures speak for themselves. Julie & Christina’s magnetic energy truly comes through in this intoxicating series of photos.

Alex and Ben Anthony were married on September 12, 2015, the date of her parents' anniversary. The couple held a small ceremony in her parents' backyard on Lake Erie (to fit Alex's more introverted personality) and hosted a celebration in Columbus (to pay homage to their wonderful city and Ben's love of a good party).