One of the nice things about being a wedding photographer is all of the beautiful places I get to visit. I’ve seen some of the prettiest venue’s in the area! There is literally a place to suite every taste, whether traditional or out of the box Central NY has it all!
Dori and Kyle took full advantage of this fact. They had a traditional Catholic service in Binghamton NY and then we took a beautiful drive to Ithaca NY to take advantage of nature at the Cornell Plantations and Ithaca Falls. After the formals we jaunted over to the Lake Watch Inn, which is always breath taking! The whole day was gorgeous with epic shots galore! The whole feel of the day was peaceful, the kind of peace you encounter when two people are really 2 halves to one piece. It was easy to see why they chose each other! Tim and I had a wonderful time capturing all that Dori & Kyle put together. It was such a tribute to their love! Thanks Dori & Kyle!!
xoxoxo,
Mabyn
How did you meet?
We met at a party Junior year in college, at a mutual friends house. We were playing a card game and Kyle was getting hit on by another girl. He looked somewhat uncomfortable and annoyed so i decided to help him out. The girl was hanging all over him and I finally looked at her and said would you please stop touching my boyfriend! The girl got really embarassed and walked away. Kyle proceeded to thank me and we started talking after that. The rest is history.
How did your fiance propose?
Kyle knows that I am a very hard person to surprise, especially when it came to something as big as this. Little did I know that Kyle had been scheming for weeks with my friends on the best way to propose. After much thought he decided to propose on the one day of the year that I would never expect, his brithday! I was working the weekend at the hospital, when i decided to call Kyle and asked him to come and have lunch with me. He got to my office with a picnic packed lunch. One of my best friends and bridesmaids Kristin was there as well. We were both starving and as I started to rip through the bag taking out various objects I got to a tupperware container with a box in it. Very confused, and not expecting anything I replied: “What the heck?” Kyle immediately took the tuperware from me and took the box out. Before I knew what was happening he was down on one knee, in my office at work mind you, asking me to marry him! Of course I said YES!
Tell me a bit about the planning process for your wedding (how did you pick the venue, colors, funny stories, etc..):
We were going for simple! I wanted the least amount of stress in my life as possible. Kyle and I were engaged for a little over a year so I started right away. I knew that I wanted as little as possible to worry about as time got closer and closer to the wedding day. For invitations we just looked at the various websites online. Custom invitations were way to expensive. The online websites varry in price and have a little something for everyone. I like the site we chose was great because you could be as fancy or as simple as you wanted with what you included with the invitations.The church was a no brainer. It is two blocks from our house and is the church that Kyle and I attend weekly. I also loved the idea that I could walk from our house to the ceremony! We picked the venue because it is a beautiful location near Ithaca Ny, where I am from. We really liked this place because they cater the food right there and all of the decorating is done for you at no extra cost. We chose Wegmans for flowers because we had seen their work from a previous wedding we had been to and loved their work! We also chose Wegmans for the cake because we wanted 4 different kinds of cake, knew we loved the cake at Wegmans, and it was cheap! Purple is my favorite color so that was an easy choice for the bridesmaid dresses. I have to say finding the right dress for the girls was the most difficult part of the attire for the wedding. I wanted them to look good with my dress but also be comfortable and light weight for the girls, since the wedding was in the middle of august. I let the girls pick their jewelery and shoes as long as they were silver. We had the guys wear black vests as we felt they would appreciate the least amount of purple as possible. We wanted to do something special for the ties so we ended up buying the guys ties and giving them to them as a gift.
What details at your wedding had special significance?
1. My grandfather played a huge role in my life growing up. So I decided to honor him by stopping half way down the aisle and giving him a kiss. I also carried his handkerchief with me as my something old. 2. We also gave an offering to the Virgin Mary and decided instead of just giving one bouquet that we would have each of our grandmothers give us a bouquet to symbolize the importance of strong and loving women in our lives. 3. We had my stepfathes band play at our rehearsal dinner, they learned to play a song especially for my mom. The night of our rehearsal dinner I had my mom and Kyle dance to the song Momma’s song by carrie underwood – Performed by her husband’s band. This was a special moment that I wanted my mom and Kyle to share. I wanted to thank my Mom for everything she has done for me and to reassure her that I was truely marrying a wonderful person and the love of my life, and that she didn’t need to worry about me. My mom and I were reduced to tears. I know that it was a really special moment for her to share with Kyle. 4. Our gift. Instead of doing favors we donated money to the SPCA of Tompkins County in honor of our two dogs, one of which is from that shelter.
What was the most memorable moment(s) of your day?
For me it was when they first introduced us as husband and wife in the church. I got so excited that I jumped up and down a little. For Kyle it was seeing me walk down the aisle and being introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Kyle McGowan.
If you had to do it all over, would you change anything?
Definately would not have had an open bar all night!
Funniest memory from your wedding day?
When one of the groomsman gave us a pole dance on the party bus.
What was your favorite wedding purchase?
The honeymoon!
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
St. Lucia
Any advice for future bride & grooms?
Enjoy each other! The day goes by fast and can be crazy at times. Just remember why you are there and try to take it all in and have fun!
Dori & Kyle’s home was absolutely gorgeous! I loved all of the light & colors!
Plus, it was only a couple of blocks from St. Patricks so they girls decided to walk to the church!
St. Patricks is beautiful!
We got to visit some amazing spots for formals! Cornell Plantations and Ithaca Falls! Droooooooling! 🙂
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Lake Watch Inn! Look at this set up?!
The Details
Hair: White Rose Day Spa//Makeup Artist: White Rose Day spa//Dress Designer & Store Location: San Patrick, Dress Your Fancy in Greene NY – Shelly was so honest and down-to-earth, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience when purchasing my wedding gown. She went above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined.//Jewelry: Pearl Bracelet – Mansour Jewelers – Ithaca NY, Earrings – Etsy.com
Veil or Hair accessories: Veil – from Dress your Fancy, Headband – Etsy.com//Shoes: Colorifics//Bridesmaids Dresses: Eden Maids – Bonjoulie’s in Horseheads NY//Grooms Attire: Calvin Klein Radnor Tuxedo – Sal Sterns in Binghamton NY for Jim’s Formal Wear//Ceremony Venue: St. Patrick’s Church, Binghamton NY//Reception Venue: The Lakewatch Inn, Lansing NY//Additional photo venue: The Cornell Plantations and The Ithaca Falls
Florist: Wegman’s (Johnson City NY)//Transportation: T& Z Partybus//DJ: MEgasounds Music//Caterer: The Lakewatch Inn//Cake: Wegmans (Ithaca NY)//Event Designer: The Lakewatch Inn//Lighting: The Lakewatch Inn and Megasounds music//Invitations & Stationary: Weddingpaperdivas.com
Music:
Special Ceremony Music://Introductions: Wedding Party – Rocky Theme song, Beautiful day – U2, The Bills shout song, The way you make me feel – Michael Jackson, Live your life – TI. Bride & Groom – This will be – Natalie Cole.//Father/Daughter: My Wish – Rascal Flatts//Mother/Son: Find your Wings – Mark Harris//First Dance: She’s Everything – Brad Paisley
