Central NY is such a beautiful place to live. I know a lot of people who complain about living here…mainly due to the snow…but I’ll take a few months of the fluffy white stuff in exchange for all of the beauty available with just a short car ride away! Amanda and Matt felt the same way when they started planning their wedding.
When their actual wedding day arrived I was so excited! Finally I got to meet this amazing couple in person AND at one of my favorite venues! The EB Morgan House in Aurora, NY. I loved the whole idea of their day, a small intimate wedding with family, close friends, beautiful views, and AMAZING food! The EB Morgan House was a perfect choice!
When I got there and I finally got to meet Amanda and Matt face to face, we instantly clicked…and not just with my camera…ha ha ha…I know…I’m a dork!
The whole day was an absolute dream! The weather was gorgeous, so was my couple, and they were up for picture after picture! I was mostly taken aback by the feeling of their day. The warmth and love of their family and friends surrounding them was so thick you could literally cut it! I was brought to tears myself by several of the toasts that were given at their reception. Plus they made me feel like I was part of the family. I can’t tell you how many times someone checked on me, offered me food, or just wanted to chat. I have never felt so welcomed by a family I’ve never met before. It was so touching! I can’t thank Amanda and Matt enough for choosing me as their photographer! I was truly and an honor and a joy to be present and document such genuine and beautiful love!
xoxoxo,
Mabyn
P.S. I absolutely LOVE Amanda’s advice for future Brides & Grooms! Make sure you check it out in the interview section!
How did you meet?
Matt was in graduate school for Psychology at West Virginia University, and Amanda was an applicant for the program. They met on “interview weekend”, when Matt was Amanda’s host while she was in town.
How did your fiance propose?
We actually proposed to each other. We designed Amanda’s ring from scratch (picking out the diamond, planning the setting) with a jeweler, and we picked out a ring for Matt then too — it had a “wheat” engraving pattern, which was Amanda’s maiden name. When the rings were ready, we picked them up and took a moment at home to propose to each other, sharing why we were choosing each other to spend the rest of our lives with… Then we topped it off with a fancy dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant and a weekend in Boston.
Tell me a bit about the planning process for your wedding (how did you pick the venue, colors, funny stories, etc..):
Neither of us was tied to getting married in our home towns, so we figured we’d do a bit of a destination wedding. We immediately thought of the Finger Lakes region because all it had to offer for our guests — wineries, museums, fishing, great restaurants, etc. We literally googled “wedding in Finger Lakes” and the EB Morgan House was one of the first links. We used checking the venue out as an excuse for taking a vacation with our families, and we fell in love with it as a ceremony and reception site.For colors, we wanted them to be meaningful and warm. We incorporated purple and green, as these were favorite colors of our late grandmothers. We wanted them to be represented in some way during our wedding day. We just took all the planning piece by piece, and it helped to keep things low stress that we chose to have a small (46 people) wedding. With the help of family members in planning so many aspects of the wedding, it really made things so easy!
What details at your wedding had special significance?
It was incredible to have Matt’s brother, Zack, lead the ceremony for our wedding. We wanted the person marrying us to be someone who we were really close to and who is an integral and important part of our lives. Zack was the first to come to mind, and he luckily agreed!
What was the most memorable moment(s) of your day?
Seeing each other during our first look session with you was pretty amazing… We had spent the night apart, and the day had been filled with wedding preparation. It was overwhelming (in a good way) to finally get to see each other. We welcomed everyone to give a toast after we cut the cake, rather than opting for formal, planned toasts. We had no idea how many of our friends and family would step forward and share such funny stories, kind words, and well wishes. It was so amazing to have so many supportive people present and vocal.
If you had to do it all over, would you change anything?
We would get a videographer so we could have a record of the toasts forever.Finally, Amanda had a good friend, Piercen Oliver, play Ben Folds’ “The Luckiest” on the piano for Matt as a surprise. It’s always been a song we’ve sort of considered “our song”, if any is. It was so incredible to have Piercen play it for us, and it was great that Matt was surprised!
Funniest memory from your wedding day?
It was so unexpected, but several friends and family members shared some hilarious memories during the toasts… Too many to recount here! Just details on random and ridiculous things we have done throughout our lives
What was your favorite wedding purchase?
Probably the rings… We picked them out together and it’s nice to have a daily reminder of our commitments to each other — especially when we’re not living in the same state together!
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We haven’t yet!… We’re considering New Orleans in the Spring.
Any advice for future bride & grooms?
It’s cliche, but be sure to relax and enjoy the process, keeping in mind what the whole reason for having a wedding is… There are a million details you can get lost in, and it’s all for naught if you can’t take time to appreciate each other and your reasons for choosing to get married in the company of the people closest to you.
Amanda & Matt’s first look was sooooo sweet and the EB Morgan House made for the perfect back drop!
Their ceremony had so many special moments, stories, and LOTS of tears!
Um really though…I could take pictures of them allll daaaay loooonng!…and I kinda did 😉
So many great details and moments…so beautiful!
Makeup Artist: same//Dress Designer & Store Location: Maggie Sottero from Giana’s Bridal in Stoneham, MA//Jewelry: etsy.com//Veil or Hair accessories: Giana’s Bridal//Grooms Attire: Men’s Wearhouse, Calvin Klein//Ceremony Venue: EB Morgan House//Reception Venue: EB Morgan House//Additional photo venue: Aurora Inn//Florist: Michaleen’s Florist and Garden Center//Caterer: EB Morgan House//Cake: Just Desserts//Wedding Coordinator: Heather Davidson//invitations & Stationary: Elysia Lock//Music: Candlelight String Quartet
