It’s always amazing going back to Syracuse, NY to shoot weddings. However, it’s even more amazing when I get to do it for a friend! I’ve know Brittany since my freshman year in college. My best friends little sister was Brittany’s best friend…does that make sense? No? Ah well, either way, Brittany and I would go over to our friends home and spend hours there talking, laughing, creating silly video, and just having a great time! It’s crazy to think that during that time Brittany was still in high school!
Now she’s all grown up and has married a most excellent man! I didn’t get a chance to meet Ryan before the wedding, but it only took me a few seconds to know that Ryan was perfect for Brittany. He’s the kind of guy you know will adore and take care of his lady. I couldn’t be happier for them both!
In my opinion there is nothing better than Syracuse in the fall so Brittany picked a winner of a day! It was just beautiful! It was a mini reunion for us all, hanging out with Britt as she got ready, everyone…I mean EVERYONE crying as they married, and then the rockin party that I knew would take place after if our past was any indicator! 😉 And in true Brittany fashion, everything was glam and gorgeous! Every single detail was just stunning and it was so perfectly my friend.
Thank you Brittany & Ryan for bringing me back home to capture your amazing day! It was such a joy to be part of it all!
XOXOXO,
Mabyn
– Tell me a bit about the planning process for your wedding
The planning process was really fun and relatively easy. My mom was a wedding planner for over 25 years, and my aunt is a florist of over 30 years, so I literally just had to say a few bits of my vision and they ran with it! The colors of the wedding were plum and platinum, which were absolutely perfect for the fall season. Everyone just assumed my favorite color is purple, and though I favor it a lot the reason I chose that color for the dresses was because every single year growing up when I went to a semi-formal dance, my dresses just so happened to be purple. This was never intentional just the way it worked out so my bridesmaids had always said that it obviously had to follow suite and be purple. It just made sense, so I didn’t even think about it and went with that! I incorporated other pinks and silver and other shades of purple to make the vision complete. Ryan the whole planning process kept saying he didn’t want to know many of the details as he wanted to be completely surprised when he walked into the room and saw everything, so the day of provided several moments of me looking for his reaction and anticipating what he was going to think!
– What was the most memorable moment(s) of your day?
Leading up to the wedding we knew my dad was going to be the most emotional guest at the wedding, and boy was he. When I did the first look with him I knew it was going to be a memory I would never forget. I also loved how he suprised me with a slideshow of pictures of me through the years that played in the background as we danced. The song we danced to was also a secret until the day of, I told him when I first got engaged he was to pick it and not tell anyone until the day of! Tears filled the room of course!
– Funniest memory from your wedding day?
Going back to how Ryan kept saying he wanted to be surprised the whole time, I really had a chance to see his reactions when him and I got to share a moment alone when we checked out the venue space before the rest of the guests enterered. Knowing that we are huge Dave Matthews Fans my mom had a fire-dancer ice sculpture made for us that neither one of us knew about. That was the first thing we saw when we walked into the room and Ryan literally yelled to me with excitement OH MY GOODNESS that is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, and he then proclaimed that if we were a couple on a episode of the tv show Four Weddings, we would have indeed won. He is such a goof any ways but watching him walk around like a kid in a candy store was probably the funniest most adorable thing I have seen.
– If you had to do it all over again would you change anything?
Not one thing, except that I forgot to bring home some dessert! We had a whole dessert bar and I didn’t try one thing!
– Any advice for future bride & grooms?
Don’t sweat the small stuff, the whole time everyone kept telling me that something is bound to go wrong, and leading up to it I was so nervous thinking about what that was going to be. The day arrived and everything was flawless, don’t be nervous and tamper with your planning process because of silly things.
– What was your biggest fear before hiring me? Did it come true, and if not, what happened instead?
It’s been my dream forever to have you shoot my wedding, knowing that you moved to N.C. I was nervous it wouldn’t work out and you wouldn’t be able to come to N.Y. No worries, you accomodated and drove up for us! Thank you again!
– What, specifically, was your favorite part of working with Mabyn Ludke Photography and why?
It’s almost like you were invisible, and I mean that in the best way possible. I never once felt like you were having us pose or do traditional things. I really didn’t even feel like I took any pictures at all, which is amazing because you really captured moments in real time instead of traditional poses. You can’t ever duplicate real moments like that, and you were literally a photographic genious fly on the wall and I love you for that!
– If you were to recommend Mabyn Ludke Photography to your best friend, what would you say?
If you want to feel more photogenic and really feel beautiful when you look at your pictures, you are hands down the person to do it. You just have us stand or look a certain way and boom…model status. I have already had so many people say you are a genius and can’t wait to see the rest! I will recommend you to every bride I know!
Hair: Sue Dahl at Cliptomania Salon // Makeup Artist: Lynne Winters owner of GlamVanity // Dress Designer & Store Location: Oleg Cassini at David’s Bridal // Jewelry: David’s Bridal // Veil or Hair accessories: Purchased at Mirror Mirror in Baldwinsville // Shoes: David’s Bridal // Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Angelo // Grooms Attire: Tuxedo Junction // Ceremony Venue: DeWitt Community Church // Reception Venue: Justin’s Tuscan Grill // Additional photo venue: Erie Canal // Florist: My beloved aunt, Roxanne Elefante // Transportation: S&S limousine // DJ: DJ Slammin’ Sam and Gary Rainbow of SHOtime Entertainment // Caterer: Pascale’s at Justin’s Grill // Cake: My Momma, Tammy Ballard // Event Designer: Me, my mom, aunt and grandma Pat // Wedding Coordinator: Stephanie at Justin’s // Lighting: Provided by the dj // Invitations & Stationary: Purchased an invitation kit at Michael’s and made them myself. // Other: All other signage was made through Etsy, and the videographer was of course Gina B. Cinema
