Stephanie and Sean had a perfect day for their wedding at the iconic Athletic Club of Columbus last summer and I’m excited to finally share some of their images!
The Athletic Club is gorgeous with an elegant and timeless appeal, and also happens to be situated perfectly in the heart of downtown Columbus just steps away from hotels and several great places to take photos. The Athletic Club also has it’s own set of rooms available to guests, which is where the bride got ready with her bridesmaids while the guys started the day off at the Renaissance hotel. I loved the style of this wedding too – a simple neutral ivory and black palette with accents of greenery to soften it up a bit.
This pajama set is so cute! Stephanie was reading a card from her soon-to-be hubby!
Here comes the maid of honor, Stephanie’s sister, with her dress ready to go. I had the pleasure of photographing her wedding years ago so if you’ve been following along with my work for while you might just recognize she and her husband throughout this post. Such a FUN family!
She is absolutely stunning! Now time for the veil.
Look at that handsome groom. Not long before we headed outside for their first look together.
Everyone is suited up and ready to go. I love the image of Sean’s mom and sister looking out the window trying to grab a peak of the first look that’s about to happen! Here comes Stephanie with her bridal crew!
I love this photo of the bride walking out to meet her groom! I think it might be one of my favorites from the day of just her. This angle really shows the drape and flow of the dress and veil so beautifully and she just looks so relaxed and natural.
Now for the full bridal party to join in on the fun. Don’t they look amazing? I like to try to keep it relatively simple with large groups so we stuck to a couple places nearby for some casual group portraits. This little pocket of downtown offers a lot of options in a relatively small are though, which is one of the reasons I enjoy weddings at the Athletic Club of Columbus so much!
Ahhhh these gorgeous dresses…I love them so much! I think it’s a toss up for me between the one shoulder or the high neck. They both drape so beautifully and look so great on these women!
As beautiful as it was out, it was still kinda hot so we decided to pop inside for a bit to cool down and take advantage of this cool little nook inside the Athletic Club’s restaurant.
The ceiling in the ballroom of the Athletic Club is so ornate and beautiful and I love how perfectly her details and decor compliments it. Everything was understated but absolutely perfect.
Now for all of these beautiful details! Get ready for some eye candy.
I loved the sprig of greenery on the place settings. It’s a relatively simple detail, but added such a nice touch. The china with the floral motif was so elegant and unique as well.
I always love working with Mary and the rest of the Rose Bredl team. If you’ve never been, you should check out the shop in the Short North. It is one of my favorite stores to visit when I’m there! Here they are creating their magic to transform the already beautiful fireplace in the ballroom.
And here is a behind-the-scenes shot of another talented and creative artist, Elle Javorek. She does amazing hand lettering work!
The last few photos of the bride before the ceremony. These windows are definitely a popular spot for photos at the Athletic Club – and this is why! Such a timeless series of images.
It’s just about go-time! Just another gorgeous shot of these elegant satin gowns from Gilded Social.
And here comes the little ring bearer with his mom! He is just the cutest!
And here comes the bride!
I never get tired of this ballroom! Especially for ceremonies. Those epic crystal chandeliers and candlelit mantle always add a romantic vibe.
After some family portraits, we headed back outside at sunset for some additional portraits (and a little quiet time for the couple) Even if you plan on doing most of your portraits earlier in the day before the ceremony, I highly recommend setting aside some additional time around sunset, especially if the weather is being so cooperative like it was on this day! The light at the end of the day can be pure magic, not to mention it’s likely that you’ll feel much more relaxed at this point in the day. And, in this particular case, it was the PERFECT excuse to create some more portraits with this stellar hair change! What?? So gorgeous and how fun! Kudos to her amazing hair dresser that was able to pull this off.
After taking a little time to enjoy the sunset, we headed back inside to continue the celebration starting with introductions and some heartfelt toasts.
The following are some of my favorite party photos that captured the spirit of the day. It didn’t take long for the guests to fill the dance floor and kick the party up a notch. This is definitely a group that knows how to have fun and the band, Redline from Cincinnati, really delivered!
The bride and groom take a turn at the mic!
The balloon hats are becoming a bit of a tradition with this family and I love it! Always a great idea.
Nothing better than seeing smiles this big on the faces of the bride and groom on their wedding day! Photographing the party is one of my favorite parts of the day to capture, especially when the energy is this great. I just love being in the fray of all the action and capturing people in a moment of laughter and pure happiness! And it’s pretty hard NOT to smile and have fun while wearing a balloon hat.
Thank you again to Stephanie and Sean for trusting me with capturing your engagement and incredibly fun wedding day!
Be sure to check out the list of incredible wedding pros below that all had a part in making this such an amazing day (and giving me such beautiful things to photograph!) There are a few names I’m in the process of tracking down so my apologies if I missed a few.
VENDOR CREDITS:
Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Athletic Club of Columbus
https://www.accolumbus.com
Bride’s Attire: Dress by Vera Wang and Paris by Debra Moreland jewelry, both from La Jeune Mariee
https://www.lajeunemariee.com
Bridesmaid Dresses: Gilded Social
https://www.shopgildedsocial.com
Flowers: Rose Bredl
https://www.rosebredl.com
Bride’s Hair: David Lopez
@davidlopezhair
Handlettering & Escort Signage: Elle Javorek of ElleJav
https://www.ellejav.com
Reception Music: Redline Band
www.onredline.com
Cake: Alice’s Piece of Cake
https://alicespieceofcake.com
Custom cookies: Perfect Pear Sisters
@perfectpearsisters
Balloon Artist: Aaron Hay of Sculpted Air
Ceremony Officiant: Jean King | United Marriage Services
https://www.unitedmarriageservices.com
Host Hotel: Renaissance Columbus Downtown