Wedding at the LeMont

Grateful. That’s the word I have to use to describe the feeling I have when I consider all the amazing and wonderful clients who come my way. Anne and Anthony fit this bill completely! Their wedding at the LeMont was perfect. They remain among the most kind and compatible clients I’ve worked with! Their review left me speechless:

Let’s start with the obvious: Dray’s work is BEYOND incredible. His photos captured not just the details of the day, but the emotions we felt. We were absolutely blown away when we received our full galleries for our engagement photos and our wedding photos. We loved all of them so much that it was hard to choose which ones to print out and frame. And everyone we showed them to, from our families to guests, were so impressed. Your photos will be works of art.

But more importantly than that, Dray, his wife Jaime, and his brother, Aaron, are so easy to work with and approach their work with obvious dedication and professionalism. We felt like we could fully enjoy the day and leave the hard work to the pros. Not only did Dray capture every shot we asked for, he captured details that I didn’t even think of asking for but would absolutely have if I had thought of it. One of my bridesmaids noted that he was the first photographer she met who actually gave posing advice (and she’s been a bridesmaid in 5 other weddings), and it definitely makes a huge difference in the photos. He and Aaron were so prepared on the big day, knew all the best photo spots, and kept us on time for our schedule so we didn’t have to think of anything.

I could go on and on, but the biggest compliment I can give is that I didn’t stress about anything related to photography or timing thanks to Dray (and I am an over-thinker by nature). Bottom line: Choose Dray if you want flawless photos and a calming presence that will take away stress from your big day. You’ll be so happy you did!

One thing they decided to do is a First Look on the rooftop at the Hotel Monaco. I always love when a First Look makes sense for a client, because it can often create margin and space in their wedding day schedule. This was the case for them, as they were able to do lots of their photos at a couple and with their family and bridal parties before their Phipps Conservatory ceremony.

Don’t get me wrong, I love when clients opt to wait to see each other until the ceremony too. Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy! Congrats Anne and Anthony! Your wedding at the LeMont is exceptional.

What was your inspiration behind your Wedding at the LeMont?

There wasn’t really one thing—the biggest inspiration was our friends’ weddings that we had been to!  We wanted to replicate the joy we felt at their weddings for our friends and family. So we spent a lot of time honing in on what made their weddings so awesome and brought a piece from each of theirs into ours. Beyond that, I always knew that I wanted to do a black tie wedding that felt classic and timeless. Since most of our guests would be out-of-town (and this would be some of their first times to Pittsburgh), we chose our venue to show off the city and match the formality. You can’t beat the Mount Washington view, and LeMont is a Pittsburgh classic. Everything came together pretty seamlessly once we had the venue, the dress code formality, and the wedding colors chosen (all white, with red accents because red is a lucky color in Chinese culture).

Advice to share with brides planning now?

Of all the ways to reduce stress, what helped us the most was hiring a wedding planner. Beyond having someone whose job was to help us stay organized, our planner saved us hundreds of hours of research time. When we hired her, we had only booked our venue and florist. After that point, every vendor we chose was someone who she recommended, and our vendors absolutely killed it! Other than that, I highly recommend having an early planning meeting with your fiance before you make any decisions. Discuss your overall vision, the priorities for the wedding, your approach to decision making (will one person be the project manager, or will you both manage different areas, etc.), and, most importantly, your budget and who is contributing to it. I think wedding planning can feel really overwhelming because it’s a huge event, and most people don’t have any event planning experience going into it. But figuring out upfront what you’re hoping to get out of the wedding and the budget you’re working in will help immensely with making decisions. After that, take things one at a time, and remember to build in wedding-free times where you both can relax without talking about wedding stuff for a little bit.
Oh, and if you’re doing a honeymoon right after, which I highly recommend, don’t forget to save some steam to plan for the honeymoon! 

How did you and your spouse meet?

So, we started dating in college but have known each other since we were five years-old. Before my family moved to Pittsburgh, we lived in the same neighborhood in Chicago as Anthony’s family. We went to the same elementary school and were even in the same homeroom in third grade. I distinctly remember feeding the fish in our neighborhood pond together, climbing trees, and playing tag on the playground. Sadly we lost touch after my family moved away (we were nine years-old, and that was before cell phones and social media took off). When I went back to Chicago for college, a mutual friend reconnected us, and after 7 years of long distance and 2 years of living together, we finally tied the knot!

Proposal Details! How did it happen? 🙂

The proposal was just perfect. A few days before, Anthony started hiding puzzle pieces around our apartment. The early pieces were blank, so I had no idea what they were and didn’t even realize they were puzzle pieces. I think some of our friends figured it out before I did. The idea that he was proposing didn’t even cross my mind—I was convinced they were random pieces I had picked up elsewhere and must have forgotten about, and I’m still impressed that Anthony didn’t spill the beans. That weekend, we had a trip to Chicago planned. On the day he proposed, he took me around all of these places that meant a lot to us, like my college campus and the botanical garden near our old neighborhood. Throughout the day, he asked me riddles that I had to solve in order to get more puzzle pieces as a prize. Once I started assembling the pieces, I could tell that they included my name and “you are my soulmate.” But I still wasn’t sure when the proposal was coming: it had been a few days and I didn’t know how big the finished puzzle would be. Finally, he told me that he had a surprise for our last location and took me to our old neighborhood we grew up in as kids. Once we got there, he gave me the last piece, which said “Will you marry me?” on it, and he proposed in front of the tree we used to climb as kids. It was such a special moment. 

What was your favorite memory from your wedding at the LeMont?

We couldn’t choose one so we’re both sharing a favorite!
Anthony – It’s probably a tie between seeing Anne walk down the aisle and those first few minutes after we finally sat down to eat dinner and I looked around to see all of our closest family and friends gathered to celebrate with us. There was just so much love in both moments and I felt completely overwhelmed with gratitude for our lives.

Anne – If I had to choose one, it was when one of my college friends told me that our wedding was the best she had ever been to. And I remember looking around when she told me that and just seeing so many of my closest friends and family having a great time. People were tearing it up on the dance floor, others were enjoying a cocktail, some were just smiling to the music. It was kind of a surreal moment to realize that our hard work over two years to plan the wedding completely paid off.

Wedding at the LeMont Vendors

Photography: Steven Dray Photography

Ceremony Location: Phipps Conservatory

Reception: LeMont Restaurant

Event Planner: Jessica Elyse Events

Florist: Fox & the Fleur

Wedding Dress Designer: Anne Barge

Wedding Dress Style: Newport

Wedding Dress Boutique: Anne Gregory Couture

Hairstylist Name: Katrina Cahill, JL Makeup Studio

Make-up Artist Name: Jenny Casaldi, JL Makeup Studio

Accessory Information: Veil – Anne Gregory Couture

Bride’s Shoe Designer: White heels – Sarah Flint; Gold heels – Bella Belle

Bride’s Ring Designer: Engagement Ring – Rolland’s Jewelers (Libertyville, IL); Wedding Band – Ingram’s Fine Jewelers (Idaho Falls, ID)

Bridesmaid’s Dress Designer: Birdy Grey

Groom Attire Designer: Surmesur (Pittsburgh, PA)

Groom Ring Designer: Jewelry by Johan

Paper Goods: Minted

Seating Chart: Just Write By Ashley

Handmade Details: Welcome Sign & Signature Cocktail Sign – Dzign Studio

Entertainment: No Bad JuJu

Bakery: Oakmont Bakery

Linen Rental Company: Lendable Linens

Any Other Vendor You Want to Recognize: 🙂Anne’s nail art – Jenna Butterfield (@jennyiounails), Illustrated Nail Studio; Dance instructor – Amanda Wolf Productions; Live event painter – Live Painting PGH