melissa rudick photography

Megan and Jorge: Wedding

melissa — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:13:13 +0000

Megan and Jorge got married at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens on Saturday. This is one of my favorite venues, mainly because it’s where Craig and I got married! I think Megan and Jorge may have beat us in the overall style and awesomeness of their wedding. They even lucked out and the rain held off so they could have their ceremony and cocktail hour outside. I want to give a special thanks to the amazing Emilie Duncan for keeping things running smoothly throughout the day.

Hair + Make-up: Charles Scott Salon

Event Planning: Emilie Duncan Event Planning

Flowers: Affordable Flowers, Cleveland

Cake: Grand Finale

DJ: Jerry Bruno Productions

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Cleveland Botanical Gardens

Megan and Jorge decided to have a first look. I think you capture the sweetest expressions this way.

The flower girl and ring bearer were totally adorable, though they did have some trouble making it up the aisle!

Megan’s big dramatic entrance:

They had fantastic gospel singers:

They slipped away at the end of the ceremony so we could get some pictures of just the two of them. I love this quiet moment between them.

This photo is a recreation of their wedding logo designed by Jorge that was found on the invitations, the cake, and other areas throughout the wedding.

Check out some of the amazing details throughout the day:

Megan and Jorge’s good friend Michael Harvey performed the song for their first dance. Megan wrote the lyrics and Michael wrote the music as a surprise for Jorge.

Megan and her dad started out sweet with their dance but they then busted out some wild moves!

Laura and Chris: Wedding

melissa — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:24:18 +0000

Laura and Chris had a perfect day for their wedding. I knew when I met with them at the initial consult and then when I photographed them at the engagement session that they were my kind of couple- laid back and totally into each other! Laura wins the award for biggest wedding dress. The poofiness was out of control and totally awesome.

Big thanks to Garrett from Garrett Elliott Photography in Canada for shooting with me. He took some AMAZING photos. I’d say his first American wedding was a complete sucess!

Hair + Make-up: Studio Salon

Flowers: Heights Floral Shoppe, Cleveland Heights

Church: St. Ann’s

Venue: Shoreby Club

Cake: White Flower Cake Shop

Garrett started with the boys in the morning and I with the girls.

Getting Laura and her dress to fit into the car was quite the challenge!

I simply adore this photo that Garrett captured:

Here’s why having a second shooter can be great- up first is what Garrett caught and then below is what I got.

Laura and Chris

melissa — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:48:59 +0000

Laura and Chris are one of those couples that you can instantly see why they work together. While we were shooting, Chris would talk softly to Laura saying all kinds of melt your heart things to her. We shot their engagement session the week before their wedding, which was last Saturday and I am in love with the pictures and can’t wait to show you all!

a lovely day

melissa — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:51:33 +0000

One of my favorite things to do with Craig is to spend my free weekend days hiking and picnicing. Our ususal routine includes a trip to Dave’s Cosmic Subs where I get the veg out. In fact, when Craig proposed at Shaker Lakes park almost 3 years ago that is what I was eating. Here are some favorites from a few weeks ago at the South Chagrin Reservation.

Sarah and Brent

melissa — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:44:13 +0000

Well, it is certainly the season for engagement sessions. I have been having a blast lately with all the shooting. It’s certainly a nice change of pace from the cold and boring winters here in Ohio. Sarah and Brent are an adorable couple and I had a lot of fun shooting with them around downtown. They are getting married July 4th and I am hoping they have sparklers and fireworks at their wedding!

Sarah was always told she couldn’t ride a motorcycle but what was she to do when Brent showed up on their first date with one?

Mary and Jeremy

melissa — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:44:32 +0000

I met up with Mary and Jeremy to shoot their engagement session in Chagrin Falls. They are a lovely couple and I loved watching Jeremy make Mary laugh throughout the session. Here are some of my favorites:

WPJA

melissa — Sun, 10 May 2009 17:26:51 +0000

I forgot to mention this awesome piece of news. This was one of my favorite images from Lauren and Dan’s October wedding. Check out the other winners here: http://www.wpja.com/. There are some great images, so enjoy!

Megan + Jorge: Engagement Session

melissa — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:56:13 +0000

What can I say about Megan and Jorge’s engagement session? For one, it it took place in one of my favorite neighborhoods- Cedar Lee in Cleveland Heights. Secondly (and more awesomely) they got permission to shoot inside the Cedar Lee theatre. This just happens to be one of my favorite places in Cleveland and a standard for date night with the husband (preceded by the green lantern pizza at Dewey’s). Well. I brought Craig along this time and put him to work as my lighting assistant (or more accurately as my giant light stand). Thirdly, they are both awesome in their own right. They are getting married at the Botanical Gardens this June. Here are some of my favorites:

Check out Jorge’s sneaky moves. He’s a smooth operator for sure.

I promise we picked up all the popcorn…

When Craig saw this one he said it looked like an usher caught them making out and shined his flashlight on them. Now I like this picture even more.

matt and aubrey: wedding

melissa — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:27:49 +0000

Matt and Aubrey were married last June but I never blogged their wedding so I figured I’d do it now! They were married at the lovely Botzum Farms and couldn’t have asked for a better day. The weather was gorgeous and everything at the farm was beautiful. I have a million favorites from their wedding, so bear with me!

Matt and Aubrey’s wedding day also marked the anniversary of the passing of Matt’s mother so they held a special tribute to her after the ceremony.

nicole and kevin: engagement session

melissa — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:30:36 +0000

I met up with Nicole and Kevin to shoot their engagement session at Squire Castle sometime in March. They were very kind not to laugh at me too much as I constantly slipped in the mud! Here are some of my favorites from their session.