Weddingbee Blog

The post-ceremony portraits were kind of a crazy blur. As soon as we finished our recessional down the aisle, the Heinz Chapel coordinators whisked us back downstairs with the rest of the bridal party. Have I mentioned Heinz Chapel has a policy or two? One of them is no receiving lines allowed (which I was actually thrilled about—receiving lines are not my jam). Anyway, we had to be sequestered away for about ten minutes as our guests cleared out of the Chapel, lest an impromptu receiving line form.

Then, we were whooshed back up to the altar for a round of family formals. I will not show you all of them, because there are LOTS!

Here’s a tip from my photographer to me to you: before the wedding, list all the portraits that you want to have taken. Start with portraits including elderly people and children, whose stamina for picture-taking will wane the fastest. Also, start with the largest groups and work your way down by pulling people out, rather than putting people in and trying to re-arrange. Finally, nominate a person who is a) not your photographer and b) not in the majority of the portraits to be the wrangler and shot-caller. Bridesmaid/Cousin Katie’s mom, my aunt Cathy, did this job for us, and nailed it. She had our shot list, announced the people who should be in each photograph, and as a result, our formal portraits were breezy, painless, and finished twenty minutes ahead of schedule.

(All photos courtesy of Corey Ann Photography.)

The immediate Octopus family:

Mr. Octo’s sister Kristine and family. They live in Pittsburgh, and we spent our college years heading over to their house in the suburbs every so often to be fed a real meal in a real house. It’s the simple things when you’re a college student. P.S. Littlest Niece is KILLING ME in this photo. She is three and SO CUTE and was such a trooper about posing for pictures!

Mr. Octo’s other sister Kathy and her daughters. If you are a real traditionalist who wants very formal wedding photos, you may want to give the kids a once-over. Niece Octo has an armful of Silly Bandz on in all of our portraits, which I think is cute and shows her personality, but it’s just something to be aware of in case you think something like that would bug you.

Mr. Octo looks exactly like his father, right down to the green eyes. He does have his mom’s chin, though.

Pictures like this will make your parents happy forever. Both Mom and Dad Octopus basically lost their shit over this photo. Personally, no matter how artsy your taste in photography, I think it’s nice to have some line-up-and-smile-prettily wedding photos for posterity. Aren’t my brother and sister so cute?

I am posting this shot because the “cat who ate the canary” expression on my face cracks me up every time. Basically, this picture is saying, “have you guys SEEN this veil I’m sporting? I’M THE BRIDE, FYI.”

Here’s the story behind this next photo: as I’ve mentioned a few times before, Mr. Octo’s sisters Kathy and Kristine are his half-sisters from his father’s first marriage. When Mr. Octo’s dad married his mom, Kathy & Kristine attended the wedding, and the photographer took a photo of Kristine kissing Mr. Octo’s mom on the tip of her nose. Years and years later, when Kristine got married, they switched it up and took a portrait of Mr. Octo’s mom kissing Kristine on her nose. His family is really sentimental about those two pictures, so on our wedding day, we took a picture of Kristine’s daughter kissing me on my nose. I can 100% guarantee that if Mr. Octo’s mom had been present on our wedding day, she would have been over the moon about this picture.

The especially good news is that the shot turned out to be really, really, really adorable.

There you have it: the greatest hits from our family portrait session! And with that, hive, I’m going to take a recapping break for the holidays. I’ll see you in 2011 with tales of the one unhappy moment of my wedding day, photos of our bridal party rambling around the University of Pittsburgh campus, and an attempt to capture everything about our wedding reception, aka the most glorious five hours of my life! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Previously, in the Octopus wedding….

• We did errands all the live-long day.
• We ran late, we got stressed, and we argued.
• We rehearsed and had dinner, and had a great time doing it.
• We got fancy with hair and makeup.
• I got bridal.
• I waited and soaked up the moment in Heinz Chapel.
• We processed up the aisle.
• We made it official.