Groom + Garter = Iced. Columbus Wedding Photography

Aaron and Britt.  Married. To view the SLIDESHOW, click HERE.Pretty ladies!

Britt gifted Aaron a photo frame.  “Our Baby”, with the wedding date, was etched into the frame.  What?!  Our BABY?!?  The wedding frame she had ordered came in as a “we’re expecting” frame.  It was a mistake by the maker, but she still gifted him the frame.  His expression says it all….
I love the bubbles and the girls holding the flowers. Great capture, Nicole!

Meet our bride, Britt.  She’s a real beauty.  (And love the groom’s boutonniere, too.)
Here’s the handsome groom.  And he is HILARIOUS.  It was ridiculously easy to get him to laugh.  🙂
Now the ladies in blue and gents in black join in the fun!

I pinky swear to be with you forever.  FOREVER.  Pinky swear.

Aren’t they adorable?!  We went to a nearby park.  It was a beautiful day for a beautiful couple.A special request from the bride and groom.  Playground photos.  How playful and fun is this couple!?Funnest. Bride. And. Groom. EVER.

Cool socks!

For the love of all things ADORABLE.

Britt, you are BEAUTIFUL.  I love how your groom is looking at you here.  So pretty.

Time to partay!

This was the location of the reception.  The Kehoe Center.  So pretty.

The bridal party rocked my socks!  You know the clapping game teachers do to get their students to pay attention?  Clap, clap.  Clap, clap, clap, clap.  And the children repeat it until everyone is quiet.  Well, I totally did this with this large bridal party.  It TOTALLY worked and they thought it was hilarious.  Thanks for all of the laughs, guys!

It’s all about the details.  You may remember the table number shoot we did.  CLICK HERE to see more.  Aaron is a painter so his groomsmen cake was very fitting.

I love the movement and colors in this first dance photo.
Bouquet toss.  It’s dangerous laying on the floor in front of these {eager to marry} ladies!

Dance.  Dance.  DANCE.

Cake SMASH. And yes, they did smash. It was AWESOME!

The Dollar Dash.  I’ve never seen this at a wedding before.  It was a cool twist on the common dollar dance.  The bride versus the groom.  They ran around the reception hall and collected dollars from their guests.  All of the gathered cash went to charity.  The loser of the dollar dash has to cook for two weeks.  The groom won by nine bucks.  (Further investigation was needed and a recount.  Maybe he won by a little more than nine bucks.  But shouldn’t ladies always be first, Aaron?!)  Either way…they raised over $400 for charity.  Good stuff!  

Groom + Garter = Iced.  Have you ever heard of “getting iced”?  The rules are simple: If a person sees a Smirnoff Ice, he or she must get down on one knee and chug it, unless they happen to be carrying their own Smirnoff, in which case they can “ice block,” or refract the punishment back onto the attacker. In order to dupe people into stumbling across the beverage, participants have devised creative ways of presenting them with Ices, like strapping the bottle to the garter.  And the groom gets ICED.

A sundae bar at the reception.  Yes, please!
Our fabulous foto booth was a HUGE hit!
A HOPPING foto booth!
A little behind the scenes.  (When Britt saw this photo, she said, “That’s my favorite one!”)  That’s right, sister!
Meet Nicole.  This was her first wedding with me.  She did FABULOUS!  (Even Aaron and Britt said she was fun and easy to be around.  I think she’s a keeper.  Wink, wink.)
Seriously.  I love my “job”.
Warning…this photographer likes to get ALL up close and personal.  Whaaaaa…really?!  (No worries, brides, I’m happily married.  Hehe)

Nicole, you’re cute.  And you laugh at my lame jokes.  That makes you double cute.

Meeting the bride and groom on the red carpet.  I’m officially paparazzi!  Papa, Papa, Paparazzi.  

We all fall down…  I was taking a photo of the groomsmen and their really cool socks.  I bent down to fix one of the guys’ slacks.  I stood up while he bent down.  We totally crashed heads together.  Wo-MAN down.  (I was way dramatic about it, to get a good laugh out of the guys.  It worked.)  No photographer (or groomsmen) hurt in the making of this photo.

Dude, I’m SUCH a foto booth crasher..
We’re fun photographers.  That’s all.
Rockin’ it out.

I made a special appearance and delivered The Brill’s wedding photos to their beautiful home.  I was so excited to present them with a slideshow of my faves…right before their honeymoon.  Yes!  (Have SO much fun in Cozumel, friends!)

The Details…

Ceremony – First Lutheran Church, Shelby, Ohio
Reception – Kehoe Center, Shelby, Ohio
Caterer –  Fast Eddies, Bellville, Ohio
Flowers – Floral Garden, Mansfield, Ohio
DJ/Band – Albert Entertainment, Shelby,Ohio
Hair and Make up – Details Hair Salon, Shelby, Ohio
Invitations – Avant-Garde Impressions, Westerville,Ohio ( HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!)
Rehearsal dinner – Legends Bar & Grill, Shelby,Ohio
Wedding gown designer – Wendy’s specialty design, Dublin, Ohio
……………………………

The Songs….

Cake Cutting | Can’t help myself – Four tops
First Dance | Jason Mraz – I won’t give up
Father/Daughter | Celine Dion – Because you loved me
Mother/Son | Boyz II Men – A song for Mama
Grand Entrance – Evolution of Time processional – Night at the Roxberry, Do the Twist, YMCA, Jump on It, Thriller, Brady Bunch, Cotton Eye Joe, Ice Ice Baby (It was freaking AWESOME!)
……………………………

The Memories…

What was the most memorable moment of your day?
Aaron- Honestly, when my eyes made contact with the prettiest thing God created. I looked forward to that moment for months and let me tell you, that was the best cheesecake I have ever eaten!!!
Brittany- Walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing my future in front of my eyes! That and taking photos with Crystal Jo who made an entire wedding party sing the ABC’s which is very important to an educator ☺

What was your favorite detail?
Aaron – Detail? There were no details in the day. It went by so quick that it all blended together. If I had to choose something, it would be the smiles on everyone’s face. That detail, is unforgettable.
Brittany – Ummmmm a wedding day is no detail? Very hard to remember, a blur, but probably when his groomsman sang me the Gilmore Girls song “Where you Lead” while I was getting my hair done. I watch Gilmore Girls every night and he had his groomsman, who is an amazing singer, sing it to me in front of the entire salon ☺

Any advice for future bride/grooms?
Aaron – Choose Crystal Jo Foto ☺
Britt – Don’t ever choose another photographer. Crystal Jo Foto is the way to go!!!

If you could do it all over, would you change anything?
Aaron – I’d marry a millionaire instead, but I think my school teacher with her Masters will suffice in this life time ☺
Britt – I would try to savor every moment a little bit more because it goes so fast! Good thing I have the photos!

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Aaron – We went on a European tour stopping in Italy, France and Greece and then sailed over to Australia. It was a great time! Then Britt woke me up from my dream.
Brittany – Cozumel, Mexico where the water is blue and there are drinks galore. I just hope I survive the plane ride.

Friends and family, the online gallery, with all of the wedding photos, will be ready for viewing soon.  If you’d like to pre-register your email address, click HERE.

Thank you, Britt and Aaron, for giving me the extreme honor of photographing your BIG day.  We really had a blast.  You were so comfortable and fun with each other.  It was so relaxing and easy.  A photographers dream, really.  Thank you!  Xoxo, Crystal Jo