If you were to take engagement photos in the exact spot you met your fiancé, would they be as cool as these engagement photos at Strawberry Way in Pittsburgh? These two met on this literal spot on the street corner by the Hotel Monaco (where they are getting married at later this year!), had their first date at The Commoner, the restaurant inside the hotel!

We met up on a cold afternoon in January and the two were dressed so classy and ready to brave the cold! They could pull off any and every pose - from super chic and serious to fun-loving and silly, which not even minding that they were freezing! We strolled up and down Strawberry Way, which in the summer is full of tables for outside eating at the various restaurants around the area, finding inspiration in the diverse architecture.

The session ended with dinner at the Commoner, recreating the couples’ first date! The restaurant was super cool to let us in a little early to get some really cool shots in the totally empty restaurant. Once they opened for dinner service, we ordered dinner and drinks to recreate all the details of their first date.

Enjoy the highlights of this super fun and meaningful Pittsburgh engagement session - hopefully it will inspire you to think outside the box (or better yet, inside the restaurant!)

The Westminster Preserve location at Armstrong Farms is a great choice if you’re looking for a beautiful barn wedding venue for your ceremony and reception. I was blessed to be a wedding photographer at Armstrong Farms twice last year, and can’t wait to go back!

Alyssa and Jason had a beautiful, sunny day at the farm, complete with deep blue skies, gorgeous flowers blooming all around the venue, and appearances from the famous geese that run the show at the ceremony pavilion!

The couple met on Tinder about 6 years ago, next came a house and a puppy! When I asked about the proposal story, Alyssa shared that on her birthday, Jason hid a camera in the living room and had her open up a present with a new collar they just got their new puppy, Ranger. Jason then sang happy birthday to her, handed her a birthday cake, and told her to close her eyes and make a wish by blowing out the birthday candle. When she opened her eyes Jason was on one knee asking her to marry him! She put the birthday cake on the table to give her new fiancé some hugs and kisses, but when they looked over at the table, Ranger was eating the birthday cake!

The couple honored Ranger and his brother Dante with some cute signature cocktails named for their pups, and had many other special details and moments incorporated throughout their day! Alyssa shared the special significance of some of her accessories:

“On my flower bouquet I had a blue butterfly brooch that was from my grandmother. She is 91 years old and lives in Florida with y grandfather. I always dreamed of my grandparents being there on my wedding day but with my grandmother Alice being 91 years old and my grandfather Melvin being 93 years old and COVID we decided it was not safe for them to travel that far. They have been married 73 years and seeing the love they have for each other is so inspiring to Jason and I. For anyone that has met my grandmother Alice she is always wearing a brooch but butterflies are her favorite to wear. By having that with me on my bouquet it gave me hope and inspiration for Jason and I to be married for just as many years.”

Be sure to check out all the beautiful shots of these meaningful details in the highlights of their perfect day below! And of course, we couldn’t have pulled this amazing wedding off without some incredible vendors:

• Photographer: Jill Gearhart Photography, assisted by Jessica Duncan

• Venue: Armstrong Farms, Westminster Preserve

• Gown: MB Bride

• Hair: Copacetic Beauty Lounge (Mallory Puniak)

• Makeup: Makenna Carlin (friend)

• Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie.com (in “Twlight”)

• Tuxes or Suits: Men’s Warehouse

• Rings: James Douglas Jewelers

• Invitations or Other Stationery: annsbridalbargains.com

• Florals: Monika Friend (a close friend of my bridesmaid)

• Cake: Tasty Bakery

• Catering: Elegant Catering

• DJ: Entertainment Unlimited

• Videographer: Just Hitched Films (Ray Cordero)

• Coordinator or Event Planner: Deanndra Wetzel with Armstrong Farms

How do you set goals and know what to invest in as a small business owner? If you photograph weddings or engage in other “seasonal” work, the impending “off season” can be both exciting and terrifying! Photographers typically spend time and money investing in their business and in education to improve their skills, but no one really tells you WHAT that entails. Until now - here’s 10 things that small business owners can do in the off season to push their business forward!

That question of “what” is one that nearly every photographer thinks about at the beginning of the year once the Holiday hustle has died down and you’re left with more time to work ON your business with less things to occupy your time IN your business.

I’ve always been a person that is internally motivated and a bit of a perfectionist, and I habitually feel guilty if I’m not “doing” something or producing something. Setting specific goals is very daunting and feels rigid for me, in part because I can’t directly control my consumers’ behavior, and also because I will feel like a total failure if I don’t meet those goals. My motivator is fear more often than not, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing if you learn to set loose goals and have a whole lot of grace for yourself.

Instead of buying the cute paper planners for my daily, weekly, and monthly goals or and making trendy graphics for a vision board of 3 and 5 year benchmarks, I’m a “list it all out on my phone” type of gal. I have a master “ideas” list in my phone and every time I’m feeling uninspired or am at a loss for what to do next, I can pull out that idea list and start DOING.

As long as you’re making one small step a day towards progress, it’s enough.

Your list of ideas will look very different than mine, but to get my brain in the right mode to make business “goals”, aka think the next project I want to work on, I ask myself things like:

1. What do I feel like my weakest skill is? (invest in education in that category!)

2. What part of my workflow is the most time consuming (then work on streamlining or automating it!)

3. What’s something I dread with my business? (Network with others to learn other possible ways to do things!)

4. What can I outsource? (aka what’s taking up so much time that’s not something specific to YOU completing!)

5. What’s costing me the most money? (research alternatives!)

6. What’s a question that customers ask me over and over again? (work on clearer communication!)

7. What is my competitor doing better than me? (reach out to them for a mentor session!)

8. Am I reaching the customers I want to? (If not, switch up your branding or blog with those specific customers in mind!)

9. What’s something I can invest in to make my product better? (is it new gear? Maybe an educational course?)

10. What’s a resource or platform I’m not using yet, and is it feasible to incorporate it into my workflow? (Pinterest, Instagram reels, etc)

Of course there’s the daily tasks for any small business owners like taking care of clients, producing product, posting on social media, etc. but this list will help you with those projects both big and small that move the needle in the direction of progress! Here’s some things that I complete every year that are on my project list:

1. Branding

   • Update any digital or printed materials with new product shots

   • Get updated headshots

   • Take the time to update any color, logo, or text changes to your brand across EVERY platform (Facebook, website, google, linkedIn, Instagram, email signatures, etc.)

2. Website

   • Update your website with new images

   • Update your pricing, packages, etc.

   • Go through your website with “customer eyes” and make sure everything is organized with clear “call to actions”

3. SEO

   • Blog. Just do it.

   • Brainstorm a list of topics for blogs

   • Add alt text to all of your images to help with SEO

   • Add page titles and descriptions to all pages that are SEO friendly

4. Data Collection

   • Figure out what months have the most leads, most sales, etc. (This can be helpful for planning out what time of the year to invest into paid marketing)

   • Conversion Percentage: Do you know the percentage of “fans” that you convert to clients? Track how many leads against how many bookings to get a conversion percentage! Aim for 30% or more!

   • Raise your prices! If most of your sales are for your most expensive package or product, then it’s time to raise your prices! Look back through your sales to figure out the percentage of sales each price point is bringing in.

5. Financial Workflow

   • Research options for tracking your expenses easier (I recommend a business credit card linked to accounting software to make it automatic!)

   • Get organized for tax time! Research a reliable tax professional to help you get the most out of your money.

   • Pay yourself! Develop an easy system to pay yourself from your business income (A business checking account and a personal checking account with unlimited transfers back and forth helps BIG TIME!)

6. Social Media

   • If you hate doing it, learn how to batch-post automatically with services like Later.com

   • Brainstorm a list of reels ideas that aren’t cringey and feel like “you".” (and it’s OKAY not to do reels. It really is.)

   • Plan a monthly photoshoot of products or create an exporting system in Lightroom for when you edit photos so you can build up content to use on social media over time.

7. Network

   • Reach out to someone in your field that you admire to just get coffee and make a new friend!

   • Join Facebook groups for your expertise area to learn new skills and ideas, or just to meet people to understand and encourage you!

   • Get together with other small business owners in your community to learn how you can all support each other!

8. Client Communication

   • Start collecting emails in a Google Sheet for an email list!

   • Brainstorm ideas for and pre-draft email newsletters.

   • Do you send the same emails out over and over again? Make it a template!

   • Create and/or tweak your contact forms to collect ALL the info you need and also to pre-screen your clients! (It’s absolutely okay to require clients to specify their budget, and it’s absolutely okay to say you’re unavailable if their budget is way too low)

9. Education

   • Ask your mentors or peers for resources that they used to get where they are.

   • Offer to shadow or assist other professionals for free to gain on-the-job skills.

   • Buy my course! (But seriously, we cover SO MUCH of these things in detail!)

10. Define Success

    • Ask yourself what you REALLY want to get out of your business? Is it a number? A lifestyle? A state of mind? Get specific so you know when you are achieving it!

    • Figure out your monthly personal living expenses + your monthly business expenses to see just how many weddings you have to book or products you have to sell to meet your needs. (My finance planning tool can help!)

I’ve spent 10 years completing project after project, making and testing systems, and figuring out ways to automate everything to make my life easier and my business more streamlined. I’ve had so many people ask me about how I did certain things along the way, and I am always happy to help, because I definitely would not be here myself without the help of others and the audacity to ASK them! If you’ve found this information useful, I promise you it’s just the tip of the iceberg of what I can offer you as far as help! I spent two years putting together an online course to help small business owners just starting out have the knowledge, systems, and confidence to grow their business and “catch up” to the rest of the industry. If that sounds like something you want in on too, you can click the photo below to check out the course!

Ashley and Brandon had an amazing day in the early fall for their September wedding at the Chetremon Golf Course and Event Venue! “The Chet” is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues to work at because it seems to truly have everything that a wedding couple could want, but it’s also very easy for vendors to work at as well!

We started the day in the “Inn” on the Chetremon’s property, which is a great place if you’re looking for where to stay the night before and after your wedding. The convenience of having everything right there truly saves so much time and stress on wedding day! There’s plenty of room for even the biggest wedding parties, and the two-floor design makes it easy for the groomsmen to get ready downstairs while the bridesmaids can get ready upstairs! We filled the morning with champagne pops, a first look with Ashley’s dad and her bridesmaids, exchanging gifts to parents and each other, and a very special letter reading.

Ashley and Brandon decided not to do a first look, but still wanted to have a private moment to connect before the hectic day started, so we had them “meet” back-to-back by a tree on the golf course, and read letters that they wrote to each other. It was such a sweet moment and the bride and groom and whole paparazzi team cried!

We then headed to the beautiful St. Michael’s Basilica in Loretto for a stunning Catholic mass, and then returned to the Chet for portraits of their super fun bridal party and of course the bride and groom! We had so much fun exploring the entire golf course (seriously, the owners and managers are so nice and even supplied us all with golf carts!). There were plenty of amazing photo spots, lots of shade, and even some water and bridges to get some really unique photos.

The venue itself looks stunning for receptions, but paired with thoughtful decorations it was truly breath-taking. Ashley is an elementary school teacher and thoughtfully had her students write their definition of “love” on her table number signs - we couldn’t help but photograph every single one they were so precious!

DJ Jack Labarko did a phenomenal job as usual making sure everyone had fun for the reception. Ashley and her dad did an amazing choreographed dance, Brandon sang a karaoke love song to his new bride, and the dance playlist was jam-packed with the bride’s favorites: Shania Twain and Celine Dion. It’s so important to hire a DJ that will really listen to your requests, and these guys always hit the mark!

A little backstory about the couple: Brandon and Ashley met in high school while both performing for the musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". A couple of months later after the musical, prom was coming and Ashley (Junior) decided to ask Brandon (Sophomore) to go with her. The musical cast was getting together to practice for the Isaac Awards (awards that recognize school musicals and cast) and Ashley knew this was her shot! During one of the rehearsals, they all decided to play a game where everyone except one person would close their eyes. Ashley gave that person who didn't close their eyes a bag of candy with the word- "PROM?" written on it to give to Brandon, but it didn't go exactly as she had hoped. Brandon ended up throwing the bag of candy across the stage while not knowing who it was from! Half an hour went by until he actually found out that the bag of candy was from Ashley. Ever since then the rest is history! The couple has been together for 10 years, and were engaged for 1 year before their magical wedding.

I hope you enjoy the following highlights of THE wedding of the year, jam-packed with special moments both planned and unplanned, pulled off by the team of amazing vendors below:

• Ceremony: St. Michael’s Basilica (Loretto, PA)

• Reception Venue: Chetremon Golf Course and Event Venue (Cherry Tree, PA)

• Photographers: Jill Gearhart Photography and Jenna Dunsmore Photography (Indiana, PA)

• Videographers: Union & Main Collective

• Gown + Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Pine Ridge Bridal (Duncansville, PA)

• Hair: Oasis Styling Salon LLC (Cresson, PA)

• Makeup: Elisa Blue (Pittsburgh, PA)

• Suits: Miller's of Johnstown, Inc. (Johnstown, PA)

• Rings: Kranich's Jewelers (Altoona, PA)

• Florals: Florals on the Corner (Lilly, PA)

• Catering: Amici's Restaurant (Ebensburg, PA)

• DJ: DJ Jack Labarko (Johnstown, PA)

Monica and Jack had an absolutely perfect summer wedding at the Armstrong Farms Westminster Preserve wedding venue. Even though it was a SCORCHER (seriously, we drank all the water they had by 9pm!), these two managed to be cool, calm, and cheerful the entire day. I just love a wedding party that’s happy to be there - which is not always the case!

These two have been together for over a decade (!) and when you see the two of them interact you can instantly tell how comfortable they are around each other. I asked Monica about how they met, and she said, “We were high school sweethearts. We met way back in 2007 - our jr. year of high school in science class. On our first date we went to Chili’s and saw “I am Legend” at the movies. Jack claims I ran a red light while driving there but I still deny it to this day!”

We started the wedding day off photographing the beautiful details, including Monica’s super unique GREY diamond from Alexia Russel Jewelry, and the Sola wood flowers hand dyed by the bride! The dusty blue color palette is certainly popular this summer, but Monica added her own twist by choosing differing shades of the blue for the bridesmaid dresses.

Jack and his groomsmen kept me laughing all day long - you can see just how much personality they have by some of the hilarious groomsmen pictures! After shots of whiskey and Miller lite cheers, we knocked out the groomsmen photos pre-ceremony, to everyone’s delight. The tree-lined driveway gave us the perfect amount of shade and scenery. There’s even an old wagon on the property and the groomsmen were quick to recreate some movie scenes and other silly poses using it.

The lakeside pergola was the perfect spot for the couple to complete their wedding ceremony - Monica’s stepdad even officiated! The famous geese were there too to bring smiles to the guests as we all enjoyed the beautiful moments by the water. I took bets how long it would take for me to step in goose poop - I lasted a few hours, hahaha!

As is standard for most weddings, we did family photos immediately after the ceremony, and since it was a very hot and sunny day we took refuge for shade and photos under the beautiful trees surrounding the pond. “Avoid the sun” was the goal for Jack and Monica’s wedding portraits as well, and luckily the venue provided some beautiful spots among flowering bushes and under shady trees overlooking the scenic barn.

Since the guest list was large and the barn is best suited for dancing, Monica and Jack had their first dance and dinner under the large, beautiful tent beside the barn. Aly, the venue coordinator, was a huge help at orchestrating all the moving parts between three close-but-separate spots for the days festivities. After we all had our fill on some amazing Medure’s catering, guests walked over to the historic barn to get their dance on.

Royal Heir DJ had guests dancing all night - seriously, it was wild!, and I got to experience my first “thunderstruck” at a wedding. All of the vendors worked super hard to make the day amazing, and everything went so smoothly because of the awesome team Monica and Jack put together! Check out the vendors below and enjoy the highlights from Jack and Monica’s amazing wedding. Till death do us party!

Vendor List:

• Gown: Alyssa Kristin (designer) from Blanc de Blanc Bridal

• Makeup: Refeyeance Makeup

• Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal

• Suits: Jos. A. Bank

• Rings: Blue Nile, Alexis Russell Jewelry

• Invitations: Minted

• Florals: Sola Wood Flowers

• Cake/Donuts: Oakmont Bakery

• Catering: Medure’s

• DJ: Royal Heir DJ

• Videographer: Manny Pain Media

• Event Planner: Aly Weifenbaugh at Armstrong Farms, Westminster Preserve

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

In case no one has told you, marriage is HARD. It tests your patience, challenges your character, inspires your dreams, pushes your limits, and refines you into the best person you can possibly be. If you talk to anyone that’s been married for a significant amount of time, they will tell you that they have weathered many challenges, and the ones that find compromise and willingness to learn at the center of their values are the ones that persevere. Often times at weddings, you will hear the advice “don’t go to bed angry” - but it’s so much more than that. It’s showing unconditional grace to the person you’ve decided to make an ultimate commitment to, and putting aside your reaction to challenges in favor of a caring response.

In current culture, pride is one of the biggest things we battle, and a marriage is one of the hardest hit areas of our lives. Love that endures deserves to be celebrated, and that is exactly what we did in this vow renewal session. These two have been married for 10 years with two beautiful children, and have walked through many challenges together hand in hand.

For their 10th wedding anniversary, the bride approached me about snapping a few photos of her and her family, but we schemed up a pretty epic vow renewal ceremony, with my pastor husband officiating. The ceremony took place right off of the parking lot of the day-use beach area of Yellowcreek. Even though it was a public state park, we still had “wilderness forest” vibes, which went perfectly with the beautiful boho touches. Petal and Stem knocked it out of the park with that gorgeous bouquet featuring mocha roses, and the flower crowns for mama and the girls!

A simple macrame hanging between two trees provided a great and simple backdrop, and a few Shepards hooks with lanterns, a small area rug, and the cutest vintage loveseat were all we needed to transform the picnic area into something super photogenic and memorable. The ceremony was just a few moments long, but the handwritten vows between the couple had all the other adults (my husband and I) bawling. The vows acknowledged the challenges the couple had been through, while celebrating their perseverance and their gratitude to one another for truly forming a team that can overcome it all.

After the mini ceremony we snapped some sweet family photos in the woods and at the beach. At this time the water level of the lake was very low, so the beach offered up some very unique and beautiful spots to capture truly stunning wedding portraits. This was one of the best afternoons of shooting I have been blessed to be a part of! I hope that if you are considering a vow renewal or even a “local elopement”, you can be inspired to make it extra special with just a few simple touches. Enjoy the highlights of the afternoon below!

Are you afraid to get family photos, but the thought of coordinating outfits, coaxing smiles, keeping kids from having meltdowns, picking the right time of day, the right location, the right photographer, and the million other decisions that go into it are enough to send you running?

I sat down with my dear friend and long time family photo veteran to ask her some honest questions about getting family photos done from the mom’s perspective - because let’s face it, it’s usually the mom that makes the plans! Hopefully her answers (and her gorgeous family pics!) are enough to help you conquer your fear and have some beautiful milestones documented.

Why is it important to get family photos?

I love getting family photos to document the growth of our family. I display them in sequential order to see how much the kids change from year to year.

What's the biggest obstacle in preparing for your photos?

No major obstacles for me in preparing for the photos, except maybe just trying to choose a good time in The day that would suit the little ones.

What advice do you have for other families?

Advice for families? Try not to stress over “perfection”. I’m my opinion you’ll be more satisfied with your photos if you relax and allow the photographer to do their thing.

What do you look for in a family photographer?

The photographer has to be good with the kids! I can smile all day long but it’s the kids that sometimes need the coaxing.

Is there anything you pre-plan for your family session?

I actually pre-plan and put a lot of thought into the family’s clothing. I have found I’m much more satisfied with the photos if I’m cognizant of coordinated outfits and also finding a color scheme that would suit my decor where I plan to display the photos themselves.

What's something you've learned to not stress over in regards to family pictures?

Don’t stress over the posing and “perfect” photos. I love the candids so much because they really capture the essence of the family.

Do you prefer outdoor or indoor sessions and why?

We have done almost exclusively outdoor sessions and I love them! But I would be very interested in trying indoor as well, probably only in our home though rather than in front of a set.

Do you like printing your photos, or do you use them mostly digitally?

I always print the photos and also have canvasses made. Love to have them around the house!

When COVID wrecked their original plans to get married at the Renaissance Hotel in Pittsburgh, Janelle and Zac rolled with the punches like so many 2020 couples had to and planned two separate events to incorporate both safety AND their original dream and vision for their day.

The first event, the ceremony and reception, was a totally outdoor event at a friend’s property, high on a hilltop in the beautiful McDonald, PA. They were still able to incorporate elements from the original plan, like their beautiful invites from Paper Chasers, their sentimental details including Janelle’s grandma’s ring and handkerchief, and much of their original vendors for the reception (check those out below!)

We started the day at the couple’s beautiful new home where their sweet pups Sophie and Barley got to join in on the action too along with friends and family. We even got to do a first look right in front of the home Janelle and Zac built together, which was a very special moment. The ceremony, reception, and fireworks display (!!) were gorgeous in the pastoral hilltop setting, and the DJ threw one heck of a party under the stars!

Even though the “Plan B” day was perfect, we still wanted to capture their wedding portraits in the city that Janelle and Zac both love, so a month later we reconnected for a few hours of strictly portraits downtown and at the Renaissance, their original venue.

The city portraits were something we ALL were looking forward to, and that urban atmosphere plays a big part in their relationship. When I asked Janelle about how they got engaged, she said “Zac and myself both love New York City. New York city is one of the first big trips we went on together a few years back and we have been visiting yearly ever since. We always talked about getting engaged on an ice skating rink at Christmas time. In November 2018 we went to New York to see the Christmas lights and went skating at Bryant Park. After skating for an hour, Zac requested a picture and then proposed! He planned a romantic dinner across the river with the skyline in the background.”

Capturing the Pittsburgh skyline was something that was paramount, so the couple booked the Heaven Suite in the Renaissance, a gorgeous upscale room with a private terrace showcasing the best views of Pittsburgh. After some stunning and unique photos on the iconic yellow Roberto Clemente Bridge, and in the grand marble staircase in the hotel lobby, we headed to the terrace in the Heaven Suite to experience a rooftop view of Pittsburgh that was breath taking and the perfect way to end our wedding photo experience! I hope you enjoy the highlights of both days, and be encouraged that if you too have to go “plan B”, there’s always a creative way to incorporate some of what you originally dreamed of.

---

Vendors:

Photography - Lead Photographer: Jill Gearhart Photography; Second Shooter: Jonathan Blanchard

Gown - Exquisite Bride, Murrysville

Hair - CC Salon

Makeup - Emily Van Scoy & Co.

Bridesmaids Dresses - Exquisite Bride, Murrysville

Suits - Top Hat Tuxedo

Rings - LJ Marks Jewelers

Invitations - Paper Chaser

Florals - Berries and Birch Flower Design Studio

Cake: Oakmont Bakery

Catering: Renaissance Pittsburgh

DJ - DJ Climax (Bobby Kramer)

Videographer - Legendary Celebrations Cinematography

Coordinator - Fallon DiRiggi, Renaissance Pittsburgh

Macabre wedding photography and engagement photography can be a great theme If you’re looking for a unique experience and love all things dark, mysterious, gothic, and classic. Photos at a mausoleum may be just what you’re searching for. Mausoleums can be architecturally gorgeous as well, so if your town doesn’t offer much in interesting buildings and you don’t mind the macabre, this is a super satisfying spot to shoot, photographically speaking!

When my dear friend Brittany got engaged (check out her gorgeous black onyx ring in the photos below!), we knew that their photos had to be something unique and different. Brittany has some experience modeling (and is darn good with makeup!) so the somber, serious mood of a shoot in a cemetery was no problem for her and her fiancé Josh to pull off. I know Brittany would kill this session (bad pun - sorry) - but Josh certainly also held his own next to this stunner! These two braced the cold February temperatures and created some of the most unique engagement photos I have been honored to capture!

Even though it may be the last label you would want for yourself, being a “covid bride” can actually have some bright spots, namely getting to choose a separate time and location for some pretty spectacular wedding portraits. Lydia and Tyler initially set a date for the summer of 2020, but then wanted to move the date up to avoid some of the consequences of waiting to have their wedding in the midst of a pandemic. Choosing a small, safe ceremony with just friends and family, the two were able to “make it official” and then save the “big celebration” for a later, safer date.

One of the best parts of this scenario was that we were able to pick a separate date specifically for portraits, one that worked for everyone’s schedule, and also choose a location SOLELY on photos, without having to worry about it’s proximity to a church or a reception hall, for example.

I was very excited when Lydia choose Harwood Acres Mansion, as I had this venue on my bucket list for some time. When you arrive, it’s no secret that it is known as a great location to other photographers too - there were at least a dozen other photographers there! But, the way in which I flow through posing and group different types of people combinations together lent itself to keeping us from hunkering down in one location too long, so we were able to share the grounds and explore the entirety of the property, showcasing all that it had to offer.

Popular with not only photographers but also folks just out and about walking their pups, Harwood Acres boasts some amazing stone architecture, romantic courtyards, secret passageways, and beautiful European style stained glass and roofing. If you are considering having your wedding there, or even scheduling a separate shoot for your portraits, you can rest assured that you will have some fairy-tale looking art for your walls. I hope you enjoy these photos that show off one of the best wedding portrait locations in Pittsburgh!