As I’ve mentioned before, Julie and Kirk are some of my favorite people. I was there, capturing Kirk’s proposal to Julie at Storm King, and of course I was there to photograph their wedding. Perks of having a wedding photographer as a best friend, right?
Well fast forward to the following June, my husband and I packed our bags and began heading towards Pittsburgh for their summer camp style wedding. They chose a venue near where Julie grew up in western Pennsylvania at a campground called Breakneck Lodge in Portersville. Upon arriving we were greeted by a handful of little cabins leading up to a wooden lodge. We were surrounded by lush forest, and in the distance, if you concentrated hard enough, you could hear the faint sound of water. I was really excited, because I had been toying with the idea of shooting film at weddings for a while, but didn’t want to take time away from a client as I switched out my film canister or manually focused my camera. I figured that I would bring my medium format Mamiya 645E and some rolls of film with me to experiment with, on top of my regular digital kit. Once we saw the beautiful campground, I knew this would be laid back and the perfect opportunity to bust out the film camera.
Since Josh was one of Kirk’s groomsmen, we arrived a day early to help setup. Being creative, hard workers, they decided to take a DIY approach to their wedding day. We helped arrange draping in the tent, set up the reception tables - whatever needed to be done! It was all hands on deck.
The following day we arrived to even more busyness. Julie and her bridesmaids were arranging their bouquets, while wedding guests filled the guest cabins. Her and Kirk got ready in nearby cabins, with their first look just down the path towards the water. We then walked down to the creek and took portraits in the natural wonderland surrounding us. I loved that we were able to include a few photos of their beloved dog, Patrick as well. Any wedding that has a dog is an automatic win in my book.
For their ceremony, Kirk’s brother in law Ryan officiated under the tent. The ceremony felt sacred and tailored specifically for them. Kirk’s sister even sang during it. Directly after, the reception began back up at the lodge. It was a sweltering day and everyone was pleased to escape the heat in the air conditioned rec hall.
One of my favorite details of the day was the inclusion of a local tradition that sat next to the cake table. Julie explained that there is a Western Pennsylvanian tradition where the bride’s relatives bake cookies in the months leading up to the wedding, for a cookie table beside the wedding cake. Guests are invited to take home the cookies, or eat them with dessert. Her mom, her mom’s best friend, her aunt and her grandma all contributed to the cookie table. How cool is that?
As the night wound on, the party spilled out onto the campground, with many guests venturing down to the creek to cool off and wade in the water. I overheard conversations that spanned the topics of education, the arts and true crime. There were adults riding in a tire swing and kids jumping on a trampoline; a camp fire was burning by one of the cabins. I left with a belly full of bbq, and a heart full of gratitude for sharing such a beautiful day with my friends.
When my film scans came back the following week, I was so excited by the way the Kodak Portra 400 translated with the rest of my images. About 1/4 of the images featured here were taken on my Mamiya, can you guess which ones are film?
Vendor list
Venue, Breakneck Lodge, Portersville PA
Officiant, Ryan Searles
Bride’s dress, BHLDN
Bride’s hair piece, handmade by the bride herself.
Hair and makeup, done by the bride.
Flowers, arranged by the bride, purchased from Giant Eagle.
Groom’s suit, J.Crew
Groom’s shoes, Rockport
Groom’s tie, Tallia
Groom’s watch, Timex
Wedding cake, Autumn’s Cakes
Invitation suite, designed and printed by the couple
Film processing and scanning, The Darkroom
