Dinofa Photography | South Jersey Weddings »

i have been anticipating shooting shelly and dan’s wedding since the day they contacted me over 8 months ago to discuss their wedding plans.  maybe it was the tingles in my toes or the fact that this was the first couple to book us that were complete strangers.  either way, i immediately got the sense that this was going to be a truly unique and special wedding.  i should get bonus points for being so right.

lauren & i first met the happy couple in new york city for their engagement shoot in central park back in may.  you may remember the session from their blog post and slideshow.

shelly & dan are high school sweet hearts, so when they told me that they were planning on getting married at their old high school i couldn’t help but smile.  my first thoughts were stinky locker rooms and cheesy cafeteria dances.  well, as it turns out, i was way off.  the hill school in pottstown, pa is a private high school with a beautiful chapel, charming courtyards, and breathtaking views.  the architecture & decor of the school reminded me of the movie harry potter, less the flying wizards of course.  below are some of my favorite moments from the day.  i also wanted to give a special thank you to my awesome second shooter, danielle hopkins for covering for my wife while she was home taking care of the newborn.

the day started off with the girls at the lords and ladies salon in gilbertsville, pa.  the brides hair was masterfully crafted by the very talented, jen mitchell.

this is a photo of shelly’s sister taking her first peek of the bride with her hair and veil done.  sister love at it’s finest.

even shelly’s soon -to-be niece, baby elizabeth was in awe of how beautiful she looked.

after all the bridesmaids were done getting their hair styled at the salon we all headed back to shelly’s parents house for make-up and dresses.  the bride had her cousin emmy schaaf use her artistic talents to apply her make-up.

some people might say i have a photography shoe fetish.  i’m not sure about that, but these badgley mischka heels that were purchased at perfect details were sexy as hell.

this amazing wedding dress was from the designer label marisa by tamara kristen

florals and bouquets were created by plaza flowers in norristown, pa.

the groom’s suit was from hugo boss and the ultra cool tie was nola couture

shelly and dan had a large charter bus for their guests at the wedding.  the bus needed to drop everyone off at the bottom of hill because it was too large to drive up the narrow path to the chapel.  with all my camera gear, suitcase of lenses, and legs burning i was able to snag this shot as i passed this crew on my way up.

let the ceremony begin

the groomsmen wore tan pants with their own personal navy blazers, while the bridesmaids wore the cutest green dresses from priscilla of boston.

dan’s grandfather had given this hand watch to his father as a wedding gift back in 1971.  dan carried the watch with him the whole wedding day in memory of his father.

after the ceremony and some picture time with the bride and groom we were off to the cocktail hour that was being held at the headmaster’s garden during the golden hour before the sun began to set.  it was super gorgeous and filled with happy vibes.

i also had the pleasure of meeting catering manager dan katzenmoyer and staff from the hill school who did a superb job on preparing the meals for the evening.

the outdoor dinner reception was held just around the corner in the school’s dining courtyard.  i had the opportunity to sneak up to the top floor of the adjacent building for a little birds eye view.

the dancing was held back in the headmaster’s courtyard with tunes pumping from the speakers of matt ostroff of ebe talent

congratulations shelly + dan!!  enjoy.