Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding

Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding

Helen and Paul’s Heinz Chapel and LeMont wedding was a day filled with friends and family traditions. Looking back on this late July wedding in Pittsburgh, I’m thinking about how easy-going and genuinely kind Helen and Paul are. It was a Sunday wedding, so the normally busy areas around Oakland were mostly deserted. Since they had no bridal party it was mostly just the three of us walking around and taking photos after their ceremony. I truly enjoyed the time we had together.

A laughing bride and groom embrace as they stand on Mt. Washington with the skyline of downtown Pittsburgh behind them.

Getting Ready

Helen gets ready to leave for the ceremony at Heinz Chapel. In addition to the Badgley and Mischka flats, she had a couple of family heirlooms with her – a brooch on her bouquet and her necklace. Fun fact: Helen’s parents live across the street from an ice cream stand! That made the drive into town from the south hills so much more enjoyable🍦

A pair of Badgley and Mischka shoes a bride holding her lacy wedding dress on a hanger and a detail of a brooch on a bouquet.

Heinz Chapel

Helen and her dad Walt wait their turn to walk down the aisle.

A bride holds her bouquet as she has her arm around her father's arm as they laugh during her Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.

Helen and Walt make their way to the altar at the beautiful Heinz Chapel.

The interior of Heinz Chapel as seen from the back of the church as a bride and her father walk down the aisle at her Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.

Just after taking the last photo I ran down the side of the chapel to get a photo as Helen and Walt walked towards Paul.

A bride and her father walk towards the groom who smiles at left near the altar during their Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.

It was a self-uniting ceremony, so one of Helen and Paul’s friends acted as master of ceremonies.

Seen from behind, a bride and groom hold hands on the altar during their Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.

The couple are professional singers. A choir of their talented friends was a big part of their ceremony. Beautiful music reverberated through Heinz Chapel.

A choir stands in a semi-circle on the altar at Heinz Chapel as the bride and groom sit listening to them.

Helen and Paul were all smiles.

A bride and groom laugh as they hold hands and exchange wedding vows during their Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.

The happy couple is presented to their guests at the end of the ceremony.

A bride and groom stand holding hands as they are presented to the audience at the end of their Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.

Before starting on the formal photos Helen and Paul went back to the altar to thank their friends.

A choir smiles as the bride and groom approach them from the left during their Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.

Portraits around Oakland

Beautiful light at the back of the chapel.

Standing at the back of the church, a bride and groom are rim lit from the open door behind them.

With an early time slot for their ceremony, Helen and Paul’s timeline included a lot of time for portraits. It was a treat to be able to work in the area around the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel – one of the most beautiful areas in Pittsburgh.

A bride and groom stand close facing each other on a stone pathway covered by trees.A bride and groom walk and hold hands on a flagstone pathway.

We walked over to the Mellon Institute for some more portraits. It was great to have the place to ourselves!

In a stone portico, a bride stands looking down at her bouquet in her right hand. Her left hand is on her hip.A bride and groom stand in a portico with stone columns. They're facing each other with their foreheads touching during their Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.A bearded groom in a blue suit wearing glasses laughs with stone columns behind him during his Heinz Chapel and LeMont WeddingIn silhouette, a bride and groom stand between stone columns facing each other.

Cookie Time!

I am a cookie table expert. Being a wedding photographer I look at it as my responsibility 🙂 I love it when family members make the cookies, especially when they use favorite recipes that are handed down through the generations. Paul comes from upstate New York, so his family (including his niece) was no doubt blown away by this Western Pennsylvania tradition:

surrounded by many cookies a photo of a young girl reaching for a cookie on a table during a Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding.

The skies were clear and the sunset provided the light that gave a pastel-like quality to the scene as we took a couple of portraits up on Mt. Washington.

A bride and groom face each other as they stand high above the skyline of the city of Pittsburgh at sunset.

The Reception

Back inside, toasts to the couple were offered by guests.

A man lifts a glass of wine as he toasts a bride and groom seated at a table in front of large windows.

First dance. Wow, they look happy!

Dancing in a room with windows a bride and groom smile and laugh.A bride and groom dance cheek to cheek. The groom wears a blue suit.

Everybody danced.

A bride in a white dress laughs as she dances with two other womenA woman in an orange dress and a man in a white shirt hook their legs together as they dance.Two women and a man laugh as they attempt to Irish step dance.

Some details, including a macaron tower in lieu of a cake.

Four photos: a colorful tree made of macarons, a vase of white orchids, bluebells, and a purple drink in a martini glass.

The sunset over the Ohio River was stunning. It was a fitting end to fantastic day!

With a dramatic sunset behind them, a couple stands with their heads touching.

Filed under: Heinz Chapel and LeMont Wedding, Pittsburgh Wedding Photographer, Summer Wedding