With This Ring: Bridal 2018
Brittany + Ben Richards
photographer: Alyssa Eliot | Lyssa Ann Portraits | lyssaannportraits.com
When Kent State University student Ben Richards met Brittany Ankrom during his freshman and her sophomore year, sparks flew.
“Ben was so interesting to me and so smart and funny. It was easy to talk with him. It was pretty automatic,” says Brittany, describing her instant attraction to Ben the first time they met through a mutual friend.
“I felt very comfortable with Brittany and connected with her,” says Ben, explaining that the first encounter with his future bride felt right.
Fast-forward eight years to July 15, 2017 , when the Lakewood pair tied the knot at Silver Springs Park in Stow. The do-it-yourself affair brought the couple together with family and friends in a labor of love. They arranged chairs and decorated the park’s hall in the morning hours of the wedding with splashes of pink and all things spun from the heart.
from the Bride:
He proposed … at Lake View Cemetery. A lot of people think that’s odd — a cemetery — but if you’ve been there, you get it. We were alone. It was a very nice moment. It was really sweet.
Money Wise: Write out a budget and get details on costs, which add up fast. A lot of vendors’ charges are vague. We saved money for our wedding during the two years we were engaged.
Dance with me … to “Still Together” by Mac Demarco. It’s lighthearted but still a love song we like.
In Bloom: We arranged single mismatched muted pink flowers in small glass vases on each table. My mother-in-law picked up the vases, more than 100 of them, at thrift stores. I really loved the centerpieces and my bouquet (both bursts of pinks and whites) by Blissful Blooms Floral Artisan. My mom painted the table numbers in gold on sticks that we placed in the vases and also all of our signs, which resembled chalkboards framed in gold.
Sugar Rush: We did Hartville Kitchen pies — cherry, apple, lemon, chocolate peanut butter and pecan — for dessert. Being from Hartville, we always had a lot of pies around at home from the Hartville Kitchen. We still had a two-tier cake accented with blush flowers to cut during the reception, which my mom arranged.
Sweet Send-off: Jars of honey. We got together with our parents, grandparents and siblings for a favor-making party. We decorated the jars with stickers and bee charms strung on ribbons. We wanted something guests could use.
Say Cheese! Some photographers are better with posed and some with candid pictures. Alyssa [of Lyssa Ann Portraits] did both. We got a lot of moments that had a photojournalistic style that are very fun to look back on now. One of my favorite moments during the ceremony was of my nephew, Tanner, our ring bearer, giving my brother a high-five. After walking down the aisle and taking his role so seriously, he did his job. It’s such a great photo.
from the Groom:
Happy Day: After the big group effort of setting up the venue in the morning and Brittany and I going our separate ways afterward, I returned to the hall. I remember looking out the big window there, seeing our family and friends arrive and feeling really excited. I expected to be nervous minutes before we were going to be married but remember the feeling of being very happy, excited and content, about to marry Brittany with all of our family and friends there.
Emily + Jason Pastorius
photographer: Tim Naujoks | TN PhotoGraphics | tnphotographics.com
Jason Pastorius invited his girlfriend, Emily Hurst, to play disc golf, as the pair often did. But this December 2016 invite had a precursor. “I told her this could be life-changing,” Jason says.
The timing was curious. Emily was in the middle of an annual family ritual, making pierogies in her family’s Macedonia kitchen, and her mother, aunts and cousins were beside her. Jason dropped to one knee and presented Emily with a golf disc that read “Will you marry me?” The Sunday afternoon surprise was followed by Emily’s assured “yes.”
“I was in a ball cap and yoga pants, and covered with flour and no makeup on,” says Emily, describing the off-guard proposal that drew the entire kitchen clan together in hugs. “We did a Champagne toast out of Solo cups.”
“What better day to ask?” says Jason, who chose that family occasion to pop the question since he had formed a close bond with Emily’s family throughout the Aurora couple’s dating years. This moment would be one for the family history book.
Emily and Jason’s three-and-a-half-year romance took a new course at Blue Heron Event Center in Medina on their Nov. 11, 2017 , wedding day, Veterans Day: an anniversary date U.S. Army veteran Jason says he’ll never forget.
from the Bride
The I Do’s: We had a Catholic mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Macedonia. The church was full with way more people than we expected. We brought in an organist, cellist, flutist and singer. Our priest, Father Kevin Shemuga, made it very personal. Jason messed up on his vows. The priest said, “Close enough.”
Here Comes the Bride: My dress was Maggie Sottero, all lace, short-sleeved and slightly off the shoulder with an A-line skirt, short train and belt, and accented with rhinestones. I wore gold rhinestone-studded shoes. In one, I put the penny my mom wore in her wedding shoes 30 years ago and a 2017 penny in the other.
Sway My Way: Our first dance was to “What a Wonderful World.” It’s our style of being happy and in love. We had our father-daughter dance to “Walk With Me,” which my dad picked out and we played over and over the night before.
Fun Fare: We had food stations, hot dogs, sliders, a mashed potato bar and walking tacos for late-night snacks, which were fun and gave it a casual kind of vibe. We also had a candy bar with 250 pounds of gummies, chocolates and other candies that looked pretty and fit in with our navy, maroon and white colors and theme.
Savor the Moment: The best advice people gave us was to step back and look at our wedding and soak it all in. When I saw everyone laughing, talking and dancing, the year’s worth of work — watching everyone having fun made it all worthwhile. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Remember what’s important .
from the Groom
Tears Fell: When I put the ring on Emily’s finger, I choked up pretty bad. Everybody cried.
Mr. and Mrs.: When we walked out of the church, bells rang as everyone blew bubbles. Emily’s mom spent the night before tying bells on the bubble blowers with twine.
Picture Perfect: A pergola, fountain, gazebo, bridges, hills, everything you could ever want, were on the [Blue Heron reception] grounds. Before the reception, we … stopped at a disc golf course and Veterans Memorial Park in Macedonia for pictures.
A Special Guest, A Special Moment: My friend Chad’s mother, who has always been a very good mother figure, and I danced to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” My grandma, who raised me, passed away. Toni, Chad’s mom, was our guest of honor.
Mary + Hunter Begy
photographer: | Tim Naujoks | TN PhotoGraphics | tnphotographics.com
On February 2016, Hunter Begy found himself nearly 1,000 miles apart from his girlfriend of almost a year, Mary Sigrid Lauletta. The two met during her sophomore year and his senior year at Ohio University. Soon after he graduated, Hunter, a Chagrin Falls native, stepped into his new role as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. Their love affair became long distance with Begy stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Mary in central Ohio after transferring to Kenyon College.
“We were in a predicament,” says Mary, a Hudson native, describing the long conversations she and Hunter had about managing through the nearly two years the pair would be apart until Mary completed college. Shortly after she graduated, Mary
traveled to Mississippi to celebrate Hunter’s birthday. After dinner at a fancy restaurant, the couple walked on the beach. They bumped into one of Hunter’s Air Force buddies and his wife. Hunter asked her to take a picture of Mary and him. Mary then found Hunter bending on one knee, proposing — a scene Hunter had planned thoughtfully. That July 2016 evening promised the now Enid, Oklahoma, residents’ time and distance apart would soon end with a future together forever, starting with their June 17, 2017 , wedding at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron.
from the Bride
He’s the One: It’s kind of funny and sounds super cliche, but I told my mom a couple of months after I met Hunter, “I’m going to marry him.” He always would make me smile and laugh endlessly.
Tea for Two: We got married at the Tea Houses garden at Stan Hywet. Our aisle was a long path, almost 500 feet, surrounded by birch trees. The end of the path opens to a stone patio with two stone houses, Tea Houses, at each side. Everything was so green with beautiful gardens right there and overlooking a hill onto another garden.
Superheroes and a Vegan Treat: We got our cake from the West Side Bakery. Hunter and I are both lactose intolerant, so we got a vegan cake. It was a three-tier chocolate cake with cherry filling, really very simple. I’m obsessed with Wonder Woman, and he’s obsessed with Batman. We found a [cake] topper on Etsy of Batman with Wonder Woman wearing a veil. It was so cool.
from the Groom
She’s the One: For me, it was most definitely love at first sight. When I met her at OU, I was intoxicated by her. The same day I met her, one of her friends invited me and my buddy to go hang out with them and a group of their friends. I had to bug my roommate to get off his butt, just so I could spend more time with her. Shortly after, we began dating. I had always felt like she was the girl I was going to marry, but we had to understand the distance commitment when I got sent to Keesler. However, spending hundreds of miles apart, we always put each other first, and it was then that I realized we wouldn’t let anything come between us.
First Look: I made it a point that when Mary walked down the aisle I would face away and turn when she got close. Sitting there faced away listening to everyone’s gasps and expressions had me so excited but not nearly as prepared for when I finally saw her. She was so beautiful that I couldn’t even calm myself down to remember putting the ring on the right finger minutes later.
Britta + Vince Latz
photographer: | Sara Neff & Chris Rutan | Neff & Rutan Photography | neffrutanphotography.com
When Britta Harman arrived at a supposed work function at 78th Street Studios in Cleveland in August 2016, she stepped into an art gallery to find a pathway of white rose petals and large photos of herself and her boyfriend, Vince Latz, on display.
A sign read: “Britta, I hope you figured out that you aren’t here for work. Take a walk down memory lane …”
Britta’s walk along the path ended at a ring of petals, a landscape photo inscribed with a question mark and Vince’s proposal.
“We had been dating for four-and-a-half years and talked about marriage and our life and future together, but I had no idea how Vince would propose. He always promised me it would be a surprise. I was absolutely shocked,” says Britta, who now lives in Stow with Vince. The two wed July 29, 2017 , at Hudson Evangelical Presbyterian Church and celebrated with a reception at the Bertram Inn & Conference Center in Aurora.
from the Bride
Matrimonial Meeting: The first time we ever met was at the altar of the church where we were married. My dad introduced me to Vince, the director of youth ministries, who was standing at the front of the church. He was looking for a female chaperon for a youth program mission trip to Atlanta. I was a teacher at the time and could go on a weeklong mission trip .
Love on the Weekend: We intentionally planned for a weekend event rather than one day. The Friday before we had an open dessert time at the Bertram, where we had our reception. We also had a brief cookie reception after our ceremony and Sunday breakfast for anyone in from out of town.
Dancing the Night Away: The highlight of our wedding day was seeing everyone have so much fun at the reception. I was shocked by how many people danced the whole night. I remember both of us looking at each other because the dance floor was packed. People didn’t want to leave [the dance floor] to light sparklers at the end of the night. It was a really, really fun time.
Something Borrowed, Something Blue: I wore my mother’s veil, which I really loved having. My jewelry was even more significant. My maternal grandfather, my only remaining grandparent, gave me a sapphire ring. It was a ring of my grandmother’s that my sister-in-law wore, and I also wore to be our something blue. My engagement ring includes a center diamond from my paternal grandmother, and the diamond stones in my wedding band are from my maternal grandmother, so I have both of them [close].
from the Groom
I Fell in Love: The day I knew that I was in love with her was our third date. I took her on a day trip to Pittsburgh to show her the various places that I grew up, including some activities downtown. I realized I was in love with her while we were ice skating at the downtown Pittsburgh plaza.
A Day to Remember: It’s almost impossible to describe one legitimate highlight. The whole day was just a wonderful time. Our families celebrated and danced the entire night. We had the most incredible DJ who really made the evening a special and classy affair. We were surrounded by such wonderful people, from family to bridal party and friends, that we had zero worries or stress. Even now, months afterward, we continue to think back about how meaningful each part of our day was.