Brooke and Phil celebrated their cold, wintery Duquesne Club Wedding at both St. Paul Cathedral and the downtown Pittsburgh private club. It was surely cold and windy, but we made the best of the weather and made sure to get lots of photos of her gorgeous Pronovias wedding dress, lovely outdoor portraits, and all of the fun at their wedding reception at the Duquesne Club.
Getting Ready in the Bridal Suite at the Duquesne Club Wedding Space
The Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh is one of my favorite venues to photograph, because of its classic and elegant vibes and it’s wonderful getting ready bridal suite. The club is located on Sixth Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh and is complete with dark wood walls, a second floor ballroom, and a wonderful stone courtyard for the cocktail hour.
The 12th floor of the Duquesne Club is home to the large bridal suite, where lots of my brides – including Brooke – get ready on their wedding day. The bridal suite has a main living room space, where I ask lots of my brides to get into their wedding dress. This space is often used as the makeup and hair location as well. Off of the suite’s main space are two bedrooms, where I can be found photographing wedding details like the dress, shoes, jewelry, and invitation suite.
Brooke wanted to make sure that her dress and veil were really highlighted in her wedding photos, and so I opened two of the windows in the bridal suite to let in lots of glowy light and made sure her eyelashes pop-ed in her wedding getting ready photos.
Wedding Ceremony at St. Paul Cathedral
After leaving their Duquesne Club wedding getting ready space, we got into our transportation and headed over to Pittsburgh’s St. Paul Cathedral, located in the Oakland area of the city. They chose St. Paul Cathedral because they had attended mass there as a couple while attending the University of Pittsburgh together, and it also provides one of the most grand backdrops of all of the Catholic Churches in Pittsburgh.
Brooke was really looking forward to photos in the side chapel before the wedding ceremony, and after the ceremony we also took advantage of the warmth and architecture of the Cathedral in some of their additional wedding portraits.
Their ceremony was officiated by my favorite priest in the city – Father Nick Vaskov! He’s the best! Always so happy and pleasant and entertaining throughout the ceremony.
Wedding Photos in the Cold at the Mellon Institute Columns
We attempted to take photos outside of St Paul Cathedral, but the wind was just insane,
so we had to have a different game plan. I instructed the wedding party to meet us at the Duquesne Club for photos in about 40 minutes, and we headed over (just me, Brooke, and Phil) to the Mellon Institute Columns. The columns were in our game plan originally, but I wasn’t sure if we would go there due to the weather.
It ended up being a great choice for wedding photos, because the columns provided us just enough of a barrier from the wind that we were able to get some beautiful natural light images before heading out.
I love how Brooke was running with her dress flowing behind her, and how the two of them snuggled up with a blowing-in-the-wind veil for some beautiful, timeless wedding photos. Although it was cold, we made sure that they were kept warm and that we moved quickly so that the smiles stayed! In working with the wind, I had to make sure that Brooke was on the side where the wind blew her dress and veil away from her (gorgeous) face. I loved the way the wedding pictures turned out!
Reception For Their Duquesne Club Wedding
After photos at the Mellon Institute Columns, we drove back to the Duquesne Club to meet up with our wedding party. I decided that the best place to do wedding party photos away from the guests was in the second floor ballroom. We went upstairs and I set up lights that would allow us to let in the elegant scenery of the ballroom while also allowing the serving staff to finish prepping the space.
After wedding party photos, I photographed the floral pieces by Gidas Florist and then headed downstairs to the courtyard for images of the cocktail hour and the wedding guests. It was nice to meet everyone!
For the main wedding reception, the guests and wedding party went back upstairs to the Ballroom for the introductions, first dance, and toasts. The bride danced with her Dad to the same song as her 16th birthday, and the kids that were involved in the wedding day partied hard on the dance floor.
Although their wedding day was cold (of course! It’s January in Pittsburgh!) Brooke and Phils day was full of lots of love, elegance, and a little bit of Jersey flare. xo
