Latest from behind the lens

Engagements

Keely & Todd | fall engagement photos in a cornfield

Sometimes the road to love is long, even for the best people, and Keely and Todd are two of the best.  They are always willing to help out a friend and value family above all else.  Life threw a lot of curve balls their way before they met each other.  Happily ever after had to work hard to track them down, but it didn't give up.  This saturday they will say their vows on top of the hill at Keely's parent's property in the very spot where her sister Afton was married a few years ago.  It's the spot where Keely had imagined her wedding long before she and Todd even met, and that her family has enjoyed many thursday night campfires over the years. Last fall we took a rambling drive around all of the dirt roads near their home.  We visited the hill where they'll be married, the…
Amanda Wilson
October 13, 2015
Engagements

Chelsea & Adam | the hunt is over

 Their first date was at Home Depot. If that doesn't say "married," I don't know what does. *wink*  Married people - you know what I'm talkin' about!  They met one night at the bar where Chelsea works and exchanged numbers after a little prompting from their friends.  Adam (who is just as handy as he is handsome) got a text from Chelsea not long after asking if he knew how to install a ceiling fan.  When he arrived with his tools, Adam determined she'd bought the wrong ceiling fan so they headed to Home Depot to exchange it which turned into dinner, which turned into many more dates, and this weekend they will say forever, I love you. For their engagement photos last summer, we traveled to Chelsea's family's camp along the banks of French Creek where they've spent a lot of good times with family and friends.   They…
Amanda Wilson
October 8, 2015
Engagements

Michele & David | engagement photos at Mingo Creek

Michele and David are getting married tomorrow!  Hurricane Joaquin is just going to have to wait because these two deserve a beautiful day together.  When I asked David to describe Michele in three words, he said that she is intelligent, compassionate, and beautiful.  We met up last fall for their engagement photos at Mingo Creek Park near Finleyville, PA.  Mingo Creek is known for its covered bridge festival and beautiful scenery, it was the perfect spot to enjoy a crisp fall evening together before David had to leave.  Being a member of the armed forces, David and Michele were living their love long-distance since he would be away from home for several months.  Now he's home and their wedding day is here 🙂  Time to celebrate!       It took all three of us searching the ground to find the perfect acorn and three colored leaves for a photo…
Amanda Wilson
October 2, 2015
Engagements

Jessica & Elias | sunset engagement photos

October is here!  And there are some darn fine people getting married this month 🙂  This weekend we are kicking things off with a wedding double header as Jessica and Elias tie the knot on Friday.  A few months ago we met up at Northmoreland Park for some sunset engagement photos and they brought along their dog, Lexy. Fate totally brought these two together.  It was a super hot day on a work trip in 2008 and Elias had a few hours to kill - he and his boss asked a random stranger in a Wendy's if there were any pools close by where they could cool off and got directions to a pool down the road that turned out to be for members only.  After explaining their situation to the owner, he let them in for the day and you guessed it - there was the woman he would…
Amanda Wilson
October 1, 2015
Engagements

Sara & Josh | Magical Harry Potter Themed Engagement Session

When Josh and Sara contacted me to shoot their wedding, they said they wanted to do something a little different for their engagement photos.  They are both devoted Harry Potter fans.  Josh even proposed in Orlando at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter by leading Sara on what she thought was an official tourist scavenger hunt contest put on by AAA travel.  Actually, it was a clever document Josh put together with a graphic designer friend.  They scoured the park trying to locate all of the Horcruxes, the last of which was a ring.  Sara approached the cart and asked the worker if she had the ring, to which the lady replied "I don't have the ring, but he might."  When Sara turned around, Josh was holding a wand box, and when she opened it there was a diamond ring on the wand inside with a note that read "Always." …
Amanda Wilson
September 14, 2015
Lingrow Farmweddings

Katie + Kyle | Lingrow Farm Wedding

Happy first anniversary to Katie and Kyle! I'm sitting here today editing wedding photos for Kyle's sister, Kennedy, and her new husband Matt who were just married a few weeks ago!  I thought it would be fun to take a quick trip down memory lane to last year 🙂   It was a sunny August day at Lingrow Farm and all of the flowers were in bloom.  The girls were getting ready in the air conditioning in the historic farmhouse on the property.  After years of long distance relationship in separate states (Kyle's job was far away), the day had finally come that there would be no more "goodbye for now's" for the two of them. Happily ever after started right here.   Kyle had a great crew of guys - both of his brothers and a group of old friends.  While the girls sat in the make up chair,…
Amanda Wilson
August 3, 2015
ProductsWhat to do with your images

What to do with your images: Vivid Metal Prints

    Today I'm excited to share with you another installment of "What to do with your images", our blog series to help you get your photos out of your hard drives, onto your walls and into your life ! We are all guilty of having years of digital photos trapped on our computers, risking the possibility of data loss, and potentially never seeing the light of day.  I am probably more guilty of this than anyone else I know.  I live in a house with naked walls.  I have hundreds of thousands of digital images at my fingertips from family trips, vacations, adventures, but when I want to get something on the wall - I freeze up, become overwhelmed by options and ultimately walk away and leave it till another day.  Does this sound like you?  Do you also live in a house with naked walls?  Or do you have…
Amanda Wilson
July 27, 2015
EngagementsUncategorized

Ashley & Nate | Yellow Creek State Park Engagement Session

As most of you know - my sister, Ashley, is getting married next year!  She found herself a keeper 🙂  Ashley and Nate met in college at Slippery Rock University.  Nate is a ranger for the PA State Parks system.  They both love hiking, being outside, and shooting archery together.  We visited Yellow Creek State Park near Indiana, PA for some photos around the lake.                 Clearly, I am hilarious.  Or maybe it was all the talk about sharks.      At the end of the night, we remembered we still had their bows in the car.  Luckily, mother nature gave us a beautiful sunset and an opportunity for a cool shot.  I stood almost waist deep in the lake to get this one, and it was totally worth it!
Amanda Wilson
July 24, 2015
Engagements

Chris & Skyler – summer engagement photos

I feel like an old lady writing this - but quite a few years back, I shot Chris' high school senior pictures.  In fact, I did senior pictures for Chris, his sister Kayla, and their brother Nick!  One of the greatest honors of my job is being a story teller for people's families.  When people come back again and again at every milestone, I'm thrilled to be a silent part of their story.  This will be the second wedding I've had the privilege to document for the McClelland family.  (Kayla has a one year anniversary coming up! 🙂 Skyler had a crush on Chris since the 7th grade, but the first time they "officially" met wasn't until 9th grade geometry class.  Chris noticed her doodling a set of balloons in her notebook and struck up a conversation.  They dated for two years in high school, but as life often does…
Amanda Wilson
July 20, 2015
Engagements

Kennedy & Matt | fall pittsburgh engagement photos

   Kennedy and Matt are getting married this Saturday, so we are kicking off their wedding week with a look back at their fall pittsburgh engagement photos!  We met up on Halloween at Schenley Park for some photos with the leaves.  I don't know how well you remember last Halloween in Pittsburgh, but it was cold and rainy.  In fact, it rained through their whole session start to finish, but they didn't let that stop them 🙂  We used umbrellas, we hid out under trees, we took cover under bridges.  If you are willing to be a little adventurous, Pittsburgh has a lot to offer in the way of rainy day photos especially in the fall when a cold rainy day makes you think of pumpkins and hot cider.   Let's wish them a sunny day this saturday when they tie the knot!         Happy wedding week…
Amanda Wilson
July 13, 2015

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