katie + michael // Strathallan Hotel Rochester
Filed in weddings shot by Ayres Photography on at
I can still remember the first time we met Katie. She drove all the way from Rochester to Buffalo just to meet with us and I can remember thinking that she was the best combination of quirky and adorable. We talked about photography (Katie is also a full-time wedding photographer!) and swapped stories. She told us all about her family and friends and how important it was to her to have them all together under one roof to celebrate their wedding day. I knew pretty immediately the we were the perfect fit for each other, and I’m so happy that she felt the same way! Getting to know these two over the past year has been so wonderful. (Click here to check out their engagement shoot!) We love them to pieces and we’re so excited to share our favorites from their wedding day, and a little bit of their love story to tie it all together!
Katie and Michael shared a few favorite memories with us from their wedding day! Read on as your scroll through their visual story :)
Katie: “Just hanging out on wedding morning with all the wonderful ladies in my life was so much fun, you can’t go wrong with best friends, mimosas, and a good playlist!”
Michael: “Getting ready with all of my friends and my dad at our house was a great time. And I loved seeing my beautiful bride for the first time on the rooftop.“
Katie: “I loved sharing our First Look on the rooftop at the Strathallan and seeing Mikey looking adorable in his suit.“
Katie and Michael met when they were both attending SUNY Geneseo as undergrads. One thing led to another and after a ton of dates at Applebee’s and countless movie viewings, (the standard Geneseo college student date), Michael decided that Katie was the girl of his dreams and started scheming up an idea for a surprise proposal!
Katie: “Mikey created this whole scheme where he reached out to me via a fake email pretending to be a bride inquiring about her wedding photography. Long story short, when I showed up to a coffee shop to meet this bride, Mikey showed up. I was very confused at why he was crashing my meeting, haha! But he got me to go out front and proposed right there with some very sweet words! I obviously said yes but it took a few minutes to understand that there was no client on her way. Afterwards we went out to celebrate with a nice dinner with family!“
Katie: “I loved entering the chapel with my dad, and seeing Mikey smiling huge at me from the other end of the aisle, as well as taking in all of our friends and family there with us.“
Katie: “I was surprised that the ceremony itself ended up being one of my favorite parts. That probably sounds like a given, but I was most excited about celebrating with each other and friends and family at the reception. The ceremony was just so emotional and happy and I loved every second of it, despite all the ugly crying I did! I was a bit nervous about sharing our vows as we wrote our own, but I’m so glad we did because it made everything all the more personal and special.“
Katie: “What we value most is being good people, to each other, to others, and in general. We also really value our relationships with the people in our lives, each other, our families, and our friends.“
Katie: “I love dancing so much and I barely left the dance floor. There was a moment early on when ‘SHOUT’ came on and it felt like every single person rushed onto the dance floor and never left.“
A quick tip from the lovely bride: “Really try to fully appreciate and enjoy every moment, the day really does goes by so fast! I felt like I blinked and it was over!“
Wedding Vendors Include:
Ceremony: Chapel Hill
Reception: The Strathallan Hotel
Hair + Make-up: Bellezza Salon and Spa
Dress Shop: Lovely Bride
Dress Designer: Gabrielle by Leanne Marshall
Groom’s Look: Incognito Menswear
Cake: Scratch Bake Shop
DJ: Whirlin’ Disc
