Romantic Spring Wedding at High Line Car House in Columbus, Ohio

Mar 20

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve told someone in the last few days that Carly & Zach’s wedding was incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, etc., I would have so many dollars.

I really still can’t believe this day was real. This couple & their love are incredible, their people are incredible, the vibe, the vows, decor, traditions, intention, all of it. The energy was unreal. It was truly a sight to behold how the energy was sustained at such a heightened level for the entire day. These are people who know how to throw a [redacted] party. I am beyond honored to have been able to photograph it. Documenting the day was so easy to do because of how beautiful and fun every moment of it was. An extra perk was that it was also one of those wedding days where I barely looked at my timeline throughout because everything was running smoothly and on time the entire day from start to finish; huge shout out to Meredith of Auburn & Ivory Creative for being a masterful day-of coordinator.

I started my day with the Carly and her best girls at The Junto, a gorgeous new hotel in downtown Columbus next to COSI. While C&Z didn’t have a formal wedding party, each still opted to have all of their best friends, closest family members & in-laws spend the morning getting ready with them, a new trend I’m loving. Within the first five minutes after my arrival to the girls’ suite, at least three or four ladies had come up to personally introduce themselves to me and welcome me. From that point I knew that this couple had warm, outgoing, compassionate people surrounding them, which is always a recipe for an amazing day of celebrating.

Carly & Zach shared their first look on the private balcony of Carly’s suite. My favorite moment was when Carly pointed in the window at their reflection and said, “Look at us, we look like a real bride & groom.” Little did we know that for those 15 minutes we’d be experiencing the last bit of sustained sunshine we’d see for the day; we couldn’t have asked for a better break in the weather. From the hotel, we were off to High Line Car House in downtown Columbus’ German Village. One of my favorite unplanned moments of the day was when we arrived at the venue, the rain had picked up so we brought C&Z umbrellas to use to run inside. They entered the freshly decorated venue in the middle of their band warming up for the day while playing “It’s Raining Men,” and the two immediately shared a few dance moves with their umbrellas on their empty dance floor. You can’t plan moments like that.

The cozy ceremony space was completed by a beautiful chuppah built by Carly’s father and decorated with stunning florals and garments from their grandparents. Portraits for the day concluded at the chuppah with family and friends.

One of my favorite things about photographing weddings is getting to experience the traditions of people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. There were several traditional Jewish ceremonies and festivities woven into the day in a modern way. As guests were arriving at the venue and Carly was out in the lobby mingling, Zach was in a side room with his closest friends and male relatives for the Tisch (as Smashing the Glass perfectly sums up, “a period of loud and atmospheric boy-time before the ceremony starts”). The energy in that room was absolutely off the charts. Every person was grinning from ear to ear, shouting, singing, drinking, table banging, and cheers-ing, as they hyped up the groom and gave impromptu toasts for thirty minutes straight. It was such a cool thing to experience; the fun being had in that room was so contagious. One-by-one the men toasted Zach and acknowledged his contagious optimism and positivity, each expressing gratitude to have a friend like him in their lives. The men then danced Zach from the tisch room into the main space where Carly was waiting with the rabbi at the ketubah. This was a moment Carly & Zach were very excited about and after witnessing it first-hand, I completely understand why. It was beautiful (and very fun) symbolism of bringing the two together, sealed with the ceremonial signing of their ketubah. After that, everyone transitioned into the ceremony space. Their ceremony was filled with intentionality, honoring of their faith and culture, Pulitzer prize worthy vows and a few laughs. My favorite part of the ceremony was the 30-second period from the smashing of the glass to the kiss to the way they danced & cheered back down the aisle together to Carly literally jumping with joy as they ran into the bridal suite for a few post-ceremony moments alone to the way both sets of parents embraced in a group hug after receding down the aisle themselves.

At the close of cocktail hour, the space erupted into the liveliest pre-dinner dance set, with the hora as the main event. While there were fewer than 150 guests in attendance, it truly felt like 250+ with the energy of everyone there, especially during these traditional dances. The shared joy, the celebration, and especially the stamina was amazing to witness.

The space then transformed into the most romantic, intimate, lively dinner party scene. All day long I heard friends and family praise Carly for her amazing sense of style and taste in decor, as well as her hard work and meticulous planning of every detail for the wedding. This all was encapsulated perfectly by the final result of their reception room, which has become one of my personal favorites to date.

Following dinner, each parent and sibling gave a heartfelt, witty speech about the newlyweds. It was apparent from the speeches that these families have been blended for far longer than this wedding day and have been treating their new in-laws as their own family from day one.

The evening closed with special dances between Carly & her dad, Zach & his mom, and the newlyweds rounding it out by inviting all their guests to join them on the dance floor at the height of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” which simply never misses. The final dance floor was just as energetic as the first, further impressing me with this group’s supply of energy & celebration. It was proof that these two people are very special individuals with an incredibly special relationship supported and adored by so many people.

Lucky is a simple and seemingly inadequate word to describe how I feel for getting to witness and document a day like this in celebration of people like this. This job is really something else.

Vendor Team

Venue - High Line Car House @highlinecarhouse

Day of Coordinator - Meredith of Auburn & Ivory Creative @auburnandivorycreative

Photographer - Gretchen Wittry @graphsbygretch

Florist - Sweet Blossom Floral @sweetblossomfloral

Hair - Sarah Whittaker @sarahwhair

Makeup - Eigensee Artistry @eigenseeartistry

Videographer - Kodjoarts Videography @kodjoarts

Catering - Together & Company @togethercoevents

Band - The Big Badd @thebigbaddband

Dress - Sarah Seven @sarahseven

Seamstress - Love, Dia Couture @lovediacouture