Oct 31, 20234 min read

A Historic Country Estate Wedding in Cincinnati, Ohio

Alicia & Christopher tied the knot on September 30th of this year and it was everything and more; the epitome of a perfect day!

This wedding. Oh my gosh.

This day was an absolute dream to capture. Pinecroft was one of my bucket-list venues and I'm still pinching myself that this wedding was real. (I literally have dreams about this venue, it's crazy.)

For those of you who don't know, or are perhaps still looking for a venue, I could not recommend Pinecroft more! Pinecroft is the historic 1920s mansion of Powel Crosley, Jr., a beautiful Tudor estate that sits on 18 pristine acres tucked away from the hustle and bustle, but mere minutes away from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.

I am in some ways a history nut (at one point in high school, I thought about being a fashion historian and in college, I started to pursue a historic preservation certificate), so Pinecroft filled my cup as a photographer in literally every possible way.

Trust me, you’ll wish you had more time just to tour the entirety of this intricate historic mansion. With dozens of rooms featuring original teak floors, mahogany walls and Tudor-style furnishings, the details of this magnificent home were SO beautiful to capture and left me a bit speechless and wishing I could just explore every inch of the place.

With a beautiful orchard, rows of gardens, pathways and more lining this large estate, the manor isn’t the only feature that will take your breath away upon arrival.

The staff at Pinecroft were extremely attentive to everyone involved and looked after all the vendors very well, too. They were efficient and very professional, and made sure everything during the day was moving smoothly. They were truly some of the best day-of-coordinators I've worked with and they're complimentary with the venue!

Now, onto the main characters of the day: Alicia and Topher!!

They were both so excited getting ready that morning. Topher had written letters for Alicia to open throughout the day leading up to the ceremony (probably one of the most romantic things ever??). The first few letters were very heartfelt and bittersweet and made Alicia cry reading each one. So, when it came time to open the last one "RIGHT BEFORE" the ceremony, Alicia was fully prepared to be borderline sobbing.

We went into a separate, quiet room within the bridal suite, so that Alicia could read the final letter in private. To her surprise however, all that was written was "LET'S FCKIN GO!", signed "Toph". Alicia bust out laughing, saying how it was SO him and that she couldn't wait any longer to marry him. She went back to show her bridesmaids and moms, which hyped everyone up.

The Ceremony.

Listen, I am such a sucker for a first look but I also can't deny that there is something so magical about waiting all morning to see your best friend and then FINALLY seeing them at the end of the aisle. It's traditional, timeless, and filled with so much bubbling excitement.

At Pinecroft, there's a secret staircase mainly used by staff, but Alicia decided to use it to secretly sneak out of her bridal suite to go to her ceremony that was being held on the back lawn of the estate. Her dad was waiting for her outside to drive her around to the back entrance of the estate, and gave her the biggest hug any father could possibly give his daughter on her wedding day.

Meanwhile, Topher was anxiously waiting with his parents supporting him, nervous and excited to marry his bride.

Alicia and her dad giggled and talked while they waited for the rest of bridal party (including the couple's ADORABLE rescue pup - dad got a lil head kiss <3) to walk down the aisle.

Once Alicia started down the aisle, she and Topher's eye gaze was completely locked on each other - it was as if no one else was even there in that moment.

The ceremony was filled with speeches from Topher's sister and mother, which was filled with outbursts of laughter and tears. Alicia's vows made the whole crowd bust out laughing to the point where Alicia literally had to stop reading her vows for a second! Of course, Topher followed up with making everyone cry so it evened the playing field pretty well.

I love capturing the emotions that seem to erupt during a ceremony. There's something so pure, authentic, and wholesome about crying and laughing at the same time; and a wedding is the perfect place to do it in my opinion.

The Reception.

Lowkey need a whole other blog post just for the details of this reception, so bare with me as I try to sum up everything so that this blog post isn't the length of a five page research paper.

Pinecroft's reception space, the Garden Pavilion is an outdoor white tent, but I honestly forgot I was even in a tent a times. The Garden Pavilion, as you can imagine, was not always a part of the historic estate. In order to preserve the history of the manor and also provide ample space for large groups of people to enjoy the estate, a new, larger space was needed. Instead of adding on to the mansion itself, this immaculate clear-walled, soaring ceiling pavilion was added directly behind the house.

Believe it or not, being unmarried as a wedding photographer actually has its perks. With every wedding I'm a part of, I mentally take a note of what I love so that when it comes time for me to finally get married, I'll have a whole list of things I want at my wedding. In this case, it was having a whole desert table that represents both families. Homemade deserts and recipes from both families were used to create an array of beautiful family traditional deserts that ultimately celebrated the joining of the two families. (The cannoli's were SO good!)