Andrea Dozier Dayton Wedding & Lifestyle Photography

This summer has been eventful for my little {growing} family, so I’ve devoted several posts to personal stories. There have been some great things happening for other people too, like Jimmy & Ashley! They were married Memorial Day weekend in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the historical Orrmont Estate in Piqua, Ohio. They look like movie stars and they are so incredibly fun. You will notice so many genuine smiles & an abundance of laughter from their lovely day…

I’ve decided to start asking my brides to share a little about their day, so stay tuned for Ashley’s take at the end!

Isn’t her bouquet of anemone flowers gorgeous!? Good choice Ashley!

We started at the romanesque Troy Hayner Cultural Center for some pre-ceremony portraits.

The Miami County Courthouse is located just across the street. It was a great place for such a large wedding party. I’m always thrilled when couples want to take portraits at unique locations.

It was in the 90s that day, so between some portraits we found shelter inside Dunaway’s Beef N Ale. It gave us all a moment to breathe, freshen up, and just relax. I think every bride should find a “Dunaway’s” on her day.Since I was nine months pregnant at the time, I {unfortunately} did not get to taste one…

Ashley will explain this one at the end… truly an unforgettable moment!

The Orrmont Estate is picturesque for the ceremony, has several options for portrait backdrops, and has a tent for the reception.

Clever way to bring a new spin on this tradition!

I smiled & laughed so much, it was absolutely contagious. Loved all the ruffles she incorporated into the day:

Here are some questions I sent to Ashley, and even though she is super busy coaching soccer, she kindly provided some insight into her wedding experience!

What was your favorite wedding memory?

There are so many things! However, If I had to pick one would be the beginning of the ceremony when my dad messed up his only line and everyone lost it. My favorite pictures from that day is everyone laughing with them. It was great that he broke the tension and I felt like I could relax from that point on.

Something you learned that you might have done differently?

I wish I could have made a decision and stuck with it!!! I am so indecisive! By the time of the wedding, I am thankful that I still had 9 bridesmaids/best friends standing up for us on that day. I made them order dresses then cancel their orders, pick out their own dress then return them because I didn’t like the color! It was never ending. Finally, I found the prefect ruffled champagne colored dress but in all the wrong sizes. So each bridesmaid had to basically have the dress remade to fit! They should have hated me by the end. So, my advice, pick something and don’t think about it again.

Where did you get so inspired for all your amazing creative projects?

I am obsessed with wedding blogs! Well, obsessed might be an understatement. I spent countless hours looking at different blogs trying to find ideas. I owe a lot of the final products to my sister and Kim Chamberlain {Cards by Kim – check it out. She’s the best and can design anything!}. We would sit at work and shoot emails to each other of ideas or “themes” that we thought worked with the outdoor, casual, wedding that Jimmy and I wanted. There probably wasn’t one thing that I decided on without asking those two first! Kim made all the designing happen….I would just mention something I thought was cute or a color combo I liked and she would make it. {Here is a link to Ashley’s stationery & decor by Kim, click here!}

Ashley’s experience as a bride actually led her to begin a new business venture:

Where to begin with this…After working for a dermatologist I swore off both tanning beds and excessive sun exposure. We had so many older patients that were in for wrinkles and sun damage and constantly complaining about their skin and I knew that I had to change my lifestyle.  That lead me to became obsessed with sunless tanning products in an attempt to have color year round. Through a friend I heard about Tan Envy and tracked down a woman to spray my sister and I before our Derby Shower at my house!! The next morning I knew we had to own this because I couldn’t imagine not getting spray tanned every week. I can spray each person to the color they’d like to be without looking orange or even smelling like some of the sunless tanning products. With a few instructions the tan can last for around 5-7 days and in 12 hours it looks like you’ve been vacationing for a week on the beach! I love that we own this and can give others the perfect tan without the damaging effects!

You can read more about Better Off Bronze here.

I can not thank Jimmy & Ashley enough for allowing me the honor to capture their wedding day. I was so touched by the way everyone looked out for me, I’m blessed to have such supportive families to work with! I also have to thank my sister-in-law Amy Dozier of Affordable Photography & Lauren Worman of eLL Photography who stepped in and filled in for Rocky {this wedding was just shortly after his surgery}. I am so grateful that I have local connections in the industry to help when we really needed it! I’ll leave you with a behind the scenes shot Lauren took…

Nine months preggo, I don’t miss that particular stage ♥