Was Madison’s intensity at childhood games bop-the-balloon the first sign of the athlete she’d become? Unclear. But after trying every possible sport, Madison fell in love with volleyball, and her standout ability led her to play at Saint Vincent College. Josh, also a Saint Vincent student, wanted to play volleyball, but men’s volleyball was just getting off the ground at the college. This meant that the men’s team started out practicing with the women’s team, so the women could teach them a thing or two. (I love this part of the story!). Isn’t love amazing? While anyone that knew Madison wouldn’t be surprised to know she was a college volleyball athlete, it’s overwhelming to calculate the forces that needed to come together to start a men’s team at Saint Vincent at this precise time, and for Josh, who already played soccer at Saint Vincent, to decide to join this team. But the forces did align, and now they’re married!
The day began with Madison and Josh getting ready at a hotel in Latrobe. It was just a short drive to the Saint Vincent campus, where they were married, fittingly, in the gorgeous Basilica. After their Catholic ceremony, they read vows privately, and we photographed their wedding party on the beautiful campus, just barely beating out a downpour.
Wedding days often throw a little challenge at you – in this case, it was an accident and standstill traffic on 376 as everyone made their way from Saint Vincent to Phipps. But the timeline had a generous buffer built in (always allow for buffer time!) and we still had time for some beautiful portraits of Madison & Josh inside of Phipps Conservatory.
Thank you so much to all of the wonderful vendors who came together to make this day a magical one! Full vendor list is below, but I went to give the biggest shout-outs to photographers Erica Hilliard and Sam Fitzhenry – they took the lead on photography while Nicki and I were on the video side. However, I did occasionally switch to photography – the photos below are a mix from all three of us. And another special shout-out to Serena, the wedding planner of So She Did. Not only did she do a fantastic job of keeping the timeline from going sideways, she also created all of the signage and printed materials.
Enjoy some of my favorites from Madison & Josh’s wedding! Video to come later.
Vendor Team
Photography: Erica Hilliard, Samantha Fitzhenry and Christina Montemurro
Videography: Christina Montemurro & Nicki Dembski
Venue @phippsevents
Florist @pghheavenlyblooms
DJ @schiemerent
Day of Coordinator/Stationer @soshedid_design
Cake @bellachristiessweetboutique
Hair/makeup @thebeautyagency__
Catering @bistrotogo_
Lighting @eflighting
This post was written by me, Christina, without the use of AI.