Embassy Suites Downtown Pittsburgh: Favorite Pittsburgh Wedding Venues

Alright friends, it's time for another installment of my favorite Pittsburgh wedding venues! Today, I’m excited to introduce you to another one of my favorites, located right in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh: the Embassy Suites Downtown Pittsburgh! MUCH, much different from my previous favorite wedding venues (Lingrow Farms, Shady Elms Farm), this hotel is a top favorite of mine for so many reasons!

In these venue highlights, I want to share some of my favorite attributes of each venue when it comes specifically to photos – mainly, why I love shooting there, how picturesque the venue is from a photographer’s point of view, and how rain could affect your wedding photos at each venue. My hope is to help viewers see the potential of each wedding venue I highlight specifically from a photography perspective so you can ensure that your photos will be gorgeous!

Picturesque:

My favorite thing about this venue: it used to be a BANK. That's right, a legitimate, functioning BANK. And they left all of the most beautiful parts for guests to enjoy, including a vault (which looks epic in photos) and tons of art deco, black and gold design all throughout the lobby. It's truly classic meets modern, and there are SO many options for bridal party, bride & groom, AND detail photos!

In addition to having a beautiful interior space, the Embassy Suites Downtown Pittsburgh is one walk across the street away from Mellon Park, Strawberry Way, and only a few short blocks from other gorgeous and iconic downtown Pittsburgh locations!

This hotel also has a gorgeous and modern cocktail hour and ballroom space, and if you're feeling adventurous, Mellon Park lights up BEAUTIFULLY at night, making for some truly epic night time portraits!

Rain Plan:

This venue is definitely on your side in the case of rain. With BEAUTIFUL interior decoration, there are more than enough spaces to work with (though you might have a little trouble fitting everyone in if you have a huge bridal party!). I think I could have an entire bride & groom portrait session in the lobby and not even get bored! And don't even get me started on the elevators - most certainly the most gorgeous elevator doors I've ever seen!

Other Mentionables:

I feel like the photos speak for themselves with this one! You HAVE to check them out!!!

If you are a bride who is looking into Embassy Suites Downtown Pittsburgh as a potential wedding venue, I would love to chat with you more! Feel free to email me directly at jhidingerphotography@gmail.com with any questions you might have!

Part 1: Questions to Ask Your Wedding Photographer {Answered}

Wedding photography is an extremely personal endeavor from start to finish. There are few other wedding vendors who spend the entire length of a wedding day with a couple from makeup and hair to the grand exit, which is why it's so important to really know who you're hiring - to know the why behind what they do! 

Often, when I have an initial meeting with a bride, we begin by talking about the relationship - how the couple met, how they got engaged, what they've planned so far for their wedding day, etc., and then jump straight into packages and looking at photo albums. Every so often, I'll find an extremely prepared bride with a list of questions from "The Knot," titled "Questions to Ask Photographers Before You Book." Let me be honest for a moment - I LOVE these brides... seriously. Staying prepared and organized with a list of questions is the best way make sure I don't miss any important information that should be shared about photographing your wedding day, and it lets brides get a good feel for all facets of what I have to offer.

However -

While many of these questions cover important logistics, such as shooting on film vs. digital and what's included in my packages, none of the questions seem to take things a step further. None of them seem to probe for things that are just as important - like how I help my couples feel relaxed in front of my camera, or even why I do what I do. None probe for a why. And though, if you're meeting with me, I'll be sure to tell you my why, it's so important to ask your other vendors their why, too. And why is that? Because you want someone who cares about your wedding day. (Well, maybe I can't speak for everyone. But I know I wanted people surrounding me on my wedding day who truly cared for Nick and I! Not just people who were showing up to perform a job and leave.)

I recently came across an article titled "Ten REAL Questions to Ask Your Wedding Photographer: Written by a Real Wedding Photographer," written by Kay from Kay English Photography. I love the idea of answering these questions so much for my brides that over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to release a weekly blog post answering a few of these questions, plus a few of my own, and a few from "The Knot" article! (Just to keep things interesting ;) ). My heart through this segment is to give my current brides (and future brides) the ability to get to know me, my services, and my heart behind what I do a little better! So without further ado - here is the first question and answer!

1: What is your heart behind wedding photography? Why do you photograph weddings? 

[Question by Jenna]

Firstly, I am a huge believer in marriage. There is something so precious about a commitment between two people to spend the rest of their lives together, learning how to better love each other every step of the way. I honestly hadn’t realized my true heart behind it until I married my best friend back in August of 2015. I know it sounds cliché, but when we received our images back from our engagement photographer, and later from our wedding photographer, I realized what I was really providing for my clients: I was providing reminders of our commitment, encouragement for the not-so-easy days, and mementos of the love we share – and those three things are truly priceless.

Secondly, I love the opportunity I have to serve and encourage my brides throughout the wedding process and throughout the wedding day. I LOVE the opportunity I have to love the crap out of my couples and to find ways to make their experience (and their day) extra special.

Lastly, I love capturing the story of the relationship and of the day. While every wedding has the same general framework and timeline, each is so unique in its own way, and I love the challenge and excitement of figuring out the best possible way to showcase a couple’s day through the photographs.

Stay tuned for more answered questions next week! If you'd like to submit a question to have answered, feel free to leave it in the comments below!

Kate + Christian: Private Estate (Pittsburgh) Wedding Photographer

There's something so personal about photographing a wedding in someone's own home. Kate & Christian's wedding took place in Kate's parents' backyard garage (this is no ordinary garage, I promise!) in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. This honestly might be one of the sweetest, most genuine and loving groups of people we've been privileged to work with! The couple, parents, and bridal party went out of their way to make sure we, the photographers, were taken care of - which meant so much, considering we were just vendors documenting the day!

We started off at Kate's childhood home, photographing all of the gorgeous bridal details, incorporating in an antique family heirloom silver serving tray. While the ladies were putting on their final touches, Brianna (Matron of Honor) and Kate shared a special moment together - Brianna, who was a few months pregnant at the time, gave Kate a colored garter to reveal the gender of Brianna's baby. And as you'll see from the photos, it's a boy! Such an exciting (and precious) moment to witness!

After Kate was in her dress, she shared a first look with her father - the first man in her life. It was an emotional moment - there wasn't a dry eye in the room (including mine!). We spent some time taking photos of the ladies and then headed over to the church to snap some photos of the groom and his groomsmen. After  the ceremony, we traveled back to Kate's childhood home for some bride and groom portraits and then on to the multi-car "garage" in the back for the reception (which seemed like it was almost built for their wedding day), where Kate and Christian danced the night away!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for having us as a part of your day, Kate and Christian!

Bride’s Dress: Carlisle’s of Pittsburgh

Bride’s Seamstress: Laurel, from Laurel Sewing Shop in Bethel Park

Bride’s Shoes: Betsey Johnson’s Betsey Blue line

Hair: Salon Rena

Makeup: The Bride!

Tuxes: Joseph A Bank

Band/DJ: Wilson DJ Service

Flowers: Julie James Design

Caterer: The Pines Tavern

Cake/Desserts: The Pines Tavern, cake by Kallista Durbin

Videographer: Brandon Jones & Tara Skinner

Chrissy + Chris: Riverview Park Engagement Photographer (Pittsburgh)

You know you're going to have an awesome session when your couple brings a sword. To a park. YES.

Chrissy + Chris were a blast to photograph in Riverview Park on a gorgeous Sunday in mid-October (sword and all!). Their natural chemistry and overflowing love for each other made their session incredibly easy-going and light-hearted. We can't wait to photograph these two tying the knot in just a couple of months! Thanks for a wonderful shoot you two!