Wedding photography

EST.D

2008

Bride and Groom overlooking State College, PA and Mount Nittany

Chris & Annie

petite wedding in state college, pa

Chris and Annie met on St. Patrick’s Day in 2017 at McCloskey’s Tavern in Ardmore. Chris and his friend, Ed, chose McCloskey’s that night because they thought it was fitting for the holiday while Annie and her roommate, Michaela, were just hitting up their usual spot. Annie’s friends spotted Chris first and said, “that is the next guy you’re going to date.” For the rest of the night, Annie accepted the challenge and approached Chris once her friends were leaving. They started talking, felt an instant connection, and the rest is history.

The coronavirus pandemic had a heavy hand in the planning of Chris and Annie’s petite wedding. After postponing and rescheduling their big celebration twice, this lovely couple decided to have a perfectly petite wedding in Annie’s childhood home instead. Luckily the mother of the bride, Peggy, is a natural event planner. She has thrown dozens of parties and tailgates–so hosting a small wedding was a cinch.

Peggy did such an exquisite job putting everything together.

Although the wedding was small, the details were all still there. Annie’s wedding dress, purchased at Elizabeth Johns in Ardmore, PA, was a stunning sentiment to her and Chris’ relationship. Coincidentally, the brand (Pronovias) is based in Barcelona, where Annie and Chris traveled in 2019 and looked at a number of dress shops. It’s also part of the “St. Patrick’s” collection, which calls back to the day they first met: March 17th. Mother of the bride, host, and event planner Peggy pulled out all the stops for the reception, from velvet tablecloths and decadent floral arrangements to individually-themed rooms.

Out of an abundance of caution, they opted out of the ceremony they had planned at State College Presbyterian Church and chose to exchange vows in the living room with Annie’s father officiating. Their most immediate family members were present for the intimate moment.

“I Lava You”

After the ceremony, everyone gathered in the family room. There was no official program but Ted, brother of the groom, volunteered and gave a very touching toast. As he pointed out, the Morrin family are typical Irish Catholics, so they don’t always communicate emotionally. After giving a trigger warning for “feelings” Ted explained that he couldn’t believe his twin brother was getting married and shared anecdotes from their younger days that demonstrated how he knew Chris loved him and how much Chris would love Annie. Needless to say, it meant a lot to Chris and Annie.

Then, in a surprise twist for the Bride and Groom, a parade of guests came by in cars to celebrate with them! Annies’ reactions to each car full of loved ones were especially wonderful. Despite the petite wedding they still had the chance to celebrate with family and friends.

“Excited… Over-the-moon… Enthusiastic… Sentimental…”

Advice from Annie to future brides planning a petite wedding:

Having to pare everything back made us think about what’s important/what makes a wedding… Some traditional things (the dress, the rings, the cake, the prosecco) and some important (the vows, having family present). We’re still looking forward to having a bigger celebration with friends and family, but it will probably look different than we originally imagined.