Maria & Benj’s Cincinnati wedding a few weeks ago was the most magical winter wedding day to be a part of! These two are both musicians who fell in love through the Cincinnati music scene, and it was so beautiful to see how they incorporated their musical families into their wedding day—both during their Nuptial Mass and at their reception.

We started the day at a hotel in Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati, where both Maria & Benj were getting ready. From there, we headed to their church, the gorgeous St. Monica–St. George Catholic Church, which features stunning stained glass and intricate details everywhere you look. Maria and Benj chose to do a first look (Maria said it was this blogpost that helped them decide!), and the frigid temperatures led us to do it inside the church—which I honestly loved. We were able to take a few quiet moments after their first look for portraits inside the church before too many people arrived, and those are some of my favorites from the entire day.

After their beautiful Nuptial Mass, we headed to two unique spots for Maria & Benj’s portraits. With wind chills bringing temperatures close to zero, we needed indoor locations, and the lobby of the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel and an Irish pub (Molly Malone’s) provided the perfect settings.

Once we finished portraits, we made our way to their reception at The Southgate Revival House. This venue is typically a live music space, which meant we had an incredible stage and lighting setup for their band, The Burning Caravan, who absolutely crushed it all evening. A few other highlights from the reception: Benj and his mom opted not to dance and instead sang a song for Maria and her dad’s dance (how special is that?). Another favorite moment was when Maria’s three sisters came out dressed as the nuns from The Sound of Music and performed a personalized version of “Maria,” describing their sister instead of giving traditional toasts. Maria and Benj also have a lot of nieces and nephews, which meant so many kiddos having the time of their lives—running around, dancing, eating pie (they had a pie bar instead of cake!), and drinking hot cocoa.

Before the end of the night, I stepped outside with Maria & Benj because it had started snowing. Since their wedding fell right before a huge winter storm was coming through, it felt fitting to capture the beginning of the snowfall. It was my first time taking snow photos in the dark using flash, and I absolutely love how they turned out—the flash illuminated every falling snowflake in the best way.

Maria and Benj, thank you so much for welcoming me into your wedding day and trusting me to capture the start of your beautiful marriage!

Xoxo,

Mary Kate

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A huge thank you to all the other vendors who came together to make this day possible!

CHURCH // St. Monica-St. George Catholic Church

RECEPTION VENUE // Southgate House Revival

CATERER // Pompilio’s

CAKE // Bluebird Bakery

MUA & HAIR // Lainie Barnes (family of the bride)

BAND // The Burning Caravan

DRESS // Uma — Bridal & Formal

BRIDESMAIDS // AW Bridal – “Kenney” Dress

GROOMSMEN // B.D. Tailormade