Sam & Zac | Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Sunset Portraits

Love at first sight.
We see it all the time in movies & read about it in books, but rarely does that happen in real life. Well, unless your name is Sam.

One evening, while at a friend’s house for a party, Sam spotted Zac across the room & she instantly fell for him – and fell hard. She didn’t know his name or who he was, but she had to find out. She began asking around & to her disappointment, she learned that he was dating someone else.

You might think that that was the end of the story – but nope (well, duh, this is a wedding blog post after all). What follows is a whole year – 12 months of time – goes by. And no matter what she does, Sam just cannot get this guy out of her head. They hadn’t even officially met that night at the party, and she hadn’t seen him since, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about him.

About a year after the party, Sam found herself in a bar with her friends. And who does she spot across the bar – but him. Now, there is a bit of controversy over what happened next – who introduced who – and how it all went down, but to Sam’s delight, she learned that night that Zac was no single & well, you could say the rest is history.

Fast forward a few years of friendship & dating later and Sam is as smitten as ever with Zac. And, as hard as Sam fell for Zac – before she even really knew him – he fell hard for her too. Which brings us to a golden summer evening in downtown Pittsburgh & Zac, with a sparkly diamond ring in his pocket & plans to surprise his sweet little girlfriend.

There was just one “problem” – Zac wanted to propose somewhere epic, like Point State Park. But when he suggested they head down there – Sam had other ideas. She suggested they go over to the Roberto Clemente Bridge where Picklesburgh was all set up & going on. Not wanting to give away the surprise, Zac agreed and they walked the Bridge, grabbing drinks, browsing the food trucks, & enjoying the vendors. Zac anxiously kept an eye on the sun as it sank lower & lower – finally getting up the courage to pull Sam away from the festivities and directing her down to the Point.

Where, as the sun sank low on the horizon, Zac finally was able to pull out that diamond ring & ask the girl, who had been smitten with him long before he even knew who she was, to marry him. And of course, Sam said yes.

And this past Friday was the big day! Don’t let the photos fool you – the sun might look like it was gloriously warm, but it was actually quite chilly all day long. But it didn’t matter – I honestly think it could have been sleeting with hurricane-force winds & Sam & Zac would have still been simply overjoyed to get married.

Sam & Zac – I am so thankful that our paths crossed thanks to Stanley & Marie putting us together! I loved standing back & watching the two of you go from nervous anxiousness as you got ready to relaxed joyfulness as you met each other at the end of the aisle. It was overwhelmingly evident that you are each other’s best friends & I loved every moment of celebrating with you!

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Bridal Details

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Bride Getting Ready

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Groom Getting Ready

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Bridal Party Portraits Pre-Ceremony

Succop Nature Park is one of the prettiest places for a wedding! The old house, the trees, the brick lined drive – it’s picture-perfect everywhere you turn!

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Outdoor Ceremony

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Bride & Groom Portraits Post-Ceremony

Sam’s brother-in-law drove his restored antique truck up for the day & so of course, we had to take a ton of photos with it! It’s just SO COOL!

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Bride & Groom Portraits Post-Ceremony with Antique Truck

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Reception Details

I’ve seen so many unique & different guest book ideas, but this one is definitely one of my favorites! Zac & Sam’s Dad worked together to build this bench & they asked all of their guests to write their well-wishes on it – what a beautiful piece of furniture that they’ll treasure forever!

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Reception Details Unique Guest Book Idea

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Reception Introductions

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Reception Cake Cutting

Toasts may not be the most “exciting” moments to photograph on a wedding day (they’re definitely more important to be captured on video), but I always love listening to Matron of Honor & Best Man toasts – and Sam & Zac’s bridal party did not disappoint! They shared epic, hilarious stories, they debated who actually gets the credit for introducing Sam & Zac, and then Sam’s sister asked her to share a special dance – these guys definitely win awards for some of the most memorable moments I’ve ever witnessed during toasts at a wedding!

Fall Wedding at Succop Nature Park in Butler, PA Reception Toasts

And then, Sam & Zac “awarded” their friends (who each claim responsibility for introducing the two of them) with medals – which they proudly wore for the rest of the night!

Sunsets at Succop do not disappoint!! I was freaking out like crazy (but trying so hard to hold it in & not freak Sam & Zac out) at this light – I mean, it was so good!!!