Johanna and Kyle’s best day ever took place on a beautiful, Syracuse July day in downtown Armory Square. They kept things local to the city they live and work in, while planning their big day and picked the unique SKY Armory to host every aspect. The couple then logically picked the historic Jefferson Clinton right down the road for getting ready and also an end-of-the-night, classy crash pad. Johanna found us online while in the early stages of wedding planning. She said the Behind the Scenes blog post had especially caught her eye when she realized she sometimes works with Sarah’s second shooter Jenn at Jenn’s day job!

Kyle and his guys started getting ready at the Jefferson Clinton while Johanna and her ladies finished getting pampered at Artistry of Hanover. Kyle, Spencer, and Tony showed off their custom JoS. A. Banks suits once donning them. Each had their names embroidered on the left-hand side. Kyle picked a fancy red silk to line his suit coat, and it was also used for the back of his vest. The guys were super dapper and proud in their custom tailored attire!

While Sarah waited for the ladies to finish at the salon, she took Johanna’s cotton-white, mermaid-shaped, lace gown on a little adventure. At first, she brought it outside to find a beautiful scene around the hotel, but when she ran into local friend Michael John Haggerty, she was struck with the inspiration to take the dress down to his local business, Wildflowers Inc. There they had just put up a temporary art installation of colorful rain umbrellas – a unique scene for the beautiful dress! Once Johanna and her ladies, including her mom, were back at the hotel (but out of Kyle’s sight), they began to put their final looks together. Kyle and his fellas made their way downstairs to prepare for the first look, but first posed for some portraits, first!

Johanna and Kyle shared their first look right outside the Jefferson Clinton amongst the beautiful purple petunias. With a twirl, Kyle got the full effect of Johanna’s look, and they relished for a moment in the joy of the day before dashing off to Franklin Square for more portraits! It was a hot day – so it was a good thing we had a shot list to quickly follow to “bang out” some images in quick succession!

Meanwhile, guests gathered in front of the chuppah on the first floor of the SKY Armory in anticipation of Johanna and Kyle’s Jewish wedding ceremony. Before heading down themselves, the couple gathered with family and the Rabbi for the traditional Ketubah signing. The Ketubah was read in both Hebrew and English at the ceremony. After they sealed their vows with a kiss, Kyle broke the glass to a chorus of “mazeltovs”. During our last meeting with Kyle and Johanna, they shared that they had purchased a special piece of blue glass for this tradition. The broken pieces will be made into a keepsake for them to treasure forever.

Guests moved to upstairs for cocktail hour where they were treated to a space decorated in a beautiful, ethereal fashion. Glass globes floated over the dinner tables, suspended from flower gardens that seemed to grow out of the ceiling. Each table also had a centerpiece that was somewhat different but cohesive to the design, using large glass terrariums to float candles in or hold sprigs of greenery and white flowers. At every place setting sat a box of chocolates from a local chocolatier, Lune Chocolat.

Cocktail hour started off with The Blessing of the Bread where Johanna’s Uncle held the honor of blessing a beautiful loaf of challah that was then cut up to share. The couple served “Merry Me” Mules as their signature cocktail. Everyone nommed on snacks and had fun in the SHP photo booth as they mingled!

The formal reception kicked off with Johanna and Kyle being introduced as husband and wife for the first time! They shared their first dance to the Death Cab for Cutie song, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” Sarah and Jenn are serious DCFC fans!! In fact, it’s clear we have similar music tastes to Johanna and Kyle’s (we were singing our hearts out the whole reception) and watching them enjoy each other on the dance floor was the cutest thing! The Hora immediately followed their first dance, and everyone flooded the dance floor to partake in this fun tradition. It’s one of our favorites to photograph!

As the night commenced, some music requests were made in honor of the bride and groom, and various people took turns celebrating on the dance floor. We hope you enjoy the highlights of this Syracuse-filled day!

Congratulations & best wishes, Johanna & Kyle!

Featured Wedding Professionals || Wedding & Bridesmaid Dress Vendor – David’s Bridal | Wedding Bands – Cazenovia Jewelers | Groom & Groomsmen Attire – JoS. A. Banks | Hair & Makeup Artist – Artistry in Hanover | Caterer, Centerpiece Decor, & Cake – SKY Armory | Bouquets – Whistlestop Florist | DJ – Black Tie Entertainment | Favors – Lune Chocolat |