Awesome Spots for Sassy Posing

Bridesmaid Erica's wedding was last month, and we did our bridal party shots in Washington DC's Union Station. It was great. We traipsed all over the place, taking photos on escalators, in stairwells, in front of the architecture outdoors--everywhere. It was lots of fun, and her photographer got some KILLER shots. It also got me thinking....where would be some good Pittsburgh locales for OUR bridal party to demonstrate their smile-with-your-eyes skills?

Unlike Bridesmaid Erica and her husband, we're not going to have a first look in order to take photos before the ceremony. I totally get why the first look is a good option--it allowed us to go to Union Station, after all!--but I've realized that I'm really a traditionalist about this. For whatever reason, I just feel really strongly that I don't want to see Mr. Octopus until I'm walking down the aisle. That does mean that we won't have a huge window of time for photos, though, so I've been thinking about some places that we can hit up quickly.

Spot #1: Heinz Chapel

Our ceremony location, Heinz Chapel, is kind of a wedding factory, and runs on a very tight schedule (there's another ceremony just two hours after ours!). I want to max out our allotted time for photos in there, though, because come on. Look at this place.


(Source.)


(Source.)


(Source.)

(Source.)

Spot #2: Cathedral of Learning

After we get the boot from Heinz Chapel, I'm thinking it would be fun to move on to the building right next door, the Cathedral of Learning. It's the main academic building of the University of Pittsburgh, and it looks like this from the outside:


(Source.)

and like this in the Commons, the main room inside:


(Source.)


(Source.)

It is super, super Hogwarts-y, right down to the giant fireplaces and the narrow spiral staircases carved into the stone columns in the middle of the room.

In addition to being gorgeous, the Cathedral was totally my happy place in college. Mr. O and I both spent a LOT of hours inside this place, so the pictures we take there will have an extra sentimental value.

Spot #3: The Carnegie Museums

I don't know if we'll have the time to make it over here, although it's right across the street from the Cathedral. I also don't know if they'd waive the $15 per person admission fee to allow us a quick 20 minutes of photos, especially because we would probably be there slightly after the 5 PM closing time. Sounds pretty doubtful, now that I think about it. But it would allow for some pretty badass pictures, considering that the Carnegie Museums of Art & Natural History include this Hall of Architecture.....


(Source.)


(Source.)

.....this main lobby area.....


(Source.)

... and this performance hall foyer.


(Source.)

But, if we can't make it into the museums, there's another spot nearby which is a particular favorite of Mr. O's...

Spot #5: Schenley Fountain

My husband-to-be loves this fountain/sculpture on Pitt's campus. In college, I could very often find him sprawled out on a bench, eating pad thai out of a giant to-go box from the nearby food trucks. In fact, here's a circa-2005 photo of us relaxing there.



In addition to being beautiful in its own right....


(Source.)

...it also offers up glorious views of the Cathedral.


(Source.)

Basically, we've got no shortage of beautiful backdrops for a quick-and-dirty photo session, and I think it will be really fun. Doesn't hurt that our bridal party is an extremely good-looking bunch, either.




Can you tell which bridesmaids are related to me? And can you tell which one is the recent bride who had her engagement photos taken? Haha.

Did you do a first look, or skip it? How did you choose your photo locations?

(Oh, and what do you think, Corey Ann? You up for documenting all this fierceness? ;) )