Today, we’re giving you a VIP front row seat to this wedding at The Roxian Theatre that is bound to get a standing ovation! That’s because when two die hard music lovers (one of whom is a wedding planner, might we add) choose a concert venue for their big day, you know things are going to be good. Like reallllllllly good. Think “an on-stage ceremony, tables named after lyrics from the couple’s favorite songs, a private concert by a rock & roll band, and their names on the venue’s marquee sign” kind of good. Heather – of Day Of Pittsburgh and Reception the Follow podcast fame – and Andy wanted to throw a funky, red carpet style event that left their guests feeling like they were just elevated to celeb status. Thanks to some help from Irie Event Design, we’d say mission accomplished. Ryan Zarichnak Photography was the newlywed’s own personal paparazzi that day and these photos will certainly have you asking for an encore!
About the Couple
Andy are I are Pittsburgh transplants! We met in college back in 2008, and we moved to the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh in 2012. We got engaged in Lake Placid, New York in May 2017, and knew we wanted a longer engagement to take it all in and not feel rushed in planning.
About the Wedding
I coordinate weddings for a living, AKA I’ve seen how the sausage is made. Our goals for the day were simple: throw a bangin’ party with lots of dancing, choose decor and details that reflected our personalities, and showcase our city to the 99% of wedding guests who have never been…many of whom envision the 412 to be smokestacks and soot. Wrong.
We wanted a glam “red carpet” style evening wedding without the stuffiness. Our shared passion is music, and we spent a lot of our eight year relationship attending concerts and music festivals together. We knew right off the bat a concert venue would be our ideal space.
Our bridal portraits were set to the soundtrack of Lizzo’s Juice…on repeat. Guests were whisked to The Roxian by a 40-seat vintage orange bus, and were seated for dinner according to the song lyrics that best fit our relationship. We went peak hipster for desserts: Churro-nuts, AKA churro style donuts! Our ceremony was onstage, followed by a literal rock ‘n roll band. Tequila shots were had, and you bet your ass our last song was “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. Pizza and wings were delivered around 11 p.m. to keep the energy up for the after party that followed: a 2-hour dance rager hosted by DJ Nugget.
Favorite Moment
We had so many!
I was nervous about our ceremony, because we were on this huge ass stage with our guests watching from the VIP mezzanine area. We wanted them to feel like they were watching a concert, and we could hear them cheering and taking it in as the curtains rose. It was SO COOL looking through the lights and seeing the faces of everyone we loved!
Andy’s Aunt Rachelle was our officiant, and she exceeded all expectations. We wrote our own vows, and I couldn’t believe how emotional I got reading mine, and hearing his. We didn’t have a bridal party, and chose to invite our siblings to stand next to us, and also speak during our ceremony. They had the most heartfelt and funny things to say, and it’s a memory we’ll treasure.
I loved the privacy and extra one-on-one time we got together during our first look before the craziness of the day happened. Right after we saw each other, our photographer said, “Okay, let’s have some fun,” and pressed play on a portable speaker he had on his belt loop. We danced our way through bridal portraits! He then drove us to our venue, pouring champagne for us on the ride over. Above and beyond y’all.
If I could marry this gown, I would. I found it after searching online and then bought it at a trunk show at Blanc de Blanc Bridal. This was the first thing I bought and it really helped shape the vision and vibe of our wedding. It’s literally my personality in dress form.
