Lights, camera, action…Mikaela and Michael were the stars of their very own show during their Cultural District engagement session. Having met at a community theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar, the soonlyweds chose to hit up the downtown theaters to highlight their love of performing and watching musicals. The bold colors of their attire were carefully chosen to complement the glowing lights of the iconic marquee signs. After taking in the city sites, the two hit up a parking garage rooftop for that golden hour glow, which resulted in some seriously romantic portraits. They twirled. They strolled. They laughed. They were the moment! We can tell these two are performers because dang do these images by Alyssa Vanston Photography really shine! Go ahead and scroll through these highlights, then join us in giving this e-sesh a standing ovation!
About the Couple
It all started when we were both in a community theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar and we paid literally no attention to each other until the week of the show. During our “very serious” stage fight, sparks flew. Just kidding, it was complicated because I was moving to NYC and Michael was starting his sophomore year. But love and fate prevailed, and we did the long-distance thing!
After numerous visits between NYC and Pittsburgh, we realized that this was more than a community theater fling, especially after I moved back to Pittsburgh. It started becoming serious when commitments transitioned to things like family Myrtle Beach vacations and traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve celebrations together.
Life led to college graduation; trips to LA, Boston, and the South; (too many to count) trips to NYC; moving to South Side; seeing and being in many musicals; and plenty of dogs to love. Six years later, Michael decided to put a ring on it. Without even knowing, my brother beat Michael to a proposal and popped the question to his girlfriend. Original proposal plans changed, for the better, and Michael decided to surprise me with a trip to the Big Apple and get down on one knee in my favorite place, Central Park.
About the Session
Alyssa Vanston was recommended to us by another wedding vendor (shout out to Clare, owner of See Jane Blush!) and we were immediately sold. We decided we wanted to incorporate the Cultural District downtown since we’re huge theater people. We wanted something unique and we’ve never seen an engagement shoot that involved the theaters, so it was a no-brainer. We decided on wearing fun colors to compliment the vibrance of the theater marquees. We also ended up on the rooftop of a parking garage, which resulted in some seriously stellar shots. Alyssa made us feel so incredibly comfortable in front of the camera. We’re obsessed with every single one of the photos Alyssa took!
