viewing Weddings

name | danny & theresa
date | 1.28.12
ceremony | our lady of lourdes
reception | peabody opera house
photographers | sal cincotta & ashley schank
make-up | make-up artistry by a&c

st louis wedding photography

animoto_720p.mp4

//Tell us how you first met?

We met in the summer of 2008- I was working at Schnucks when Chris needed a job for the summer before he started the Police Academy. He caught my eye from the moment we laid eyes on each other. We played in a softball league for Schnucks and the rest was history. We then spent a lot of time together and falling more and more in love with each other as the days went by.

//When did you know he/she was the one? Was there something he/she did?, etc?

After the second softball game we went out for a couple drinks. When he drove me to my car we had kissed for the first time. It was the most amazing first kiss. We both had tingles throughout our whole body. I then asked him what nationality he was and he replied German and Irish. I said I was 50% Italian and German/Irish, I then continued to ask what our children would be. We both knew we were the one when I didn’t scare him off with such a question like that after our first kiss.

//Tell us about the proposal. (Did you see it coming, how long was it in the planning?, how did you feel? nervous, excited, freaking out?)

We went on a summer vacation to Rivera Maya, Mexico with my family in the middle of June. It was the first night there after dinner. I was a bit crabby due to the long day of travels. Chris asked me to go for a walk around the resort after dinner and I did not have any interest in going because it was raining. He finally talked me into it, so we went for a walk. We got down to the beach boardwalk when it stopped raining and the moon was reflecting off the ocean. It was so quiet, no one was around, and all we could hear was the sound of the waves hitting the shore. Chris stopped, took my hands and started expressing his unending love to me. Next thing you know Chris was down on one knee asking for my hand in marriage. I was shocked and nervous at the same time.
We then went to where all my family was and told them the terrific news. They were all so happy and cheering for us. It was such a magical evening. I could have not asked for a better engagement.
Chris was planning it for 3-4 months. He took his mom and sisters to look for a ring. Then took my sisters Lori and Kerri to help too.

//Tell is the one thing you love about each other.

Chris is my best friend and I have never been so thankful to have someone so incredible to spend the rest of my life with. He keeps me on my toes and surprises me all the time with new ways to share his love for me.
My life changed from the moment I met Kelli. Kelli is always making me laugh and can’t believe I survived this long without her. She has “sentenced” me to a life full of happiness and love.

//Share with us something silly or quirky the other person does.

Chris is always breaking out in a sing or dance just to make me smile. Kelli is happy and always positive, she makes me have a better day when I see her smile.

//Besides getting married – whats the one thing you are looking forward to on your wedding day?

Having all the special people in both of lives being in one place celebrating with us our new life together. The whole day was dedicated to us- it was our day that we patiently waited for after a year and a half; It was neat to see all the planning and picking out everything come together for such a magical day.

Vendor List

Photography | Salvatore Cincotta Photography

Florist | Brides Mother and Grandmother

Ceremony Location | ICD Catholic Church

Reception Location | Whitmoor Country Club

DJ | Mark Wendle

Dress Designer | Vera Wang

//Tell us how you first met?

Joel and I met in college, we were actually first introduced when he was a freshman and I was a sophomore. Unfortunately, at the time I was dating someone else. We would remain cordial friends the next few years, but things didn’t heat up until after I became singe again about three years later. We both had returned to from a semester on co-op at our respective companies, ARCO and Altec. We ran into each other at the bookstore on our first day back. I remember him asking me if I was still seeing my old boyfriend and I had said no. He said we should hang out sometime, so I smiled and agreed. Later that week we ran into each other at a party. He convinced me that I needed a date to my sisters upcoming wedding in a month. I then took the bait and said he was free to join me. There were a few parties and dates in between the invitation and the wedding, but my sister’s rehearsal dinner is considered our first real date. He fit in with my family like he had been there for years… I think in the few short days of our beginning I knew that he would be the one I eventually marry. And he was… just took another five years. :)  We met in college which is interesting because we went to a smallish engineering school in Missouri where the guys outnumbered the girls 4 to 1.  She was actually dating another guy in my fraternity, which proved to be really awkward later.  But it gave me a lot of time to see the best looking girl in school on a regular basis!  I was always drawn to Holly for various reasons, and later when she turned out to be single, took a chance and basically invited myself to her sister’s wedding.  That turned out to be our first date.  Little did I know that a little more than five years later, we would be married!

//When did you know he/she was the one?

It is funny, because I felt like I knew before we even started dating. A year or so before we started officially dating, Joel and I was talking at a party. I remember thinking, maybe I am dating the wrong guy! I also remember thinking to myself… I am glad he is going on co-op like me so maybe we will get a chance to date when we get back. In all honesty, I can’t remember not thinking he was the one. From the moment we started dating, it just felt right. I feel like I knew all along.  I knew something was different with Holly from the very beginning.  I had dated a fair amount of girls, and something always wasn’t quite right after we “formalized” our relationship.  There would be a change in attitude, or behavior, or I would learn about their true values or motives.  With Holly, I began to see right away that her beauty was just the beginning, and that there was an incredible personality with robust values, morals and faith behind the surface.  I loved her from  day one.

//Tell us about the proposal.

The proposal was perfect… however leading up to the proposal wasn’t exactly as perfect. This, as you might have assumed, was a long time coming. We had been dating for 4.5 years at the time. Of course I would bring it up somewhat frequently (ie. All the time!), how I would love to get married… and you know how it goes. Well Joel behind the scenes had been shopping for a ring for months. I had no idea, all I knew was that he was having a hard time finding it. :) Finally one day, the week we were leaving for my family vacation in Gulf Shores, Joel decides he wants to buy a new car. We headed to the dealership and picked our the perfect car, test drove it and finally decided to negotiate the price. By this time Joel was ready to sign papers and get out of there with his new wheels. Once the price was agreed upon, they went in the back to fill out all the paperwork, which can take some time. Joel asked that I head to his car and clear everything out of the trunk and put it in my car. So I did… :) In the back of his car laid a white bag, with a bluish-green bag inside of it. I freaked out! I knew it was something, but couldn’t let Joel know. I packed everything up, pretended as if I never saw the bag, by the way I never looked in it, and put it all in my truck. As I came back in to give Joel’s keys back to him, I could see in his face that he remembered what he put back there and he figured out what he had just made me do. I was trying to play it off and pretend I saw nothing, but he said he could tell how happy I was. I guess I wasn’t so good at hiding my smile. :)

Later that week we headed to Alabama for vacation. I figured there was no chance of me getting my ring days after I saw it, so I threw out the idea all together that it was coming that week. Half way through vacation, on a Wednesday, my family all wanted to go to dinner early. I couldn’t figure out why and I was actually annoyed by it, blatantly expressing my annoyance with multiple complaints. Finally we left, dinner was short and we were back before the sun set. Joel asked me if I wanted to test out the new camera he recently had given me, that I never use. I was happy to test it out because I felt bad for never using such a nice gift. So we headed for a walk along the beach and I was taking pictures of everything the signs, the grass and the sand. I finally came up to what looked to be a campfire with branches stacked on top of each other in a pyramid formation. I of course started shooting away as Joel told me how it is probably someone setting up to roast marshmallows. Turns out, it was his marker… There he took the camera from me and set it down on the ground. I knew something was up at that time. He grabbed me and told me all is looking forward to. He said everything a girl would love to hear, then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I think at this time I started screaming and I am pretty sure I jumped back in awe of my beautiful ring. I of course hugged and kissed him and said of course!

The best part was that I found out he had the marker set up because my brother and brother in law were stationed up the hill on a balcony filming the entire proposal. So now I can remember that day for the rest of my life.

//Tell is the one thing you love most about each other.

The list is really endless, but if I have to pick one thing I would have to say I love how Joel loves. He has a heart of gold and doesn’t care about titles or things, he treats everyone as if they are his best friend. He loves unconditionally and he cares more than everyone probably knows. He never thinks bad of anyone and he cherishes his family and friends. Best of all he makes me feel loved every day, like I am the most special person in the world. And… he gives the best hugs!

//If you feel comfortable, share with us something silly or quirky the other person does.

Holly loves to slowly rub her feet together when she’s laying down relaxing on the couch.  It’s so funny (to me at least) because I’ll look down at her feet, and every single time those things are slowly moving back and forward.  Apparently it feels good!

//Besides getting married – whats the one thing you are looking forward to on your wedding day?

I love forward to walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Joel for the first time after months of preparation and a full day of getting ready. I can’t wait to say our vows and celebrate the joyous occasion. I’m a fairly traditional guy and it was important to me not to see Holly the day of our wedding until she walked down the aisle.  That was what I looked forward to the most, and I’m sure glad I did.  She was absolutely gorgeous, the most beautiful I’ve ever seen her in my entire life.

name | john & heather
date | 11.12.11
ceremony | st louis basilica
reception | mac
photographers | taylor cincotta & george schank
cinematography | gage williams

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name | jessica & kristian
date | 11.12.11
ceremony | messiah lutheran
reception | ameristar discovery room
photographers | sal cincotta & ashley schank

Colleen & Zach | 11.5.11

St Louis Wedding Photography | Sal Cincotta, Taylor Cincotta, Ashley Schank

St Louis Cinematography | Gage Williams, George Schank

Ceremony | St. Francis Xavier College Church

Reception | Hyatt Regency at the Arch

Makeup | Make Up Artistry A & C

Florist | The Special Event Florist

DJ | Rockstar DJ (Quain Tull)

Dress Designer | Mori Lee by Madeline Gardner

Dress Salon | Robin’s Bridal Mart

Hair | Salon Papillon

Cake | Lubeley’s Bakery

Tell us how you first met.

Her Version…

My cousin Bridgette was getting married, and my sister & I were handing out programs before the ceremony. While we were standing by the doors I noticed some of the groomsmen had come into the back of the church. I looked over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of one of the groomsmen, and he had a gorgeous smile. I immediately gestured to my sister to look at him and I couldn’t stop smiling. Right before the ceremony started, I pointed him out to my mother and I said to her, “Do you see that boy up there? I’m going to marry him someday.” My mom of course thought I was crazy, and with good reason, I didn’t know anything about him, even what his name was! I looked in the program at all of the names of the groomsmen and secretly hoped he was the “Zachary Block, friend of the groom,” since I used to name all of my Ken dolls “Zach.”

After the wedding ceremony, we went home and I decided to change into a different dress before the reception. I made sure to pay special attention when the DJ announced everyone in the wedding party, and I was pleasantly surprised when he called “Zachary Block” and my Gorgeous Smiled Guy walked into the ballroom. At this point I made many subtle attempts to get him to talk to me (i even deliberately bumped into him once!) but unfortunately I was not too successful. However, about 5 minutes before we were going to leave, I was waiting at the bar for my last drink and when I turned around he was standing right there! Our eyes met and we both said “You!” at the same time. He then said “You’re the girl from this morning! You are wearing a different dress though! Wait, how old are you?” (not funny!). After the 5 fastest minutes of my life passed by, my sister told me it was time to go, so we exchanged phone numbers. Zach called me not even 30 minutes later and we talked for the entire night. We hung out the next day and the rest is history!

His Version…

It all started at something like 8:00am on a Saturday morning. It being the pre-game festivities for Dom’s wedding. At some point that morning, we all felt compelled to go to church. I could still taste the White Russians and cinnamon rolls when Big Money and I stepped out of the sacristy to peak at who could possibly be arriving this early. Priest? No way. Alter kids? Not a chance. Program hander-outer girl? Oh yes. It only seemed appropriate to be entirely honest about my observations . . . being in church and all. I said to Money, “Hey, she’s pretty hot.” “Yeah, too bad she’s fourteen,” he replied. At twenty-five to thirty pews away, she certainly looked young, but worth investigating.

When we had more of an audience, we all decided to head to the back of the church to get the show on the road. We had a demanding day of beer, food, washers, beer, and a reception ahead of us (and all that before communion!); time was not to spare. While mingling with the patrons, I gave a glance to my program hander-outer girl, to which she replied with a glance of her own. Hardly church appropriate, but all very necessary in this dance.

I remember running out of beer at least once and then having to pick up washer boxes to kill some time before heading to the reception. Then someone fell down the stairs with a plate of Cheetos. The next thing I know, I’m standing next to a sailor, a construction worker, a very well dressed Indian, and a very enthusiastic cop . . . all wearing pink vests (I think we are in the wrong bar!). I thought, why am I dancing? So, I went for a drink. Just point at the bartender, he’ll know what I need. Shots in the next room? Excellent idea Steve, back in a flash. Now, having offended a majority of the single ladies at the reception, I retreated for a memento of this fine occasion: a long island ice tea. While weaving my way to the bar, I make a fortunate bump into a girl in a black dress whom I have not had the pleasure to offend. She turns. She gasps (Like she’s Cindy-Lou-who and I’m cramming her tree up the chimney). I exclaim, “It’s you! You changed dresses!” She seemed impressed, but I had to ask: “How old are you?” Well, she was old enough to have a phone number, an escort to her car, and a good-night kiss on the cheek. Later that night, at the after party at Andy’s, I lost all motor skills and slumped in a chair with my phone to my ear. I had a long conversation with my future fiance. I’m not sure what we talked about, but it was special. I fell in love there in the company of my best friends, several of which resembled the village people.

Tell us about the proposal.

Her Version…

Zach had always talked about how much he enjoyed going to Mackinac Island on vacation when he was younger. I loved hearing about how there were no cars on the island and you either had to walk, ride a bicycle, or take a horse drawn carriage to get around. My cousin Katie was getting married in Glen Arbor, Michigan which was only a few hours away, so I begged him to take me to this magical place that sounded as though it was straight out of a fairy tale.

On Saturday morning Zach rented a horse and carriage to take me around the island and show me the gorgeous views of the lake. We had a very temperamental horse, Beth, but I asked if I could try and steer her for awhile. Zach [reluctantly] agreed, and of course the second he gave me the reigns, she started walking all over the place and almost off the road! I noticed Zach was trying to get something out of the bag in the back of the carriage, and he kept saying “Stop the horse,” but I was too busy concentrating on keeping the horse on the road and out of the lake, that I kept saying “why!?”. The next thing I knew, Zach tossed a perfect little red box into my lap and simply said “Because I want to give you this. Will you marry me?” So then I burst into tears, but managed to say “yes, yes, yes!!” It was an absolutely perfect proposal, on a perfect day, with a perfect ring, from my perfect prince.

His Version…

Our engagement was all about one girl. She was a little heavy for me at first, a little slow, not to mention the temper. But, after staring at her rear-end for an hour, I just did it. That is the story of Beth.

Beth was our horse. We were on Mackinac Island for the weekend before Colleen’s cousin’s wedding. I figured this place would be right up her alley. It’s very old school: no cars, all bicycles and horses, and the stage drivers wore top hats. Our bead-and-breakfast was down the road from the stable. We walked down there after breakfast for the quick tutorial and off we went. By quick tutorial I mean she told us to pull back to slow down, pull right for right, left for left, and snap the reins to go. Beth would take care of the rest. From there, I just tried to avoid running over pedestrians. We only had a two person buggy, so privacy wasn’t really a problem. But, I had to figure out how to drive a horse and manage the ring, and the knee thing. It was kind of a mess. We were probably about an hour into the ride along the west shore, nearly at the northern tip of the island. If I had a map, I could point it out. So, Colleen had been telling me how I was driving wrong and that I should just let her drive. I thought, “This could be bad.” There were a lot of trees and the buggy had fenders. But, I thought this could be my chance to pull the ring out and, well, you know. I gave her the reins and went for the red box. I turned for two seconds to get it out of the bag, then back around and we were heading for Canada. Beth had taken advantage of Colleen and I went into emergency-horse-steering-mode. There was a horse, some leather, small children scattered about, and the ring box went into Colleen’s lap.

It wasn’t as elegant as I hoped, but she had it. I said something like: “I want to give you this.” Creative, right? Well, it worked; so back off. Colleen started freaking out, jaw on the floor, hands waving, fingers spread like a third grader draws a turkey. I think she asked if I was serious. I’m not sure what my reply was, but I’m probably better off if she forgot it. The island is a little loose with their DWI laws, so we had some champagne on the last leg of our buggy ride. Then I made her not tell anyone until we met her family in Glen Arbor.

Oh, and she said “YES.”

What is the one thing you love most about each other?

Colleen // I love how he always makes me laugh and treats me like a princess

Zach // The way she laughs.

Tell us something quirky about each other.

Colleen // When he gets drunk he likes to imitate Chewbaca from Star Wars
Zach // The fact that she can remember exactly what everyone is wearing on any given day, but usually nothing else from that day.

Besides getting married, what was the one thing you were looking forward to on your wedding day?

Colleen // Having my dad walk me down the aisle and surprising Zach with having pictures taken at Busch Stadium

Zach // Red Velvet Cake