Cayla + Sam | Longue Vue Club Wedding Photos

Ahh, I’m soooo excited to share this wedding! There is something magical about Longue Vue Club and it has always been one of my most-favorite venues to shoot at. The grounds are beautiful and the staff is wonderful. More importantly than that though is how amazing Cayla and Sam are and how easily it is to photograph them. Check out their winter Hartwood Acres and Washington’s Landing engagement session for proof :) These two are incredibly sweet and so obviously head over heels for each other that it made my job easy peasy. Here is their story:

We met through mutual friends during the end of our college careers at PITT, we were both out celebrating finals being (almost) done at Peter’s Pub in Oakland, & Sam asked his friend who knew my friend, for my phone number… I still give him a hard time for not asking me himself! (a fun fact, I actually sprained my ankle that night on the dance floor at Peter’s! when Sam texted me the next morning, I sent him a picture of myself at Urgent Care with my crutches… and the rest is history!) At this time Sam was the captain of Pitt’s baseball team, and was finishing up his senior baseball season. After that night at Peter’s Pub we began talking & seeing each other for a couple weeks, I went to a few of his baseball games with my friend (I was so excited to see him in his baseball uniform of course!), but he was leaving to go back home to Scranton for the summer & I was just beginning my final year of pharmacy school rotations in Pittsburgh, & when he left for the summer we didn’t really stay in touch with each other. I missed him but I was hoping he would reach out to me, so me being stubborn I didn’t contact him & just enjoyed my summer.

When the summer was over & school was starting back up, Sam came back to Pittsburgh to finish his final semester of school & he reached out to me on his first weekend back. I was thinking, “oh here we go, now he decides to text me?!” But at the same time I was so excited to see him again, and when I did it was like we never missed a beat. Things picked up right where we had left off at the beginning of summer, the only problem was now I was leaving for Europe for 6 weeks to complete one of my rotations. This was going to determine whether or not this relationship was going anywhere or whether we would just drift apart again. Well, an ocean apart and 5 hours time difference, we really were able to get to know each other via long distance and I think it was the best possible start to our relationship. We were put through a trying test at the beginning and were given the opportunity to get to know each other in a unique way, and were given the chance to decide whether or not this other person was going to be apart of our life once we were back in the same city again. I am so thankful for the series of events that led us to this because I started to fall in love with Sam during our long distance relationship, when we were both awake at crazy hours just to hear the other’s voice, and I wouldn’t change it for the world! 

Sam and I were together for almost 3 years when he proposed. I kept telling Sam that we should go on dinner date somewhere, like Long Horn (my favorite!), & later that week he told me he had made reservations downtown for us Saturday night but the restaurant was a surprise. I worked that Saturday during the day, and I got home after a long day I asked Sam if we could just cancel and order Chinese (lol!) He said no, and asked me to get ready. We headed downtown and started heading up Mount Washington, I was getting excited & he told me he had made reservations at Le Mont! (I was thinking gee, I would have been happy with Long Horn?! but this is amazing, how sweet of him!) We had a lovely & delicious dinner, afterwards Sam mentioned wanting to go to the overlook of the city. My feet were hurting from my heels so I just wanted to walk to the one closest to the restaurant, but he insisted we drive down to the one that is open without any fencing surrounding it (at this point I was thinking, well this is odd, but I was going with it). We get down there, and are enjoying the beautiful view (& freezing temperature), I asked Sam if we could get back in the car, and he just puts his arm around me. Just as he is thinking of getting down on one knee, a car full of hockey fans pulls up & they all pile out cheering and screaming (Go Pens!) At this point Sam totally lost his mojo and we got back in the car and drove home. Little did I know, both his mom and my mom were blowing up his phone because they knew his plan to propose that evening, and they were bummed when he told them the moment just wasn’t right with all the people around. The next day at the house, we were just having a typical lazy Sunday and he asked me to come into our bedroom. He told me he wanted to do this last night and that he couldn’t wait any longer (he had the ring for almost 6 months at this point!), and gets down on his knee and proposes in our room! It was a very sincere and heartfelt proposal and I’m so glad he waited until he felt it was the right moment because it was very special to see that type of emotion from him, I could feel he meant every word and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him!

Here are a few of my favorites from Cayla & Sam’s Longue Vue Club wedding…

Hair & Makeup: Dallas Beauty Lounge
Invitations: Miss Design Berry, Etsy
Wedding Dress: One Enchanted Evening, by Allure
Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff
Tuxedos: Men’s Wearhouse
Engagement and Wedding Rings: Van Scoy Diamond Mine
Florist: Karrie Hlista Designs
Ceremony & Reception: Longue Vue Club
Officiant: Susan Hielman
Cake: Mixed with Love Cake & Cookie Co.
DJ: Bill Bara, Modern Era Weddings
Linens: Mosaic
Lighting: Modern Era Weddings
Stationary: Angelo Parente
Videographers: Dorosh Documentaries
Wedding Photographers: Aaron Varga Photography

Aaron Varga Photography is a top Pittsburgh wedding photography studio serving downtown Pittsburgh and all surrounding areas. We specialize in creating modern, glamorous, and timeless photographs and providing an unmatched photography experience. Contact us for information and availability for your wedding or engagement session!