Saturday, July 8th, 2017

Heidi & Brent // Story Filled Wedding // Toledo + Cleveland Ohio

FILED IN: Love, Marriage, Photography, Summer, Weddings

Throughout planning their wedding, we constantly heard from Heidi about how excited she was to finally marry the man of her dreams. It had been a long wait just to be together – Brent was deployed for 6 months and came home for good this January. Although Brent was back in the U.S., him and Heidi still lived hours away from each other in separate cities, visiting each other whenever possible. As challenging as living apart can be for any couple, there was more trying times coming their way than they ever expected.

A few weeks before their June 16th wedding, Heidi & Brent shared with us the devastating news that Brent’s father, Kent Cartwright, was very sick. Mr. Cartwright had been battling prostate cancer for 10 years and the chemotherapy treatments he had undergone were damaging his lungs & ability to breathe. Kent’s doctors at the Cleveland Clinic didn’t think he would make it to see Brent & Heidi get married.

So, the staff at the Cleveland Clinic put together a small private wedding service for the family, where Heidi & Brent shared their vows to love & hold each other forever so that Brent’s dad could be there and see his son marry the love of his life. The nurses even made Kent a boutonniere made out of colorful post-its for the occasion! Lots of tears and hugging followed the sweet ceremony and Kent wished Brent & his new wife to “Enjoy your lives, every moment of every day.”

The next Friday was where Heidi & Brent celebrated their love with their friends & family at Nazareth Hall. Heidi was sure to tell us all of the surprises she had in store for Brent, like the Ninja Turtle hanging out of their cake & the special cuff links she had ordered for him, made out of baseballs thrown by the Cleveland Indians team (fitting because Brent works for the Cleveland Indians:) Little did Heidi know that Brent also had a huge surprise for her!

Brent’s bachelor party was spent at Comic Con, where he met the hilarious Rob Schneider! Rob recorded a special message to Heidi & Brent planned on sharing that with her during the reception!!!!

Thankful for today’s technology, Brent’s father Kent was able to watch the day unfold via live streaming by a family friend & even Face-Timed into the Reception during the prayer before dinner! Although there were sad moments during the day, Heidi & Brent were so happy to finally be together, celebrating with family their awesome love & passion for life and each other.

Just days after their wedding, Mr. Cartwright lost his battle & passed away. Loren and I are grateful to the Cartwright family for allowing us to capture these special moments for Heidi & Brent during such a difficult time. We hope that the images we captured bring love & comfort to their healing hearts.