Cleveland Live Wedding Painting [My Process & Approach]

Hey there love birds!
I’m Arastasia.. aka, artsy airy. In this blog I’m going to explain a typical approach I would have for my Live Wedding Painting Services & how I go about handling your special day! In case you’re curious about me though, I would have to summarize my very creative and ambitious heart into these main services: (Cleveland) Live Wedding Painting (and beyond!), Wedding Photography, & Mural Painting. (basically, I’m a creative entrepreneur that’s obsessed with making my passions my career lol)

^above – a recent Cleveland Mural I painted for Battr Sweets in Tremont, Ohio!

So, how did I get to a place of offering live wedding painting services?

Well, I decided to offer Live Wedding Painting because I truly LOVE weddings, people, & their love stories. I’ve been in the wedding industry for 10 years now, as a professional wedding photographer, so i truly understand all the aspects of the industry – inside and out. I personally feel as though live wedding painting is my way of merging my deep love for weddings & my absolute passion for embracing that creative painter within me. Most importantly though, I’m so passionate about giving my couples something timeless to grow old with, and I will forever feel so honored that I get to do that with both my photography and my live painting.

Alrighty, enough about me and my story though! Let’s get into what I can do for you & how i do it when I live paint your wedding day!!

Step One: Prepping Your Art & Sketching the Overall Layout

Before I get to the fun stuff, like filling your painting with colors and detail, I like to set up everything, take before pictures/videos, & sketch out the environment you’ll be getting married in! This portion of my process isn’t the most intriguing for you or your guests to watch; it’s a bit more technical & tedious. So, I feel as though handling this this prior to your main event starting, is a nice way to make sure I’m giving you the opportunity to watch the actual magic come to life! I’ll start with sketching out the structures & overall background, and then I’ll go in with some basic colors to get the ball rolling! Once your guests are arriving there should be color on the canvas, and they can watch me start to add in those details of what they’re looking at, in person, in real time!

Typically, this time period is about 2-3 hours prior to your ceremony or first dance (depending on what you choose to have me paint and what your wedding day timeline looks like.)

Step Two: Live Painting the First Dance or First Kiss

After I paint your background, structures, and overall lighting, I’ll then begin painting in you and your (now 😍) partner! This part of my process is when I start to bring the painting to life and my personal favorite moment of the day! It’s so fun to watch guests stop by here and there to see updates to the background.., but when they get to see me actually paint in the true guests of honor, that is when things get exciting!

Because this is the moment that things really come together, I recommend having me plan out my painting timeline to have this during cocktail hour, mingle-time post-ceremony, or during reception!

Step Three: Painting Final Details for your Wedding Painting

After I’ve painted “the actual moment”, I’ll then go in and paint final details to really make everything come together and pop. I always take reference photos and add them to my iPad so that I can wrap up your painting with accurate detail; especially if we have to move locations or lighting is going to drastically change. Typically, this is about a 1-2 hour process, depending on the complexity of your venue & timeline!

Once your painting is finished, I will take some after photos and videos, and then display it somewhere that you and your guests can see the final result! Prior to the wedding day I will discuss with either you, or your coordinator, where I should display so that I don’t have to bug you with questions. (I really really do love seeing my couples’ reactions though and saying goodbye before I head out though, so I will try my best to find you, provided you’re not busy!)

Should it be that I can’t finish your painting in person (later start times, timelines running behind schedule, etc.) No worries at all! I’ll take your painting home, finish it in my studio, then have it delivered to you safely. ☺️

How to book me as your Live Wedding Painter

If you’d like to hire me as your Live Wedding Painter, head on over to my contact form and give me all the details!☺️ If you don’t have timelines yet, no worries. As long as I have a wedding date, location, & an idea of what moment you would like painted – I’m all good!

I’m based out of Cleveland, Ohio, however, I do offer travel services and I’m always up for an adventure!

thanks so much for reading – I greatly appreciate it!

I hope you enjoy every aspect of your wedding planning journey – take it all in and cherish all the moments my friend!

with love and kindness,

Arastasia Rolain
owner of Arastasia Photography
Wedding Photographer, Mural Artist, Live Wedding Painter
based out of Cleveland, Ohio