Laura Schaefer of Fire and Gold Photography in Steubenville was the photographer for the wedding of Dalton and Jimmy Joe Mort in Steubenville where Dalton wore their daughter Ellie in a baby wrap during the ceremony at Holy Family Church. Photos posted on social media generated national and international media attention in addition to a post viewed by more than 1 million people and shared more than 4,100 times.

STEUBENVILLE — February brought lots of unexpected national and international attention for a local photographer and the bride she shot, all because of wedding photos posted that showed the bride wearing her daughter in a brightly colored baby-wrap during the ceremony in Steubenville.

Laura Schaefer, owner of the Steubenville-based Fire and Gold Photography, photographed the July 28, 2018, wedding of Wellsville native Dalton Butts and Jimmy Joe Mort of Steubenville at Holy Family Church and earlier this month posted photos of Dalton’s gown on social media that went viral.

“I mentioned in the post that this dress was perfect for her since she was able to wear her daughter in a wrap down the aisle and nurse her to sleep during the wedding Mass,” Laura noted, in explaining how wedding photos from last summer attracted so much attention in February.

“A couple people commented on the post that they would love to see pictures of her actually wearing her daughter. So the next day, I posted a few photos from the July wedding of Dalton wearing her daughter. The post began to be shared all over Facebook,” Laura said.

The post has been viewed by more than 1 million people and shared more than 4,100 times.

On top of that, the story was picked up by ABC News, “Good Morning America,” The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Conde Nast (BRIDES), “Inside Edition,” The Bump, The Knot, Brigitte (the largest women’s magazine of Germany) and Daily Mail in the United Kingdom among others.

Schaefer’s husband, Matthew, director of student development at Franciscan University of Steubenville, contacted the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times about the turn of events centering around a bride’s decision to incorporate her then 21-month-old daughter Ellora, whose nickname is Ellie, into the ceremony.

Laura was prepared for that.

“I asked Dalton during a meeting to go over details before her wedding if she would be wearing a veil on her wedding day, and she responded, ‘No, I’ll be wearing Ellie,'” Laura explained of Dalton’s desire to wear her toddler on her back in a colorful wrap down the aisle on her wedding day. “I had never seen this done before in the context of a wedding, but I was very familiar with the idea of ‘baby wearing’ as I myself sometimes wear my kids in wraps or soft-structured carriers like an Ergo baby carrier. Wearing your child allows for you to keep your child close while having both hands free to do other things around the house or in Dalton’s case, get married.”

For Dalton, it seemed a win-win decision.

The couple wanted to incorporate their daughter into the ceremony. “She was too young for a flower girl, but I wanted her to be a part of it, and once we were finalizing it, I knew it was nap time, and she wouldn’t really be able to sit with us or walk down the aisle. I already wore her a lot, so I tried to google people who did baby wear and found one I really liked,” Dalton explained.

Mother and child already were accustomed and comfortable with the parent-child, carry-and-be-carried concept since Dalton frequently uses as a carrier. “I don’t even have a stroller. It’s always been so much easier,” she said, noting that keeping Ellie close would benefit both of them and be a better alternative, for example, than having someone else watch her.

“That’s why I thought it best,” Dalton said. “The day would be long and overwhelming for the baby, and I thought she would be comfortable, and I would be most comfortable too. If I heard her crying in the pew, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it or be able to concentrate.” So Dalton did some online research and found a colorful baby wrap from Oscha Slings.

“It ended up working out perfectly,” Dalton said of using the wrap. Ellie slept peacefully as the couple exchanged vows.

Her mother, Alison Butts of Wellsville, helped her get ready on the wedding day, but Dalton said she experimented some with the wrap when it arrived in June.

The groom is the son of Lisa Mort and Jim Mort, both of Steubenville.

While babywearing was a practical way to keep her daughter close and engaged, Dalton said she didn’t have her heart set on it happening and wasn’t going to force the issue if Ellie protested.

“I was just going to let it happen. I brought the wrap and wanted to use it, but I wasn’t going to try to force it,” Dalton said in a phone conversation Wednesday.

The ceremony went off without a proverbial hitch.

Fast forward from July to February, and the photographer and the photographed are in the spotlight and surprised because of it.

“Yes, I have been very surprised by the response that the photos have generated,” Laura noted. “I never intended for the post to go viral, but I am so honored that so many people wanted to share my photos all over the Internet and the world. I knew that it was something unique but not unheard of. I’ve actually seen comments on my original Facebook post from other women who wore their children during their wedding. So Dalton isn’t the first bride to do this, but she certainly has had the most media coverage. I’m also so happy that other women have commented that they have been inspired to do this in the future on their wedding days. Some people who are already married said they want to do this for a vow renewal now that they have seen the photos,” Laura commented.

For Dalton, all the media attention came at a busy time as the couple welcomed the Feb. 10th birth of their son Briar.

“I was very surprised,” she said. “It’s been pretty cool and kind of a whirlwind all happening when I was in labor with my second baby.”

The whole experience is a special memory in the present and the future.

“I think it will be something special to share with my daughter when she gets older, and I can show her pictures.”

In her time as a professional photographer, Laura noted the wedding photos have definitely had the most number of shares, comments and views of all her sessions.

“I think it’s because it is the most unique of my sessions,” Laura said. “I am a wedding and portrait photographer so I also photograph engagements, babies, families, seniors and professional headshots. I have truly enjoyed all my sessions, including Dalton’s wedding. However, this one definitely was most unique in regards to the bride’s look and how she incorporated their daughter,” she said.

“I would say one of my most unique photos I took before this wedding would be a ‘Mommy and Me’ session I did back in November 2017. The mother wanted some photos of her breastfeeding her daughter as well as other photos of them interacting and playing together,” Laura said. “The content of a babywearing bride or a breastfeeding mother is unique, but I wouldn’t say my other sessions were standard in any way. I see each family, each subject as unique and special with their own story to tell. That’s what I enjoy so much about photography. It’s visual storytelling, and I have the special responsibility to capture the moments and tell their story through pictures.”

Laura said Fire and Gold Photography has been in business for about a year and a half and is based in Steubenville, where she resides with her husband and their two children.

She describes herself as a wife, mother and photographer who works primarily in the Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania areas, “but my family loves to travel so I’ll happily travel elsewhere for photo shoots as well.”

She loves “capturing moments and emotions” and specializes in natural-light lifestyle photography. Her website is www.fireandgoldphoto.com.