Back in September I have the opportunity to work with the staff at Lauxmont Farms for a wedding.  I was more of a second shooter for the day, but it was still a lot of fun.  I personally have never been to Lauxmont, it’s a neat place.  The views are the best part of it all!

This wedding was at the Japanese Gardens and the bride was delivered by horse and carriage.  How romantic!

Especially when they are brightly colored!

The ares for photos around the gardens are almost endless.  Unfortunately we were a little pressed for time so I didn’t get to really explore as I would have liked.  I did love the yellow door though!  Not only did it give this photo a little extra pop, it matched her colors!

This was one of the best entrances I’ve seen in a while.  I’m sure there was quite a back story to this because it was well received by the guests!

The bridal party took to dollar dance seriously at this wedding.  The Maid of Honor and Best Man were keeping tabs on each other, seeing who could raise the most money!

This is the first time I worked in a tent for a reception.  After the sun went down I ventured out to play around…  love this shot!

This was a fun day…  maybe I’ll have the opportunity to shoot there again this year!  Thanks Katy for the opportunity!

It’s time to do a little blog catch-up!  About a month ago (tomorrow to be exact) Kristin and Zach tied the knot!

July is a tricky time to plan a wedding as it can be rather warm.  Kristin and Zach got a true summer day for their wedding!  We struggled a little with the heat and humidity, but we still got through the day and had a blast!  Plenty of water and fans around to help keep everyone comfortable!

This was a fun day, even though it was so stinking hot!  Everyone still had a great time, especially the new Mr. & Mrs.  A huge congrats to both of you!  I hope you share many years of happy times and remember the fun you had as you started your new life together!  Thanks for allowing me to share in your day!

I have some catching up to do on the blog, but I wanted to quickly post the video from Jenna and Justin’s “Flaunt the Dress” session.  They did this as a favor to me.  I was able to convince them to dress back up, which wasn’t too hard since Justin purchased a suit instead of renting, and spend a little time with me outside so I could get some awesome photos of these two great looking people for my website and portfolio.  It’s great to have such amazing friends and family to support me!  I love you both more than you know, especially since you did this for me!

I’ll post some images soon, but here’s the slideshow to take in a quick view of ourt time together!  This is also proof you can do a “Trash the Dress” session without getting too dirty!  The whole concept  behind “Trash the Dress” (at lesat on my end) was just allowing the bride and groom (or prom lady) the chance to dress back up and have some stress-free fun in their pretty gowns.  It’s nice to not worry about time or a little bit of dirt.  Jenna and Justin still got some amazing shots without “trashing” anything!  You too can take some time to flaunt your dress – all you have to do is call!

This is best viewed in High Quality on Full Screen, but feel free to switch to regular quality (for quicker loading) if your connection doesn’t feel like cooperating with you.  If you have time, let it load and enjoy the full screen view!  Worth the wait! 

Enjoy the show!

This post is long overdue and I apologize for the delay.  If you’re a Facebook Fan you’ve already seen some photos from the wedding.  I’m usually pretty quick with the Facebook postings, but a little slower on the blog when I get busy.

Enough of the shameless plugs, let’s get to some images.  This was a great day!  If you haven’t been following you might have missed the personal connection I had to this wedding.  Marina is actually Jared’s (my better half) cousin.  I was honored when they asked me to be their official wedding photographer.  I started bright and early with the girls at Luxe where the entire bridal party met for hair and make-up.  The staff at Luxe was GREAT!  Especially putting up with me and my camera!

There was some prep time, looking for possible hairstyle ideas and just some time to relax.  Here’s mom taking a few moments to relax.

Some were relaxing, some were being pampered!

Even Marina had some time to relax.  Checking in with her flower girl who was very interested in her ring!  All kiddos love bling!

Those who were a part of the day know the significance of this shot.  Marina had what many brides fear, a rough morning.   I arrived at Luxe to find out Marina was still home, struggling to make it to the car.  We were all very happy when she finally arrived, feeling better!  She was doing her best to stay hydrated and  happened to capture the famous drink bottle in her hand as she was having her hair done.  Every bride has her own special memories from the day… but there’s always a silver lining the any storm clouds that might threaten!

Hair almost complete and looking great!

Time for make-up and for Justine to admire the amazing hairstyle Marina is sporting!

Although the mirror is missing, this is Marina’s “first look” at her almost complete wedding appearance.  She loved it!

We’re going to jump ahead a little bit.  After Luxe they headed to Riverdale Manor where the girls spent time getting dressed and doing some final touch-ups to hair and make-up.  I was shocked at how relaxed and calm Marina seemed.  Most brides, once dressed, hardly want to move for fear of getting dirty, etc.  Marina was on the floor, touching up make-up and just having a grand ol’ time!  That is right – she is in her dress, with face powder, and NOTHING covering her dress!  Brave girl!  I loved it!

I think someone said something about how crazy she was and she decided to lean front a little — made for a fun shot!

This is the buddy shot to the earlier “drink” shot…  keeping the tummy happy with some saltines.  Whatever it takes!  We were just glad she was feeling better!

I took the girls outside for some pre-wedding fun.  My second shoot Jamie Emig was off working with the guys so I started working with the girls.  Below are a few of my favorites from the bunch we took.

There’s also some great shots of just the bride during this time!

We’re going to jump ahead a little more.  Imagine guests arriving… the bridal party walking down the aisle… the exchanging of rings…  “I now present you man and wife…”

The happy couple!

This is my favorite shot from the day.  Marina and Matt had trees worked into the theme of their wedding, so they were very excited to have a few shots taken with this amazing tree.

Of course we had fun with the whole bridal party too!

Toasts, dances and cake, oh my!

What can I say?  This was an amazing day and it meant the world to me that Marina and Matt included me in such a special way.  You two are adorable and I wish you a lifetime of happiness!

The nice thing about photographing the wedding of someone close to you is the added bonus time at additional wedding events, such as the bridal shower! I’ll be shooting Marina and Matt’s wedding next month but yesterday we had some pre-wedding fun at her bridal shower fiesta! Marina spent some time working in Mexico and loved every minute of it! Her amazing bridesmaids thought a “Mexican Themed Bridal Shower” would be most appropriate. They booked the room at El Rodeo and set-up for an afternoon of spicy fun! I took a seat and captured some of the excitement of gift opening! I have a feeling Marina’s wedding photos are going to be just as fun as these are! She’s a cutie and full of personality!

Enjoy a few from the fiesta!

The girls did a great job playing with the colors of the restaurant.  If you’ve never been to El Rodeo, it’s a fun place!  Color everywhere!  The Gerber Daisies where a great touch and an excellent shower favor!

Marina also has some talented bridesmaids!  One of her ladies made this cake!  Nice job Justine!

Now Marina wasn’t 100% surprised.  Since she doesn’t live locally they had to be somewhat honest in getting her to come home for the weekend.  She knew she was heading to her shower, but the location and awesome fiesta details were a surprise!

Okay, let the present opening begin!  I love how she was excited and surprised and loved every gift she opened!  Some of her expressions are priceless!

Funny story – the coffee pot that was on her registry apparently doesn’t exist anymore (at least where she’s registered)  unfortunately that was an item Matt really wanted…  fortunately her bridesmaid did some research and hunting around (after visiting 13 Targets) and found one very similar to the one she (well Matt) wanted…

Hey!  No boys allowed!    Matt stopped in to make sure everything was under control (and to load the goods!)

So the story continues…  remember how I said the coffee pot was no longer available on the registry, well Matt’s mother also took the steps necessary to find a suitable replacement…

Now Matt has two coffee pots – he’ll be able to stay up for weeks at a time!

As with any event, there’s some cake-cutting…  Marina took the opportunity to practice for the big day!

One final group shot, here’s Marina with her bridesmaids… what a lovely bunch!

Marina, Ashley, Justine and Kristin – I can’t wait to work with you all again!  It was a pleasure meeting each of you and I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of fun come the big day in May!

Matt – I didn’t forget you!  I’m also looking forward to meeting your groomsmen and sharing in your special day!  Both of you enjoy the next month and get ready for the fun and excitement of your wedding!  Love ya!

Planning a July wedding has to be one of the most stressful things to do.  Beyond fighting all the other brides for venues and vendors you have the fear of it being 100+ degrees with 95% humidity…  all with the hopes of an outdoor event.  Danielle and Justin didn’t plan an outdoor event, but if they had they would have gotten rather lucky with the weather!  I can’t believe how “cool” the month of July was around here.  No – it wasn’t 65 but it sure wasn’t 100 either!  Made the photo session between the ceremony and the reception that much better!

This was my first time inside the chapel at Willow Valley – it’s a nice addition to the resort.

The girls got ready in a flash — I think this was one of my first weddings where we stayed basically on-time!  Great Job Girls!

A couple getting ready…  oh the things girls go through!  Glitz, Glitter and Glam!

Then it was time for Danielle to climb into her dress…  and for lots of lacing to take place!

Then we headed outside for some pre-wedding fun.

This is one of my favorite shots from the day.  One of those “don’t move” moments!  Danielle made a beautiful bride – as I’m sure you can all see!

The flower girl was a cutie, although I got very few “smiles” from her till cake was involved!

Fun group of guys — they were willing to do just about anything.

Justin made a dashing groom, right out of the pages of GQ.

If you’re curious what the inside of the chapel looks like – here you go!  Very basic – perfect for your own personal touches.

One of the very first pictures of the new Mr. and Mrs. Allgyer!

Danielle and Justin did the most important thing — gave their photographer plenty of time between the ceremony and reception to take photos!  We had a blast wandering around the pond at Willow Valley.  I’m not going to give away too much here because there has to be some element of surprise in their proofs…  but here are just a few of my favs!

Beautiful cake… I love square wedding cakes!

And the cake always brings out a smile or two…

Congrats Danielle and Justin!  Thank you so much for letting me share in your day.  It was a blast and I wish you both an eternity of love and happiness!

One of my favorite parts of a wedding is borrowing the rings and seeing what kind of fun I can have. My last wedding with Photography By Barry gave me a more than idea location to take the rings and flowers for their spotlight time. We were in Hershey at the Antique Car Museum and I have some fun shooting with the cars and motocycles.

Friday, September 19, 2008

This may be one of my longer posts as I have quite a few images I want to share from Erica and Dusty’s special day. I did her sister Tammy’s wedding last October — who are coming up on their 1st year anniversary — Happy Early Anniversary Tammy and Kenny! It was nice to be back with such a wonderful family and have the opportunity to meat many other great people. I had a blast and hope you enjoy some of the “snapshots” from the day.

It all started at Green Hill UMC

You probably know by now I love taking photos of the details. Here are some of the flowers with Erica’s veil in the background. I loved the dark pink color — looks great!

Here’s a new angle for me… tried to get the dress with a little different view. I think this really captures the detail of her dress.

Okay — Erica has the COOLEST garter thus far!!!

Classic getting ready shot… it’s time to start lacing up…

Here she is… one of the few shots I grabbed inside before the ceremony. Looking good!

We snuck outside and shot a few before the guest started to arrive… knowing what I know now about Erica I wish we could have started about three hours earlier and really had fun taking pictures… but I might just have the opportunity to work with Erica again soon… keep your eyes open!

After taking photos of the guys I checked in to make sure she was ready… she looked ready! No nerves here!

Bubble are always fun — especially when there are lots of children around. I caught one of the boys having a blast with his bubbles… I love his expression, the true innocence and joy. Priceless!

We made a stop at Safe Harbor for a few shots before it got too dark. They were a challenge as the sun was setting fast. Dusty was all about a photo with the wildlife safety zone sign… Here you go Dusty, this shot’s for you!

Cake Shot. Again — the color of the flowers are GREAT! They looked awesome against the white cake.

Okay… I am only giving you one shots from the garter… there is quite an interesting string of shots to go with this one. For those of you who were there… you know what’s coming! The rest of you will have to beg me to give you access to their online proofs when they are ready so you can see what happened next!

Their reception was a blast. Lots of little ones running around having fun and a lot of older people just enjoying what is trypically enjoyed at a reception. Here you can see one of the guests making sure Dusty has a chance to enjoy his reception too!

There are a few shots from the day! Thank you Erica and Dusty — it was a lot of fun!!

For those of you who are searching for a wedding photographer I wanted to share a sample of my album design with you. I am currently offering Coffee Table style albums, a bit different than your traditional wedding album. The pages allow for some creative lay-outs. Here is a link to my most recent album – Meghan and Pat — who you have seen floating arond on my website and my blog. This represents what the pages would look like inside the album. If you are interested in seeing what one of these albums looks like completed, please do not hesitate to contact me. I have a sample available to look at. Here is the link: Meghan and Pat

The day was 06/07/08 — a HUGE day in the wedding world! I was lucky enough to spend it with Sam and Dave as they celebrated their wedding!

The day begain in Marietta at The Noble House. A very cute place – perfect for the intimate ceremony they had. We battled through the heat and humidity and stopped at Greenfield Corporate Center for some shots. Thanks everyone for being so cooperative! The photographs we got should make the time in the sun worth it! After the extra sun it was off to The Host, where there is always a good party going on. (Yes, I’m slightly partial as that’s where my reception was – but they do a nice job there!)

Below is a shot actually taken by Scott — my co-shooter for the day. He does a great job catching all the details of the day. He got this great shot of the sign out front.

Sam and her girls were a blast! This shot was taken while they were getting ready and waiting. We had a lot fun!

To be honest, I’m not sure what was going on in this next shot. When I looked at the string of images I caught I started to wonder if they were laughing at me! Hey — whatever works!

We had some fun at Greenfield (a very popular spot for wedding parties!) We probabl could have switched out our limo for a stretch hummer if we wanted! There were about six different wedding parties fighting for shooting locations and lots of stretch our automobiles for transporting. Needless to say we got plenty of shots without waiting on anyone else. It was too hot to wait!

I loved the cake! Square is always fun, especially when it’s all out of wack! The orchids were a nice touch to both her cake and boquet. Let me follow up this cake comment with this — Great Feeding Guys! Sam and Dave fed each other cake like champs! Loved it!

Chicken Dance!

Happy Summer!