Category Archives: My Favorites

Heather Vreeland, meet Anne Barge

So the other day, my friend and publisher of Atlanta Occasions Magazine was so excited to be wearing a stunning Anne Barge dress to a benefit event that she asked if I’d take a few quick pictures of it.

Big. Mistake.

Being a HUGE fan of Anne Barge, I thought it was a great idea and Heather got more than she bargained for. I enlisted the help of my friend and future groom, Will Darragh, to handle styling Heather’s hair. Will is a top stylist at Van Michael Salon in Virginia Highlands. He also happens to be engaged to the co-owner of Blanqi, which was the subject of my last post. It’s sorely understating it to say that Will is good at what he does. In the words of Katie Torres: “Ahh, best hair cut of my life….”

Also, a big thanks to Steve Bales and his staff at Bold American Catering who took care of us while we shot at the beautiful Studio 887.

Heather, being the happy-smiley-people-person-plus-sunshine, she likes the last one the best. Or maybe the first one. It’s just that this is one of the few times you’ll ever see her not smiling in front the camera (or otherwise). I was going for that classic Anne Barge “look” in the first couple images.

Which one do you like the best?

It was fun playing with the visual effect of a curved AND slanted wall.

Skotti & Tony in Atlanta (part 3)

I’m going to keep this one short and sweet so that you can get on with watching the slideshow. But I have to show you this one image because it pretty much sums up their reception. Skotti and Tony came out dancing to You’re the First, the Last, My Everything by Barry White, which you’ll hear in the slideshow. CLEARLY Skotti didn’t get the memo about traditional first dance songs.

Check out the slideshow… and don’t forget to watch it full-screen with the icon in the bottom right corner.

Enjoy!

Ben Vigil — St. Peter Chanel Wedding Photographer

Jenny & Dave in Tuscaloosa, AL

Back in the fall of last year when I broke a bunch of toes and was couch-ridden for over a week, all I could do was watch tv and try to get some work done on my 17″ MacBook Pro (which my wife affectionately nicknamed my “precious”, a Lord of the Rings Gollum reference). That’s when Jenny emailed me about her wedding. So we emailed back and forth and 24 hrs later it was pretty much a done deal. Lysa Parker from Twisted Hip (awesome, awesome band, btw, you should HIRE THEM NOW) sent her my way because Jenny had hired them already.

Every step of the way since then. Jenny and Dave have been perhaps the nicest couple I’ve ever met, and THAT’S saying a LOT! I was emailing Lysa after the wedding and here’s what she said: Ben, you are DA MAN! I can’t believe what great shots you get. Thank y… oh wait, wrong part… here it is:

That had to be the nicest couple we’ve ever played for. So incredibly thoughtful from the start to finish.

And that pretty much sums it up.

Here’s a few from their engagement session the week before the wedding.

My associate, Huy Cat, was on hand to second shoot and Brian, who’s always THE MAN, was assisting.

Speaking of …, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. All these photos have something in common. I’ll tell you what that is after you see the images.

Here’s the secret: every single one of those photos was shot by Huy or Brian. After every wedding we get the same two compliments: someone will say “man, you guys were everywhere… working hard”, then somebody else will say, “I can’t believe you get those photos, I hardly saw you the entire night.” My personal opinion is that it’s nearly impossible to do a wedding justice with just one photographer. Sure you can do it, and sure you’ll get “most” of the same images, but you end up sacrificing moments. The moments between the “important” parts. Sometimes it’s those moments that a bride cherishes forever.

That’s why with every wedding collection you book, you’ll get 2 full-time photographers covering your wedding, and during the important parts, probably 3, since my assistants can shoot too. In the end, I shoot 60-70% of the images but I process every single one myself — I don’t farm it out to some worker in a third-world country or a kid on the west coast.

Okay… sorry for the tangent. :) — back to Jenny and Dave.

Check out the slideshow… and don’t forget to watch it full-screen with the icon in the bottom right corner.

Enjoy!

Ben Vigil — Skotti & Tony (part 3) is up next…

Skotti & Tony in Atlanta (part 2)

Welcome to part two…

The Wedding Mass

Portal of Love (corny, I know)

Tony & Skotti in front of the Tabernacle

This is where I have interject a little story to set up the next picture…

Fr Todd did the homily (sermon) and he happens to know Tony and Skotti quite well. At one point he told a story and read from an email that Tony had sent him. One relevant fact you need to know is that Tony is 48 years old. There’s probably a cliche or two that we could drum up about a very handsome (I think Skotti would say “gorgeous”), exceedingly nice, personable, “in charge”, and VERY eligible man like Tony who has never married. To dispel any such notions Tony wrote this, in part:

As people see Skotti and I get married they may come to the conclusion that it took me 48 years to find someone like Skotti and although true, the real fact is it took 48 years for God to prepare me for HER – someone that is worthy of her holiness and her goodness.

How AWESOME is that!! Tony’s response was this photo:

Tony's story

The vows…

Tony's Vows

Skotti's Vows

Flowers for Mary…

Tony & Skotti in front of Our Lady

Unity Candle & Fr Dye

Skotti & Tony's First Kiss

You think they’re happy much?

Skotti & Tony's Salute

I just LOVE this shot of Mary Carter and Jim watching their mom and Tony walk down the isle as husband and wife…

Mary Carter & Jim's Smile

Skotti & Tony's Exit

A quick shot I grabbed of Skotti while we waited for Tony to track down his brother :)

Skotti

These next three I think would be GREAT as a framed set so here they are…

Tony & Skotti - 1

Tony & Skotti - 2

Tony & Skotti - 3

Next up, the party…

Ben Vigil, photographer — almost there Skotti & Tony.

Skotti & Tony in Atlanta (part 1)

Aw…. where do I start?

I’ve known Skotti now for a number of years and I’ve shot portraits and Christmas cards for her and her kids for a number of years too. As a matter of fact, I attribute much of my success directly to her and the chain of relationships that find their way back to her. She always said that one day when she got married that I was going to shoot her wedding and when I found out that she and Tony were heading that direction you can imagine how happy I was for her.

I have a bunch of images so I’m breaking things up a little bit. It’s going to drive Skotti absolutely batty, but she’ll be getting two or three posts on my blog instead of a measly single post. She pretty much deman… uh, “requested” that when I post her stuff on the blog that I leave it up at the top for at least six months. Since I can’t do that, at least I can show her some love this way. :)

Meet St Anthony. He plays a big part, which I’ll get to later. This is what Skotti sees every morning when she stairs at herself in the mirror.

St Anthony & Skotti

I could tell from a mile away that these two were sisters.

Skotti & her sister

A few casual shots of Skotti in the bridal room at St Peter Chanel.

Skotti - Lipstick

Skotti

Skotti

Here’s a scant detail or two.

Mary Carter's Sash

Skotti & Tony's Rings

Skotti & Tony's Rings

Hey look, it’s St Anthony again…

St Anthony Prayer Cards

Tony’s the man!

Tony in Mary's Grotto at St Peter Chanel Catholic Church

Here’s 2 out of 3 triplets (which we’ll see more of later)…so cute.

2/3 of the triplets

The wedding procession…

Flower Girls, procession at St Peter Chanel Catholic Church

I included this image because that’s Nonni there in the middle, Tony’s 100-year-old grandmother whose been praying for Tony to find a wife for over 25 years. She is so amazingly happy to be sitting there while Tony awaits the entrance of his bride. Oh, and guess who she’s been chatting it up with there in heaven?

Nonni at St Peter Chanel Catholic Church

St Peter Chanel Catholic Church was just built and dedicated in the last year, so it was a real treat shooting there for the first time. It’s a beautiful, beautiful church and I look forward to shooting there again. I know I’m shooting there at least one time (so far) next year.

Wedding Procession at St Peter Chanel Catholic Church

Skotti was escorted by her son and daughter.

Skotti's Wedding Procession at St Peter Chanel Catholic Church

I know Huy (my awesome 2nd shooter/associate) will claim that it was on purpose, but he got lucky here mid-zoom getting Skotti in perfect focus and the rest of the frame in trails. I love it.

Skotti & Tony's first glance at St Peter Chanel Catholic Church

So that’s it for this post. Next up for Skotti’s wedding is the wedding Mass…

Ben Vigil, photographer — hang in there Skotti & Tony.