Okay, maybe not…. I can’t tell you how much fun it was to hang out with Monica and Rich all day. They are such a blast (you’ll see it in the images) and obviously just love life and live it to the fullest. When I met with Monica and Rich we hit it off right away and it turns out that we know a lot of the same people and walk in the same circles, so to speak. Rich is a youth minister at the church were I grew up (some of my family still goes there) and Monica works at a Catholic high school on the other side of Atlanta. Rich’s job explains all the young folk you’ll see in the slideshow.
Monica and Rich’s wedding was #3 in a row with the AMAZING Susan Graham of Susan Graham Signature Events and everybody at Bold American Catering. There’s a lot of eye candy in this show so sit back and relax while you watch the show — the music is a lot different than my usual wedding music but it fits Monica and Rich perfectly. Jason Spruill, a.k.a. Weddings by Jason, another amazing Atlanta photographer, came out to help me cover all the bases and did an amazing job. And again, my trusty assistant Brian Steele made anything possible.
This slideshow has a TON of images so unless you’re on a decent DSL connection I’d suggest that you click once below to start the slideshow downloading and then click again to pause it and wait a little bit (maybe 15 or 30 seconds) before pressing play again. Same goes for the full-screen version, which you can view by clicking the last icon on the bottom right.
What an amazing and pleasurable wedding this was for me!
I must say, Alice and Adam take the award for the most relaxed and calm bride and groom of the year. It reminds me of that line in Pride and Prejudice toward the end, the father speaking to his just-engaged daughter, “You’re each of you so complying that nothing will ever be resolved on.” The entire day was such a pleasure.
Of course, Huy Cat was on hand to shoot with me and Susan Graham did another stellar job.
This is a new way that I will be posting these slideshows: right here in the blog so you don’t have to open a new window to view the show. You can also click through the images one by one and see a ton of them, not just a few that I chose for the blog. Of course, there’s also a FULL SCREEN option if you prefer — just click the little button at the bottom right of the slideshow and you’ll get to see bigger images.
Congratulations to Laura and David who were the most gracious hosts! Wow, what a wedding. Susan Graham and her team along with Bold American and everybody else from the stylists to the band pulled out all the stops and made it a weekend to remember for Laura and David. Chris and Katie from 6ofFour were on hand to help as well as my trusty assistant Brian — they all captured some stellar images and I want to thank them personally.
Congratulations again to Laura and David!
There’s not much explaining I need to do here… I’ll let the images speak for themselves. These are just a quick few. You REALLY need to watch the slideshow — there’s even an option to view the slideshow full screen now.
I was flattered when The Atlantan Brides approached me a few months ago to shoot new headshots for Elizabeth and Celeste. I was jazzed because they are honestly two of my favorite people in the industry. We had a great time shooting some great images and chatting over lunch. These certainly are two women to watch in Atlanta.
I wasn’t sure what images they were going to use, but these are the ones the magazine ran with.
Elizabeth Ralls, Editor-In-Chief
Celeste Couvillon, Associate Publisher
And speaking of The Atlantan Brides, the Fall/Winter issue just hit the newstands and it looks A-MA-ZING!
Seriously, it’s the best wedding magazine in Atlanta for sure. Nevermind that I have a full-page ad up front in the magazine and a few weddings in the hitched section…
If you’re a bride and looking for some great ideas and great imagery, definitely pick one of these up. You can even thumb through the entire digital version of the magazine here.
These images have been “embargoed” for a little bit so David didn’t see his bride-to-be before the time was right — so I’ve been waiting to post these! I’m resting a bit after Laura and David’s amazing wedding yesterday but I wanted to take a moment to post these images.
Isn’t Laura just stunning!
Since this is my blog I get to start with my favorites first
If you’ve been to more than one or two weddings in Atlanta, you’ll recognize the setting immediately. This is the Imperial Ballroom at the Biltmore Ballrooms in Atlanta where their wedding reception was held yesterday.
Lisa and I have known each other for a few years through my work with the Archdiocese of Atlanta so I was more than happy when she asked me to cover her wedding a few weeks ago.
When she told me that she and Phillip were getting married at the Cathedral in Atlanta I smiled because I thought about something that I have to take a moment to point out. I realized not too long ago that every single time that I’ve shot a wedding at the Cathedral it has rained. Nothing catastrophic… just your average rain. And on this day mother nature didn’t disappoint but luckily, it didn’t affect Lisa’s day or the schedule in any way. So you’re warned: if you’re getting married at the Cathedral and I’m shooting… it’s going to rain.
Now, this is probably the quintessential “wedding” shot: Coming Down the Isle. There are a lot of photographers out there who are probably going to cringe, but it’s quickly becoming one of my favorites shots to capture. Especially at a Catholic ceremony when they have the full Mass (the Mass + ceremony is usually 1hr+) all the excitement of the day and the emotion that they’ve kept inside finally gets to come out… and you see it right there on their faces!
Favorite moment: we were shooting outside when Fr John arrived on the scene, and with nary a word the first thing he did was give Lisa a blessing, and she was in tears within moments.
Favorite surprise: as I was following Lisa out the side doors right before the Mass was to begin, the door opens in front of her and it’s her dad. Look at the smile on his face!
Favorite shot that’s not mine: Huy Cat was shooting with me again and we think so much alike. We both took this same shot but his was better…
Favorite Cathedral location: If you walk ALL the way around the church and come in the side doors by the sacristy and adoration chapel, this is the view you get.
Favorite shot they’ll love: the consecration being the high point of the Mass, I know this shot will mean the world to Lisa and Phillip. I’m going to blow this one up and send it to Fr. John because he’s asked for images in the past, and I know he’ll love this one.
Favorite little moment: no words, no posing, no prompting, just a little moment in time.
Favorite find: Totally posed, totally prompted. So shoot me. I’ve always loved the light streaming through these windows but I’ve never shot a bride or groom there. I think I like it.
Favorite image: just because. A lot of times there are these images that you see coming a mile away and you just do your best to be there in the right spot at the right time to capture it. This was one of those images, except the mile was more like 1.5 seconds. This is a completely pedestrian moment when we were done shooting outside and Lisa was heading inside to prepare for the ceremony. I decided to follow her and as I saw her begin to transition from the beautiful wash of outdoor light into the recess of the Cathedral I pushed the camera down to knee level, aimed, blind focused and… got the image I saw in my head a moment or two ealier.
“Dear Jason, I am so excited to spend our lives together…”
That is how Vicky’s note to Jason begins. And this is how their married life begins:
One of the things that I sometimes find intriguing is the timing of the day. Since all of us capturing images on your wedding day (whether it’s two or three or four of us) all synchronize the times on our cameras I always take the images from all the cameras and edit the images chronologically. The part that I find really amazing is to see what the bride and groom are doing at the same moment. Sometimes you find the bride reading a note from the groom and vice versa at the exact same time. Here’s Vicky and Jason both getting ready to walk out the door and looking in the mirror.
The stunning bride…
Ahhh, the waiting…
Bride on the run image #1. Leaving the church in a stylish Rolls Royce.
This is one of my favorite moments of the day. Don’t think I’m weird. After Mass, the wedding party was invited over to Vicky’s parents’ beautiful home in Country Club of the South. As we were getting ready to depart for the reception, Vicky and Jason stepped into her father’s basement office and took a few moments to practice their dance one last time. Just Vicky, Jason and dad who snapped a few frames with his camera too.
Bride on the run image #2. Going to the reception.
The first dance…
This is where it gets amazing! Vicky’s mother, had alerted me in the weeks leading up to the wedding that if the weather held up then Vicky and Jason and all the guests were going to be surprised with an evening fireworks show. And surprised they were! This show was as good as the Stone Mountain show — just to give you an idea of the scale.
A very special thanks go out to Brian Steele for his trusty assisting/shooting and to Chris Torres of 6 of Four Creations for coming out and getting some amazing shots.
Having a beautiful bride and groom who are a pleasure to be around on the happiest day of their life is only part of the story. It’s the most important, of course, as a photographer. But behind the scenes making it all happen are all the vendors who help the family and the couple and just let go and enjoy the day. So it’s always great to work with some of the top folks in the industry.
I’ve heard many good things about Kourtney Coleman so it was a pleasure to finally work with her and she did a stellar job! Del Baroni and his full orchestra was fantastic! I have to add this comment: if you are going to hire them, do yourself a favor and go for the full orchestra. It really adds a lot and they are so so versatile in the styles of music they can do. I was really impressed! And Jonathan was a pleasure to work with. As it turns out, we both worked a wedding a couple weeks later too, which I’ll blog in a couple days. And last but not least, Katie Torres, of 6 of Four Creations fame, came and helped me out getting some amazing images while Brian Steele assisted and got some great ceremony images too.
I was chatting on the phone with Stephanie about her wedding images and which ones were her favorites… she mentioned the flower girl and how she looked just like a perfect little doll that they bought at the store for the wedding. Check out this picture of her at the rehearsal dinner. Don’t you agree with Stephanie!
And isn’t Stephanie just the definition of class!
They chose to see each other before the wedding (as you can tell above), and as we arrived at the church, amid the bridal party last minute chatter and chaos that takes place at every wedding, Stephanie stole a quiet moment with her groom to be. You might think this was a “posed” shot but it wasn’t. Just a simple moment that none of us would have remembered…
Stephanie in her chambers as she waits…
Back at the Cherokee Town and Country Club the newlyweds have a moment to share alone before the reception begins.
And then they stole away in a 1941 Cadillac Convertible…
I must admit a little bit of trepidation before shooting my first Jewish wedding. Everybody was surprised that I’ve never covered one before. But in the end it’s really not that different. And what I mean by that is not that instead of a priest you have a Rabbi, and instead of “congratulations” you have “mazal tov” — but that in the end you have two beautiful souls coming together before the Lord to betroth themselves, one to another, and inviting their friends along to share in the joy they have found.
On the other hand, I was very much looking forward to this wedding because, as a life-long Catholic, I feel a great affinity toward my Jewish brothers and sisters and have always been interested in the Jewish faith knowing that the roots of my faith lay in Judaism. I was excited!
But I have a wedding to tell you about…meet Erika and Jeremy!
Everything was staged and the bride and groom were poised to see each other for the first time and all my best laid plans were thwarted when the doors were closed right in front of me! Okay, minor panic. But with my telephoto lens, 60 feet into a darkly lit room and a hairline crack in the door I managed to catch a glimpse of the first kiss.
The Ketubah is signed, witnessed and the prayers are read…
Let the ceremony begin…
I just love the look she gives her groom as she approaches. She doesn’t take her eyes off of him the entire time.
