That’s all I can say.

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.

Enjoy!

Here are the event details:

Ceremony: Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Reception: Foundry at Puritan Mill
Coordination: Susan Graham Signature Events
Catering/Event Design/Linens: Bold American
Videography: SCG Productions
Cake: Caryn’s Cakes
Florals: Tulip
Hair/Makeup:Josie La Bara, Maria Hekscher Salon / Michael Lynch, Blue Med Spa

Ben Vigil — Photographer, having a blast

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.

Enjoy!

Here are the event details:

Location: King Plow Event Gallery
Coordination: Susan Graham Signature Events
Catering/Event Design/Linens: Bold American
Cake: Frosted Pumpkin
Florals: Tulip
Hair/Makeup: The Moore Agency, Steve Moore

Ben Vigil — Photographer, King Plow, Jewish Wedding

*** CLICK HERE *** to view the slideshow

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.

Ben Vigil

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.

Ben Vigil, blessed.

When Amanda asked if they could being her I thought it was an awesome idea.

I wanted this one image because I’ve never had a pair of sunglasses that I REALLY like, so I’m always a little bit envious of people with killer shades.

It’s the guy that usually needs a little convincing by his bride-to-be prior to the shoot. And it’s also the guy that realizes “wow, this isn’t such a bad deal after all. We can shoot THESE kinds of pictures any time you want, Ben.”

I just LOVE the look on her face! She’s like: “are they done yet?”

Ben Vigil, stay tuned for… Monica & Rich

It turned out to be a really hot day but they were so very low stress and easy to work with especially in the “down” moments when I’m [supposedly] not snapping away, like this one.

This one is so cute to me.

They had a blast poking around in the water and it actually took quite a while for them to get up to the waterfall and back without killing themselves.

Love the light on these!

Ben Vigil, can’t wait until December.

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.

Ben Vigil, honored.

But I guess it’s not surprising that Garcia… er, Mike, kept calling because anyone who knows Christina knows that there’s no man on this planet that deserves her. See, I’ve known her since she was 12 years old and we all thought she was going to become a nun. No, really, a nun. Her oldest sister is a nun. She has two brothers who are priests. So it’s not so far fetched as it may seem in this crazy world we live in.

But now she’s all grown up and getting hitched… and I couldn’t be happier to be shooting their wedding in a couple months. It means that she’ll be back in Atlanta full-time and she can start assisting me again. Yeah, and I’m happy for Christina and Mike too. (You’re laughing right? That was a joke.)

Okay, enough about me — Christina and Mike:

Ben Vigil, shooting saints…

:)

*** CLICK HERE *** to view the slideshow

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.

Congratulations Lisa and Phillip!

Ben Vigil, CTK Rain Man.