Last week Bold American Catering hired me to come out and shoot details at a wedding at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center for which they were hired to do event design and catering. Being one of my favorite vendors, I was happy to help them out. Steve and Stacy and Todd and the whole staff are fantastic at what they do. I am always amazed at the level of effort they put into every tiny detail. I won’t say much more, just enjoy…

Remember that attention to detail that I mentioned? Here’s the front of the program, hand made on real fabric, next to Steve’s (the Creative Director) tie, which he picked out especially to match the motif used throughout the wedding on the custom made runners (see above), the china, the programs, etc.. Okay, so he’s a little embarrassed now.

Ben Vigil, High-end Boutique Weddings

Over the summer there was this little blog game going around the internet where photographers were “tagging” each other and posting 8 things about themselves that most people don’t know. Well, Ruth Rackley tagged me a while back so here goes…

1: I know the day that I was conceived. It was in a hotel in downtown Atlanta in August of 1969. That’s all I’m saying.

2: I happen to know that there is a little girl named Mary that tells her mom that my site is her favorite. Every time I post on my blog or add to the gallery, I think about her and ask myself if it’s good for a 9 or 10 year old girl to see what I am going post. The answer is usually very clear.

3: I love cheese. Any kind. Oh, and fruity girlie drinks like frozen margaritas and long island iced teas.

4: You’ll never hear the words “say cheese” come from my lips at your wedding.

5: I lived in Hollyweird, CA for two years where I attended Musicians Institute. I wanted to be like Eddie Van Halen. But then I realized that most rock musicians live off their girlfriends and hand out flyers 27-30 days of the month (and therefore work at Kinko’s) so they can earn enough money to PAY a club to let them play. And they usually have more girlfriends per annum than gigs. I still play guitar some and love bands like xxxxx and xxxxxx xxxxx (SEE: #2). Besides have you seen Eddie lately?

6: I love woodworking. I rarely have time to do it and when I do, I usually take shortcuts because I don’t have enough time to do it right. But I come up with something cool every now and then.

7: I’ve seen the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice at least 20 times. Maria has seen it more.

8: I was almost a priest. I did a little soul searching and even met with the vocations director for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, but after more than a little grace from God I discovered that I didn’t have a vocation to the priesthood. For years I sat in the pew thinking, “*I* could give a better homily than this!” I have a great interest in apologetics and imagined myself up there giving these amazing sermons. So for a long time I thought I had a vocation, but in the end I finally realized that I was just full of pride and really conceited.

Ben

On Saturday I helped out a good friend of mine, Sara Speert, with a wedding she was shooting at the Solarium in the Oakhurst community just east of Atlanta. I always love getting to shoot with fellow photographers because you get to see how they work and you often get to see a different side of the wedding as the second shooter.

As Morris and the parents were leaving their home for the Solarium my waiting paid off with this shot of Monica’s father heading out the door. He had this super cool top hat and lanky figure that totally reminded me of the classic actor Fred Astaire.

The officiant asked guests to stand and say a few words if they wanted. When Morris’ mother stood up I knew he was in trouble! He barely managed to keep it together in spite of the tears coming down his face. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place when she got done.

The beautiful and ever so kind Monica…

Ben Vigil, Oakhurst Solarium Photographer

Being a relative newbie of only a couple years in the wedding photography industry, I was a little surprised when I got a call from three different bridal magazines (two local, one [k]not) asking ME to submit weddings for publication. I guess it goes to show that marketing isn’t exactly my forté.

The first one to be published is the wedding of Elizabeth & John Paul on December 30, 2006. Honestly, it couldn’t make me happier that they were the first ones because not only was it one of my favorite weddings last year, they are two of the nicest and most gracious people I have met. Truly first class.

And on a very personal level this one was quite sweet to me for a couple reasons. Brides Atlanta sent me a few copies of the magazine and I flipped through the “Real Weddings” section looking for images of Elizabeth & John Paul and eventually found them. Being the anal photographer that I am I did a quick critique of the images and read the copy. The next thing I did was take a look at the photographers whose work was featured in the same issue and was shocked to find out who I was sandwiched between: just before mine was a wedding shot by LaCour, one of the premier wedding studios in Atlanta (and all-around super nice people), and right after me was a wedding shot by Manuel Llaneras the photographer who shot MY WEDDING over eight years ago! How cool is that?!

Ben Vigil, Featured in Atlanta Brides, The Knot Florida, The Atlantan Bride, Newsweek, The Miami Herald

What cool families!

If you remember, I shot Natalie and Bens’ engagement session back in the Summer and it is still one of my favorites. They got married September 8, 2007 in Charlotte, NC at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I was honored when they booked me and I’m still just as honored that they had me shoot their wedding.

Chris Torres from 6 of Four Creations drove up with me to lend a hand and he rocked as usual. Special thanks to Katie for letting him out for the weekend.

** CLICK HERE to see the SLIDESHOW **

So let’s get started…meet Natalie and her sister Valerie, a.k.a. the Maid of Honor. I’m still amazed at how PERFECT she did Natalie’s makeup.

Meet Ben and his brother Bob, a.k.a. the Best Man.

Meet Dan and David, Natalie’s brothers. If you looked up “Energizer Bunny” on Wikipedia, there should be pictures of them. Crazy amounts of energy… (Chris took this image)

And this is my new friend Toni. She wrote me a while back on Facebook when she saw the engagement photos and mentioned her interest in photography. So it was kinda cool seeing her jump right in and grab shots. I’m kinda the opposite of those photographers that write it into their contract that no other photography is allowed in their sacred presence. I’m gonna bug her to post the shot she took…

I talked to the priest the day before and got permission to shoot from the sacristy, which in this case is off to the side of the sanctuary where the altar is. I felt like a paparazzi because I could see all their expressions and smiles and tears that nobody else could see.

After communion Natalie was about to explode. I probably took 20 or 30 images during those couple of minutes. She was fidgety and clearly wasn’t praying like Ben and she kept trying to get his attention. Then she’d look away, put her hand on his kneeler, then look up at the crucifix, then play with her ring for a few seconds, then look down… but Ben was all about Jesus…

Finally she gives him a little elbow and I could finally exhale after he gave her this look and I snapped the shutter.

At the end of the Mass we exit the church and go around to go back in through the side. I was walking in front of them and I turned and looked at them and they were making out kissing and I was missing it! These are the shots I love. Real. Genuine. Nobody has to tell them what to do because they are in love.

Chris got this amazing image of Natalie and he could’ve gone home at this point because everything else just would’ve been gravy…

I am really diggin’ this image.

Bridal party intros…

It’s the last dance and Ben is probably exhausted…

I love this image. Valerie is watching her younger brother wipe tears from his eyes as he watches Natalie and Ben dance their last dance while he holds Valerie’s child.

Chris got this image and I’m not going to try to explain it except to say that I hate Chris for getting it.

I want to say thanks to everyone from the families and from the wedding party! We had a blast and look forward to getting to know you all better.

Ben Vigil — Charlotte, NC Wedding Photographer

Okay, I’ll be honest with you. This was my first time covering a Bar Mitzvah but I can’t imagine that they get much cooler than this one. I’ll give you the details as we go.

This was taken at the family home over part of the meandering pool and waterfalls that Alex’s father designed.

Huy Cat was on hand to help me out and got some amazing detail shots at the rehearsal and on the day of the Bar Mitzvah. These next four are his shots taken at Temple Emanu-el.

As you take a look below and wonder why the details are so amazing, it’s because everything was handled by Susan Graham Signature Events/Bella-Sera here in Atlanta.

Alex loves skating so naturally all the guests got little skateboards.

Decor was handled by EventScapes and Marjorie Pruitt at DecoMarj handled the invites and whatnot.

The party was held at The Compound a very well-known Atlanta night spot where they hung these big huge letters above the pool for Alex. He was super jazzed that his party was at the Compound. Leah Peteet and her staff pretty much nailed everything and we had as much fun watching everything as Alex’s friends had being there.

All the guests were treated to soup shooters as they arrived, served up in style by Bold American Catering…

Emcee Sunnie Dae and DJ Legacy from Abstract Rhythms kept the kids rowdy. Mike from SCG Productions got it all on video.

Alex’s father and grandfather just before the Havdalah blessing.

This was a mini candy store where all the kids could eat as much candy as they wanted. Free.

Did I mention that adults were there too? Everybody had a blast!

Ben Vigil, working the Bar Mitzvah

Date: August 11, 2007
Ceremony/Reception: Peachtree Presbyterian
Slideshow: *** CLICK HERE *** to view the slideshow

I met Maria and Nick through Nick’s co-worker, Greg, whose wedding I covered back in February of last year. I got to chat with Alexis & Greg for a couple minutes at the reception which was a real pleasure.

Maria and Nick were so infectiously in love and they showed it. They were always cutting up and in general having a blast at their own wedding which is always great to see.

This is the first real portrait of the day taken at the salon, very impromptu.

I’m telling you, Nick had the most fun doing shots with the guys. He had a great time with this one because he got to be the tallest one for once.

If you go watch the slideshow you’ll get to hear the song that nick was dancing to. Guests were just settling down for a bite, the DJ played You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees and Nick just went to town for 4 minutes as the guests watched…

Congratulations Maria and Nick!

Ben

Pure Fashion has been getting a fair amount of press lately and I’m sure the escapades of the likes of Britney and Paris are simply adding credence to the cause of promoting modesty in clothing styles and fashion in general. Every year (several times a years actually) I help out Pure Fashion covering their events, doing headshots and each year it culminates with a huge fashion show for teens. It’s a full-scale production with 60-80 models and attracts in the neighborhood of 1,800-2,500 guests. TOP NOTCH production. Seriously. Brenda Sharman, former Ms. Georgia, Supermom of three, and the National Director of Pure Fashion, is going to be on the Dr Phil show in a few weeks.

Anyway, the July 23, 2007 edition of Newsweek ran a story about the modesty movement and ran one of my images from the Pure Fashion Show in Atlanta in April. I’m so glad they picked Margo who is an eleventh grader at a local Catholic school and has been involved with Pure Fashion in Atlanta for a few years now. Her parents had absolutely no idea the image was running and were completely blown away when they saw their daughters full-page image in Newsweek. They must be proud.

Ben, Pure Fashion Imagery

I first met Jenna and Bobby last November when I got together with them to shoot some engagement photos. The first thing I noticed was how laid back and cordial they both were so it was a pleasure to see them again and cover their wedding day in Rome, GA.

Date: July 28, 2007, Rome GA
Ceremony: Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church
Reception: Coosa Country Club

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

Sara Speert came out to shoot with me and got some fabulous images (like the first one below). We started off bright and early at Inspiration Point, a cool little salon in downtown Rome.

There’s a bunch of salon images in the slideshow so check it out. When we got to the church the guys were pretty much doing what the guys do at almost every wedding. It takes them 15 minutes to get ready so they usually hang out, talk, joke and wait until they are given a job to do… which always comes around.

A few moments of mental prep and Bobby sinks right into his super-model role despite the jeers from all the other groomsmen standing behind me.

I caught this little guy giving me the eye as I was shooting.

We had clouds all day but it didn’t damper anyone’s spirits, especially Jenna.

The moment I found out that the bridal party was going to have to walk around the side of the church so they could walk down the isle from the front of the church, I was seeing this shot in my head. The problem was that I knew I was going to be inside the church as the wedding was getting started. This is where it’s absolutely essential that you have an awesome photographer like Sara there to execute and that you know you can count on. She nailed this shot!

I love doorways!

This is one of the challenges as a photographer — being able to get the shots that you want and the bride and groom want without being completely obnoxious. One of the things I tell brides, and it’s on my marketing materials, is this: your wedding day is not about your photographer, it’s about you!

So I do everything in my power to stay out of the way. This is the first dance and the dance floor was nearly surrounded and if I had tried to grab a traditional vantage point I would have annoyed everyone around me. Moreover the vantage point I wanted would have put me standing right in front of the entire bridal party. So I put on my big ole Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens and stood behind the bridal party. I didn’t have many full body shots, but Sara was on the other side getting those, and by shooting between heads and shoulders with a long lens I could get the reactions and emotions of the parents who were right where I wanted them…

Did I mention that everything was pink? From the bridesmaids to the decor to the cake to the… Bobby’s boutonnière was supposed to be pink too but I hear he vetoed it at the last minute.

Congratulations Jenna and Bobby!

Ben Vigil