This was the first time that I had covered a wedding at the Biltmore Ballrooms since their electrical fire the day before the last wedding I shot there. This was also my first time working a wedding with Ashley from Ashley Baber Weddings. We had worked other events together where Bold American had asked me to shoot decor imagery, but never a wedding together. As I suspected she would, she did a stellar job and made everything flow smoothly. [As an aside, I'm going to do a blog post soon about why you absolutely need to hire a wedding planner if you are a bride getting married.]

Check out these shoes that Bryan Scott shot. Do they have attitude or what?

Check out this bouquet by On Occasions of Atlanta…

Food and decor was provided by Affairs to Remember…

Okay, I have to admit that this isn’t the most artistic picture in the world, but wanted to include it because I was so impressed with the job that Celso’s did. This cake was immaculate!

Isn’t Jennifer STUNNING!

Here’s the exit shot that I’ve talked about before and that I’ve grown to really love and appreciate…

Congratulations Jennifer and Jeff!

Facebook readers: CLICK HERE to view the slideshow.

Vendors:

Planning Coordination: Ashley Baber Weddings
Ceremony/Reception Venue: Biltmore Ballrooms
Food and Decor: Affairs to Remember
Florals: On Occasions of Atlanta
Wedding Cake: Celso’s
Limo: Classy Car Limo
DJ: Lou Guzzo, Spectrum Entertainment
Hair: Salon Verde, Andrea Hess
Makeup: Ebony Crawley
Babysitting: Elegant Event Sitters

ASIDE: Oh, and you may have noticed that my site has changed just a bit…everything is bigger, everything better… but I’ll get to that later.

Wow… what a launch! Heather asked us to cover the magazine launch and of course I was excited to help out. Atlanta Occasions took over the Foundry at Puritan Mill, Tony Brewer and Company provided the decor and Doc from Full Circle Lighting provided the lighting. Everything was all wrapped up in a package by Eliana Baucicault at By Your Side Events.

Check out these amazing treats from Mindy over at M Cupcakes!

These bottom-lit tables provided some fantastic ambiance.

The official welcome from Heather.

For event pros who are always behind the scenes, they sure didn’t have any problems on the dance floor!

Joel Rabe from Lethal Rhythms was on hand to keep the music pumping and everybody on the dance floor.

Here’s a plug for my new photographer buddy, Patrick Williams, his wife and his designer. We commiserated a bit after I dropped and broke my precious $1800 Nikon 14-24 lens.

Somebody’s having some fun…

Congratulations Heather!!!

Check out the slideshow below. If you’re looking for ALL the red carpet images CLICK HERE after you watch the slideshow.

Enjoy the show!

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…

They were both so calm, cool and collect on their wedding day. Okay, Dan was bit nervous but he wasn’t letting anybody know. One thing that’s nice about Jewish weddings is they tend to be much more relaxed by the time the ceremony rolls around because the signing of the Ketubah has already taken place, the jitters are gone and everybody’s ready to celebrate!

They got married at the Event Gallery at the King Plow Arts Center (the “Plow”), home of Bold American Catering, who handled the catering and decor. Like they always do, they did a amazing job. It been too long since I’ve worked with Susan Graham but it was just like old times. She was fantastic keeping everything orderly and on cue. It’s so relaxing when a good coordinator is on board.

My trusty associate, Huy, was along for this wedding and this is one of those shots that he is so good at:

I love this moment. It’s not the usual view of the cermony but…

Floral were handled by Eva Behrendt and her team at by Tulip. I’m always in awe of their work! You’ll see their work above and below and throughout the slideshow.

And a quick mention to my new friends with Atlanta Beat who provided great music for the evening. This same image is in the slideshow in b&w.

For the slideshow music, I chose to use the song that Joanne and her father danced to for the father/daughter dance. It’s the song “Sunrise, sunset”, which I was surprised to find in over 120 different versions on iTunes going back to the 1950’s. Don’t forget to watch it full-screen with the icon in the bottom right corner.

Enjoy!

Ben Vigil, photography at the King Plow Fine Arts Center, Atlanta

So let’s start at the end, shall we… meet Meghan and Nick:

I’ve known Meghan a couple years through various friends but mostly through my old assistant, Christina, whose wedding I shot over the summer and who was also a bridesmaid at Meghan’s wedding. Meghan was so STUNNING!

I actually knew Bill, Meghan’s dad, years before Meghan. Check out this shot of daddy greeting his daughter. I just LOVE this shot that my associate, Huy, took!

So remind me again why Meghan is coaching sports…???

Here’s the former Archbishop of Atlanta, who concelebrated the wedding Mass, and Nick just before the start of the wedding.

One of my favorites of the day…

Here’s another favorite…

Oh wait a second, another favorite…

Both Meghan and Nick are trying to hold it together during the toasts by their parents.

You’ve never see a more proud father…

The peace of knowing you’re exactly where God wants you to be…

Congratulations Meghan and Nick!

So check out the slideshow for a bunch more images and remember that you can view the slideshow full-screen by clicking the last icon on the bottom right.

Enjoy!

Ben Vigil, at the Ritz-Carlton

So let’s start here with this image… They were like clay all day long but we were shooting out by this wall and they both looked at us and said, “get one of our SHOES!” How fun is that!

Congratulations to you both!

Remember that you can view the slideshow full-screen by clicking the last icon on the bottom right.

Enjoy!

ASIDE:
Exactly 2 weeks before Jen & Andy’s wedding, I managed to botch up a simple walk down the stairs at home. The end result was 4 broken toes and stitches and that’s all the details you probably want. As I’m laying on the bed in the E.R., the only thing I’m thinking to myself is “I have Jen and Andy’s wedding in 14 days!” Here it is 7 1/2 weeks later and I’m still not up to full speed.

So why do I mention this? Given a worst case scenario my right-hand photographer, Huy Cat, could have covered the wedding completely for me. In fact, he’s coming on board as a full-fledged associate (more on that soon!). But I mention it because I have a lot of photographer friends in Atlanta that range from legendary to just simply amazing and we all watch out for each other and help out just because we can. Anne Almasy is one of those friends and even though she and her husband were shooting a wedding the next day, she came out and made sure all the bases were covered while I tried to keep up. Of course, Huy was there to 2nd and Brian Steele was assisting.

THANKS GUYS!

Ben Vigil, Contemporary, Timeless Imagery

Fast forward 2 years and I found myself in the Baltimore area amid Maria and Jimmy’s wonderful family and friends who came together to celebrate the marriage that Maria could only dream about 2 years ago.

They got married in the chapel of the Catholic school where Maria attended growing up. She commented how the echoing stairwell sounds of the feet of dozens of little girls trotting down the beaten wooded stairs is indelibly imprinted into her memory. I got to hear those sounds!

The reception was held at The Mansion near her parents home and the day wrapped up back at the parent’s estate with swimming, grilling and playing wiffle ball. It was an evening of family getting to know their “new” family and old friends getting reacquainted.

Congratulations to you both!

Remember that you can view the slideshow full-screen by clicking the last icon on the bottom right.

Enjoy!

Ben Vigil, still shooting Saints

Before this wedding, every… single… time… that I’ve shot at the Cathedral of Christ the King it has rained. But no longer.

If you pay attention you might recognize the bride since she’s been on this blog a couple times, for their engagement session but usually as my assistant, who I’ve missed dearly since she left to pursue what she’s been trained to do. For the last year or so she’s been traveling the country with the theater production of The Lion King as the on-staff physical therapist. But now that she’s married, she’s back in Atlanta and can start helping me out again. You have no idea how stoked I am. But I know my time is limited because I imagine that she’ll be pregnant any day now if she gets her way.

Did I mention that she’s the youngest of 11 kids? But she’ll probably limit herself to 8 or 10. Moderation ya know.

Then there’s Mike, the groom. Mike, my friend, endeavor to deserve Christina because there’s no man on earth that does. I look forward to getting to know you better and maybe you two can pop out a few girls that are about the right age for my boys?

A few notes about the images…. Christina and Mike and their families are about as Catholic as the Pope. You’ll notice a rosary crucifix on Christina’s bouquet… engraved on the back is the date (in 1975) it was given to her oldest sister on her confirmation day and who later entered the convent (they see her once a year). She and all her sisters were wearing scapulars…it looks like a string necklace with cloth squares that hang in the front and the back. There are two priests that figure prominently on the images… one has been battling leukemia for a while now and the other is getting ready to serve as a military chaplain in the middle east. They are both priests in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and they are both her brothers. And then there’s Mike’s father who you see at the altar… he’s a deacon. We were joking that no respectable hispanic family is without a deacon or priest. And last, there were about a million kids…. when I first met Christina['s family], she was 12, and there were no nephews or nieces yet. I think the numbers had increased by the end of the reception, but that could be my imagination.

My friend and trusty second photographer Huy Cat was happy to see Christina and again, my trusty assistant Brian Steele rocked.

Remember that you can view the slideshow full-screen by clicking the last icon on the bottom right.

Enjoy!

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/Cable 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

*** 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