Baillie is the very picture of class…

My associate Huy Cat was on hand to 2nd shoot with me. In fact, he shot the image above. Here are a few more images from Baillie & Nick’s beautiful wedding day.

Congratulations to you both!

Katie flew in for that wedding and when I met her I was touched by how close she and Christina obviously were. I was absolutely thrilled that she asked me to shoot her wedding in Kings Park, NY on Long Island. You’ll notice below and in the slideshow that they’re Skype’ing with their friends who are still on tour and are just minutes away from going on stage.

This is one of my favorite images that Huy captured on the wedding day. I just love the composition.

I’m quite certain Huy had a great time shooting the guys most of the afternoon. They’re like a walking movie set.

Just a couple more of my favorites from the day…

Facebook readers: CLICK HERE to view the slideshow.

They were married at the Cathedral of Christ the King and hosted their reception at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta where we shot their engagement session back in December.

As you take a look at their slideshow, you’ll notice that not only does Valerie have the coolest vintage dress ever – there aren’t many women who can pull it off like she did — she changed during the reception into a more modern and fun dress. Take a look and leave a comment below…

Facebook readers: CLICK HERE to view the slideshow.

Here’s a quick peak into Melissa and Rafael’s wedding. They got married at St. Benedict Catholic Church and held their reception at the Alpharetta Athletic Club, which was quite beautiful. Of course, Huy came out to capture some beautiful images for Melissa and Rafael.

Some of my favorites images are sometimes little vignettes, or peaks into a larger world. I particularly love it when they give you a sense of closeness or intimacy. Sometimes that closeness is feeling like you’re close to the subject in the image, like you’re part of their world for a few moments, like you’ve been given a glimpse into a sacred or private moment…

And other times the emotion you’re experiencing is the closeness and intimacy between the bride and groom…

Then sometimes the opposite vantage point of distance and the moment of intimacy that interrupts the grand landscape give you the same sense of awe about the moment you see before you…

Joyce and Don were high school sweethearts way back when…

To make a lifetime of stories short, they went on to have their separate lives, get married, and raise kids. As it turns out, half a century later they were both invited to their Huntington East High School 50th Graduation Reunion. Through the high school website they rediscovered each other and found themselves in much the same position, both having spouses that had passed away. So circumstance and providence brought them back together for a second chance, and here we are at St Brigid Catholic Church…

Their wedding day was so joyful and it began for us when we arrived at their home and Huy took this shot of a card that Joyce gave Don on their wedding day.

They had a luncheon at the Country Club of the South, which has always impressed me with their professionalism, decor and attention to details.

Take a look at the slideshow below and just let yourself smile…

The other is the cover of a book. My first actually. I just got a few of them in the mail and I told Vicky when I saw her the other day that I’d send her a copy. She’ll get a kick out of it and I’m sure her friends will harass her about it.

And I can’t even read it… It’s a german translation of a book by Christopher West, “The Love That Satisfies.” They contacted me last year after seeing Vicky and Jason’s engagement images on my blog. I mean, they are both stunning, passionate, and madly in love so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that someone would want to use them on the cover of a book about… uhm… “marital love”.

, destination Germany

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

The Wedding Mass

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:

The vows…

Flowers for Mary…

You think they’re happy much?

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

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

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

Next up, the party…

Ben Vigil, photographer — almost there Skotti & Tony.

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.

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

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

Here’s a scant detail or two.

Hey look, it’s St Anthony again…

Tony’s the man!

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

The wedding procession…

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?

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.

Skotti was escorted by her son and daughter.

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.

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.