Tag Archives: Catholic

Cristina & Gabriel in Atlanta

Meet Cristina and Gabriel!

When I first met them at Cristina’s place in Midtown I knew right away that they’d be a joy to work with. They are both about as easy going and likable people as you’ll ever meet.

They got married at the Cathedral of Christ the King, by Father Neil, who just happens to be the brother of my wife’s friend’s sister’s husband. Whew, took me a second to write that. The reception was at the mighty Biltmore Imperial Ballroom. It was a joy to work with my new friend Mora Hostetter from Classic Weddings, who coordinated the entire affair and did a fabulous job. Affairs to Remember handled the catering and Catherine Walther did the beautiful florals (check out the slideshow).

My associate, Huy, was on hand to second shoot and Christina my awesome friend and former bride was there assisting.

Cristina and I spent a few minutes before the ceremony getting some beautiful images…

The kiss!

The next kiss! I just love this image in all it’s blurry glory.

Check out the slideshow… and don’t forget to watch it full-screen with the icon in the bottom right corner.

Enjoy!

Ben Vigil

Meghan & Nick at Reynolds Plantation

It was such a pleasure to shoot Meghan and Nick’s wedding at Reynolds Plantation! The wedding was at Christ Our King and Savior Catholic Church and the reception was at the amazing Ritz-Carlton, Reynolds Plantation

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

Maria & Jimmy in Maryland

In 2006, I shot the wedding of a friend of Maria’s and Maria made some very nice comments on my blog suggesting that maybe one day I’d shoot her wedding in Baltimore…my reply was “Okay Maria… mark my words! I’m GOING TO shoot your wedding in Baltimore. Just you watch.”

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

Christina & Mike

All my future bride’s can rest easy now because Christina and Mike broke the curse.

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!


Ben Vigil, shooting saints

Monica & Rich in Atlanta, GA

WOW! Wow! Wow!

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