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…

They were married at St Mark United Methodist Church in downtown Atlanta (midtown, technically), and the reception was held less than a block away at the beautiful Biltmore Ballrooms, Georgian Ballroom.

I want to take a moment and give kudos to the Biltmore for this event. On the evening before the wedding there was an electrical malfunction at the Biltmore that caused a small fire and loss of power for most of the city block. The problem continued throughout the weekend but by the time the wedding reception rolled around they had arranged for portable generator power for the entire facility, including the lights, band audio, kitchen, everything. The best part of it was that nobody knew, least of all Shelby, who could’ve had her wedding reception ruined by a less professional venue. In fact, Shelby didn’t find out until the next day. So there’s my hats off to the Biltmore.

It was fun knowing and recognizing so many faces from Amanda and Ryan’s wedding in 2008. There wasn’t TOO much kidding about whether Josh was going to faint at the altar like he did when he was the best man at his brother’s wedding and Shelby was the picture of calmness on her wedding day. The reception was quite the party and everybody had a blast!

Here’s a quick peak at their beautiful wedding!

Can you tell that everybody had a great time at the wedding?!

And last, my usual hats off to my 2nd shooters, the trusty Huy Cat and Cathi Milanes, who delivered as usual for Shelby and Josh.

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…

This is the chapel where the wedding will take place. Much of the grounds are just as beautiful so you can imagine that my brain was racing thinking of all the shots we could get on her wedding day. Just amazing!

As it turns out, it was scorching hot and we were all dealing with the heat as best as we could… lots of water and breaks in the shade… they did fantastic!

I loved the light on this one.

In case you’re wondering why they look so relaxed in the image above…

The family has a cabin just around the corner from the school, so we went back there to relax and get a few photos.

Then a quick visit to the lake near the cabin before I headed back home.

Abigail and Peter, I really can’t wait for April to roll around and see what the day has in store for you. And thank you for being such gracious hosts!

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…

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.