There’s nothing like a wedding around a holiday. They combine for a great weekend and getaway for family and friends and this weekend was no exception. Yesterday Chris and Beth were married back in my hometown in Michigan and had beautiful church wedding followed by a fun at home reception. It was an event celebrated by many and I think they had the largest wedding I’ve ever photographed… was it 350 guests? It was also the first wedding in which I was able to photograph my sister playing the piano, and since Beth and her family have been friends for some years my parents were also in attendance and helped with the set up and grilling having pulled off my sister’s at home reception a few years ago. Everything came together beautifully and I’m so happy for Chris and Beth and look forward to sharing more of their wedding day soon. It’s time to go enjoy the 4th of July with my family here in Michigan – I see ladderball and lawn games in my future!

I know the challenge planning a wedding can be, especially when you are finishing up school, working full time, moving, etc… but I can’t imagine spending part of my engagement deployed with my fiance. That adds a whole new set of challenges, and not only am I impressed with Amanda and Wes, but I’m even more excited to for their engagement photos and wedding once they return home. I asked them to write a little about their relationship and what it’s like for them and this is what they said, with comments in yellow added by me:

Hey! So we are Amanda and Wes, both captains in the Army and we first met as friends at West Point through some close friends.  We went to a series of Army related schools together in El Paso, TX (Ft Bliss) right after graduation and then began dating and becoming closer during our time at Fort Bliss. (hey I was born in El Paso)

Being deployed together is not like most would think.  It is comforting to have the one you love close by for support and motivation, however it is also extremely tough. (I can only imagine, I’m sure it’s not exactly easier) The line of work we are in makes it extremly difficult to demonstrate the affection most relationships are centered around.  This has been a very difficult challenge throughout the deployment. However, it does make what little time we do get together more special.

Prior to deployment we did select the place to have the wedding, rehearsal dinner, and Amanda selected a dress that I cannot wait to see on her!  While deployed we have booked the band, coordinated an AMAZING photographer (blush), and began designing save the dates and wedding invites.  When we take R&R leave in October we will begin finalizing Tux styles, food preperation, decorations for the wedding/reception as well as taking our engagement photos (wohoo!). Some friends have sent bridal magazines in the mail which has helped to bring a little bit of the excitement of wedding planning to the desert!

Our wedding is going to be at asbury hall, the old fancy church downtown that ani difranco restored (I can’t wait to photograph there). We are going for classic and elegant, with mostly whites, off whites, and champagne colors for linens and centerpeices and flowers too, and the bridesmaids will wear black cocktail dresses (love it). Lots of candles in the centerpiece, the church looks really beautiful when its sparkling and lit up with candles (that’s going to be gorgeous – the more candles the better). We are also going to have a band, but that is pretty much all we have so far! We are just really excited to have all of our friends and family together for one big celebration- we both have lots of friends from over the years and especially from West Point that we never get to see because everyone is spread out around the globe. I can’t wait to show all my friends Buffalo either, its going to be fun to have them all in my hometown. The rehearsal dinner is going to be at Pearl Street Grill + Brewery, and its going to feature classic buffalo dishes: wings, pizza, beef on weck, etc… oh and we are having sponge candy for our favor! (I think it’s perfect to incorporate local things in the wedding – especially when there are a lot of out of town guests)

The thing I am looking forward to most at the wedding is the first dance Amanda and I share together as husband and wife.  Being able to look into her beautiful blue eyes and tell her just how much I love her and how excited I am to begin the rest of our lives together will make the wait, planning, and difficult times of being deployed all worth it. (wow how romantic – I can’t wait to photograph that too)

I photographed Eva in New York several days ago, and I’m happy to have all of the images finished today on her birthday! She is a doll, and quite the voracious reader as you will see. Once we gave her a few books she didn’t want to part with them. I also had the privilege of photographing Eva when she was born, so it’s been wonderful to see how much she’s grown up in the past year. She’s not a baby anymore and growing up quickly

There are so many images that I love from this session, and I think grouping them together would be an awesome way to display them… and if I had any advice to give people when displaying prints it would be to not be afraid of going big. Have you seen how one 8×10 looks on your wall? It looks lonely. You either need to group them together, or get something larger (16×24 at least) so it can be a centerpiece. Trust me!

She’ll be walking soon!

It was wonderful to photograph Eva again and hope she has a happy birthday! To see the full set of images head over to the gallery and create a profile to log in and see them. Enjoy!

It’s always exciting to photograph something new. Sometimes it’s the people that inspire you, the props, the location, but hopefully it’s all of the above. It’s not always easy to have those three elements come together as it takes more planning and collaborating, but as you can see it’s totally worth it. I’ve been planning on doing a unique session like this for a while, and wanted to use it as a starting point for other sessions… so this is just the beginning. I hope to collaborate like this with other couples and come up with totally unique and creative images so let me know if you want to be involved.  This photo makes it look effortless, but if you saw the car full of props we brought with us and the hiking we did out to our locations you would be impressed. Margaret and Luke were the perfect couple to try anything and incorporated their own style and personality into the shoot, which made it even more successful. I’ll write more on planning a session like this and show you the rest of the images soon!

I’m spending a few days in New York for several photography jobs before I head over to Michigan for Kate + Chris’s wedding. This morning I went over to some dandelion strew fields for Eva’s one year old portrait session. With a birthday coming up soon, it was time for some updated photos and I’m sure her family can’t wait to see all of the images! I hadn’t seen her since the newborn photos I shot when she was just a week old, so it was awesome to see  how much she’s grown. Enjoy the preview and check back for the full set soon. (special thanks to the Cool’s for letting me borrow their wagon! I need to stock up on props like this)

I knew from the beginning that Brendan and Stephanie were going to have a fabulous wedding. When they first got in touch with me, I was living in New York right outside of Letchworth State Park, they were in North Carolina. A lot has changed since that time – they are in California and I’m in Virginia, but I’m so glad our paths crossed in the middle. Letchworth is a gorgeous spot for a wedding, and since Stephanie grew up in the area it was a great place for family and friends to come. It wasn’t just the location that made the wedding, but more importantly it was the people. If I can quote Kaylan, who was my second shooter for the event, she said at the reception “I want to be related to these people!” I totally agree, the wedding was that good.

(photo for MDP by Kaylan Buteyn)

While the guys got ready at the cabins up the road – playing games always qualifies as getting ready for guys – I stayed with the girls at the Glen Iris. There is so much preparation involved with a wedding I think it’s important to document the process. It’s another thing that makes the day special and it’s always fun to look back on since it happens so fast.

The inside of the Glen Iris truly is a unique and vintage location, which was the perfect setting for Stephanie and the girls. Everything tied together perfectly and the detail shots below are two of my all time favorite getting ready photos. Doesn’t she look like a perfect bride?

After a quick talk with her sister Stephanie peeked down below to the ceremony location. People were starting to gather and it was almost time!

When the ceremony began, I stayed down below while Kaylan shot the image above of Stephanie and her father walking down the aisle. It was definitely a situation where two photographers were needed and I’m glad she could be there to shoot with me. If you’re really interested in two photographers you just have to ask to have that added in to your photography package.

After a beautiful ceremony, complete with a surprise song Brendan sang to Stephanie, they were pronounced husband and wife and the celebration began. The guests made their way from the Glen Iris to the outdoor tent for appetizers while I went off with Brendan and Stephanie for some photos.

A delicious dinner and toasts took place inside and the rest of the reception was under the tent. As we moved from locations I captured these pictures both utilizing windows and I like the effect.

For the second surprise of the wedding, Stephanie’s friends brought out the batons. If you thought twirling, you were right. It runs in the family to twirl for Cornell, and everyone at the wedding who had twirled took a turn on the floor…  even Brendan showed his stuff.

If you can’t tell, I had a hard time narrowing down the photos for this post. Brendan and Stephanie are amazing people and I am just so glad I got to know them and capture something so important. Of course you can see the full set of photos by visiting my proofing site – just click the link on the menu bar above. I’ll leave you with this group shot we took in between the reception & congratulations again to Brendan and Stephanie who have been married for just over three months now!

I had the pleasure of taking another trip out to letchworth recently, this time to shoot Kim and Vince’s engagement photos as a precursor to their July wedding… which I know will be fabulous. It’s always tricky to find a time for esessions with long distance relationships– and of course when you finally do see each other you pack a ton into each weekend– but I’m so glad we were able to work something out and get them in front of the camera.

So, what happened when we were there? We actually found a new lookout with an amazing view, went to a different spot for a fun card game, and finally ended with Kim’s fav – ice cream! or custard I should say for all you who are familiar with the custard in portageville… at a gas station. Haha when you live in the country you have all of these random places to go to; they probably sound crazy but some of them are amazing! Anyways here’s the proof:

aren’t they fun? Kim + Vince it was great to see you guys and I can’t wait for July…  hope you enjoyed!

It was a beautiful day (as you can see) but it came perfectly before some cold weather, and as you know in New York even spring has it’s suprises. I met with Dan and Grace for their engagement photos at nearby Letchworth State Park where we set out to capture natural emotion and have some adventures. So, what better to start with than a trip to the railroad tracks? Okay, I really should have taken a better shot of where these tracks are at {I’ll have to do that soon} since they’re way above the falls several hundred feet… anyways on to the pictures.

I loved their interactions and together the photos made great triptychs – sometimes it can be more fun to display a set of photos anyway!

I love to give people photos that capture something different and definitely unlike the typical snapshots that document their relationship until this point. The engagement phase is unlike any other, and definitely worth capturing with pictures that show the love that’s brought them together.

After the tracks we headed to the falls and they enjoyed a little impromptu picnic… oh and if you look closely in the next picture the little line between the far away trees on the left – that’s the bridge for the railroad tracks!

What a wonderful couple! It was great to photograph you two and I can’t wait for the wedding.

here we go with a few more selections from Matt & Krista’s wedding. We had time planned to take pictures of just the couple, and it showed because we came out with a lot of great photos. There were others from the rest of the wedding but I wanted to share some that stood out.

I love this detail above, walking up the steps- let me know your favorite from the wedding by commenting! Let me back track with a few photos though…

While we were taking pictures Matt & Krista joked about how they were both introverts- but I have to say they did a great job in front of the camera and were a very photogenic couple!

Krista’s flowers were gorgeous! If I do say so myself and complemented the pink of the bridesmaids dresses perfectly.

I think Matt & Krista forgot to put “walking down the aisle” in the contract with the ring bearer… but he stayed around to have fun at the reception.

what better way to end it then leaving in a carriage! It was a great end to a even better day. I enjoyed being a part of it- and Matt & Krista enjoy many years of marriage!

I’m going to have to do this post in two parts because of time, so welcome to part 1. Matt and Krista were married in Houghton, NY on one the days that was not raining (thank goodness!), but we traded rain for humidity so it was a hot one. Their wedding went fabulously with the service at Houghton Wesleyan Church and the reception at the nearby Letchworth State Park.

They decided to meet each other before the ceremony so they could have some time alone. I took a few pictures and love the stained glass in the church…

a nice detail from the pre-wedding shots

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Flower girl delivered this drawing to one of the bridesmaids- probably to give to Krista. She did it during the ceremony and I love it! Maybe every flower girl should draw a picture of the bride & groom.

We headed over to Letchworth State Park for the reception and took advantage of the beautiful surroundings for some pictures. Matt & Krista’s have spent a lot of time exploring state parks and it’s something they both enjoy – the tables at the reception were all named after many of those places – so it was nice to be able to take pictures in one too!

How perfect is this? there was even a rainbow over the falls when we got there!

I’ll leave you with this one for now- and come back for more later!