Choosing to use Rifle Paper Co. for their printed pieces, they embodied the spirit of the wedding day and gave guests a pretty accurate picture of the reception location, Gray’s Run.

The boys prepared at the house while the girls used the country club to get ready. Andy wore Ralph Lauren, and obvious choice from Lindsay career with the label. She chose to wear another classic, Vera Wang.

I absolutely love lush peonies in any bouquet, and Lindsay wore a long veil like no other. Simply timeless.

While the ceremony was taking place it momentarily poured outside. It was perfect timing.

After making everything official we headed up to Gray’s Run, the hunting club Lindsay’s family has been a part of for many years. Although the rain made everything a bit cloudy, the light was soft and romantic which is perfect for a wedding day. The club is nestled in to the foothills of the Pennsylvania mountains, which makes it both remote and absolutely breathtaking.

The main lodge is a home away from home for members during hunting season and has just enough creature comforts to keep you satisfied but not too many to take away from the rustic nature of the place. Inside are multiple trophies and achievements as seen in the antlers and heads of game mounted on the wall. The custom flag seen below was created by a talented cousin of the bride and groom, Melody Martin. She was kind enough to recommend me in the first place and is how I ended up photographing the day.  Thanks again Melody!

watch out! the club has various historic details and records of past members which was fun to look back on.

When we had some time to take photographs of just Lindsay and Andy, they were naturals. We had the perfect amount of time before the guests arrived and cocktail hour started and took their pictures in a total of 30 minutes. Part of what made them so successful and easy to take was the fact that Lindsay and Andy were able to enjoy the process and relax. It’s a moment for any couple to step back from the day and slow down time.

When the reception officially kicked off, it was time to party. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wedding more excited to get on the dance floor… of course it helped that Bud Maltin Metropolitan Music came over from NYC to perform. They were amazing.

It was a full day of celebrating the lives of Andy and Lindsay and sending them off as husband and wife. See all the images from the day over at the full gallery, and thank you again for inviting me to be a part of such a special day!

Nestled into the foothills of Pennsylvania is a well kept secret: Gray’s Run. A hunting club established in 1918 it has kept it’s rustic charm and unspoiled landscape and continues to be a member’s only retreat. The site holds a select number of weddings each year, and for Lindsay and Andy it was an obvious choice when wedding planning. Lindsay grew up going to the club with family so besides being a beautiful location, it was a meaningful one.

I have been looking forward to Lindsay and Andy’s wedding ever since I met with them in New York City to talk wedding plans and look over inspiration boards. I had a great time documenting their wedding on Saturday and it was a day unlike any other. I look forward to sharing more with you + congratulations again you the newlyweds!

A week ago I met up with a great group of people for a shoot out. I’m not sure if that’s even the technical term, but that’s what we called it. Lindsay, a friend from college, organized most of it as she wanted to get together photographers and models so we could practice and learn from each other. While there was no set schedule to the event, we started out at Andre’s Wine + Cheese Bar in downtown Doylestown. We shot indoors and practiced off camera lighting, but what was most interesting was seeing what each person did. While I like to travel a little bit lighter I was impressed by Keesha’s umbrella and flash set up… and I was also eyeing Lindsay’s external battery pack for a near instant recycle time on her flash. It’s always good to see what other people are doing – not so you can just copy – but when you’re in an environment that’s open to learn from… you can learn!

Part two of the shoot out took place outside. I decided to try something new and only used the lensbaby I bought at Imaging USA for my lens. If you’re not familiar with lensbabies, they are basically a variation on a tilt shift lens. Instead of a constant plane of focus, you can move around the lens so that there are only specific points of focus. This can do some really cool things, but of course it takes more than just an interesting lens to create a great image. I’m still working on it, and you really have to slow down and take your time since it’s manual focus. While it’s a different look for me, if you’ve seen any of the abstract work I did in college you’ll know it’s right up my alley. I’m looking forward to working it in to some of my shoots – let me know what you think!

In a few weeks I’m going to be heading over to Pennsylvania, after a wedding in New York, to spend some time with my wonderful friend Mary Claire (she’s in the violin picture). While I’m in the area, I’ll be meeting up with a few photographers for a shoot out. Whenever I say shoot out, it makes me think of a duel – country western style, with saloon doors, tumbleweed and the whole shabang. I would love to do a ghost town shoot like that (hmm… how can I make that happen?) I think this is going to be a little more urban chic and I’m looking forward to it. We’ll be getting together to try some new things and learn from each other, and if you are a photographer you’re welcome to join us! Do I have any photographers in the house reading this post? If you want to jump start your modeling career then this is also the place for you since we need some subjects! If it works with your schedule it will be happening Monday March 1, so let me know if you’re interested.

So, as I’m posting this final image you may be wondering… now how long did it take to finish everything? I started out writing this before I saw a great post by my own wedding photographer, Anne Ruthmann (she is a great blogger and I encourage you to get lost in it), and she goes in depth about production time and pretty much sums the reasons behind why wedding photos take a long time – so I thought I’d include it. I have experience on both sides as a photographer and also a recent bride who is waiting for her wedding photos… so perhaps I am a bit more understanding of the process, even though I can’t wait to have them!

This wedding, however was about 2.5 months from wedding day to dvd in the mail. Generally, though, I estimate 3-4 months for the photos to be finished to allow time for them to be completed, as several factors effect editing such as: time of year & length of wedding/shoot. After an event I always pre-release some photos everyone can get a taste of what’s to come, and include some more when I post on my blog. It’s an accomplishment to get everything finished, and some of you may understand that, others of you may be wondering what in the world I’m doing during all that time… so here’s a breif outline of what happens:

• shoot wedding
• download images
• backup images (we don’t want to lose anything!)
• photo sorting : includes picking out favorites for now, throwing out bad ones, and grouping into manageable sets for editing
• edit the selected few for something quick to send out!
• blog photos & give a fun wedding recap
• group editing : correct color, contrast, and little things that are apparent in groups of photos
• artistic editing : this involves spending more time with the image and adding some edits so it meets my standard (this is where the perfectionist kicks in and I can loose some time)
• final proof : I look over the photos once more to be sure everything is included + looks good
• burn dvd!

A few steps that encompase quite a bit of time – but it’s so worth it. That’s not to say that fast turn-around isn’t appreciated, but great images can be worth the wait.

I’m so excited to share these photos from Jen + Steve’s wedding. I love starting with the image above, because you can see how much fun they had on their wedding day- and each day as I know that was no exception. I also love the photobooth like snapshots and think I may make a habit out of it at weddings :]

Jen had a gorgeous dress, with lots of buttons up the back so you can see the busy hands at work getting everything right! It was great to have everything in one location at the Hayloft. After getting ready we met the wedding party for some images before the ceremony, and I love the choice of green + brown as it was complimented by the rich colors outside.

I love jumping photos, even if you do see them around a lot, because they always turn out differently. This was the jumping wedding I think, because we added them in whenever we could and it was a lot of fun. It was hard to get the wedding party to coordinate all at once, but that gives it more character I think.

Don’t they look amazing together!

(something a little different- with texture, but I like the mood… what do you think?)

We fought an oncoming drizzle of rain but luckily it held off for the most part… but it did make for an exciting last minute decision of whether to have the ceremony outside or not. In the end it was the right choice- the rain stayed away and it was beautiful.

After the ceremony everyone stayed put for a group shot and in accordance with the day everyone (almost) jumped! I know it probably works better with smaller groups, but I think it set the tone for the wedding, and it’s priceless to see all of the different faces and moments captured in the shot.

Everyone headed up to the barn for the reception where the celebration continued with dinner, dancing, and karaoke!

After the night was over Jen + Steve were sent off with sparklers! It was a fun end to a fabulous day, which I was so happy to be able to document. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

On Friday I was down in Somerset, PA joining Jen and Steve for their early fall wedding. I won’t say too much because I’m waiting to post more in depth later, but I wanted to share this photo. I’ve been wanting to use an umbrella in photos for a while and I love the way it worked in this one!