2010 November |

Archive for November, 2010

10.02.10 – Abigail and Clay – Cranbrook House and Gardens (Bloomfield Hills, MI)

November 23, 2010

When I was first commissioned to photograph Abigail Klarr and Clay Bebee’s wedding, they secured my services at my starting package which allowed for six hours of photography. We knew that this was going to be modified once the picture was more clear of what would be needed as the wedding celebration became more defined. Knowing that Carolyn Hefner of The China Closet would be coordinating these events, it definitely had the potential of becoming one of my biggest weddings of the year!

Clay’s family is from Texas and Abigail’s family had many out of town guests as well. The Klarr’s made sure that everyone coming to town would have a wonderful time! First on the list of events was a Thursday welcoming “Hoedown!” Friday followed with three fun and celebratory events as well: a morning “hunt” for the men, a bridal luncheon for the women, and the Rehearsal Dinner in the evening. We provided photography for each of these, thanks to my main associate photographer David Yarnall who attended three of the four events. The wedding day itself needed three photographers for twelve hours! I brought along my good friend, Los Angeles-based photographer Asgeir Bollason of Asgeir Fotographica, who filled in as my second shooter for the wedding day. What started out as six hours of wedding day coverage, evolved to three days of events! The Klarr and Bebee families are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and, boy, do they all know how to party!

If you check out the wedding I photographed on 10.01.10, the day before this wedding, you will see why we Michigander’s love our Fall season. However, Michigan in the autumn is unpredictable regarding the weather, and, well, you just don’t know what you’re going to get day to day. On Abigail and Clay’s wedding, a day later, it rained all day! You will see the umbrellas in the photos below, but I can assure you: the ground may have been damp, but the celebration was far from dampened! As far as I am concerned, the misty weather just added character to a beautiful day for a beautiful couple. It could not have been as successful had some of Michigan’s finest wedding vendors not been hired. They include:

Deyo Studio for face and body
Bob Hardwick and His Orchestra
The Townsend Hotel
Christ Church of Cranbrook – wedding ceremony
Cranbrook House and Gardens – wedding day reception
Cartoleria – custom invitations, programs and place settings
Special Events Rental
Bellisario Florists
Hunter’s Creek Club of Metamora

Check out some of my favorite images from the wedding day. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the complete highlight slideshow set to music.

Tags: Bellisario Florist, Christ Church Cranbrook, Cranbrook House and Gardens, Michigan wedding, Michigan wedding photographer, Michigan wedding photography, The China Closet, The Townsend Hotel
Posted in Slideshows, Weddings - 2010 | No Comments »

10.01.10 – Lisa and John – Twin Lakes Golf Club (Oakland, MI)

November 17, 2010

Lisa and John had their wedding on one of those autumn days that Michiganders love to brag about! Those fall days that are unmatched anywhere else in the country! Beautiful changing colors in the trees, sunny and blue skies with pillow like clouds, and warm enough that not even a sweater is necessary to fight off the typical chilly air! Certainly, this could not have been predicted in advance – no weather in Michigan can – just listen to the local weather forecasters get it wrong on a daily basis! Enough said, it was a perfectly beautiful outdoor wedding under a gazebo at a perfectly beautiful Twin Lakes Golf Club in Oakland, Michigan! I spoke with John about a week before the wedding to plan out the day. The entire event – getting ready, ceremony and reception – were to take place at Twin Lakes. The day was to unfold as straight forward as could be, without all the stress of needing to drive from one location to the next. That’s not usually a big issue for Saturday weddings, but it’s perfect for Friday afternoon and evening weddings, because the rest of the world is still working and you face the danger of getting slowed down in rush hour traffic. John’s biggest concern for the day was to provide his bride with a perfect wedding day. As mentioned already, the weather and setting were perfect. It also didn’t hurt that they commissioned Bellisario Florist – Michigan’s finest florist in this photographer’s opinion – to decorate and enhance the venue further with beautiful floral designs. What John was about to find out was that his beautiful Lisa was even more perfect! This couple was a complete joy to work with. They were happy, joyful, and unwilling to hide their tears and emotions from the camera. Much more than that, they made sure that they communicated their trust in me. What more can a documentary photographer ask for? Lisa and John gave me complete freedom to photograph the wedding in my style of documentary, fine art style photography. However, one request that John did give me was to do my best to capture as many photos of his daughter because he was sure she would be camera shy. You will see from the photos below that I was able to find several wonderful moments of John’s cute, little blond hair flower girl! Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post to view their wedding highlight slideshow.

Tags: autumn wedding, Michigan wedding photographer, Michigan wedding photography, Michigan weddings, twin lakes golf club, wedding photojournalism
Posted in Slideshows, Weddings - 2010 | No Comments »

09.25.10 – Carolyn and Matthew – Santa Barbara Polo Club (Carpinteria, CA)

November 13, 2010

I had been looking forward to Carolyn and Matthew’s wedding since they commissioned me last winter! Their wedding was to be held in one of the most beautiful cities in America, Santa Barbara, which also is the home of my alma mater, Brooks Institute of Photography. I spent over three years there in the mid-eighties, and have only been there a few times since. How fulfilling it was to return to the town where I studied and trained to become a professional photographer, only to use these skills and photograph a beautiful wedding! In addition, their wedding was to be held at the historic Santa Barbara Polo Club, one of America’s oldest polo clubs dating back to 1894.

I had booked Carolyn over the phone last winter because she was living in New York City. We only met about a month before her wedding date but I knew from our conversations that she was going to be a great bride! She was always beaming with excitement about her wedding! I had not met Matthew until the day of their rehearsal, the day before the wedding, but he was as charming and friendly as Carolyn described him to be. They contracted me for eleven hours of photography on their wedding day, as well as having the luxury of contracting my good friend and wedding photographer, Asgeir Bollason of Asgeir Fotographica to provide second shooter coverage for most of the day.

It was a perfect, sunny and moderately warm September day! It began with getting ready photos at the Santa Barbara Inn. Carolyn’s suite had full views of the ocean and the Channel Islands in the distance. The families and wedding party were shuttled to Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church near downtown Santa Barbara. The church was splendidly built with Spanish style architecture so famously prominent throughout the city. After the ceremony, the wedding celebration convened at the Polo Grounds for an open-air reception, accented by a full moon and the Motown sounds of Side Effect. I must add that Carolyn and Matthew’s first dance was the best I have ever witnessed in my 18 years of wedding photography! The day was a complete success! It couldn’t have been more perfect, which is due to the distinct choice of vendors made by Carolyn and her family. They include:

Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club – reception & catering
Bobbe Vagell – Florist
Emma Petievich – coordinator
Pronovias – wedding gown
Priscilla of Boston – bridesmaids dresses
West Coast Music – SIDE EFFECT
NY Wedding Dance – private dance lessons
Solvang Bakery – triple chocolate cake
In n Out – amazing snacks
Santa Barbara Inn – hotel for wedding party & guests
Elements – rehearsal dinner
Classic Chassis – get away Bentley
Classic Party Rentals – rentals

Enjoy some of my favorite photos of the day below as well as the highlight slideshow at the bottom of the post:

Tags: Ann Arbor Wedding Photographer, Bobbe Bagell, Classic Chassis, Classic Party Rentals, Emma Petievich, Our Lady of Sorrows, Pricilla of Boston, Pronovias, Santa Barbara Inn, Santa Barbara wedding, Santa Barbara wedding photographer, Santa Barbara wedding photography, Side Effect, Solvang Bakery, Southern California wedding photographer, Southern California Wedding photography, Southern California Weddings, wedding photojournalism, West Coast Music
Posted in Slideshows, Weddings - 2010 | No Comments »

09.18.10 – Kimmie and Brian – Angel’s Stadium (Anaheim, CA)

November 6, 2010

Kimmie and Brian’s wedding was one of a kind! I can honestly say “I’ve never photographed anything like it!” Most weddings that I have the privilege to photograph are usually at a church, synagogue or temple, followed by a beautifully decorated reception at a popular hotel venue. I have photographed beach weddings, an island wedding, a helicopter wedding, weddings in front of mountain-scapes, and back yard weddings, destination weddings, but never a wedding in a professional sports stadium! Kimmie and Brian chose to be married at Angel’s Stadium, where the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles play baseball! It was awesome! It was different! It was surreal! Kimmie and the girls got ready inside one of the suites that overlooked the baseball diamond and Brian and the guys got ready in the Press Box! We did portraits of the families on the entrance ramps into the stadium and portraits of the bridal party in the Angels’ dugout! All I can say is “how cool is that!?!” The ceremony took place at home plate with the groomsmen standing up the first base line and the bridesmaids standing up the third base line. Kimmie and Brian’s family and friends were seated comfortably on the perimeter of the infield by the backstop. Carpet and seats were placed on top of the dirt track that is normally there. A white runner for the wedding party processional ran from the umpire entrance opening in the backstop netting to home plate. Everyone had to duck their heads under the opening to step on the field. I loved every minute of it and will remember this wedding for the rest of my life! The very festive reception followed upstairs in the Home Plate Club restaurant.

This memorable and uniquely beautiful wedding was made possible by the collective efforts of the following vendors:

Cupcakes: Rossmoor Bakery, 2325 Redondo Avenue, Signal Hill, CA 90755-4019, (562) 498-2253

Sweetheart Cake: Sugar Me Bakery, 3533 E Chapman Avenue #C, Orange Ca 92869, (714) 639-1438

Chiavari Chairs & Table runners: Persiano Party Rentals, 23552 Commerce Center Dr. Ste E/F, Laguna Hills, CA 92653, 949-429-3175

I could not have been nearly successful had I photographed this wedding alone! I was very fortunate to have my good friend, Asgeir Bollason of Asgeir Fotographica in Woodland Hills, CA work as my second shooter. Some of my favorite photos from both he and I are below. Enjoy the complete highlight slideshow set to music chosen by Kimmie and Brian by scrolling to the bottom of this post!