The photos on this slide show are my favorites from this past year’s wedding season.  I photographed 30 wonderful weddings in 2010, all of which provided opportunities for capturing documentary moments.  Not every wedding is represented on the slide show, however.  This year, I decided to be very discriminating in the selection of photos that made my favorites list, unlike previous years where I made sure to have at least one photo represented from each wedding. The photos that were chosen, best represent my ultimate objective when photographing a wedding: finding powerful, meaningful and artistic documentary imagery that transcends time.

In all of the photographs I capture in the wedding day, I seek to find the following three elements: an interesting composition, great light, and wonderful expressions.  The images on this slide show are those captured that, I believe, have a fourth element, which is what makes them so special.  It’s difficult to describe what makes up the fourth element, but it is that “something” that draws you into the photo, a story that is either conveyed concretely or, perhaps, not so concretely, but lingers as a mystery that causes you to stop, stare, and wonder.  The photographers that I admire the most are those who are masters in finding these moments. In years to come, I hope to continue mastering my ability to find imagery that has “the fourth element.”

That is what pushes me each year to be better than the last. I am a wedding photographer today, because I am passionate about finding these moments: that split-second where there is a combination of elements colliding simultaneously as if in concert with one another.  Most of the images are pre-composed.  I see the unique setting and possible composition in front of me. The natural, available lighting is there for an exquisite photograph. I see the people nearby and anticipate the possibility of a unique moment developing.  Suddenly, the person or people step into the frame of my camera at the perfect millisecond…the camera clicks…and a moment is cemented forever.  I hope you enjoy what I consider my favorite wedding stories of 2010.  Please share your feedback.

There is one image that I would like to provide some background history.  It is the very first photograph you will see in the slide show.  This bride is my hero, not only for 2010, but for the entire span of my wedding photography career – which dates back to 1992.  The bride’s name is Terry. When this photograph was captured, Terry was suffering from stage-four, breast cancer.  If you already watched the slide show, my hope is that you didn’t even notice that Terry was missing her hair, which was due to the results of her chemotherapy treatment.  Rather, you were locked in the beauty in her reflection.  In Terry’s reflection – you see her beautiful eye.  The eyes are the windows of our souls.  Our soul is the true essence of who we are and Terry’s soul has now passed on to her next life.  She passed away just before Christmas in 2010. Terry will always be loved and remembered by me.  I am truly honored that she selected me to photograph her wedding and invited me into her world.  My heart goes out to Terry’s husband, Chip, and the loved ones she’s left behind.

I met Leann and Michael this past summer, about five months before their wedding. Every so often, I meet clients who you can tell are a perfect fit. They are in-sync with one another about everything, including what they are looking for in a wedding photographer! This was the case with Leann and Michael. They were happy to be meeting with me, they were excited about their wedding, but mostly, they just seemed happy being together! Those are a great combination of qualities that tip me off to knowing that a great wedding is on the horizon and these are great people to have as my clients! From that meeting to the end of the wedding day, I was right. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of their New Year’s Eve wedding! It also gave me a chance to end 2010 working with Carolyn Hefner of the China Closet, the top wedding coordinator in Michigan and my wonderful friend!

The wedding day definitely required two photographers. Rudy Ortega, a photographer that has worked with me now for several years, was assigned to photograph Michael and the groomsmen before the ceremony, and I photographed Leann and her side. We all began the day at The Henry Hotel, the former Dearborn Ritz Carlton for all of the getting ready photos. From there, we traveled to downtown Detroit for the ceremony at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is interesting how I end up with clients using the same churches and venues one given year, and then I don’t photograph a wedding there for another two or three years. That was the case this year with the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. I can’t remember the last year I had been there, but Leann and Michael’s wedding became my third ceremony at that church this year! It definitely felt like I was in familiar territory!

After the ceremony, the wedding convened at the historic Lovett Hall in Greenfield Village. This venue is such a great place to have a wedding reception! It is a huge, ornate ballroom with beautiful chandeliers and columns, a hard wood floor and dripping with history! It also gave me a chance to work with the Henry Ford Museum’s wedding coordinator, Christina Dodge, my friend from other Henry Ford weddings of the past! One of the benefits a couple receives is the use of the village for additional portraits. Leann and Michael jumped into their own horse-drawn carriage and my team and the video team followed behind in another. After the romantic photos – it was time to get inside and let the partying begin! The photo above is of the couple dancing in the open ballroom without any guests. We were able to sneak into the room so that Leann and Michael could see the ballroom before the guests were seated. You can see how beautiful it is decorated by the extraordinarily talented Ralph Bellisario of Bellisario Florists.  Finally, the guests were seated, and the band, Scoot Magoo, MC’d the introductions and kept the party dancing the whole night long. I had never worked with this band prior, but I was very impressed! They were perfect for a New Year’s Eve celebration! They were not the typical wedding band at all. There music was polished and fresh and they performed as if they were giving a concert. I loved them just as did the guests! If you are looking for something a little different, definitely check these guys out!

Finally, midnight came, the party favors in place and the first kisses were given to bring in the New Year! It was a very memorable wedding celebration to say the least! Check out some of my favorites from the day above and below as well as scroll down to the bottom to check out the highlight slideshow set to music.

I first met Elizabeth and her mother at my Birmingham Showroom about eighteen months before their wedding date. Because they commissioned us so early, we were able to photograph their engagement party in December of 2009, as well as an engagement portrait session this past summer. It has been wonderful seeing Elizabeth and David through the year prior to their wedding day! So when the day finally came this past December, it was as if we were a part of the fabric of the story leading up to the day!

I began that Saturday morning in a familiar location that many of our brides like to start: The Townsend Hotel in downtown Birmingham. Elizabeth’s suite was filled with family, hanging out to support Elizabeth. She slowly began getting ready as her bridesmaids arrived and, before you knew it, it was time to leave for the church. The ceremony took place at the Grosse Pointe Academy Chapel, about a fifty minute drive from Birmingham in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. This is where I would finally see David for the first time, behind the alter, waiting with his groomsmen and the priest. The chapel is historic. It is beautiful and ornate. The ceremony was Roman Catholic and the happy couple was escorted for their recessional by a bag pipper.

After a few portraits outside of the Chapel, we drove back to the Townsend Hotel for the beginning of the celebratory reception, where the couple was enthusiastically greeted by their guests. This December wedding couldn’t have been a more perfect day! The weather was sunny and unseasonably warm. Elizabeth and David, their families, wedding party and guests were terrific, providing me with ample opportunity to find wonderful wedding day moments!

Enjoy the some of my highlight photos posted here in the blog, as well as scrolling to the bottom of the post to view their complete wedding day highlight slideshow! Enjoy!

I met Erica and Steve earlier this past summer at their friends, Andrea and James’, wedding that I was photographing.  Thank you Andrea and James for having such great friends!  They commissioned  me to photograph their wedding just a few months prior to the date!  I am so glad that the date was still open on my calendar! The wedding day structure was very similar to many of my clients who were married in the Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills area of metro Detroit Michigan.  I began the day with the bride and groom, photographing them getting ready in their separate suites at the Townsend Hotel, followed by a short drive up Woodward Avenue to St. Hugo’s Catholic church for the ceremony, followed by a return trip back to the Townsend Hotel to celebrate!  Two of Michigan’s prized wedding gems couldn’t be more conveniently located geographically to one another for the making of the perfect wedding day!  From the stately Townsend, to the historic St. Hugo’s, to the beautiful decorations and florals of the reception, the evening celebration was topped off by the talented Dan Rafferty Band.  They provided the excellent music and entertainment which kept the party at full-energy all night long!

Erica and Steve’s wedding went flawlessly!  Not only do they make an attractive couple, but they were fun and energetic!  You can see this in the photos below!  As a documentary-style wedding photographer, it’s my job to find great moments and preserve them photographically as artistically as I am able.  My goal is always to find great moments, great compositions, great lighting and great exposures simultaneously.  Erica, Steve and their family and friends were a perfect fit for me as they gave me all the raw emotion and excitement that I needed to capture wonderful moments!  Check out some of my favorites above and below and be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see the highlight slideshow set to music!

Like my 10.10.10 wedding, Emily and Alex contacted me early in 2010 and commissioned me to photograph their Las Vegas wedding without meeting me in person. In fact, I don’t think we even spoke over the phone, but rather sent a lot of emails back and forth. My documentary style seemed to suit their tastes and having seen my work here on the blog and my website, they were convinced I was the photographer for them. I have had the privilege of photographing a few weddings at the Four Seasons Hotel – one of the finer hotels Las Vegas has to offer – and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work at this beautiful and classy venue once again. I’ll be honest though, it always makes me nervous to photograph a wedding without meeting the couple in advance to make sure our personalities mesh well together. What I didn’t know, and was pleased to discover, is that Emily has got to be the happiest person on earth! She is so full of life and breaks out into a huge, beautiful smile with ease. Check out some of the photos above and below and you will see what I am talking about! You will also see that she gets her expressions from her parents! One of my favorite photos of the year is the image where Emily is flanked on each arm by both her mother and father and their expressions seem to be on cue! If I gave out awards to my brides at the end of the year, Emily would win the award for “Bride with the Best Expressions!”

Check out some of my favorite photos above and below and be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to watch the entire highlight slideshow set to music.

Rebecca and Darryl are from England and contacted me last year about photographing their wedding in Las Vegas. It’s not the first time I’ve photographed a wedding without meeting the couple in person, but the first time in that they were from another country. They did have one requirement that I had not had before: to photograph their “Stag and Hen” Parties a couple of days before the wedding. It’s not odd to photograph an event before the wedding, but I had no idea what Stag and Hen parties were! Simply, they are the American equivalent to our bachelor and bachelorette parties! Not only did I have a great time photographing these events, but it gave me the opportunity to meet both Rebecca and Darryl prior to their wedding day.

The entire wedding took place at one of Las Vegas’ premier hotels, the JW Marriott Resort Spa in Summerlin. It is one of the best months to have an outdoor wedding in Las Vegas and it ended up being a perfect October day in the desert. The temperature was typical for this month, in the low 80′s, as was the clear, blue sky. The Marriott has an expansive, lush garden setting. You could literally stay there for a few days and be perfectly happy not leaving for the Vegas strip. There is everything there for a tropical-like get away and the Rampart Casino is attached to the hotel. As for the wedding party, I loved being surrounded by all of the couples’ family and friends. It was the first wedding I’ve photographed where one hundred percent of the guests all spoke with English accents! It was very cool! Every person I met was absolutely fantastic and I definitely hope to photograph a wedding in the UK before I retire! I believe about fifty or so traveled to celebrate with Rebecca and Darryl. These two are a very special couple! I am not just saying that! They are very genuine, easy going, and know how to have fun. After getting to know them, it was easy to understand why so many people were willing to travel such a long distance to be with them on their wedding day.

Check out some of my favorite photos here and be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the post to view the highlight slideshow set to music.

I almost was unable to photograph Carrie and Joe’s wedding because I had booked events in Las Vegas the day before and the day after their wedding date. Our mutual friend, Carolyn Hefner of the China Closet – who was also their wedding planner, was very persistent in keeping both Carrie’s family and me in touch, that we decided that we would make it happen. I am so thankful it did!!! Just take a look at the photos below! I love everything thing about the results! I love the emotion that was on display by Carrie, Joe and their parents! I had a hard time making a bad photo! Not to mention, once again, we were blessed with a beautiful Michigan, autumn day! Joe and Carrie are a great couple and they have great families! The wedding ceremony took place at a church I had never photographed before: Orchard Lake Community Church Presbyterian. The reception was at a venue that I have become fond of and have worked for a handful of weddings: Pine Lake Country Club in Orchard Lake.

Some of the other fine vendors included:
English Gardens – florist
Jerry Ross Band
Roma Sposa – wedding dress & seamstress
Lavdas Limo Coach
BBJ Linen Rentals

Be sure to check out the highlight slideshow set to music at the bottom of this post!

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.

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.

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: