Posts Tagged ‘wedding photojournalism’

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!

Kathryn and Casey’s wedding was one of those weddings that was not only about a bride and a groom, it was about their families and their friends who were there in love and support of this happy couple. The day was so much fun to photograph for me because of the excitement that was in the air the minute my assistant and I started photographing. As soon as I began concentrating on finding moments to capture, I knew I was in for a great day of photography! For me, it’s much more than point and shoot my camera. As my clients soon find out, I am like a stalker, looking for the perfect composition, the perfect light, the perfect moment. Sometimes I am two feet away, the next second I am lurking around the corner or laying on the floor! Anything for a perfect photo! From the beautiful Kathryn and her supportive family and bridesmaids, to Casey, his family and his groomsmen, to the fabulous settings of the Townsend Hotel, Christ Church Cranbrook and Orchard Lake Country Club, the moments were all around me! Not to mention, it was a perfect August day! Check out the great moments above and below. Also, please scroll down to the bottom of this post to find the highlight slideshow set to music.

The day could not have been as perfect as it was without the following talented Metro Detroit area vendors:

Bridal Couture (for bride’s dress)
Affairs To Remember (linens and chairs)
Entertainment Express Inc Limousine and Coach Service,
Katie McClelland (Day of the wedding coordinator)
Newsmaker Band
Personal Touch Productions (video)
Shutterbooth
Todd’s Room (makeup)
Vanity Hair

I recently have become friends with fashion photographer, Joshua Kogan, who contacted me to help him photograph Melissa and Chris’ wedding at the historic Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.  Having the weekend free, I gladly accepted the opportunity to work with Joshua and to photograph a wedding at this exclusive venue.  I hadn’t met Melissa or Chris and was unsure of whether they would appreciate my photojournalistic style.  Joshua encouraged me to shoot the wedding the way I normally would and below are some of my favorites of the day!

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Michelle and Bobbys wedding was my first booking for 2010. We originally met well over a year prior to their date and I also had the opportunity to photograph their engagement session last summer. It was during this photo session that we really had a chance to get to know one another and to have fun. Boy did we ever! You can see the results by clicking here. The reason I bring this up is because I believe that session directly impacted how well the wedding day would photograph! We became friends and we had a chance to work together prior to the wedding day. The results of Michelle and Bobbys wedding are stunning. I was in sync with them throughout the whole day and I think you can see that from the photos below.

I met Michelle for getting ready photos at her parents home. The ceremony took place at popular St. Hugos Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and the reception was held at the elegant Royal Park Hotel in nearby Rochester. The wedding day ended with the biggest surprise of my eighteen year wedding career: three of the Top Ten finalists from the television show American Idol crashed the reception! I made a blog post of several photos shortly after the wedding and you can see them by clicking here.  Check out some of my favorite photos of the day below and scroll down to the bottom of this post to view the entire highlight slideshow set to U2s Magnificent.

The wedding day could not have been successful without Michelle and Bobbys superb cast of Michigans top wedding vendors. The list includes:

Wedding Planning – The China Closet
Floral Arrangements – Bellisario Florist
Printing Services and Custom Invitations – Cartoleria
Band – Intrigue
Videography – Lee Thomas Films
Decor – Special Event Rentals
Wedding Dress – Roma Sposa

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Like many of my clients these days, Maria became familiar with my work because she is friends with former clients of mine. For me, there is no better way to find future clients! Maria and Joshua’s wedding day began with my starting at Maria’s parents’ home where Maria and her bridesmaids were getting ready. Some of the photos below are among my favorites this year! I love documentary style photography – finding images that tell the story of moment. But that is only half of what makes these memorable images. The other part of the equation in making great images is when your subject is emotional and expressive. You will see below that this came very easily for Maria on her wedding day!

The day continued with the ceremony at St Hugo’s Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills where I met Joshua for the very first time. Joshua is the perfect compliment to Maria. It was obvious to all that they are happy and in love and are surrounded by wonderful family and friends. The evening moved forward to Orchard Lake Country Club for the wedding reception and celebration. I am so happy that they invited me to photograph their beautiful day! Please see the highlight slideshow at the bottom of this post to see how the entire story unfolded. Their day could not have been the success it became without the expertise of the following vendors:

Florist – Dave Calcaterra of Thrifty Florist
Linens – Special Events
Cake – Orchard Lake Country Club
Videographer – Chad Shwartzenberger
Day-of Coordinator – Molly Robinson
Paper Products and Design – Jen Wells of Miss Pickles Press

Tara and Prasad’s wedding day ceremony and reception was held entirely at Burton Manor in Livonia, Michigan. I have photographed a few Indian weddings over the years but this was the first weekend where I photographed two in consecutive days! Tara and Prasad’s wedding day was a beautiful, joyful and colorful celebration! We had not met personally before because the couple resides out of state, but we had a some time before the reception to get to know one another and photograph a few portraits at a nearby park. You can see from the photos below that Tara and Prasad are very much in love and and I found them to be as warm and friendly a couple as you will ever meet. You can see some of my favorite moments below as well as the highlight slideshow at the bottom of this post. Tara and Prasads list of vendors were as follows:

Cake- Edwards Cafe Northville MI
Venue – Burton Manor
Florist – Fancy Florist
Caterer- Ashoka Indian restaurant, Krishna catering
Video – Anil Relan
DJ- DJ Naveen

Yes, I am a big fan of American Idol – there I said it!  So you can imagine my surprise – as well as the bride and groom (Michelle & Bobby) – when we were told that three of American Idol’s Top Ten Finalists – Michael Lynche (Big Mike), Casey James and Andrew Garcia – were just down the hallway (at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, MI) in the lounge .  After our band, Intrigue, spotted them on their break, they invited the A.I. trio to come down and sing a few songs.  They agreed and shortly after midnight, put on a show for the remaining guests of this beautiful wedding. Below are some of my favorites, including the guys walking into the ballroom, being greeted by Michelle with open arms! NEWS ALERT: So far we’ve been contacted by Fox2 Detroit, AI Now, and Yahoo Music for permission to publish these photos for their news articles!

We photographed Aarti and Atul’s spectacular wedding entirely at the beautiful Dearborn Inn. It was as colorful and beautiful of a wedding as you will ever see! I am so grateful that this couple – who come from a long list of friends whose weddings I’ve photographed – selected me to be their wedding photographer! I was assisted by my second photographer, David Yarnall. You can see some of my favorite moments below as well of the highlight slideshow of almost 200 hundred photos at the bottom of this post. Aarti and Atul had a terrific list of vendors, who all contributed to making this day a huge success:
Decorator/Florist by MPE Events, Inc., Videography by Fifth and Main Productions, Catering by Rangoli, Hair/Makeup by Brides on Location, LLC, Shutterbooth by Shutterbooth, Inc., Deejay by Jay Chana DJ Services, Elephant by Ivory Haven Farms, Mehendi by Mehendi Art and Desserts by Sweet Creations. Enjoy my faves and the slideshow:

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I had the opportunity to spend about an hour with Einav and Joshua getting ready at the Aria Hotel just before their wedding at a chapel on the Las Vegas strip. Even though our time together was short, there were wonderful moments to be found, including a display of a variety of emotions from their beautiful son, Roy!







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