Cyndie & Lisa

So first of all, a big thank you to Joe and Kelly(see post below) for recommending me to Cyndie and Lisa. These two ladies had an intimate family and close friend affair in the backyard of their home in Connecticut. There's a ton of vocal talent coursing through Cyndie (here) and (here) and her family and that was on proud display throughout the day including her niece's version of the Kermit the Frog classic, "Rainbow Connection." (Which is still running through my head a month later) And the evening of talent continued with performances by Cyndie and her sisters and was wrapped up with Cyndie's air guitar performance.

Kelly & Joe

Kelly and Joe are one of those great couples you're just happy to get the chance to know, and photograph. They're both big, fun personalities and a great fit for each other. Their ceremony was at the Wayne Presbyterian Church, followed with a trolley ride to their alma mater St. Joseph's and then off to the Aronimink Golf Club for the reception. I added a classic Tintype treatment to a few of the images for fun, something different but not overly trendy. One thing I actually really like about this first picture, is the obvious tension in Kelly's face. Sure, as you can see in the slideshow, there's plenty of joy and happiness here. But the wedding day is about a lot of stuff and I'm there to tell the story of that stuff. A friend of mine who has no direct relation to photography or weddings, outside of our 20 year friendship, but is a musician, once commented that the weddings he saw on my site had three stages. Anticipation, Reverence and Exaltation. I thought it pretty well summed up most wedding day experiences. There's highs and lows and the fun is showing both in varying ways. So to see Kelly go from feeling the tension of having run 1.5 hours behind schedule as she was getting ready at home to the explosion of joy on the trolley immediately following the ceremony and then see her blissful while dancing w/ Joe is such a perfect narrative and artistic arc.

Here's the show.

This is the last event for a few weeks as I'm taking plenty of time to prepare for the arrival of our first baby in mid-August so things may be a bit quiet on the blog front for a few weeks.

Halfway there

Abigail and Cameron had a beautiful, intimate family ceremony in Brandywine Park in Wilmington, DE followed up by a beautiful dinner at her parent's home. Here's a small, music-free, sampling. The celebration is going to finish up with more family and friends in August at Congress Hall in Cape May.

In a note of otherworldliness, Abigail and Cameron's was the 1st of 2 weddings in June that brought a close family friend/clergy from Montana. I have nothing to add, it's just an odd coincidence.

Ryan and Micah, pt. 2

So I worked late, and ridiculously fast, to get Ryan and Micah's slideshow up so that I could enjoy some time in NYC next week. I'll be attending the PDN On the Road seminar. I'll also be doing some more work on my, stagnant for this past year, religion project in Flushing, NY. No one has really seen this work outside of a couple friends and colleagues. Well, really just a couple colleagues. So, once it gets to a point of completion, I'll post it somewhere and put a link here to that. Or I'll get it published and then I'll post that.

Sachiko & Marty

Sachiko and Marty had a sweet and simple wedding in North NJ. Sachiko is from Japan, they met while Marty was teaching English, and are now making a go of it here stateside. Sachiko was lucky enough to have a couple friends come from Japan. Here's hoping the slideshow helps those who couldn't make it feel like they were there.

Micah and Ryan

A wedding is a wedding is a wedding and Ryan and Micah's was no different. Well, except for the half a dozen protesters and news crews and the mayor of Philadelphia. Micah and Ryan had the mayor, whom Micah works for until the new mayor takes office in January, perform their ceremony at City Hall. They incorporated and embraced some traditions not in their backgrounds, a Jewish Kettubah and the African-American jumping the broom, and some of their own, a reading of Mister Rogersisms as a guide to being a good person, or spouse. Their reception was held at the Penn Museum, before they headed off to their honeymoon in Israel and Egypt.

(Slideshow coming soon)

Congrats guys!

Grace & Jong

Grace and Jong had a long day of lots of stuff planned. including a traditional Korean tea ceremony punctuated by Jong carrying Grace piggy-back style in a series of circles around the ceremonial mat. Fun stuff! And then they opened their reception with a stylishly choreographed dance routine. I also got the chance to work with Danielle over at Lucky Productions Video. So great to work with someone else who's a true documentarian.

Tally - Ho

Erin and Jedd had an intimate wedding at Lehigh University, where they met, and the reception...er party, was held at their college hang-out, Tally-Ho. They sat in the booth where they sat on their first date, which was also the booth where Jedd proposed. The evening had the feel of hanging out with old friends in a friendly, familiar bar more than some of the formality of a lot of weddings.

On a roll

October's rush continues to keep life busy in these parts. Alicia and Vic began a crazy week of three fun weddings. They were followed up by Liz and Jason and the beautiful Bonnet Island Estate on the Jersey shore. Spending the day w/ Liz and Jason and their families was like hanging out with my own family. No, that's a good thing!

As if the location wasn't beautiful enough, Donna from Beautiful Blooms here in Philly had some dramatic and beautiful displays with great lighting design. And one of the best bands I've seen played. NYC Swing is phenomenal. They also played Shaun & Kris' wedding this past Summer at Yale University.

As always, the slideshow is posted at the right.

Alicia and Vic

Alicia and Vic kicked off their new life with an astonishingly unique ceremony. First of all, it was on a Wed. The ceremony was held in the Cape May Stage where Alicia works as their Marketing Director. Vic painted a backdrop inspired by the film, Pan's Labyrinth. Alicia and her father entered into a nearly pitch black theater with the bright light streaming in from the door as the only real light source until they got to the stage. They worked with the theater's lighting technician to craft a lighting scheme that included a fade to blue at the end of the ceremony. Add some ethereal music and you've got a lush, emotional setting. And of course, there was no Ella Fitzgerald for the first dance. A song from Chris Cornell's new CD set the tone.

The slideshow is listed off to the right and a few snaps are below.

Double header

Not that I'm a baseball fan but it seemed seasonal.....This weekend was the first of two two wedding weekends this month. Congrats to Whitney & Maury and Lara & Shawn. And as if a wedding could have had a scripted ending, the picture of Whitney and Maury, at top, was literally the last moment on the dance floor.

Having just gotten married myself last summer, inevitably I pull out the high school essay question of compare and contrast when shooting a couple's wedding. Whitney & Maury made me jealous of their cake idea. Instead of a wedding cake, they had different cakes at every table. Brilliant and tasty. Lara & Shawn's wedding reminded me of how emotional and joyous a wedding can be. It reminded me of how dizzy you can feel from a daylong rush of joy.

On deck, to continue the baseball theme, are Alicia and Victor. Can't wait for this one. They're a couple with lots of dramatic ideas and style. I can't say anything too specific as there's a surprise in store for the guests.

old friends, new adventures pt. 2

After the visit to NC, Caroline and I went off to CT to my friend Corey's wedding. I could write a bunch about how beautiful and spiritual and fun it was but the picture here kind of says it all.

And I'm waiting on a picture of me, dangling 15 feet up on a ladder nailed to a tree to make this fine image.