PAIGE + JOHN
December 2010
Paige and John were my last wedding of 2010. We were all biting our nails that the bad weather from December 26th would not come back later in the week for the wedding. Paige and John couldn’t have had a nicer day and I couldn’t have a had a nicer couple to work with! I think most would agree that the style and elegance of this winter wedding was beautifully done.
The gown by Liancarlo from Wedding Atelier in NYC was completed with a fur stole that I wish I had in my wardrobe! When Paige showed me her shoes I wanted to spend the rest of the day shooting clothing. Well done Paige!
Paige got ready at her moms house which is beautifully located in the Lehigh Valley. She kept it simple with just her mom and sister and her brother had the honor of driving her to the ceremony at The Lehigh Country Club.
Rebecca Barger my second photographer had a great session with the guys at the Hyatt in Bethlehem.
Both Paige and John were hopeful for a casual first look and asked that I not orchestrate it as is often done at weddings. The first look took place in the parking lot at The Lehigh Country Club. Since the ground are so beautiful you don’t even know it is a parking lot!
Despite the cold, we had a wonderful formal session prior to the ceremony and Paige wrote to tell me that she and John were so thankful that they had the time to relax before the wedding once the formals were over.
Every time I see this sequence I smile. A father and his daughter on her wedding day!
Paige says: “Ah! They’re the best! Thanks so much! We had a lot of fun looking at these and can’t wait to see more. I love the way our first look pictures turned out. And the father-daughter sequence makes me smile too 
”
The reception continued the warm and wonderful feeling of the first part of the day and the cake by Phyllis at Appetique was outstanding! We also had a wonderful time working with Wes the DJ from Wesleyworks .
There were so many more images I wanted to post but had to stop somewhere. Paige and John will get to enjoy them all in their web gallery.
Paige and John, best wished for a wonderful married life!
GRECO WEDDING
Curtis Arboretum
Being in the photography business has been a great way for me to meet many of the fabulous vendors who all work so hard to make a wedding or any event a success. I was thrilled when I found out that the Grecco wedding was being catered by Joshua’s. I have been a frequent visitor to their Jenkintown restaurant and knew that Kat and Matt must be foodies to have them cater the wedding. Since then, Laurie Durkin of Joshua’s has used several of my images on their site. You can see my work on Joshua’s site. You can also see wedding images in an earlier blog post from Kat and Matt’s wedding, or in a gallery on my site.
One of the best ways to assemble a great crew of vendors for your wedding is to ask one of them who they might suggest using for flower, photography, video, catering, lighting, invitations, etc. After all, who knows what is out there better than those of us in the industry!
On a separate note but food related, I am photographing Chef Jose Garces for Kroger Food Corporation on Monday. Too bad there are no Kroger’s in our area – I won’t be able to see the ads locally, but I can still eat at one of Jose’s great restaurants here in Philly.
MARIA + MIKE
St. Demetrious Greek Orthodox Church
The Merion
When Maria and Mike came to me last year to talk about their 300 person Greek Orthodox wedding, I knew I was in for a great time. I started at Maria’s house with her family, relatives and bridesmaids. My second photographer Rebecca started at Mike’s with his family, complete with all his relatives from Greece. I think this takes the prize for the most people that have been present at the getting ready session! Many thanks to Rebecca for shooting with me once again and to Chris Rodgers of Xposed Film for being a great videographer to work with.
Although Maria’s house was feeling small with all the people, I was still able to find great locations to shoot. I loved the color of Maria’s bedroom walls – the room she and her sister shared until the wedding day. It made a great backdrop for a portrait.
The big picture window in the living room and the conveiniently placed ottoman came in handy!
It is always a treat for me to shoot a wedding – especially a wedding in a Greek Orthodox Church, which was a first for me.
The church was absolutely beautiful!
With a little help from Maria’s mom, I was able to make sure I photographed the most important parts of the ceremony. The common cup of wine, the candles, the joining of the hands, the crowning, and The Dance of Isaiah to name a few.
I still had time to shoot the details and the kids who were a great source of entertainment during the ceremony.
I think I am still picking birdseed out of my camera equipment!
We stopped at Logan Circle for some formals on our way to The Merion in Cinnaminson, NJ.
I wasn’t quite ready for the large amounts of money that were being thrown on the dance floor.
Congratulations Maria and Mike. I will be posting images from their earlier engagement session soon.
IRIS + SAMUEL
Iris and Samuel chose to have their formals at the beautiful Woodrow Wilson Hall at Monmouth University in New Jersey. Although it rained most of the day, luck was with us for the formal session outside.
Iris had her Aunt, a fashion designer in NYC, design and make her dress. As luck would have it again, her Aunt enlisted her friend who designs for Vera Wang, to make the beautiful veil seen in the opening shot in the blog!
In the Chinese tradition, it is customary for the groom and groomsmen to fill red envelopes with money to bring to the brides house before the wedding. Providing they have filled them correctly, the brides family and bridesmaids will let the groom see his bride. Since the couple was getting ready at a hotel, Samuel and his groomsmen had to walk down the hall to Iris’s room to be let in. Thanks goodness he put enough in there!
Sam’s Dad is a jeweler and ordered the rings that are on top of the beautiful chinese invitation Iris designed.
Iris had a keen eye for detail. In addition to designing her invitations, she planned all aspects of the details of the wedding and reception, right down to the color themed candy bar. I loved the white and red chinese “to go” containers for the candy.
Iris poses here with her Aunt, the designer of the fabulous dress!
