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.
Brantwyn was the beautiful setting for the August wedding of Rachel and Neel. Rachael and Neel came to me after attending Deanna and Aaron’s wedding at The Camden Aquarium about a year ago. After a wonderful first meeting with Rachel and Neel and Neel’s family at my studio, (where Neel’s dad and I enjoyed talking about the techie aspect of photography), I was really excited to shoot the wedding. They were planning what was sure to be a festive and colorful event. They didn’t let me down and provided me with so much to photograph. You can’t miss with a first look at a staircase like this!
Once again, I had the pleasure of having Rebecca Barger shoot with me. While I was busy photographing the bride getting ready, she was busy with the groom and the detail shots below. Thanks Rebecca – always a pleasure to work with you!
After the outdoor ceremony, Rachel and Neel changes into traditional Indian clothes for the remainder of the evening. I must say, Rachel looked stunning in her wedding dress and was a knock out in the brightly colored saree.
I think this is one of my favorite shots of a family welcoming a new bride.
Neel’s mom decided that the wedding would not be complete without a bollywood dancer, Inessa. It was so wonderful when the beautiful grounds of Brantwyn turned into a backyard party as the guests got up to dance with Inessa. At first I was concerned about the challenges of lighting a group in the almost pitch black outdoors, but found the setting to be wonderful and rich once I set up my lights.
Congratulations Rachel and Neel and thank you for letting me be a part of such a wonderful and photogenic celebration.
3 minutes is about the average time a photographer has to shoot the first dance, that very important event that brides, grooms and photographers want to capture. That really isn’t very long is it? And, if your venue has a wonderful balcony where I could position myself to get that beautiful wide shot showing the bride and groom dancing, the guests watching and the fabulous surroundings of the reception room, who is going to get the emotional close up moment of the new couple? Of course you want both shots!! This is why it is so important to me, to bring along a second photographer who knows what they are doing. I work with a small group of second shooters who could very well hold there own at a wedding and when the opportunity arises, I will ask another professional wedding photographer to work with me. Of course, I love it when I find I have a rare free weekend and can help second shoot for them as well. I had the wonderful opportunity to second shoot twice recently for my good friend and fellow photographer Rebecca Barger. Not only is it wonderful for me to work with another full time professional photographer, either on my wedding or theirs, but it is loads of fun and the clients love the fact that they have 2 seasoned wedding shooters covering their special day. You may just be lucky enough to book a wedding with me where Rebecca can come along!
I shot the image above from the floor at Cescaphe Ballroom while Rebecca was up in the balcony getting the wider shot of the couple dancing and the room. You can see Rebecca’s shot on her blog.
The Franklin Institute is classic Philadelphia and combining the architecture in wedding photographs is so natural. I was shooting with a fish eye to make sure that I got the shot showing the couple in the dramatic environment of the Rotunda because I knew Rebecca was coving the dance closer up. More from this wedding on another post on Rebecca’s blog.
When I first met Monica and Tony, Monica mentioned that she loved the colors fuchsia and pink. I recall her beautiful hot pink mittens and shoulder bag from our engagement shoot at Longwood Gardens, as well as the colorful flowers in the conservatory that day. Well, she didn’t let me down!! What a wonderful way for me to kick off the busy wedding season, being able to photograph such beautiful aromatic flowers, and a beautiful bride and groom as well! I almost didn’t notice how hot it was on May 1st. 90+ degrees – in May!
The wedding was held at The William Penn Inn; flowers by The William Penn Inn florist.
I love the personal touch of the slot machine – a favorite of Tony!!
Tony’s best man was his father Vernon and Monica’s maid of honor was her sister Nicole. Destiny and Antonio were fabulous as the flower girl and ring bearer.
Many thanks to Misty Dawn for helping capture so many wonderful images! Enjoy the slideshow of the party!
