Wedding: Baxter and Taylor

As promised, I have the rest of the pictures from the wedding that I previewed a few weeks back.

The first time Taylor ever heard of Baxter it was when his dad told her "You should meet my son when he gets back from his punk rock tour in Canada." She wasn't really so sure about going on a blind date with him, especially when he described himself as "the guy with the crazy black hair that usually is wearing black." But, she gave it a shot and they met up for First Friday and now a flat and two dogs later, the rest is history.

Here are a few of my favs from their big day...

Classic. Elegant. Perfect.

I had the good fortune to be invited to the wedding of a friend of mine yesterday evening and I have to say that I have a wedding crush. If I do ever have an real wedding, I would want it to be just like this one. Well, perhaps not the Episcopalian ceremony (nothing against them, I was just raised Methodist and a sudden switch for the sake of a wedding would be somewhat odd).

Since I was a guest, however, and not official, and therefor do not have a contract or a model release I can not post any people pictures until after the happy couple return from their honeymoon and I can ask permission. I am hopeful that they will be happy to share, so look forward to more in a few weeks...fingers crossed.

But, what I can post is pictures of products from the vendors...which gave me the idea to give this weeks posts a vendor-scentric theme. So, today I have some photographs of the flowers and cake and on Wednesday I will give some thoughts about cultivating vendor relationships.

So, without further ado, here we go...

The cake

The bride's bouquet

Each table had similar arrangements, but they were also each unique in some way. Normally I find weddings that are all black and white to be boring, but the flowers here had touches of blue (to match the bridesmaid's dresses), green, and pink and against the wooden interior of the fair barn and the twinkling white lights it was absolutely LOVELY. The whole wedding was simple and classy, but with touches of the bride and groom's personalities clearly shown.

There was a great jazz band playing, shrimp and pulled pork on the buffet along side potatoes and caviar, and (love this) a white guitar was their guest book. I have yet to see a wedding absolutely more perfect for the couple.

Enjoy the pictures and come back on Wednesday for more on vendors...

So, in honor of Jackie Tohn (from last week's American Idol if you watched it - I am kinda sad she got voted off) I have decided that the theme for today's post will be "A little less conversation a little more action" and I am wrapping up Jessica and Bryant's wedding with a bunch of pictures. You are probably a bit tired of seeing pictures of them by now, but the bride is actually my husband step-sister so I hope that you'll grant me the indulgence. Anyway, here we go!

The answer is probably obvious, and I will bet that you will get this answer a lot if you ask around in wedding photography circles, but I love weddings. Weddings represent all of the great things in life. They are a celebration of love. They bring together everyone that the Bride and Groom care about into one new family. Weddings are primarily, at their core, a statement of hope and optimism for the future. They are a destination and a departure at the same time. With so many great things and feelings all coming together, how can anyone not love a wedding?

Aside from how great weddings are in general, there is also the fact that I didn't have a "real" wedding myself. Now, I don't say this to garner sympathy. At the time I did not want a wedding. I actually tried to convince my husband to elope in Las Vegas, but he said no. He wanted to just go to the courthouse and get married, then tell everyone that we were engaged and have an actual wedding at some point in the future. I balked at this idea because of logistics. I planned to take his last name and I was pretty sure that my family would notice when all of my official paperwork had a different last name on it. So, we compromised and got married two weeks later in our backyard. My family and friends still haven't forgiven me for not giving any of them enough time to make travel arrangements and attend. They may actually never forgive me. I had just graduated from college then, we were in the process of relocating to another state, and the last thing that I wanted to do was go through a planning process that lasts a year and is mainly governed - let's be honest - by the wants of others (usually those footing the bill).

I loved our wedding. My mom gave me away, we gave my friends (all 5 of them) disposable cameras, and after we had hamburgers and cupcakes. But, at the same time, part of me really still wants the elegant white dress with the train and the church and all of my friends and family to share it with.

So, I love the fact that as a wedding photographer your job is to be a part of one of the most special events in a couple's life. A wedding is an event that really showcases the personalities of those involved, and you get to capture all those little details that make them and their day special. You also get to see and capture moments that may have been missed in the hustle and bustle of the day that the couple can then discover later.

Most people, when asked what one thing they would save if they had to flee their homes, choose photographs and I think that alone should tell you what an important investment that they really are. I love that I can provide that to my clients. The photographs, albums, and portraits that we as photographers capture are all moments in time that will never be again. You are not just giving someone a picture, you are giving them a little piece of their life to hold onto forever. That is why I chose wedding and portrait photography.

I have a few images from the wedding that I shot last weekend for Jessica and Bryant to share. These are all "getting ready" images. In a way, I think that the sequence of the wedding day mirrors the entire process of getting married. A lot of time is spent planning and getting ready, and then the actual event goes by in a flash. All of that stress, energy, and excitement and then, just when you think that it is over, you realize that the good part is just getting started.

1/25 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 800
31mm, 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 on
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi

I made this image by window light at the bride's parent’s home before the wedding. I applied a lightroom preset (Aged Photo) and then dropped the exposure a tad and added a little highlight recovery and fill light.

1/15 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800
70mm, EF70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM on
Canon DIGITAL REBEL XTi

All that I did to this image was apply a preset called "faded photo" which you can download for free here. I like the way that the soft lighting from the window and the almost 3/4 view of the bride really accentuate her great profile and pretty features.

1/40 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800
35mm, 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 on
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi

I really like this photograph because it shows both the bride and her mother absorbed in getting ready for the big day to come. I know that it is the bride's big day first, but it is her mother's big day second and these two are such a great team. I love the unconscious connection that it shows. I applied a preset from Matt Kloskowski called Matt's Nostalgic Effect (2). You can download it for free on his website here. While you are there check out the rest of his site. He has a lot of great helpful information on there and if you are looking for a great read pick up a copy of his book "Layers: The complete guide to Photoshop's most powerful tool". The book is packed with tips and tricks for using layers in Photoshop and I can bet that just about anyone will learn at least one new thing from this book that will help you be faster or better.