I met Meredith at Lauren and Rich’s wedding a few years ago.  Meredith and James are an amazing couple.  He is a fireman and she has her own makeup company called Meredith Lane Makeup Design.  I’ve never seen her makeup not look flawless!  Their GTKY session last fall was so fun and I couldn’t wait for her wedding day to arrive.  She wore a beautiful dress from La Bella Moda Bridal in Conshohoken, PA. Their ceremony and reception were held at Trump National Golf Club of Philadelphia.  It is technically in NJ, but I am not going to argue with Mr. Trump.  Meredith had her first meet with James overlooking the view from Philadelphia and the entire golf course.  We had an incredible time together creating and capturing their day.  The bridal party was amazing to work with and super fun. It was a pleasure to be around the bride, groom and all their family and friends.  I wish them the best!

Dog poop removal is essential to creating beautiful photographs

Lauren,the blond bridesmaid to the far right, could not get her footing in the rough. She’s awesome though and I photographed her wedding in 2008.

Per the brides request, we had this photograph on the back of their custom designed holiday cards.

Meredith and her dad gave me a stache shout out at the end of the father/bride dance.

Some Holga B/W Film goodies!

And more Holga B/W Film goodies!

Emily & Thomas are a great couple with tons of style.  They both have really nice families and awesome friends.  It is always cool hanging out with both of them and the wedding day even more fun. Most of their wedding was photographed with film and not digital. Emily’s Dress was from Exquisite Bridal in Princeton, NJ and her bridesmaids were from Priscilla of Boston.  Her shoes were by Christian Louboutin. Henry Franz Videographer worked with me capturing their day and I always love working with him. Christina and her staff from Queen of Hearts wedding consultants made everything run smoothly, so Emily was worry free throughout the day.  The Ceremony was held at St. Augustine Church in Philadelphia.  We created with the couple and bridal party all around the City.  The Quake Band provided entertainment for the evening and they were excellent to work with.  The couple just moved from Philly to Pittsburgh, and I wish them the best!

This was a beautiful letter to the bride from her brother.

Emily’s father likes to play gold in his free time and I try on extensions…

No Christian Louboutins were injured during this shoot.

Love my Holga during the reception!

Some final Holga photos in black and white at the end of the night.

Happy new year! I’ve compiled a gallery of my favorite moments captured in 2011. This gallery is of all the funny, goofy and heartwarming moments in a bride’s wedding day. A special thanks goes out to all the couples that gave me the honor of capturing all the fun and heartfelt moments on their special day. There is about 86 images in the gallery, so enjoy! This is viewable on ipod/ipad/iphones. I will be adding best of the year galleries also for weddings and GTKY sessions in the next two weeks.

Alyson & Jay were to have their ceremony on the beach at Long Beach Island, NJ.  It was a “game-time” decision, as they were calling for thunderstorms and rain.  With the help of the amazing Kristen from Bel Momento event planners, everything turned out perfect and they had their dream ceremony on the beach.  Alyson looked beautiful with her flowers from Savannah’s Garden and dress from Jay West.  We went over to Sea Oaks for her reception and we were creating outside with the bride and groom when we could see the storms starting to roll-in.  Within about 10 minutes we got some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen on a wedding day.  However, we already finished creating with everyone earlier in the day prior to the ceremony so they enjoyed the indoor cocktail hour.  Jay Thompson from Elite Entertainment provided the entertainment and we had an amazing day.  Best wishes to these two busy teachers/sports coaches!

I am so amped when I get some extra time to use my Holga film camera!

This was about 2 minutes prior to the rain storm.

Alyson & Jay used our open air booth and we had to get in on the act. It really is tons of fun.

I feel I met Maxine and Mike forever ago.  They actually booked me about two years ago.  We did two GTKY session and here is the link to the first one: GTKY Session I.  Maxine had a beautiful dress from Lily’s Bridal Salon and her flowers were from Garden State Florists. Mike and Maxine had their first meet at Red Bank Battlefield Park.  The park is gorgeous and there are planes constantly passing in the background going to the Philadelphia Airport. The ceremony was at St. Patrick’s Church in Woodbury, NJ.   I love this church and have been there many times in the past few years.  The reception was held at Adelphia’s in Deptford, NJ.  We had a great night and their family and friends are nothing but fun.  I wish them both the best…

After spending a few days together with their friends and family in Jamaica Laurie & Jason were ready for their wedding day.  The ceremony and reception took place at The Grand Palladium Hotel and Resort in Jamaica. Laurie prepared for the day in their villa overlooking where the ceremony took place on the beach.  The ceremony was beautiful and the rain held out until the last second. We had to make a mad dash to the villa!  Once the rain let up we went out to create some images and the background of the storm clouds and reflections from the rainwater were gorgeous.  The reception was held outside on a covered deck overlooking the pool and ocean.  Jamaican’s never seem to be hot because they served soup for the reception and the rehearsal dinner.  When it is 80 degrees soup is not the first thing in mind.  They are very close to their friends and family and had a great time together. Best wishes to Laurie and Jason!  I will see them at Stephanie and Jeff’s wedding in 2012.  Stephanie and Jeff were also in the bridal party.

Kelly & Stephen did a great job planning for their wedding day.  Kelly put on her bridal dress from the Bridal Garden and was ready to rock!  The bridal party was absolutely great. The ceremony was held at St. Patrick’s Church in Woodbury, NJ.  Maxine & Mike, another awesome couple had their ceremony there 3 weeks after Kelly and Stephen.  We seem to be at that church quite often this year. The reception was held at the Appleford Estate in Villanova, PA.  It was beautiful there, but the bridal party did have a gnat attack when we were shooting. Uncommon Events was the floral designer and put beautiful flower arrangements throughout the reception.  The party was awesome!  Someone even took a centerpiece vase and used it as a giant beer glass.  They had an amazing honeymoon in Thailand.  I went on Facebook shortly after their wedding and saw a photograph of Stephen taking a giant tiger for a walk with a chain leash. I have never seen that before. Best wishes to Stephen and Kelly!

One of the things that really stood out when I first met Sarah  & Brian were their big hearts.  They have two very sweet Boxers that are their little children right now.  I have a huge soft spot for animals and especially dogs.  We did their entire GTKY session at a local dog park, but unfortunately no doggies on their wedding day L.  They had a beautiful wedding day.  She wore a stunning dress from Jay West and had really awesome yellow shoes for her special day.  The ceremony was held in Haddonfield at The Lutheran Church of our Savior.  We created all their photographs at the Knowlton Mansion in Philadelphia, PA.  They were calling the world to end at around 6pm on their wedding day and right around the time we started shooting at the mansion it looked like it was going to outside.  I always plan with my brides to have umbrellas on deck and ready to be used, so we did create a little outside then went in when it started pouring.   They have a really cool wine cellar, which is a must see if you visit there.  The rain didn’t last long and we had amazing light and killer clouds outside.  Overall they had a great day and I was happy to be able to capture it for them.  I wish them the best in the future and also for their two pups. 

After Jennifer & Michael’s GTKY session last year I was pretty amped for their day.  They are just crazy fun together!  They had a beautufil day for their wedding.  We had their first meeting close to her parent’s house and then the fun began.  The ceremony was at The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Seton Hall University.  The couple went to school there and it was very special for them to have their ceremony at Seton Hall.  We then went to Mayfair Farms in West Orange, NJ for their reception.  Entertainment was provided by John Ruggerio at Elite Entertainment.  Kenneth Stillman was their videographer and caught some insane footage.  You can view it here: <VIDEO LINK>  please note the very end of the video after the credits.  I do a small cameo in the video   Best of luck to this newly married couple!

Dress –  Bridal Center Boutique
Flowers – Christoffers Florist

This is how you down and extra large water when you are parched.

Jen is cracking up here because I was walking backwards and accidently stomped three glasses with thier drinks. She was almost crying.

I actually never met Denise and Walter until we created their GTKY session about a month before their wedding.  They have a 9-month-old beautiful baby girl named Alex that keeps them quite busy.  Denise had another gorgeous day for her wedding.  She got ready at their house and I have to say she had the most amazing area in her room where she got her makeup and dress on.  There were two skylights that let in stunning light against turquoise-painted walls.  The ceremony was held at Our Lady of Peace.  She had her reception at Forsgate Country Club and I always love working there because the staff is incredibly nice and accommodating.  We rocked some golf carts − my standard on any golf course − and I almost decapitated the videographer who was hanging onto the back.  It is always more fun if you look for low-lying tree branches when someone is holding on to the back of your golf cart.  They had a very unique band, Time Machine Entertainment’s The Silk Band, that played a Spanish set along with contemporary pop music.  I’ve never seen a band that performed in two languages, but they were awesome.  Best of luck to this wonderful couple. 

Dress –  Castle Couture
Flowers – Marquis Floral