Kristen & Justin – October 4, 2014
Wedding & Reception – Louisiana Castle | Franklinton, LA
Flowers and decorations Outside at the Castle Wedding dress, shoes and rings Bride and wedding dress Bride getting ready Bride ceremony entrance Wedding ceremony First kiss Wedding recessional Marriage License Bride and groom portraits First Dance Parent dances Wedding cake Reception photos
We’ve done many weddings at the Louisiana Castle over the years. We always enjoy going there, and find our brides and groom always enjoy the experience of having their wedding at such a unique location. Kristen and Justin were no exception. They are a very fun loving couple, and their wedding certainly reflected that.
As an early October wedding, the weather was perfect. For their flowers and arrangements, they had a very light touch, with creme and white being the colors. The groom and groomsmen did add a touch of humor with their super hero t-shirts and his Batman cuff links. Also, his grooms cake was made with Star Wars themed cupcakes. They shared some very touching moments with their family and friends as they started their new life together as mr and mrs.
Kandace & Kerry – August 2, 2014
Wedding & Reception – Parkview Terrace, City Park, New Orleans, LA
Wedding flowers and rings Bride and bridesmaids Groom Bride entrance Wedding ceremony under the oak tree First kiss Bride and groom First Dance Wedding cake Wedding reception
Kandace and Kerry had a very simple ceremony under the big oak tree across the stone bridge from Parkview Terrace in City Park. It’s a perfect ‘natural’ location for a ceremony, with the trees and park as a setting. As the bridal party and bride walk up to the ceremony site, there is beautiful dappled back lighting that makes for wonderful photos. There is also many angles to get photo while the ceremony is taking place, so I was able to get a variety of shots that show the whole setting along with closeups during the vows and ring exchange. We were able to use the same location for some lovely formal portraits afterward.
The reception was just back over the bridge inside the upper room of Parkview Terrace, so named because of the terrace balcony that surrounds the entire building, giving everyone a wonderful view of the park in every direction. The main room itself is quite spacious, and with windows along the two long walls, if feels very open. They started with their first dance, then had a fabulous reception with family and friends. We had talked about going down to the Popp Bandstand to get a few nightime photos there of the happy couple, but that would have required them leaving the party, and they preferred staying with their friends and family. That was fine as the photos we got after the ceremony were more than enough, and the time with their friends was obviously more important, as it should be.
Erin & Nigel – July 26, 2014
Wedding – St. Joseph Catholic Church, New Orleans, LA
Reception – The Champagne Palace, New Orleans, LA
Bride with wedding dress and flowers Bride and bridesmaids St. Joseph Church, New Orleans, LA Groom and groomsmen Bride entrance Wedding ceremony First kiss Bride and Groom portriats Bride and Groom at Champagne Palace First dance Cake cutting Garter and bouquet toss Reception dancing Second Line Dance
Erin & Nigel had a fabulous wedding at St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Champagne Palace for the reception. The church is so lovely, especially with the day light coming through the windows, there is a special glow there with the different colors coming down on the aisle. They were a very sweet couple, and I think you can see that in the photos of them together. Champagne Palace also offers some wonderful photo opportunities with the garden area in back, and of course the tall torch columns in front is a necessary photo there. As always, the reception there is a kick, and everyone had a great time. To end the evening, they did the traditional New Orleans second line dance, and for this wedding the bridesmaids had matching umbrellas to go with their outfits.
Jena & Daniel – June 19, 2014
Wedding – St. Theresa Avila Catholic Church, New Orleans, LA
Reception – Southern Oaks Plantation, New Orleans, LA
Photography by – Robert Welch
Engagement portraits Fontainbleau St. Park Wedding dress, shoes, flowers Bride and bridesmaids Groom at church Bride in limo Bride entrance at wedding Wedding bride and groom Ceremony vows Bride and groom limo Horse carriage and fireworks First Dance Bridal party dance Cake cutting Second line dance
Jena and Daniel had a lot of details to their wedding. From decorations at the home, to the planned dances at the reception with the bridal party. It seemed like no detail was too small to overlook. Sometimes, this can cause the wedding to be stiff and boring. Not so for Jena and Daniel, they are both such fun loving people, with many friends who they love to share company with. This was one day that was a fabulous time for everyone. We started at Jena’s parentss house where she was getting ready, then on to Daniel’s parentss house which happened to be close by. The bride and groom had presents for each other, which was a lovely Louis Vuitton handbag for the bride (she had told the groom it was more expensive than he needed to spend, but he got it for her anyway…good man!), and she got him a new set of Titleist golf clubs. What a sensible lady!
The church was St. Theresa Avila Catholic Church, a beautiful old church that really has a special look when the daylight filters inside. After the ceremony, they rode to Southern Oaks Plantation in an old Rolls Royce limo. They then took the horse drawn carriage ride to the front of the building to enjoy the fireworks and streamers for their entrance to the reception. Everyone had a great time, as is always the case at Southern Oaks. They recently had a celebration party with their friends to show off the photos and video from the wedding. Reports are it was a terrific party and everyone enjoyed the photos. I’m sure there will be many more celebrations to follow for this happy couple!
Grace & Alex – June 14, 2014
Pre-Ceremony – The Hotel Modern, New Orleans, LA
Wedding & Recption – The Eiffel Society , New Orleans, LA
Photography & Video by – Robert & Lisa Welch
Wedding Rings and Shoes Wedding dress and bridesmaids Groom First Look Photos Eiffel Society Decor Bride’s Entrance Bride and groom First Dance Toasts Second Line and Exit
We had a very busy year in 2014, still just trying to get some of the older wedding posted on our website. So this one was from last June, finishing out the first half of the year with a lovely wedding at the Eiffel Society on St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans. When Grace first contacted me, I was excited to do our first wedding at the Eiffel Society as I’d heard about the unique decor and architecture of the location. It probed to have plenty of that.
She also wanted to do a First Look before the wedding with her and Alex. We discussed locations for this, including some hotels in the French Quarter. I recommended something closer to the area where the wedding would be as it would be easier to get from the hotel if they didn’t have to deal with the limited access within the French Quarter to get everyone from one location to the next. It turned out to be a great suggestion as there was a big event happening that day in the French Quarter, and it certainly would have proved difficult to get in and out of the area. She wound up picking the Hotel Modern, right along Lee Circle, which has easy access to St. Charles Ave. When we got to the hotel, I found a nice area outside between two buildings of the hotel that gave us some privacy for the First Look.
I’ll say a few thoughts on doing First Look sessions. First, the idea is to create a special moment for the bride and groom to see each other for the first time on their wedding day. Of course, since it’s not like a wedding ceremony, where the moment is set in formal traditions of the bride walking down the aisle, there are a lot of variations in how it can be approached. My main question for the bride and groom is if they want it private, or with their family and friends in attendance. We’ve done it both ways, so it’s really just personal preference. Then it’s a matter of picking a good spot and setting up for it to happen so that they have a moment together when they first greet each other. After they have had that time, we are able to get portraits taken care of that would normally have to be done after the wedding ceremony.
At the Eiffel Society, Grace and Alex’ wedding was a lovely affair, with a hoopa set up for a background to the ceremony. Right away after the ceremony, we got the license signed, took a few extra photos, and were able to go into the first dances, and the rest of the reception. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and they did the carrying of the bride in groom in chairs around the room, A Jewish tradition called the Hora dance. They had their toasts with the best man and maid of honor stepping up to do the honors admirably, and plenty of more dancing to fill out the evening. For the end, they had a second line dance with umbrellas followed by a sparkler exit down the ramp that goes to the avenue. All in all it was a fabulous evening for the happy couple, they were very pleased with everything and I think we did a wonderful job capturing it for them.
Kimberly & Jared – June 7, 2014
Wedding – The Mater Dolorosa Catholic Church, New Orleans, LA
Reception – The Arbor Room, Popp Fountain, City Park, New Orleans, LA
Photography by – Robert & Lisa Welch
Bridal prep Wedding dress, shoes and rings Bride in wedding dress Bride and bridesmaids Groom and wedding rings Groom and 2nd line band Groom at church Bride wedding entrance Ring exchange Wedding ceremony First kiss Bride and groom portraits Wedding cake Grooms cake Bride groom entrance First dance Cake cutting Wedding band bouquet toss Garter toss Reception dancing
We had covered Kimberly’s sister’s wedding a couple of years prior when we got the call that she was getting married. Having worked with the family once before made it very easy for us to know what to expect, a lavish and festive evening, and we weren’t disappointed. We started with Robert taking photos at kimberly’s parents house where she was getting ready. It’s a lovely setting for photos, particularly because of a beautiful curved stairway and wonderful door in the front entrance. This was the perfect setting for pre-ceremony photos with the bride, her family and bridesmaids. The yard there also offers fantastic photo settings, including a bridge over the pond in the front. It was rather hot on this particular June day, so we limited the outside photos to this one location. It turned out to be a terrific setting for all the bridesmaids.
Lisa met the groom at his parents house a few blocks from the church where the ceremony was to be held, the Mater Dolorosa. They had a 2nd line band march them to the church, which certainly engaged the spirits for the day. As one of the grand historical churches of New Orleans, the Mater Dolorosa is an amazing setting for a wedding, with stunning architecture including painted ceilings. The origins of this particular church are particularly appropriate for a wedding ceremony as the church was founded upon uniting the local German and French parishes of the Carrollton area of New Orleans.
After the ceremony, we took some photos at the church and then headed to City Park for the reception at the Arbor Room. We took some more family photos by the Popp Fountain, as well as some of my favorite bride and groom photos of the year. The bride and groom started off the reception with a wonderful dance which was well appreciated by those in attendance. After enjoying some time with their guests, we went on to the cake cutting. The brides cake was a four tiered creme cake beautifully decorated with flowers to match the bouquets. The grooms cake incorporated some pieces of a school project he had done as a young boy, a replica of a hunting blind. Included were some LSU colors and decorations. Afterward the Boogie Men band played to the appreciative friends and family in attendance, who know how to enjoy a good band and make a party memorable. On the dance floor there was little to distinguish between the bride and grooms friends or their family, as everyone had an equally good time. After the garter and bouquet toss, the bride and groom lead everyone around the room with a 2nd line dance, umbrellas and handkerchiefs raised in a traditional New Orleans manner. There was little this evening lacked, and by the end everyone had certainly had a time they will not soon forget.
Samantha & Jeffry – May 13, 2014
Pre-Ceremony – Hilton Airport, Kenner, LA
Wedding & Reception – Chateau Country Club, Kenner, LA
Wedding dress Bride prep First Look photos Bride and Groom Bride wedding entrance Wedding ceremony First kiss First dance Bride and groom kiss Cake cutting Bouquet toss and second line dance
We met Samantha and her bridesmaids at the Hilton Airport hotel for the pre-ceremony getting ready photos. Then proceeded to the Chateau Country Club for any formal portraits. The original plan for the wedding was to be outside, in the gazebo to the back of the club house. Unfortunately, it had been raining earlier that day, so the plans had been altered to move the ceremony inside. The ballroom at the country club is very spacious and plush, however, so it makes a lovely location for this situation. Prior to the ceremony, we did a ‘first look’ session with the bride and groom in the lobby of the club house. The staircases leading up each side of the room make for an elegant location for this, and the light coming in the windows is nice also.
After the ceremony, we proceeded to the first dances as we had already taken all the formal portraits prior to the ceremony. This is the advantage of doing a ‘first look’ session, and it helps the flow from the ceremony to the reception. Everyone had a fabulous time for the reception, which ended with a second line dance around the room.
Kathryn & Greg – May 17, 2014
Wedding – The Canal Street Church, New Orleans, LA
Reception – The Columns Hotel, St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA
Bride portrait, Groom and groomsmen Church decorations, bride entrance Wedding ceremony, Canal Street Church First kiss Bride and groom church portraits Reception deocorations Bride and groom first dance Wedding reception Columns Hotel Reception dancing and party Wedding cake cutting and bouquet toss Reception exit bride and groom
Kathryn and Greg originally contacted me about their wedding photography at the first of the year. It was to be a church wedding in New Orleans and reception with a few friends and family. It wasn’t a very large wedding, but more personal with the feeling of a celebration and everyone having fun. I think the wedding lived up to their desires, as it was a fabulous time for everyone.
I met them at the church, which is on Canal Street, as the it is named. It’s an old Presbyterian church that is now used for different denominational services. While it isn’t quite as grand as some of the larger churches in New Orleans, it does have a large open feel to it, and the feel of a long established building with a lot of history to it. If one wanted a wedding in New Orleans at a church, but didn’t have a particular requirement that it be a specific denomination, then the Canal Street Church is a good option for couples to consider. It can be decorated to one’s taste or style very easily, but doesn’t require a lot to give you a real church setting for your wedding. Of course, your ceremony will be according to who you decide you want for the service, and all arrangements for that are up to you. This is not true for all churches, many have requirements that they are going to do the wedding ceremony according to their preferred ways. For the bride and groom who want to make more decisions on their ceremony, this is a good church to consider.
For decorations, Katheryn and Greg had two large Calla Lily flower arrangements on the alter area, with ferns on the steps leading up. They had white flower bouquets with green ribbons on the ends of the pews down the center aisle. This all gave a very natural feel to the decorations, and fit nicely with the old architecture of the church. I started with photos of the groomsmen in front of the school next door to the church, and used the garden area with a wrought iron fence next to the church to take some formal photos of the groom. I then got some photos in the back room where the bride was with her bridesmaids. There were some large picture windows in the room that made a lovely background for her bridal portrait.
The ceremony was simple and sweet. As it was a day wedding, the light coming n the large windows made the church very bright and filled the room with a softness that made for excellent photos. I was able to get a good perspective from the balcony, and took many of the ceremony photos from there. Greg had a lot of spirit, and for the first kiss he dipped his bride in a dramatic fashion to the amusement of everyone. They positively beamed as they walked back down the aisle together after the ceremony. Afterward, I used the lovely architecture of the old church as a background for some memorable traditional style wedding portraits of the
happy couple.
We then went on the the Columns Hotel on St. Charles Ave. for the reception. This is one of the grand old mansion hotels in the garden district, a mainstay on one of the most famous streets in the city. If you are having a wedding here, it doesn’t get more New Orleans than this. They had the main reception room decorated with the same type of flowers and colors as the church, so they had a nice continuity between the two. This fitted the hotel rooms nicely as well, so the feel of the wedding continued from the church to the hotel perfectly. For the first dance, the bride and groom had a lot of fun playing to some music they had selected. They are a fun loving couple, and it really sparked the whole reception to be an animated afternoon. This was certainly not a stuffy or reserved crowd. Everyone joined in with the dancing and merriment. For the final send off, they completed the decoration theme with green and white pom poms to form a line for the newlyweds to leave the party and start their new life together.
Whitni & Tyler – May 17, 2014
Wedding – St. Peter Catholic Church, Covington, LA
Reception – Vintage Court, Covington, LA
Bridal portrait Bridal Portrait City Park Bride and bridesmaids and wedding entrance Wedding Ceremony St. Peter Church First Kiss Bride and groom portrait in church First Dance Vintage Court Father Daughter dance and decorations Dancing wedding reception Cake cutting Vintage Court Wedding cake bouquet toss Garter toss
Whitni chose City Park in New Orleans for her bridal portraits. Her mother asked me the best locations, and the New Orleans Modern Art museum was my primary suggestion, along with the area around the Peristyle. There are permits for both locations,
so the saw to getting those. They also got one for the Sculpture Gardens located behind the museum. When we met, we were informed the Sculpture Gardens would be closing soon, as it was being prepared for a wedding reception, or so we gathered. We went in and I found one location that I liked, which didn’t have too many extra people in the background to distract in the photos. It was a nice photo, but I felt we would have better options with the museum and park, which we did. The museum with it’s stately columns and granite textures is always an elegant location for bridal portraits, a favorite for many brides and photographers. The light coming in from the Southern sky is usually quite lovely. Whitni was great at posing, making my job of getting beautiful photos of her easy. We went on to the park itself, getting some more photos at the Peristyle and on the rock bridge, another popular spot that always makes for stunning photos with the light coming in behind in the evening time. Again, Whitni was a lot of fun and easy to take photos of. I don’t think it’s possible to take a bad photo of her.
For the wedding, Whitni and Tyler had their ceremony at St. Peter Catholic Church in Covigton, LA. It is a majestic church, with wood and stone arches and pillars. I first photographed this church almost 15 years ago, it’s the major church for Catholic weddings in Covington. After the ceremony, we got some beautiful photos of the bride and groom with the alter area and ambiance of the church in the background. This is a traditional photo to take in such churches, but still spectacular and a
favorite of most of my brides and grooms who get married in larger churches.
From there we went to Vintage Court up the road toward Folsom. Vintage Court is a former covenant, with beautiful architecture and a lovely stone patterned floor for the dancing area. It’s a favorite site for receptions (as well as a beautiful location to have both a ceremony and reception). After the first dance and parent dances, the bride and groom went on to enjoy the reception with their family and friends. They had a very lively group to keep the party going strong until the end of the reception. I was sure to get some photos of their decorations, which included gift jars of jelly beans and M&M candies. These were very colorful and made for fun keepsakes for their guests. The wedding cake was stunning in white with silver trim, and sculpted flower fondant along the base. The groom’s cake has baseball theme as the groom had once spent some time on a professional baseball team, as well as some dear antlers to reflect his love of hunting. The rest of the reception was filled with dancing and merry making. The bride and groom enjoyed the evening with friends and family in a celebration that will not be soon forgotten.
Emily & Scott – May 10, 2014
Pre-Ceremony – Drury Hotel, Le Pavillon hotel, New Orleans, LA
Wedding & Reception – Parkview Terrace, City Park, New Orleans, LA
Wedding dress and bride getting ready Bride and bridesmaids at hotel Groom and groomsmen, formal portraits at ceremony site Bride entrance at wedding ceremony, processional Wedding ceremony at Parkview Terrace in City Park Bridal party, bride and groom formal portraits in City Park Wedding cake, dance band, first dance First dance and reception detail photos Bouquet and garter toss, reception dancing photos Second line band exit dance, bride and groom in limo
I remember meeting Emily when she came with her parents to talk with us about her wedding photography. She is a bright, cheerful lady and I could tell it was going to be fun photographing her big day for her. We went over the details of the day, where we could start, what photos she was looking for, and what the plans were for the ceremony itself. With the wedding and reception in City Park, she was looking for a lovely outdoor setting under a particular giant live oak tree for the ceremony. Then the guests would walk the short path back to the reception which would be upstairs in the Parkview Terrace, above the Morning Call coffee shop in City Park.
That all sounded fabulous. She had booked the Drury Hotel on Poydras St. in New Orleans for her pre-ceremony getting ready location. While the Drury is a nice, old New Orleans style hotel, across the street is the fabulous Le Pavillon hotel, which is one of the ‘grand dame’ hotels of the city. She said they were staying there the next night for their honeymoon, so I suggested they might inquire for the opportunity to walk over there for the formal bridal portraits. She got permission for this from the hotel manager, so we were all set.
The day of the wedding arrives, and as is the case with spring time in Louisiana, rain was in the forcast. When I arrived at the hotel, it was iffy at best, but I was hopeful we could at least get the photos we had planned on. Up in the room at the Drury, we got the getting ready photos fine, including a lovely shot of the wedding rings in the window. Once Emily and her bridesmaids were ready, we headed downstairs to get the formal photos done. Unfortunately, by then the rain had really picked up and it was a serious downpour. Emily was determined, though, and wasn’t going to let this dampen her day. We gathered up all the umbrellas we could muster, and trooped across the street to the Le Pavillon as planned. Originally, I had imagined a photo I was hoping to capture, that of the bride and bridesmaids walking across Poydras street with city sky scrapers in the background. Kind of a recreation of the Beatles Abbey Road cover, as it were. The rain really changed that, but I wasn’t going to give up. I got my umbrella ready, and did the best I could to carry my gear while having the camera at the ready to get what photos I could. The photo was what I had in mind orginally, but it documented the moment none the less. As I was crossing the street, I looked up to notice half my umbrella had torn back in the wind, and I was pretty much drenched from the effort. Oh well, we continued on and got the formals done in the lobby as planned.
I went on to City park to see what awaited us there. The rain continued to threaten, so they moved the ceremony under the overhang of the building, instead of risking more rain disrupting the ceremony if it was held outside under the trees as planned. I’m sure Emily was disappointed, but she really didn’t let it show. The ceremony went fine, it was beautiful and the happy couple was able to get married with all the emotions and joy they could hope for. By the time the ceremony was over, the threat of more rain seemed to have passed, so we were able to go over to where the ceremony had originally been planned for and got the formal portraits of the family and bridal party done there. That worked out great, it was a lovely spot for those photos, and on the way back to the Parkview Terrace, we stopped to get a few more stellar photos of the bride and groom on the stone bridge, one of the more scenic spots in the park.
At the reception, they had a New orleans brass band playing music. This was a nice touch, raising the spirits of the party quite a lot. They had thier dances, followed by a great time with friends and family there to enjoy it with them. The rain held off, so they were able to go out on the balcony as well, enjoying the evening as the day ended. To end the party, the brass band marched them downstairs and out to the limo. While everything had not gone exactly as planned, they didn’t let that stop them from having the time of their life for this important day.
Danielle & Todd – May 10, 2014
Wedding & Reception – The Rose Garden, New Orleans, LA
Photography by Lisa Welch
Wedding decorations Bride arrival Bride entrance Wedding ceremony First Kiss Bride and groom First dance Cake cutting Reception dancing Wedding rings
About 10-12 years ago, Danielle came to our studio in Covington for her senior high school graduation portraits. I remembered the photos, she was fun and very photogenic. I also remembered she really liked taking photos and got lot’s of them. Fast forward to about a year ago, and she walks up to our booth at a bridal show and says, “you might not remember me, you did my senior photos.” I did remember her, and congratulated her on getting engaged. She was just starting to plan the wedding, so it was several months of emails and planning before she was ready to discuss the details. Unfortunately, by the time I did hear back from her, I had another wedding booked. However, Lisa was available, and Danielle was glad to have someone she knew she could trust to photograph her big day.
We’ve covered many weddings at the Rose Garden in the Harahan area of New Orleans. It’s a convenient facility that offers several rooms and areas for different parts of a wedding. The main room has beautiful chandeliers and a huge mantle as the center piece of the room. This is the area where the ceremony is held, which is then prepared for the reception afterward. There is a lovely entrance area, and a side room for the bridesmaids to wait for the ceremony to begin. The front of the building
has a nice garden area and over hang for the participants to arrive. The garden area served as a nice backdrop for the formal photos after the ceremony, particularly with the last parts of daylight still in the sky.
Danielle and Todd had a great time with their family and friends. Lisa of course did a fabulous job capturing everything, and they were thrilled to have all the photos to remember the evening with.
Amanda & Graham – May 3, 2014
Wedding & Reception – Vintage Court Banquet Facility, Covington, LA
Engagement Portraits Bride portrait Groom and flowers Bride entrance Wedding under tree First kiss Bride and groom portraits First dance Bridal party dance Wedding cake toast and cake pulls Reception dancing Second line and last dance
Formally the historical St. Gertrude’s Convent, Vintage Court in Covington has been one of the Northshore’s premier wedding venues for many years. Vintage Court offers two areas for ceremony & receptions. There is a grotto on one side with a large reception area. On the other side is a wonderful old live oak tree, which makes a stunning and dramatic setting for the wedding ceremony under the tree. It is adjacent to a smaller reception room that is very nice for weddings with a smaller number of guests. The oak tree makes for a fabulous background for the ceremony and for formal portraits afterward. The lighting is always beautiful, and I’ve always enjoyed the photos we’ve gotten from this location.
Amanda and Graham first had thier engagement portrait session taken last fall at Fontainbleau State Park. As you can see in the photos, they make a very handsome couple. They had a few of these photos on display at the reception. On the day of the wedding, we met Amanda first, at Vintage Court to get some bridal portraits and photos with her bridesmaids. I took her over to the grotto side of the building to take those, so as to avoid seeing any of the guests who might arrive early. You can see in the photos how beautiful the setting is with the light coming in through the trees. I then went over to the ceremony side of the building to get photos of the groom and his groomsmen. To decorate the ceremony site, they had pretty pink and fuchsia flower arrangements, including baskets on the chairs with flowers in them. Lining the edge of the entrance walk was a line of petals from the flowers, which accented everything very nicely. This provided a clear path for the bridesmaids and bride to enter the wedding. The ceremony was then held under the large oak tree, which provides nice lighting with some shade from the direct sun, but some back lighting to give a pretty effect rim lighting the bride and groom for their vows and ring exchange. Of course, when you step back and use a wide angle lens, the photo of the whole tree with the wedding beneath it is spectacular, and is one of the main reasons so many brides and grooms love to have their wedding at this location. You can also see the new chandelier they have put in the tree to give it more decoration and a ‘vintage’ feel.
Of course, we stayed under the tree for the formal portraits, and I was able to get one nice photo with a flare effect of the sunlight coming through the tree right over the bride and groom. Later on, during the reception, I noticed the light was in what we like to call the ‘golden hour’ for taking photos, and I asked the bride and groom if they would like to step outside for just a brief moment as the light was especially nice for taking just a few more photos. I always like to get extra photos of the bride and groom if it doesn’t interfere with the reception activities and they are agreeable. In my opinion, a nice photo of the happy couple is the single most important photo of the day, so getting a few different photos helps ensure we get at least one that will be very special for them. In this case, the light worked well to the side of the tree, as the main light filtered through the tree behind them, to give back lighting, but I used the open sky to actually provide the main lighting on their faces. I used just a touch of fill flash to make sure the shadows opened up, and weren’t too dark, but it’s mainly the natural light that is providing the look to these photos, which is soft and gorgeous.
Inside for the reception, they had their first dance in the Renaissance Room, which is an off white color with tile flooring and French doors that look out on the courtyard where the ceremony was held. The cake in the background is always nice to get in the photos. The cake was decorated with similar fuchsia flowers that were used outside and on the bouquets. The bride and groom toasting glasses were unusual in that the stems will form a heart shape when set next to each other. We used the stems together to get fun photos of the wedding rings. Everyone then enjoyed the rest of the reception, dancing and doing all the wedding traditions of cake cutting, cake pulls, garter and bouquet toss. They ended the evening with the local tradition of a second line dance with the umbrellas. Another fabulous wedding, one they will not soon forget.
