[Marissa and Matt, the engagement]

winters in buffalo can be a tricky thing...some years it is warm all the way through November, and then *BAM* it is suddenly Antarctica during the Katabatic Winds.  Imagine this as the backdrop for Marisa and Matt's engagement shoot.....ok, I am exaggerating....but damn was it cold!!  Somehow, Marisa and Matt both managed to look warm and sweet, despite the fact that our eyeballs kept freezing in our skulls.

I met with them in their hometown of Niagara Falls, where they met back in high school.  We started out with a few shots at home with their 3 doggies (!) and then continued to Hyde Park, where they plan to get married this summer.
















Matt and Marisa met while they were students at Niagara Falls, and they were also the last class to graduate from the old building.  Since then the building, still in much disrepair, has been turned into an arts and cultural center.  They wanted to visit the old school and take some photos there as well....







Inside, we wandered all over, and ended up in the theatre....an amazing bit of architectural history with its bent wood seats and art deco chandeliers....Matt and Marisa were both into drama when they were students, so it seemed fitting to end up here.






Hopefully my next get together with Marisa and Matt will be a much warmer one :)
Happy holidays, and I will see you in January with my first wedding shoot of the year!

[jenn and tim]

recently, i caught up with Jenn and Tim at the Central Terminal for their engagement shoot....great time. October 3rd was their wedding....even better time. I can't tell you enough how much fun this job can be, particularly when you have such awesome clients who have such a realistic view of what a wedding should be. Often, upon hearing that I shoot weddings, people will say to me, "Oh, I bet you have some stories!" or, "Any Bridezillas lately?" And honestly, I can say no. What could be better than spending the day with a group of people who are so happy? (Makes me examine my teaching job from time to time, that's for sure!)In any case, Jenn and Tim's wedding was a blast (other than the limo driver who decided to take a 15 mile detour rather than tackle Niagara Street) and covered much territory in the Western New York region....

We began at Jenn's parents' grand island home:

For the record, this is NOT Jenn, but I suppose it could have been for as many pictures I took of this little one!


This is also NOT Jenn. This is Lucy (or Louis, whichever you prefer), who actually was rather a bridezilla. Don't let the "smile" fool you, she was waiting to rip my throat out.


HERE is Jenn. Stunning.


And here is Barbie. Naked. Probably not proper attire for a Catholic ceremony? (does it creep anyone else out that her skin is panty textured?)


The ceremony was at Holy Angels on Porter in Buffalo. Beautiful church, if not in a questionable area. Many of the homes in this community are real gems. I will admit however, that I was a bit nervous walking from my car to the church and then back again. As I left the ceremony, there was a group of "young men" riding bicycles with home made speaker systems built right on the back and blasting intimidating music (as intimidating as you could be on bicycles). Interesting.

How beautiful is this boy??







The priest was very into the ceremony...I really enjoyed that.





Then we headed over to the Historical Society...when the heck did that place get so busy?! I always refuse to go to the Albright because you nearly have to fight for a spot to take pictures against a not so ideal background (really, the white of the building does not do wonders for human skin tones), so instead I liked going to the historical society- lots of variation, water, flora, etc. On this day you could not get anywhere near the place. So instead, we worked with the little run down building near Elmwood.





We did make it up to the main Japanese Gardens walkway just as raindops began to fall....so a couple of quick action shots were all we could take. It was around here that one of my former students was also photographing a wedding....

So while the limo driver was taking the wedding party on a scenic tour of all of the area's expressways (190 s to get to Lewiston from Buffalo?!), I got to the Niagara Falls CC to photograph some details...

Killer cake!!







Maybe I mentioned it before, but I get super emotional now when I watch the parent/child dances, thinking about how someday it will be my kids.....




Can you guess which song had made a comeback this year at wedding receptions all over the country?




As I said....awesome day. Thanks guys!

[karen and mike]

I have been so lucky this summer. My clients have been phenominal, so much so that I wonder if I should just quit teaching and do this full time? Ok, I know that is ridiculous, but in any case Karen and Mike have been more than phenominal. You may remember them from their engagement session in Lewiston.....awesome then, even better now. After a bit of a driving fiasco, (let's just say that Niagara Falls Blvd. is not always 55 mph in Wheatfield...) I made it to Karen's place to get some prep pictures....




So Karen and I have the exact same aesthetic....she had scoped out this barn to use as a backdrop for some photos before going to the church...and it was rather funny seeing the little old man who owned it peeking out of his house and wondering why the heck this limo was parked in his driveway. As one of the bridesmaids commented, it was like a guerilla photo shoot.




And on to the Church...Karen designed the programs which were awesome.












The ring bearer held this tiny porcelain bowl, made by Paloma's Nest which Karen and Mike found on Etsy.


Saturday was the start of our awful windy stormy weather....


But aside from the raindrops, it was a perfect day to go to Niagara University for pictures after the ceremony.








Karen and Mike are super fun people, so of course they picked the most fun bridal party ever. Jonathan the ring bearer got into some heavy play fighting (he was promised WWE tix in exchange for good ring bearer behavior) which resulted in Mike's flower flying...





Then the guys decided to have a bouquet toss....


Because the girls had traded their bouquets for the guy's jackets and accessories.


And then on to the Crown Plaza Hotel in the Falls for the reception...






Mike and his best man reliving the better days of their childhood together.....

I loved watching Karen's dad taking many little glimpses of her all throughout their dance.


Now that I have a son, I can't keep from getting a little misty when I see Mother/son dances like this.

I could have pulled maybe 50 shots from the reception alone....Karen and Mike had a little set up in the foyer for people to make crazy portraits, complete with costumes and props. Ironically, the DJ also had lots of fun props to play with, so it was pretty wild.

Then Uncle Chuck sang a song....





This is hilarious....the difference between the men and the women and their excitement level for the garter/bouquet tradition.






I had one of the best times *ever* photographing this wedding...thanks Mike and Karen!