[summer]

a great thing about doing lots of weddings is that I don't put my cameras away very often.  a little break from editing weddings to try and get some of the family pics out there...

my girl has been picking up my camera here and there too.....she did a whole series of e that I can't wait to turn into a whole animation (love having continuous shooting mode!)  Here are a couple, including one of me that I actually like.  Don't be surprised if I take her on my shoots next year :)

Oh! While I am here, I found an awesome website today, full of amazing wedding images and ideas....check it out: The Bride's Cafe

[lauren and jeff, the wedding]

As the wedding photography marathon continues, I got to work with a super laid back couple and yet another awesome car! 

I met Lauren a summer ago at her cousin Kurt's wedding, and then Jeff at their engagement shoot.  They are both a sweet couple who had actually known each other for years, as Jeff was Lauren's best friend's little bro.  Funny how these things work out....

We began at Lauren's parents' house near the beach.  The couple decided that with the schedule of the day being such that it was, that they would do a first look and pictures all prior to the ceremony and reception at Templeton Landing.  So everyone met at the house, girls, guys, sweet cars....

Everyone was dressed super casual and cool (good for a steamy hot day), and the whole party wore flip flops...

We did a mini whirlwind tour of Buffalo beginning with Woodlawn Beach (which I had never been to but am reconsidering that now...)  Both Lauren and Jeff worked there as teens so it made sense to hike on down to the beach.

Next, we headed to HSBC (well, it was HSBC that weekend anyway, and I suspect it will still be for a long time before people get used to the name change!)  Of course whenever you are pressed for time there was ends up being a  street hockey festival, not terribly easy for a ginormous limo bus to get close to the building, but we made it in for a few pics.

Then a final stop to Erie Basin Marina before the ceremony at Templeton...

I hadn't been to Templeton Landing since the name change (I actually have another gig there in September too...) but it is still a fantastic venue.  Luckily too, it cooled down a bit so everyone could get a sit and not huddle under the cool shade of the tent.



I have to say again that I just love outdoor ceremonies....and everything about this ceremony suited Jeff and Lauren perfectly.  Their vows were fantastic....just the right amount of sweetness and laughter, and the two of them just couldn't take their eyes off of each other.

If the day couldn't have already been awesome enough, then came the dancing.  I don't think I would have guessed it, but Jeff was hilarious on the dance floor.  A live band with its lead singer a Brazilian girl with a HUGE voice belted out the best version of Billie Jean I have heard yet and what began as a sweet first dance turned into a pretty hilariously choreographed number.

  

The rest of the night followed that lead.

Thanks again guys for a great night (and thanks Deanna and Kurt for leading me to them!)

[stephanie and dan, the wedding]

SO much to show you, so little time!  This August has been supremely busy for me and will continue to be through the end of the month (just in time for a crazy hectic school year!)  The latest thing I have been working on is Stephanie and Dan's wedding.  We had met earlier this spring for their engagement shoot where I got a little insight into Steph's personality, but I definitely wasn't prepared for this!  She is hilarious...and I found myself cracking up pretty much most of the day.

The ceremony was at St. Mary's in Swormville, about a stone's throw from where I grew up (and ironically my first wedding shoot there.) 

So many summers of the St. Mary's picnic- winning fish and eating clam chowder.....

A tiny redhead in a flapper dress.....what could be cuter?

I spoke with Steph on the phone the week before the wedding about where to go for pictures, and she had suggested the Carousel Museum, another first for me.  It was a perfect reflection of the couple's fun loving spirit...

The reception at Creekside Manor was a blast.....

I love shooting weddings that make me want to be a guest rather as well as the photographer...awesome day, guys!

[a productive distraction?]

Needless to say, whether I am at my full time job or working on photography, I am seated in front of my temptation riddled computer for quite a time longer than I probably should be.  So, you must think that I am super productive, spending all that time cranking out proofs in record time.  I wish I could say that were true, so in an attempt to justify my hours of brain-feeding image browsing, I thought that if I shared my addiction source of inspiration with you, that it wouldn't all be counted as a waste of time.  In fact, it would all be worth it if I saw some of these ideas in person, if you catch my drift.  

I will say that it is probably very good that I got married in 2000, when most of these sites didn't exist yet, otherwise we'd never have gotten married, becasue I probably couldn't make up my mind, but in any case, I know that all of you who are getting married soon are probably scouring websites for unique ideas.  If you haven't already gotten addicted, you need to check out Pinterest.  It is an online community of sorts where you can "pin" your favorite ideas from any website and visually organize them in one place.  Then, you can look at other people's pins, boards or browse categories.  I myself have nearly 600 pins in mostly home design, but I did start up a board that relates to wedding and photography ideas, which you can check out here, and if you want, you can even "follow" me.  So many things to fall in love with....

[marisa and matt]

This could quite possibly be my biggest wedding blog post to date! I have decided to update the look of my blog a bit in a more modern way, and honestly I couldn't resist these images from Marisa and Matt's wedding last Saturday. There could be more here, believe me, but since it is now past 1 AM, I have to put a stop to it somewhere.

You remember Marisa and Matt?  Probably the coldest day I have ever held a camera in my bare hands was their engagement session....but we got to sneak around in the old Niagara Falls HS and relive their days in drama club....I was in love with them then, but not so much as this past weekend.  I also had the honor of shooting with a friend of theirs, also from high school (and, as it turns out, a friend of my great babysitter and soon to be student teacher as well!), Sarah Bridgeman.  It was awesome having a second camera around capturing the stuff I always wish I could be getting....that's actually the way I began, surreptitiously shooting the behind the scenes kind of things, and I really miss that sometimes.  You can see some of Sarah's images on her Facebook Page, they are fab too.

Marisa had planned much of this wedding around handmade accents and bold colors that totally complement hers and Matt's personality.  Touches of class and silliness....I totally appreciate when the wedding is a perfect reflection of the people who are doing it.

From the minute I walked in the door, I knew it was going to be an amazing day....a whole wall of windows at the back of the open floorplan house in which Marisa was getting ready, to the gray dresses and brilliantly colored flowers....and Marisa was stunning even before she got into the dress.

Marisa told me the day before the wedding about her Uncle's Rolls Royce, and how it was going to be a guest at the wedding.  *Faint*

They got married at Duck Island, where we took some of the engagement photos last fall.  Lots of great handmade accents here.....Etsy is a great big influence on Marisa (and me too, but you already knew that...)

More and more, I love outdoor weddings.  Not just because I have no limitations when it comes to shooting them, but the air is definitely more alive and prickling with excitement.  This ceremony was so intimate.  Everyone was right there and able to be a part of it, not just seeing it from afar.  If I could do it over again, I would have wicked cool invitations, and an outdoor ceremony.

Did I mention the Rolls?  I could have (ok, I did) spent the entire afternoon with this car and it's British driver, Brian.

I died and went to heaven.....crazy socks AND Chucks?!



these guys tried to crash the wedding party with their own coordinating duds...

The reception was held at Antonio's in the Falls and showed off even more of Marisa's wedding planning brilliance....more vintage windows, cupcake centerpieces, lighters (?!)

Yes, that IS a Ninja Turtle toasting glass, thank you.

Many people love the song "Lucky" for their first dance....Matt and Marisa did too, except they decided to *SING* it instead.  With a serious audience.  Did I mention I am in love with you guys?

(ahh....LIGHTERS.)

The rest of the music selections were all 90's....and an awesome amount of energy pumped through the dance floor for the rest of the evening....and at around 10:30 or so, when the dance munchies set in, out came the pizza, wings and other assorted fried delights....best wedding snack *ever*.

Awesome, awesome day. Thanks, guys :)