I had the pleasure of joining some fellow photographers for the Flourish workshop in Gainesville a few weeks ago.  (I know, I know!  I’m back-blogged!)  This is a real bride who is getting married in just a few weeks.  I had a great time and it was a pleasure to learn from the amazing Radlinsky’s who are as funny as they are talented.  It was also fun to see how a married couple works together…Kevin and I have our own photo/video partnership worked out and we see it as a priceless asset to our work.  The bride, Amanda, (also a photographer who was in the workshop) was lucky enough to get bridal portraits from a staff of professional photographers!

I learned some great techniques both in shooting and from Master Photographer Julie Hughes from South Florida.  She taught us some photoshopping techniques for turning our photography into original works of art.  She definitely sparked my creativity and I’ve got some great ideas that I hope to execute soon…keep your eyes peeled for some new blog posts using her techniques.

So, the purpose of this workshop was learning to work with the sun rather than hiding from it.  Since we live in oh so sunny florida, that’s not a bad idea.  What most of my clients don’t realize is that it great photography isn’t about the location, it is all about the lighting.  Knowing how to manipulate light is the difference between an amateur and a professional.  Light creates drama and mood.  It can take off years AND pounds (and who isn’t down with that?!).  It can make a flat image appear 3 dimensional.  It can draw your eye to just one detail or evoke emotion.  I am constantly assessing the light in everyday situations in my life…I take notes from art, television, ads, and real life.

Best of luck with the wedding, Amanda!  You are a gorgeous bride and the Radlinsky’s will knock your socks off I am SURE!!

Kate & Eric had a funky, eclectic wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel.  It was truly a pleasure to shoot this wedding that was rife with details and unique ideas!

Kate and Eric actually got dressed together in ajoining rooms - making my life simpler!  This veil shot is one of my favorite shots - love the way the light is just filling the room with colors!  No detail went unplanned thanks to Kate’s incredible organizational ability - from the invitations to the flowers.  How cute are these stinkin’ shoes?!? Kate wore this necklace for her reception…notice the uncanny resemblance to the Titanic’s Heart of the Ocean?

The ceremony was in the late afternoon on the Woodstock Lawn…warmer than I would have like for April, but we all got lucky when the sun dipped behind the building and gave us all a blanket of shade.  The guests were treated to some beautiful harp music and cool water as Kate and Eric joined hands under the gorgeous blue skies.  How cute is Eric on the verge of crying as his gorgeous wife walks down the aisle?!  Kate looked amazingly elegant in her empire waist gown - love this shot of her back!

Details…details!  WOW!  Melissa Hupfer with As U Wish and her partner, Annette Meyer, spent a good deal of time making sure the reception details were exactly as planned.  With The Event Source as her partner, Kate planned a decor to complement the venue.  The blue uplighting around the room gave the reception a nightclub ambience and set the stage (quite literally!) for the band ‘Skin Deep.’  They rocked the house!   And the candy bar - filled with blue candy of course - was quite the treat!  I had fun playing with Eric and Kate’s rings and the gummy bears (not just for eating!).

The band’s sound guy was nice enough to lend us a guitar so we could take these ring shots that turned out as unique as the wedding.  The ceremony was beautiful, the reception rocked, and the sendoff was just as fantastic!  Sparklers lit the way to Eric and Kate’s new life.  A few of the harder partyers stayed behind to help us get these great shots for Kate & Eric…the perfect ending to a perfect day!

I was recently asked if I did this shot in post-production.  NO!  These sparklers shots were barely edited…this was just a fun opportunity for a great shot at a fabulous wedding!

Congratulations to Kate and Eric!  Kevin’s video is going to be one to watch for in the coming months!!

If you have not yet been to Bella Collina, put it on your list of venues to check out before you make a decision.  Now it isn’t large enough to hold every reception, but if you want a private and sophisticated venue that feels like a destination wedding in Italy then this is the one for you.  And, if you really want it all to come together perfectly - involve Ashly Olivier of Olivier Events.  I can’t tell you how much she did to bring this day together!  Her ideas are fabulous and her style is impeccable.  I can’t wait to see what she does with the wedding in the Bahamas this winter - plus she’s just super fun to hang out with!

This bridal portrait session allowed me to release my creativity and get any shot I wanted without the restraints of time.  We spent about 2 hours shooting at this Tuscan paradise and took plenty of breaks.  It was so relaxing I didn’t want to leave!

Ever dreamed of getting married near a vineyard?  At Bella Collina, the sun sets just behind the hill and this striking light streams through the trees.  It felt just like Napa Valley!

The day wrapped up in the vintage-style wine cellar.  It was fantastic!  Did I mention that Kevin also shot a video of this session?  Keep your eyes on his blog to see it soon!  After we wrapped, Kevin and I headed out for a glass of wine and to revel in our success!

Vendors:

Bella Collina, Amy Koehler

Lejeuna PCA, Patricia LeJeune

Olivier Events, Ashly Olivier

BBJ Linen, Michael Cruz

Remember Virginia & Craig from their engagement session in an earlier post?  I was really looking forward to their wedding and it didn’t disappoint!  Virginia is a gorgeous woman with a romantic french accent and I had a feeling she was going to have a great sense of style at her wedding.  The european flair was un-mistakeable and I was delighted I got a chance to use a little french with her family!!  The little angel on Virginia’s lap is their daughter - you’ll also remember her from my children and family portrait site/blog.

Virginia & Craig’s wedding took place at Lake Mary Events Center.  The weather was perfect - overcast skies and a perfect 70 degrees with just a slight breeze!  What a day to get married outside…the only drawback was that after the family formals smoke from a brushfire started blowing in making the air hazy and our sunset non-existent.

We won’t be stopped, though!  Our passion for photography supercedes anything that mother nature can throw at us.  In just a few short minutes, we nabbed these shots and got inside to enjoy the party.

And, what a party it was!  The guests filled the dance floor all night dancing the Hora.  Virginia joined the band for a song dedicated to Craig. Then the belly dancer entertained us all with fire balanced on her head and angel wings flowing!  It was all very ‘moulin rouge’!!

The cake was another extraordinary design by Michael Anthony’s Cakes.  Decorated with city scenes from Craig’s life in NY and Viriginia’s life in Paris, the cake was complete with little sugar replicas of the Statue of Liberty and La Tour Eiffel.

Congratulations to Viriginia & Craig…may life bring your family all the blessings it has to offer!

Nicole and Matt were married at the Gaylord Palms on a beautiful day.  The great things about the Gaylord is that it’s completely enclosed by an atrium, so we get gorgeous natural light but no risk of rain.  It’s fabulous that I always know I’m going to have a great day there!

The ceremony was really a beautiful union of two souls.  The connection between Nicole and Matt is undeniable.  They were just beaming as they walked back down the aisle!

Not only is the inside of the Gaylord Palms gorgeous, but the outside is as well.  They’ve got a few different ’scenes’ inside with a natural Florida everglades area, Key West, Spanish Fort, and even an Italian piazza.  While I never have as much time as I’d like to shoot in every one of these locations at every wedding, we hit the highlights and came out with some beautiful portraits of Nicole and Matt.

The reception took place in the Castillo Fort…once again, it has an outdoor feel there without the risk of an outdoor wedding.  The first dance was unforgettable…it was emotional and intense.  It was almost as if Nicole and Matt were the only two people in the room.  They have a strong bond that I am sure will guide them through the rest of their lives together.

Best Wishes with the move and building the rest of your lives as one!

What a fun time I had with April & Kevin at their engagement session!  She originally struggled to decide on a locale because her mom wanted more traditional park images and she and Kevin were more interested in a more urban feel.  We decided to split the difference and make them both happy!  The lighting at the park was gorgeous, but I only get to do night shoots occasionally so I was lovin’ the downtown lights and the more modern feel to the night shots.

The very last image is one of my favorite images…it just speaks to me.  April and Kevin were also incredibly patient as I experimented with some different scenarios.  Ha!  We shot these in the bus lane, so every 10 minutes the bus would come around again and we’d have to scramble to grab the lights and run out of the way.

I can’t wait for the wedding!

You’ll remember Rachel & Brian from an earlier blog post of their engagement session!  They are super fun and easygoing.  The wedding took place at Omni Championsgate on a magnificent afternoon full of sunshine.  Rachel’s mom surprised her by fulfilling her life-long dream of being taken to her wedding in a Rolls Royce…tears filled her eyes as she and her dad drove the short distance from the hotel to the ceremony lawn.

These cufflinks were a wedding gift from Rachel - the right one says “I Love” and the left one says “You”!  Dad also got a pair…too cute!  Special thanks to my second shooter Carl Robison and Kevin’s second videographer Justin Blackwell…they covered the guys and brought us back some simply amazing shots!

It was a little warm, but luckily the pastor kept the ceremony short and sweet.  I really feel that Rachel and Brian have become friends and I was so lucky to have one of the best views of their ceremony through my lens.  I watched every smile, glance, and touch unfold and witnessed a lifetime love really ferment.  Just beautiful!

Since the sun was so strong in the afternoon, we spent just a bit of time for portraits before the reception and then headed back out to catch the sunset as an unbelievable backdrop.  Once again, my second shooter was invaluable…he held my lights for all of these shots.  What can I say about Rachel…stunning!

So, I have NEVER, EVER seen more food at a wedding than at Rachel & Brians.  Have I mentioned that Kevin and I love, love, love to eat?!?  We were treated to an amazing meal at the OmniChampionsgate with some kind of incredibly rich chocolate truffle cake with raspberry sauce.  It doesn’t end there!  After cake cutting, the catering staff opened up a buffet of snack foods like eggrolls, pizza, sandwiches, quesadillas, chips and salsa (my fave!!) and an entire dessert bar.  I was so sad when I got full…Kevin and I wanted to stay and eat all night!

Oh, yeah!  And, the reception was fantastic too!  Brian cracked me up all night with his crazy dancing.  What really made me laugh was that he was so serious about it.  He wasn’t messing around with the YMCA!

Rachel & Brian had a photo booth at their reception.  I highly recomment it!  Here’s why…when a couple goes into the booth 2 sets of the images print out.  One goes with the couple as party favor and the other goes into an album that the guests get to sign.  It’s really fun!  Kevin and I even got in it.

Can’t wait to go scuba-diving!  I’m calling you guys this summer for my lessons….congratulations!!!