Holly and Ryan's Wedding

I had a really great time photographing Holly and Ryan's wedding on Saturday...I had no doubt because we had a great time during their engagement session in October! Even though the lovely white snow that was present a week ago was beginning to melt into a muddy mess, we managed to find some great places to capture the beauty of a winter wedding. Holly planned this wedding in a Phantom of the Opera theme, and her attention to the detail of all aspects of the wedding resulted in a truly breathtaking reception. It was really hard to choose which photos would go into this blog! Here we go... (click on individual pictures to see larger version)


This might be one of my favorite getting ready pictures to date -- Holly x infinity!


This is an actual sixpence...
Holly gets dressed...
Holly's sisters had a little fun as they were lacing her corset :-)...
This necklace was gorgeous and handed down through generations...

Ryan getting dressed with a little help from his groomsman...

A detail shot from the guy's room ...
Mom attaches an antique lace to Holly's bouquet -- another item that, I believe, is even older than the necklace she was wearing...

Here's a shot that I'm in love with, taken by my second shooter. As i was in front of Holly and Ryan as they exited the church (hands down the most bubbles in the air that I've ever seen), Christina photographed this from the opposite angle and blew out the background so that all you see is bride, groom and bubbles....

We went to Bradley Woods Reservation in Westlake for the first location shot. Bradley Woods is a small park, often overlooked by the general public, but I abosolutely love it. The pond was iced over, so even though the grass and paths were a muddy mess, the pond reminded us that it is indeed still winter in Ohio...

Holly's mom made her cape and the capes of all the bridesmaids (and Ryan's special cape as well as you will see later in this blog)... I think she looked like a snow princess...



Our second location was the Rocky River Reservation - it's a good thing that everyone wore boots -- it was sooooo slippery!


A most aMAZing entrance -- to the music of Phantom of the Opera -- and yes, they are on a boat!
Sometimes there are photos that you just don't want to toss, even though it's obliterated by the flash of another camera directly opposite. The emotion between Holly and her dad was so touching. I feel it in this photo and thus, it's one of my favorites.

I felt it with the Mother/Son dance, not only between Ryan and his mother, but with Holly as she watched from a distance...
So tell me...which man has his eye on the prize? And yes, he caught the garter!

Some more detail shots...

And finally...a man who loves his woman...



Thank you Holly and Ryan, it was a privilege to photograph your wedding.

From halfway around the world...

I received an email from Samantha who came across one of my photos on the internet:

My name is Samantha and I live in Sydney Australia. I was googling for something nice for my new house and came across a fabulous picture of yours that I feel would be perfect. I wondered if you do sell your prints and if so also how much to send to Australia. The picture in question is "Sunset Silhouette ... You mesmerize me"

My first inclination (sad but true), was...is this some sort of spam? I wrote back to her and she responded -- a very real, very nice girl who really liked my photo. The photo to which she was referring was this:


A little background about this photo. I was at Huntington Beach in Bay Village last spring, enjoying the sunset and taking photos. I happened to notice this couple all the way across the beach standing on this pier. They were so into each other. I set my camera on a rock, with a 30-second exposure at 100 ISO (the finest image quality). I was quite sure that they would move and if so, they would be a blur. Amazingly, they stood still for the entire 30 seconds - thus the title "you mesmerize me." I've always loved this photo and am so happy that a poster sized print will be on Samantha's wall halfway around the world!

The internet -- and Google -- it's a wonderful thing :-)

Oh the weather outside was frightful, but Janelle and Kevin were delightful :-)

Janelle and Kevin were married on Saturday! First of all, let me just say that they were the sweetest couple. The chivalry of Kevin and the kindness of Janelle reminded me of an old fashioned romance - the kind you see in the classic movies. Good souls...that's what they are.

And my oh my, it was cold outside! Although, the warmth of their family and friends was deeply felt. It was a privilege to be included in their day.

On to the pictures - click individual images to see a larger version.

Kevin handed someone a note to give to Janelle for her to read before she walked down the aisle. All I can say to that is, "awwww." What a nice guy who will be a great husband!


Janelle's dad putting the penny in Janelle's shoe for good luck in their marriage.

Kevin getting his boutonniere pinned on by his mother.

As I was standing in the front of the church waiting for Janelle and her bridesmaids, I was made aware that there was going to be a delay as the vows were left at the house and someone had to to get them. I walked out of the chapel and back into the waiting area to see how people were holding up. Janelle was fine, in fact, as she was waiting, she played a game of "I Spy" with her flower girl and ring bearer. I thought the following picture was poignant -- Janelle's dad, waiting by the door for the person with the vows to arrive.
Their theme was winter snowflakes, which was creative and beautiful. It's not every day that you see a flower girl tossing snowflakes instead of petals :-)


We had about 20 minutes to take a walk through Rocky River Reservation's Nature Center area for between ceremony-reception pictures. That's not a whole lot of time by most standards, but when the weather is a frigid 17 degrees. it was time enough. By the time we were done, we didn't feel the cold....because we were numb! Janelle was a real trooper though, she hung in there despite the fact that she was, for the most part, without a jacket. That said, we still managed to capture a lot of beautiful moments.
Did I mention that we took these pictures at 5:00 p.m. Just about dark in Cleveland. You see the sun peeking through the trees, but darkness closed in fast and was totally dark the time we left.Bridal Boots - they are all the rage for January weddings in Cleveland... :-)

What good is freezing cold snow if you can't play a little? Sadly, the snow was too cold to make real snowballs, but that didn't stop Janelle and Keven from trying!
Across from their reception venue was a beautiful gazebo, decorated with snowflakes and lights!
Some detail shots...
And their cake...really adorable.

This is true love....

Wedding Album Designs

2009 was a wonderful year for me and I had a chance to meet and make friends with a lot of wonderful people. I thought I would share some of the designs from the wedding albums I've created for my clients. All of my album layouts are designed without the use of templates. Each and every one is custom designed -- something I love to do. Here they are, in no particular order. Click on individual images to see larger versions.