This site uses a somewhat recent version of the flash plugin to display it's content. For some reason (most probably that computers are a little dumb), you may need to upgrade your Flash Player.
If you think that this message is wrong, then click here to try to load the site any way. Sorry for the inconvenience. blame it on computers, go ahead and give yours a swift kick or throw it off a tall building, believe me, you'll feel better.
These two funky ladies spent the better part of a year designing all of the details of their Puerto Vallarta wedding. It’s so great to see it featured on Style Me Pretty. Congratulations Lorena and Dustyn!
Click on the image below to see the feature:
Carlyle on the Green, Long Island, New York
On a beautiful summer day in New York, Nicole and Tom married their best friends. And I got to document it! With the help of the wonderful Kiersten Rowland of Prema Photographic.
Congratulations Tom and Nicole!
Vanessa met Lempe while studying on a semester abroad in Senegal. After many late nights up drinking tea and Lempe fielding Vanessa’s endless questions, the two started dating. Their road wasn’t easy because she had to go back to the U.S. in a few months. It was 3 years before she made it back to Senegal and then only for 4 months. The next trip though, they married in Senegal! 3 years later they are back living in California together. When I got an email from Vanessa telling me that they were planning a California wedding and that she’d been hoping I’d photograph her wedding ever since I photographed her friend Caitlin’s wedding 2 years prior, I was so excited. Knowing that someone really connects with me and my work makes documenting their special time that much more precious. Plus I adored her when I met her.
The wedding was held at Vanessa’s family’s property in the gorgeous Redwood country of Garberville, California, an area with so much meaning to them. Her father spent the most part of the year lovingly preparing their land and garden for the festivities. They had to wait to lock in a date until her brother knew he would be able to get leave from the army. He also officiated their wedding. A toast given by Vanessa’s mom in the Pig Latin type language that Vanessa used to speak with her friends was a hilarious highlight.
Lempe’s father was the only family member that was able to make the long trip from Senegal. He is a police officer back home and speaks Senegalese and French. In the slideshow below there is a shot of Vanessa translating his speech for him, and Lempe’s reaction to follow. Since he is Muslim, Lempe’s father doesn’t drink alcohol. I love the shot of Scott (Caitlin’s husband) secretly handing Lempe a flask so he could sneak some wedding day booze without his father noticing.
One more great tidbit, their dress requirement was to add an element of flair!
Vanessa was so sweet to send me a great Zouk song to go with the slideshow and the love poem read at their ceremony which follows.
It’s best to let the slideshow load before watching it.
Love by Roy Croft
I love you
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.
I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.
I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can’t help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find
I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple.
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.
I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good.
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Felicitations Vanessa and Lempe!
I entered the wedding photography world as a music/editorial/documentary photographer. At first I was a little skeptical. I kept to myself and didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to what other wedding photographers were doing. Until I realized that there are AMAZING wedding photographers out there. Photographers that inspire me to be a better photographer no matter what my subject is. One of the first things I noticed was that there was a photographers’ association that kept coming up when I looked at the work of those who I thought were the best in the industry. This was ISPWP -The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers. I’m proud to have reached a personal goal of mine to be approved as a member of ISPWP and to be among the best wedding photographers in the world!
They say it best….
Click on the image below to be directed to ISPWP and see what they’re all about:
I thought this might be interesting to read for brides looking for a photographer:
Thank you to ISPWP!
A quick bit of July 4th fun!
I had to take a pause during some West Coast wedding travels to announce this amazing post of Tami and Dan’s Playa Mujeres wedding on the Lovely blog today. Click on the image below to be directed to the Lovely blog and take a peak at the beauty of this wedding.
Lauren and Jon’s off the charts San Pancho wedding is featured on Style Me Pretty!
Click on the image below to view the post on SMP!!
To view my original blog post on their wedding click here.
To see their killer wedding album click here.
Sayulita, Mexico
Justin and Katy live just up the road from me in San Pancho and run an outstanding wedding design and coordination company called Playa Bliss Weddings. When they asked me to photograph their wedding I was truly honored. I love that they adore the area and chose to get married in the town church and have some mariachi dancing and hang out time in the plaza with the locals. I had to do a whole slideshow to tell this story.
Here is the slideshow of their day. It’s best to let it load before pressing play.
Congratulations Justin and Katy!!
There’s lots more to come from this amazing do it yourself wedding but for now I leave you with the lovebirds and a very tired doggie.
Style Me Pretty’s new destination blog is featuring Monica and Jared’s funky, classy, whimsical, vibrant, romantic Puerto Vallarta wedding today! Leave it to The Dazzling Details to transform whatever space they’re given into something awesome and very fun to photograph as if a wedding day isn’t fun enough. Click on the image to check out the awesomeness.
Getting an album back is one of the most exciting things for me. It’s the ultimate fruition of all of our efforts to capture the beauty and essence of a wedding day. It tells the whole story, it’s beautiful, and you can hold it in your hand. I’ve mentioned this before but I’m pretty much in love with Finao, the coolest album company around. When you first delve into the Finao’s options for styles and covers it can be a bit overwhelming but ultimately you can make something different and appropriate for every couple. Naomi and Nicholas’ wedding touched me to the core. They had to take a hug break to ‘cry it out’ during the ceremony and her girlfriends gave her roses to make her bouquet as she walked down the aisle; a couple after my heart with their palpable love and originality. Their wedding was lovely, classic, and cool. Here is the original post of their images.
Finao’s boxes are killer. Throw the right photo on there and it’s the perfect way to store your album.
Finao’s lovely packaging using recycled material.
They have two page styles, thick and thin. I love them both. This is the thick page.
