On this wonderful cold, snowy day, I figured it would be a good idea to share this beautiful late summer wedding. Jessica and Luke both looked fabulous, though the beautiful colors and bright sunshine in the photos make me kind of depressed for the long, cold months ahead.
Beautiful day, beautiful couple.
This shoot was a fun mix of casual and dressy, elegant and fun. Andrea and Danielle were married a couple of months ago, but I was booked for their wedding date and so couldn't be there for the photos on the day of. We scheduled this formals shoot after the wedding, and it was really nice and relaxed. While this wasn't a trash-the-dress shoot like Brittany did recently, Danielle didn't have to worry quite as much as we would have if her dress got a bit dirty or where we was needing to walk. She wanted a more casual feeling so she wore flip flops for the session, and Andrea went without a tie. These two are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet, and we had a good time walking around the Great Salt Lake getting different bridals and different shots featuring both the bride and the groom.
One of my favorite angles/locations at Saltair is this area where you can get the same clean, almost sterile landscape that you can get at the Salt Flats- without having to drive an extra two hours! :)
This is another favorite area of Saltair. It's called Sunset Beach, and it's AMAAAAAZING. Perfect angles to get backlit by sweet sweet sunset colors, foot-friendly rocks to stand on, and convenient access to parking. It's got it all.
I met Falisha at Chris and Tara's wedding and got to take a few cute candids of her and her fiancee Driton. They are getting married next spring, however they wanted some fall colors for their engagements so we headed on up Big Cottonwood Canyon to see what we could find. We ended up finding some fantastic colors- greens, reds, oranges, and yellows galore, but we also got some great variety with some of the rock formations in the canyon as well as the river running down it.
These two were so much fun to hang around with, that even after the shoot we all went and got some yummy sushi together. I love when I can just hang out with my clients and get to know them better aside from in front of the camera.
I love holidays. My favorites are the ones that center around food - Thanksgiving and Christmas - but each has a special role. Halloween to me is all about being a kid. It's not so much any more about being scared (I never watch the scary movies anyway), but it's about make-believe, becoming something really really cool, and mostly, it's about candy. Seriously, we dress up our kids as fictional characters (or sometimes real) and run door to door demanding candy. How much better can it get?
I don't have kids of my own yet, so I left a Facebook post saying I'd take costume pictures of anyone who stopped by this afternoon. And I had a few takers.
A knight. (Can you see his biceps? They're in there somewhere!)
A shy Cheetah.
I have to be honest, I'm not totally sure what this kid was dressed up as. But he had a really cool gun. And a great laugh.
An angry bird! The funny thing is, I saw 8 or 9 angry bird this year for Halloween. These kids don't even know who Mario and Luigi are, I guess I'm getting old :)
Cinderella. And Yoda he is.
In preparation for the Provo Bridal Fair a while ago, Sleepy Ridge asked me to do some updated promotional photos for them to display. Being that I love shooting there and the more people that choose to have their wedding reception at Sleepy Ridge will generally mean the more weddings I get to shoot there, I was happy to!
This will be just a short post, but I wanted to share three of my favorites from the session: First a fun night shot that shows off their brand new patio set up. As I have stressed before, lots of lights make for great photos as the party gets later. They help with depth, texture, and color in the background.
Next we've got a detail shot from the setup in the Sunset Room upstairs. Note the lights on the trees helping give interesting texture that gives life to the photo, and the gorgeous flowers and linens that they have there.
Finally a bit moodier shot of the Grand Ballroom section of the Sunset Room. Love the wood floors, the high vaulted ceilings, and of course that chandelier! I could hang out in this room and shoot forever...
I love happy people. Growing up, most of my closest friends were theatre-folk. Expressive, confident, and happy. I like being around people who enjoy life and like being with each other.
Doing engagements for Alishia & Tyler made my day! These two are just plain adorable. And I love that everyone can see how in love they are.
I got a greeting card once that said "Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." It was so much fun to take photos of Alishia & Tyler swinging and riding in the little red wagon, I got all sentimental remembering my childhood!
My favorite was a facebook comment on Alishia's page where she posted the photo below: "This picture looks most like my experience with you as a quasi-roommate. Approval++"
We had this magical mix of those bright late-summerish greens and all the awesome fall colors for the shoot. I honestly could not think of a better or more vibrant background to show off how awesome this couple is.
Be sure and check out their full engagement gallery here. The first half of their photos are up, and the remaining ones will follow.
Any long-term blog stalkers I have will most certainly remember Brittany and Jordan. I shot their engagements and their wedding last winter, but we put off bridals until after the wedding. Brittany wanted warmer weather for the shoot showing off her dress, and doing it this way we also got to take some shots you can't really pull off before the wedding. Mooostly because more often than not the gown isn't really all that wearable afterwards. Since Brittany and Jordan live in Wyoming now, it took a while before we could coordinate the session. I was especially excited for this shoot for a couple of reasons- first, I wasn't took sure it was going to happen (most brides and grooms that schedule after-the-wedding bridals/formals/whatever don't usually end up going through with it because by then the LAST thing they want to do is get dressed up again). Secondly, and most importantly, Brittany is the type of gal who is willing and eager to do absolutely and everything I possibly suggest. It's fantastic!
We got several traditional style bridals at Saltair showing off how gorgeous she is and how awesome the dress was before we got to trashing it.
What's that hint of purple under her dress you say? Why, her trusty purple galoshes of course! I thought they were super cute, and they definitely came in handy a bit later...
Ok, now we start having a bit of fun. Where can we go that we normally wouldn't be able to?
Whether it was wading out into the Great Salt Lake, sitting in the mud, or climbing up on a rickety gate, Brittany knocked it out of the park. Look at how fantastic she looks!
Of course, it goes without saying that we took plenty of opportunities for Brittany to twirl around and stomp as hard as she could. It kind of brought to mind the sheer joy you could have as a little kid playing around in puddles and mud. That never really goes away... :D
Be sure and check out the full gallery from the shoot here (more to come as they get finished). At the end of the day, we decided that Brittany's dress still looked a little too good, so stay tuned for a future post. Brittany and I are both excited about the possibility of doing a another shoot sometime where we light it on fire!
It might be a while before that shoot though. Brittany is insanely busy starting her own salon in Laramie, Wyoming. It looks like it's going to be fantastic though, so if you happen to be passing through and need an awesome stylist, you should definitely check out Studio220.
Here are a few highlights from Chris and Kara's wedding reception. The more I look at the photos and the more I remember shooting there, the more I liked the outdoor patio they had most of the reception in. If you are looking for a venue in downtown Salt Lake, definitely consider the Devereaux.
These little strawberry cookies were divine, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. :D
The bouquet toss is always challenging, always different, and never quite goes the way you expect. I love having Thomas along or another intern/assistant to get that extra angle for it. It really helps capture more of what is happening....
Check out more of Kara and Chris's wedding photos here.
