Elegant Wedding Reception

Earlier this week, I met someone whose job is installing escalators.  For some reason, this struck me as really cool!  I had never met anyone with a job like that, never even occurred to me that someone had that job (because obviously the new escalators just magically appear).  But it got me thinking - how many of us actually work in a field we planned on?  I know I never considered photography as a career until 2008.  In kindergarten I wanted to be either a doctor of a garbageman because "doctors help people and garbage men get to ride on the back of the truck."  (good thing I didn't go for garbage man because now the truck does most of the work and the guys don't even ride on the back of the truck!)  In 5th grade I wanted to be the President of the United States.  And in middle school, I decided I wanted to be a band director.  My opinion hardly changed after that - I finally found my calling.  I wanted to teach band in a public high school.  And when I went to BYU, I got accepted in the Music Education program and worked very hard towards it.

But life threw me a curve ball and I had a sudden onset of health problems that changed my path.  I was unable to finish my music education degree and instead found a more flexible way to spend the time I wasn't in bed - photography.  What a blessing this has been in my life.  There are still times when I ache to be in the teaching world, but then I get to work with an awesome couple and I'm reminded how lucky I am to be a photographer.  Each event is so unique, so well put together, so full of personality.

Working on this wedding was a great reminder for me to see how amazing it is to have two people commit the rest of their lives together and also have an elegant reception to celebrate that!  And I got to be there to photograph it.  So without further ado, I present: Alicia & Craig's Wedding Reception at Highland Gardens

The decorations were gorgeous...

 

The kids adorable...

 

The photo booth lots of fun (thanks Dustin Izatt)...

 

 

The cake was delicious and so unique...

 

The bouquet toss was fun...

And the dancing made me smile...

 

All the pieces came together beautifully for a perfect wedding.  Congratulations Alicia & Craig!

With this ring...

I love to share stories from my weddings, but sometimes overcoming writer's block and finding the right words prevents me from actually getting these blog entries posted!  I love the art of language - finding the perfect way to communicate exactly what I want to express.  Choosing my word to convey an emotion or tell a story. But I do not envy the people who write for a living.  Sometimes it's just hard!  This while this was a gorgeous ring ceremony at Highland Gardens and so much could be said... I've got writer's block.  No stories for now, just photos.

 

 

Check back tomorrow for photos of the reception!

Anna & Robbie- Reception at Highland Gardens

I love Highland Gardens.  The greenery is fantastic, skylights are awesome, but the best part?  All the lights they have strung up overhead!

Planning tip- it's a huge bonus if your reception venue has lots of little lights overhead or on the walls.  It makes the background pop, and helps the photo to have a lot more depth.  As a photographer, you can light your subject perfectly, but if it's a dark background without any real light in it, the photo often just ends up looking flat.

Christenson Reception

Here's a few favorites from Lindsey and David's reception.

Christenson Wedding, Part 2

And here's a few photos from David and Lindsey's newlywed session at the Highland Gardens reception center... be sure and check out Part 1 of their wedding to catch some photos of the ceremony.







Click here for more photos of David and Lindsey.

Christenson Wedding, Part 1

I was looking forward to Lindsey and David's wedding for a couple of different reasons- it was at a new venue ("Highland Gardens" in, you guessed it, Highland Utah), they are a great-looking couple, and David is in the Navy and was planning to get married in his official Navy dress uniform.
As it turned out, the venue was gorgeous, with a beautiful lighting situation (LOTS of wonderful natural light), the couple was still good-looking, and I loved getting to shoot a ceremony with a military touch. :)
We ended up getting to take some really fun newlywed photos after the ceremony in different parts of the reception hall; Lindsey and David were wonderful to work with, and very natural in front of the camera. Before the ceremony I was able to get some fun "getting ready" photos as well.... which is one reason I love ceremony weddings as a photographer.
Be sure to check back for a later post showing photos of their reception.














To see more of Lindsey and David's wedding, click here.
See Part 2 for the Newlywed photos....