Heidi & Steve: LDS Summer Wedding Reception

  This final post for Heidi and Steve has some additional newlywed photos that we took outside of Sleepy Ridge before the wedding dinner and reception, some family and group photos we took upstairs in the Sunset Room, and some fun tradition pictures from the reception itself.  Heidi and Steve were both so great to work with, and I hope y'all have had fun seeing some of the different photos from their wedding this week.

The Garden Room is really pretty, especially in the summer, but if I had to pick my favorite spot at Sleepy Ridge it would definitely be the Sunset Room.  The wood floors, vaulted ceiling with the huge chandelier, and all the windows that let in just the right amount of light.... yep.  Definitely my favorite.

  

  

Cutting the cake and feeding it to each other is always a moment of truth.  No matter how many weddings I go to, I can never quite predict what will happen.  Will they feed it ever so nicely to their new spouse?  Will it be a cake-pocalypse with frosting and baked goods permanently mashed into the pores of the skin like some delicious lotion?  I never know.  I have seen some of the quietest, most laid back people I have ever met go to town when it comes to cake-smashin' time.  I think this is an example of one of the things I like best about weddings... they are always the same, and yet always different.  You do just about all the same things at 99% of the weddings that happen, but each and every one turns out differently.

I am so glad we decided to open up the french doors going into the Garden Room so we could see out into the patio for the dancing.  Getting to see the post-sunset blue sky and all the lights strung up over the patio really helped set the scene.

Heidi and Steve decided they wanted to make sure they were comfortable when they blasted out of their party and on to their honeymoon.

Be sure to check out all of Heidi and Steve's different wedding galleries here.

Kandis & Greg: Sleepy Ridge Soiree

  Before Kandis and Greg's wedding reception started, we took some extra group shots on the grounds at the Sleepy Ridge Golf Course.  I loved the arches and landscaping they have just outside of the reception building.  You can really see why they call this the entrance to the "Garden Room"!

  

Greg has one of the best laughs I've ever seen.  He is always natural, and you can almost hear it, bubbling up out of the photo.  It's always great to work with grooms who are outwardly as happy as they are inwardly.

Bond.  James Bond.

  

Now these folks didn't mess around when it came to boogying down to the music.  I guess you can say they put the ...PARTY... in wedding party! ::insert courtesy laugh  here::

HEEEEEEEEY MACARENA!  Aiiiieee!

  

  

Thank you so much guys for letting me be a part of your wedding!  I had the best time, and you two were some of the best clients a girl could hope for.    Congratulations on finding each other!

Sleepy Ridge Wedding Reception Details

  I love the Garden Room at the Sleepy Ridge Reception Center, it's got some amazing light and really gives an airy, elegant feel to a reception.  The details at Kandis and Greg's reception were beautiful and complemented the location perfectly.

Here are a couple favorites...

  

  

Heidi and Steve- Sleepy Ridge Wedding Preshoot

  So this last part of the formals shoot is proof positive that when you don't cancel the shoot because of massive impending thunderstorms, that good things can happen.  We got some gorgeous sunlit shots at the Sleepy Ridge Golf Course and the Reception Center there, and then it was time for the sunset.

  

As a photographer, I am so happy Heidi and Steve decided to go with Sleepy Ridge for their wedding, because the place is so dang elegant.  The building is absolutely gorgeous, and for bridal shoots and formal pre-wedding photos you can get some amazing skies in the evening.  The golf course and the grounds are so open and well done that you can really go crazy with pictures.

When I got the prints that we ordered for their reception last week, I felt like it was Christmas.  We did 20X30 metal print of this one above, and a 30x40 of the one below.  It went on the massive mantlepiece in the Garden Room there at Sleepy Ridge, right behind where they had the receiving line.  So awesome to have something like that, and in a size to do it justice.  Heidi's mom had to keep pointing it out to all the guests saying "do you see this amazing photo?"  Gotta say, it's one of the best feelings in the world as a wedding photographer to hear something like that over and over.  Thanks guys for an awesome shoot, and a fantastic wedding day!

Pinks & Greens: Formals at Sleepy Ridge

  Orchards are awesome.  Especially in the springtime, with little green buds about to burst with blossoms.  Blossoms of Luuuuuve.

Chandra was such a hoot!  She is apparently "everything pink"- pink is DEFINITELY this girl's color.  She is also one of the most naturally expressive girls I have ever shot.  Just look at her- she's so fun and happy and gorgeous.  The shoes she and Roland picked out were also very spring-appropriate.  And after all, if you've been following this blog for a while, you know I am a sucker for nice, vivid colors.

We finished the formals and bridals at the Sleepy Ridge Reception Center in Orem.  The golf course there is beautiful, and has some amazing views.  The wedding reception center itself is also fantastic, and they kindly kept the exterior lit for us so we could get some photos like the one below...

Behind the Scenes at Sleepy Ridge

  We had a fantastic formals shoot last night that finished up at Sleepy Ridge in Orem.  Sleepy Ridge is an AMAZING reception venue, and sunset on the green outside is begging for a photo.  I'll be posting the entire shoot in a couple weeks, but wanted to give y'all a peek behind the scenes for one of the evening shots.

First, the finished product:

Now,  the setup:

The photo above illustrates one of my favorite lighting setups, and shows how important it can be to have an assistant (or two!) for the session.  A big thanks to my husband Thomas and one of my interns, Amber!  This photo wouldn't be ANYTHING without the light.

Rehearsal Dinners

I like rehearsal dinners. They are a great chance to meet the wedding party ahead of time, so that we can be more comfortable with each other on the wedding day, there's usually really good food, and I get to hear stories about the bride and groom that usually don't come up other times. Abbey and Taylor's family are very funny people, and shared a lot of stories about the happy couple that had the whole room laughing. One in particular stuck in my mind as a good example of the type of person Abbey is. She was about 12 and was extremely excited to go to a summer camp. Now Abbey is such a gracious person and she was so sure that she would have a wonderful time that she wrote individual thank you letters to each of the counselors to express how much fun she had..... weeks before the camp even started. We got to see what kind of person Taylor is as well. I'll just say this, it takes a very secure man to get up in front of couple hundred people as sing "Realize" by Colbie Caillat to his bride to be. It was, however, very sweet.

These were just a few photos from the evening at the Sleepy Ridge Reception center in Orem- be sure and take a look at the complete galleries from Abbey and Taylor's wedding here.