We started our super awesome wedding weekend with the alliterative wedding of Lindsay and Leo. Lindsay is a designer and had a fantastic eye for detail - which is super handy when you're planning a wedding. We started off getting ready over at her mom's house (who clearly passed on her eye for detail to Lindsay. She has done amazing things decorating her house - it was a big playground for me!), and there was some really fun light in the bathroom between Lindsay's mirror and the window. I loved how this came out...

Some quick details!

I just want to quickly interject that I tried to get Alyssa to include multiple dress/shoe/ring shots (she had some killers) but she wouldn't go for it. Does anyone mind seeing multiple detail shots??

So, this is the gorgeous flower girl and the family dog who was clearly either unhappy about being in a tux, or not being invited to the wedding, or the fact that I existed. It was almost comical - the entire several hours I was at Lindsay's mom's house, Pete would be fine walking around, see me and come bark up my ankles, ferociously defending the floor. I felt terrible because I was clearly the only person he detested, and then he took some pupperoni from me, and we were cool. And then after he swallowed, he went back to barking at me. The only time he was calm was when he was in someone's arms, so the entire time I was there, he was either in a bridesmaid (in her black dress), parent (in formal attire) or bride's (in a wedding dress) arms. Pete, I don't know what I did to sour our relationship, but I'm truly sorry, little guy (and you looked fabulous in that tux!).

I loved this moment between Lindsay and Leo's sister :)

Okay, so this makes it two ring shots for the blog, but I can't pass up a spontaneous ring shot!

Honestly, it was supposed to rain all day, and the sky was kindof threatening the entire day, but it ended up holding off and gave us beautiful, beautiful light. So, it was off to the church!

This is the first thing I saw after I got the church with all the guys - the ludicrously, absurdly cute flower girl. You know how they get those kids to look the way they do on the boxes of baby toys and food, etc? They hire a perfect little child like her. All I had to do was point the camera and she started grinning and laughing and generally hamming it up and that just makes life good, doesn't it? A baby smiling makes everything right in the world.

But, you know, if you want to ramp up the cuteness knob to about 11and explode some craniums - put the adorable, constantly smiling and beautiful baby in a decorated wagon so the ring bearer and other flower girl can pull her down the aisle. My face about melted off. Can you hear the massive, "Awwwwww" as she rolls down the aisle?

Wow.

We were at St. John VIanney for the first time since a really, really awesome wedding last year and we were not disappointed.

Leo - you look great, my man. I apologize for you not getting any face time on the blog post until about halfway in, but c'mon - If you marry a girl like Lindsay, I think you're used to people maybe, kindof focusing on her? I mean, you look good, man - but Lindsay is beyond stunning.

It is a really fun church to shoot in. And that stained glass is killer.

Guest flash love! You know, we were at a wedding a few weeks ago, and there were a ton of people with their P&Ss out (sort of like this :) I'm counting at least seven visible in this shot), and the bride said to me that it must be hard trying to do our job with so many people also shooting with us, and honestly, it makes me happy. The more cameras around, the more likely I am to catch someone else's flash, and that always makes me happy!

Because she wasn't cute enough her first trip down the aisle...

Ridiculous!!! Absolutely love this shot, Rich!

This was one of the most productive bubble exits ever!

I feel Leo's pain - there was an epic cloud of bubbles and I think most of us probably got soap in our eyes!

We headed to the waterfront for photos, which is dicey (wind, threat of rain) but it worked perfectly.

They were absolutely stunning.

I had forgotten how easy it was to shoot these two lovebirds. I pulled this one and thought about doing some post production stuff to it...and then realized I should just leave it alone.

awesome shot, Alyssa...

Thanks!

So, we decided that to break the wind a little (really, it was kind of much), we'd head over to this structure to get away from it for a bit. Lindsay blew me away in this shot. Perfect!

So, what was the structure we were shooting against? (it's not the first time, and probably won't be the last!)

We headed over to Lucarelli's for the reception, and Lindsay did a spectacular job with decorating. She told me she didn't really care what the food was like as long as the space looked amazing (which it did - but so is the food - Lucarelli's does an amazing job!).

waiting for the introduction...

Lindsay and Leo each had two "bests" for the wedding day. The best ladies hooked them up with this really cute caricature as a wedding gift.

And then we got into some serious dancing.

Favorite.

Thanks! About those guest flashes? Yup - I'll take 'em! (Did something a little different with this processing - I liked it, but what do you all think? Yay or nay?)

And the flower girl was feeling a little left out, so she joined in on the first dance...

Favorite of mine.

Thriiiiiiillller.....

I'm glad you wrote that, because I'm sure no one would've been able to figure out what dance that was :) They seriously had the entire choreography down - it's pretty cool to watch. Anyway, Lindsay and Leo, thank you guys for having us with you to share the day with your amazing friends and family. You guys are so amazing, and we were so excited to be apart of your day!

Meredith and Josh wanted to do their photos at the Falls, which I love. Honestly, between the Falls themselves, the nature around them and the city, there are so many nooks and crannies to play in. So, I was shooting a wide shot of them in this grove of trees, and I thought I heard Rich say something, and then suddenly they started leaping, I was like, what are they doing?? I told them to just hold hands and stand there! Rich, being a dork, was behind me encouraging them to do ridiculous things, and they were like, oh, the photographer said to do that, we'd better! And started leaping. But once we found out they would do absolutely anything, we did make them jump again, but this time at dusk with my camera on a different white balance setting to get this crazy, crazy blue sky.

But back to the beginning... Meredith and Josh started their e-shoot by announcing they were nervous. They told us, "we have a collection of terrible photos of us!" Seriously, I've heard people tell me they were not photogenic a million times, and they always end up dominating their photoshoot. Seriously, these two killed it, and I think they definitely need to start a collection of photos they are stunning in, because they have a ton. No more claiming you guys aren't photogenic, because you two so definitely are!!!

I like that you typed that whole spiel and the top two photos are a silhouette and a super wide shot :) Both are awesome, though - last night you were tearing it up, despite me screwing around (I mean, what else is new?). Let's get a little closer, shall we?

We started off by the Goat Island bridge (obviously) and then we wanted to wander into town and see what we could find. Niagara Falls on the US side is pretty heinous in spots, but it wasn't always that way and, much like Buffalo, the beautiful architecture of another time will really surprise you on the one hand and make you really depressed on the other. There's nothing quite like a city yoked with the greatness of its former self as its relevance fades. You can take some pretty pictures here with the right couple...

Almost instantaneously, what I noticed about the two of them is the fantastic ability they have to make each other laugh. We'd have them looking at each other and you'd see one face start to crack, and then they would burst out in laughter. Seriously, I had a hard time finding images for the blog that weren't just laughing!

I was trying something different here - well, not SO different as it involves looking directly into the sun...definitely agree on the laughing, we were all pretty much rolling the entire shoot...

...and this is a photograph that came out exactly the way I hoped it would. Meredith and Josh - I LOVE shooting you guys.

So, I see these squares and know immediately that they need to be standing in them...

And Rich headed in for some closer shots...

ARM'S LENGTH GROUP PHOTO!!!

And I almost put a series of photos here - guys, I might animate a set up for you of the "drinking bird" shots...we'll just keep it the most inside joke ever for now...:) Thanks, again.

We saw these old vending carts, and I clapped a little, and Meredith and Josh walked over, and I could tell they were like, oh, this is hokey! Josh jumped behind it and pretended to be selling pop corn. And I get it - it sounds like a totally corny idea, but I loved how it came out!

Corny? Get it? Did you just say that?? It can take some suspension of normal brain function to take in our suggestions and believe that they might result in good photos. Oh well - it's part of our "thing."

Once the sun got a little less severe, we headed back over to the rapids to do some lit shots. I loved this one.

I am an excellent light stand. Just call me Manfrotto and get lit.

I cannot put my finger on in, but I swear Meredith looks like a famous actress here... anyone know who it is she's so ridiculously reminding me of?? I LOVE this shot.

I love your angryface when I get in your way :)

Hah - I totally forgot to post-process this one :) Oh well, maybe I'll switch it later...

I think it looks fantastic as it is. I wouldn't touch it!

And to end this post, my absolute favorite feet shot ever! Seriously, you guys were so much fun to shoot, I cannot wait until the wedding. Thanks, again, for putting up with our dorkiness! You guys are awesome!

We've been really looking forward to Laura and Craig's wedding ever since we got together to do their e-shoot. We had a lot of fun with Laura's vintage concept and knew she was going to pay a lot of attention to the details at her wedding. She totally didn't disappoint! The weather was less than stellar (sideways rain = not so awesome), but it did break right after the ceremony, and we got some gorgeous portraits with rays of sun peaking into things. Totally sweet!

We were over at the Hampton getting ready with Laura, Craig and their families and friends, and regardless of how the photo looks, there were tons of people there for her.

The details? Yeah, KILLER shoes. Here's the thing... I love wedding shoes. Really love them, but I actually hate shoes. I wear flip flops whenever I'm not working, well into the winter. I was either barefoot/in flip flops at our wedding. But I love a really cool, interesting pair of wedding shoes. And these definitely are that!

Guinea fowl feathers? Check!

So, this is one of my favorite shots from the day. Just a simple quiet moment as Laura was putting on her jewelry, but I loved this frame...

And she couldn't stop playing with her ring as she was waiting for Craig to do their first-look, which was adorable!

Meanwhile, Craig was giving a period of instruction on how to tie a real bow tie - none of those have-a-clasp-in-the-back joints, no sir. I remember there being something about "making a sandwich" or something, but the ties looked GOOD. Craig has a really nice sense of style and he even let a little rub off on me - Oh yes, Craig came through with a pair of skinny suspenders as a gift, and while I'm not wearing them right this second - I'll probably have them on again later. They're the sweetness.

The most obvious place for a first look was the hotel lobby (did we mention the sideways rain? f-u summer weather. I'm a broken man about the rain by this point) so we just let it all happen and, well, Craig may look pretty good himself - but I think we can all agree that he's a pretty lucky guy...

I have a hysterical shot of you taking this while propping the elevator door open with your outstretched leg, but we're gonna let that one slide - mostly so you don't whip my ass....nice shot :)

Anyway, we all pretty much assumed all week it was going to downpour, so we also made prior arrangements to shoot in a parking garage (bride's request, we swear!) and we booked out the Ellicott Square Building. The rain was even too crazy for the parking garage (like, you really do have to wait until after the the wedding ceremony to trash the dress) so we decided to do the best we could at the Ellicott building...

Yeah, I love the building - it's absolutely stunning, and I think it matched C + L perfectly - classy and a little funky.

Played around with some funky lighting for a bit...

and then we headed back to the Hampton to pick up the families... we did shoot a couple other frames while we were there. Um, yes. This is in the pool.

Well, you do what can in the rain, because you sure as heck aren't running outside to shoot 30 minutes before the big aisle walk! Let's check the outfit details - does the bow tie match the feather? You know that it does. Attention to detail, ftw...

So, the rain calmed down for a few minutes, so Craig and his boys got to St. Louis in decent weather...

...and got some of the family situated...

...before it down poured again. So, Laura got to make the umbrella entrance! :) It's okay though - look at her smile! I think she was pretty focused on what awesomeness was about to occur.

I'm pretty focused on how awesome your shots in the back of the church look! Laura - you looked amazing.

That was the worst segue ever. But yes, Laura looked fantastic!

The hand-off...football season is so close it's even slipping into the blog....

..and holy crap St. Louis is gorgeous. You really have to see it if you've never been up here.

Yeah, it's definitely one of my favorites to shoot in.

And don't give me crap about my blog-writing if you're not gonna let me respond - now I look all dumb and stuff like 6 photos down. AND then you left me room here - but you've already typed below this, so now we can't banter. Blogging with your spouse is tough, folks.

And before you knew it, Laura and Craig were married and hurried off down the aisle for a side room for a moment together...

Absolutely my favorite of yours. Love, love, love, love this shot. Love it.

It was dry enough to do a couple family portraits on the steps and then bustle (we've been working on the images for this post for about 24 hours. I'm so tired, I have NO idea if I've spelled "bustle" right or just written something that doesn't make any sense at all. Boo words.) Laura up.

As we were heading over to the Statler, the light in the parking lot was so unbelievably gorgeous, we popped off a few shots before they hopped in their car.

If by car, you mean pimpin' 15-passenger van, then yes.

We did take a few more minutes with the awesome couple and the Franks (17 Video Productions did their thing with us again :) ) at the square...see the drop of rain hiding in there? Yep, it started again, so we started to hurry...

If one pair of awesome weddings shoes is good, two pair = AMAZING!!

the light got juuuust right for a minute or two, despite the sprinkling...

Laura switched to this small veil she made herself. I love that.

It was just an awesome look all the way around...

This makes no sense. It's clearly supposed to be up with the Ellicott photos, but, well, here it is... sigh, blogging. (rich - we are really jacked up today....aahh well).

ANYWAY... here we are in the Statler for the reception. Laura and Craig did things a bit differently. They came in and immediately did their dance, but then broke up a lot of the traditional elements of a reception throughout the various courses of dinner, which really worked quite well.

I thought that was a pretty good idea, too - I think wedding receptions can get bogged down in having to do a bunch of things in row and then just having open dancing the rest of the night, but doing the traditional dances while people were still eating was pretty cool. Never seen that before - good call :)

Could we maybe get another visual artist in the frame? I've got Frankie, Alyssa and Frank Sr. is probably just off-camera right....I'd guess the first dances are going to end up being very well covered when we all do our edits :) I've said it before, but man do I love grooms' white shirts acting as reflectors.

Right after their first dance, they invited all the couples for a group slow dance, and this was definitely a dancing crowd!

And then the cake cutting (see how this staggering thing is working? I'm telling you, it makes a ton of sense - no one minded a quick bit of dancing mid-dinner).

And from the cake cutting right into parent dances...

I love, love, love the look of the light streaking like this. Super fun.

Thanks! It's weird - it happens more when I gel a flash, but it's just the good ol' 580ex. I'm glad I spend so much time gelling, etc. and then just b/w convert so much dancing stuff. I'm a b/w addict.

And then it was time for dancing. And they really were a dancing group - they even wheeled granny out for a spin around the dance floor!

Yes, the granny shot is coming - but we decided instead of just whittling down the post (we have to run off and shoot again in about 30 minutes as I'm typing this) we'd just include a ton.

Definitely my favorite reception shot of the evening. (one shot - right out of camera)

trippy mirror shot, for sure...gotta love grandpa - he was getting DOWN...here we go, we'll just stack up the rest of the shots we pulled real quick...

Okay, the middle photo needs some explanation. L + C asked me to grab a snap of their friends, and the BM danced right into the shot. Loved it!

Oh, that IS funny - like, he's getting rushed out of the shot he's completely oblivious to having walked into :). Alright, that wraps it up for us and we have a TON more shoots coming up this week and next to blog. Phew, we're halfway through our summer, though, and we haven't killed each other yet - so that's a good sign! Laura and Craig and family and friends, thanks, so much, for having around all day and for being so much fun to work with and shoot. L + C, have an awesome honeymoon (hope you get to check the photos!) and we'll see you guys soon!