Cathy and Arvind

I should start by saying when Cathy and Arvind did an engagement session with us, we got really excited to shoot their wedding. You know, that's a pretty dumb statement, actually, because shooting couples a few months before their wedding is always awesome - and it always makes for a better relationship between us on the big day.

Our day started out like it usually does, with Alyssa spending time with Cathy and her family...

I cracked up when I saw this shot Alyssa took of Cathy's parents' cat. I mean, we have a cat (Wilma) that we're pretty fond of even though she looks at us sometimes with serious disdain and maybe even a little loathing...and their cat has definitely got the general feline, "I'm not all that impressed" look going:

All that aside, Alyssa and I met back up at the church, SS Columba-Brigid church in Buffalo. The church was recently built when the parish lost their old building to a massive fire. The huge stained glass window made a wonderful backdrop, even though I think these two are so in love they could have gotten married in a cave and been beaming like this.

Since Cathy and Arvind were having their reception at the UB Center for Tomorrow, we headed over to Baird Point for some group photos. I think Alyssa did some really nice work on this image. Instead of trying to force something involving rows and seated/standing people, yadda yadda with such a large group, we just had everyone stand naturally and we made Cathy and Arvind more of the focal point of the image...which is as it should be. I like the obvious symbolism of having the entire new family standing together behind them.

So, the hi-light of the reception was definitely the "stick dance," which everyone learned and then performed together. The whole reception was really neat, with nods to Cathy's home of Buffalo and Arvind's home of India. There were Buffalo wings in steam trays right next to samosas and two serving lines of food with traditional Indian and Americana. All the hard work to honor both traditions really paid off in a really classy reception.

Thanks for reading, and thank you, Cathy and Arvind!