One word could sum up Mark and Stephanie’s wedding: Sweet. From their tearful meeting before family pictures to the ginormous candy buffet at the reception – this event was full of sweet moments. In fact, if I had to pick the most lovey couple of the year they would win, hands down! So last, but not least – here’s the final 08 wedding! 

 

Details:

Church: Colbern Road Restoration Branch

Florist: All A’ Bloom

Reception: Gamber Center

Caterer: Delectable Displays

Cake: Bridal Kitchen

DJ: Mobile Mix 93

 

 

We had to take advantage of the snow before we headed to the ceremony. Gorgeous!

 

 

The reception had a lot of sweet surprises like a gorgeous cake …

 

some fun decorations that Aaron repurposed for a ring shot…

 

and the most ridiculous candy buffet we’ve ever seen! You could eat for days from the sweets loaded onto these tables. Everything was artfully arranged and we did our best to shoot quickly before we were mauled by hungry guests.

 

Yes we ate – how could we not?! My favorite was the chocolate covered caramel on a stick. The potato chips in chocolate were good too. Aaron’s mouth still waters when he sees the pretzels in the upper left – it’s a combination of peanut butter, pretzel, chocolate and candy bits that made even a non-sweets lover like him want to go back for seconds.

 

Seriously if you are looking for something besides cake to serve as a dessert – or you just want a dessert reception – call Joey with Delectable Displays – we’ll hook you up with the number (as an extra bonus he may break out his dance moves when the party gets going!)

 

When the party really picked up the dance floor was packed! I’m going to blame it on a sugar buzz, because it wasn’t the result of alcohol. (That’s Joey the caterer)

 

We saved the creative time until after the reception when we were granted exclusive access to the Crown Center Ice Terrace. Mark is great skater from many an hour spent playing hockey. Stephanie clearly loves him – I don’t think I could have suffered through the bitter cold in just a wedding dress and shawl! If I had to pick a second word to describe their wedding it would COLD!

 

Before we hit the ice we took advantage of the sublime Christmas lights, resulting in one of our favorite wedding party shots of the year!

 

First we let the party free skate…

 

then it was time for a line up

 

and some falling. Only instruction – Fall. The results are hilarious. I’d have to say Mark wins!

 

These are the shots that make my husband brilliant and crazy. Thank you, Mark, for being able to stop and not requiring us to purchase a new camera and/or lens.

 

Mark and Stephanie – We were so excited to be part of your day. We’re always looking to inject personality into our pictures and you brought it! Thanks for being adventurous and weathering the cold (thank your wedding party too).

By far our favorite part of the wedding day is working with our couples. We love the unique dynamic between each and we do our best to capture that. These ”best” images are a good sampling but we could probably pick one from each wedding that would fit in this category. For an explanation of the Best of the Best, click here.

 

Aaron’s picks: 

I really love this category. This is why we do what we do. The time we get to spend with a couple making art is priceless – there is always an emphasis on emotion and creativity. These are in no particular order because it was hard enough narrowing it down to just six.

 

Beth absolutely glowed the entire day so it was hard to get a bad picture. I love the emotion here. It’s simple but it captures what we try for.

 

 In general I love when the light plays, especially downtown. When that happens awesomeness ensues.

 

I’m constantly amazed about how many comments we get on this image. Let’s just get this out of the way – No, I would not ask most people to do this and there is very little posing. If you normally make funny faces then I will take your picture doing it. Simple as that.

 

I really love this image – actually the whole set from this shoot, but we can only post one right? It just feels like no one else is there … and sexy…

 

 Not much to say here. I just love it – everything about it.

 

I’ve loved this shot from the beginning. Just honest and fun.

 

 

 

Heather’s picks:

Oh “couple” category – you are so hard! We have a connection with all of our couples and I fall in love with images from every wedding. It was tough to choose, but I narrowed it down to 6. Like Aaron, I’d say a lot of these are interchangable.

 

This one however is not. This is the BEST couple shot of the year. I love it for the simplicity and the honesty. This one shot sums up Beth and Chris on their wedding day. They were beautiful to photograph.

 

Moving from beautiful to smokin’ hot! I can’t get enough of Blaine and Anna! I could have picked a dozen shots from their set. I love this one because it captures Blaine’s laid-back attitude and Anna’s smoldering personality (and looks).

 

This image is a show stopper. Literally! People at bridal shows will stop and point out this image. It’s so incredibly different and fun, but that sums up Michael and Ashley. They are genuine, goofy and all-around great. Ditto for the image.

 

I think Kelly and Jason have garnered the most spots in my best of the best.  Aaron of course argued with this choice, but I love it. Kelly is stunning and Jason is his usual fun, laid back self – sure he’ll “drive” a boat, no problem. Love the light. Love the editing.

 

This image really sums up our true art philosophy. This really captures Kyle and Laura. I think it’s beautiful.

 

Following the theme – I think this image is a perfect capture of Sarah and Keith’s quiet devotion to each other, with a nice artistic spin from Aaron.  

 

Next up – Best of the Best – that’s right we’re narrowing the whole year down to a few images. Wish us luck!

You may have missed – E-sessions, Getting Ready, Ceremony, Details, Reception, Solo Portraits, and Wedding Party.

 

Weddings are a celebration and it wouldn’t be complete with out your best friends. So we like to include them in some fun pictures! For an explanation of Best of the Best, click here.

 

Aaron’s picks:

 

Talk about summing up everything we want from a wedding in one picture! There is honestly not much I would change about this. I really think it speaks for itself so I’m not going to over do it. Enjoy!

 

Trying to describe why I liket his image mostly comes down to one thing: Impact. Unusual, fun, it really just grabs you. We always love images that are taken in a really popular location but feel completely different. Do you know where this is?

 

This is a little more traditional than I would usually choose for BOTB, but it strikes me. I love the separation between the bride and the party. Not only does it feel like she’s popping out of the image, the wedding party is in their own little world. I guess that actually makes it pretty untraditional, huh?

 

I absolutely love the color and intensity in this image. The light really pulls your eyes through the image and the texture gives it some great depth. I just like it ok!

 

 

Heather’s picks:

 

I love this image! It’s captivating and it took real vision to create it. There’s not much more to say – it’s fantastic!

 

I love this image for a number of reasons. It’s one I had been thinking of and this porch was the perfect opportunity. We said “do the Top Model thing” and the results were excellent. I also think this image really captures the personality of each woman in it – a rare feat in a wedding party picture. Plus this image gets mentioned frequently in our consultations. There’s something in it that our brides identify with – maybe it’s a woman thing.

 

I really can’t say why I like this shot. I just think it embodies “cool” and is so different from any other wedding party pic I’ve seen.

 

This is a shot with great story. As Aaron started to lead the guys to this field, a concerned neighbor told us that there was a really nice park down the street if we wanted to shoot there. Aaron thanked him and kept walking. This image made believers out of all the guys – and for good reason. It’s a great ”bad ass” shot. I also love the powerlines and the sky. Gorgeous!

 

SNEAK PEEK! We haven’t even blogged Stephanie and Mark’s wedding but that didn’t keep them from making the list. This image is amazing. I absolutely love the glow from the lights and how Stephanie and Mark are cuddling. I’d have to give them the award for cutest couple of the year and their pictures really reflect that. More on that later …

 

Next up – The Couple!

You may have missed – E-sessions, Getting Ready, Ceremony, Details, Reception, and Solo Portraits

 

 

Just a few of our favorite solo shots of our ’08 brides and grooms. For an explanation of Best of the Best, click here.

 

Aaron’s picks:

 

One of the many things I love about shooting regular people is how some of them just turn it on in front of the camera. Most people don’t have their pictures taken professionally very often so they have to make the most of it when they do. Well, Anna certainly did that. She worked the corner of a crappy alley like there was no tomorrow. I really love everything about this image – expression, texture – it all works.

 

I absolutely love Trash the Dress sessions and Kim’s use of “Top Model” skills made this one of my all time favorites. For me there is nothing better than a bride in trash – I suppose there is something wrong with me after all…

 

Simple and fun rules this set. They both look wonderful and the green rocks! Not much more to say – I love images that you can’t help but love.

 

Another simple image, but I love the serenity that Kindra has here. It was actually a blink, but it feels so natural.

 

Bringing back the fun – Watching Mark skate around the rink, I knew we had to try this shot. It’s a good thing I trust him, because I was so close I got covered in ice. I’m very glad he can stop.

 

 

Heather’s picks:

We were ONE frame away from choosing the same top image for this category. Anna was absolutely stunning and she worked like a professional model. I could have picked a whole set of images from this corner. The reason this one stood out is because I love her expression. 

 

We had SO much fun with Duke and Jessica on their wedding day and this set really sums it up. I love their natural smiles and they pop on the green background!

 

Apparently there were many fairytale moments in Kelly’s wedding. She topped my list for reception shots and she’s on here again for her fresh style and relaxed look. This red house was the perfect backdrop for her and the editing is fantastic!

 

I love the serenity in this image and the editing. It’s such a simple shot that was turned into a gorgeous piece of art. I think it captures a beatiful, contemplative moment that most brides have at some point in their day.

 

 

Next up – Wedding Party!

You may have missed – E-sessions, Getting Ready, Ceremony, Details, and Reception.

Guests come to a wedding for one reason… the party. Here’s a few of our random, but favs of 2008. For an explanation of Best of the Best, click here.

 

Aaron’s Picks

Unlike other parts of the whole wedding experience where I choose my favorites on a combination of technical quality and impact when it comes to the reception I just want to see something fun. That’s really what the reception is about anyway.

So like I said above we start with a bang. This is certainly not the most perfect image you’ll ever see but super fun. I also love it because I saw this shot comming. I had the camera up waiting for him to turn around and as soon as he did… click… immortalized.

 

Again, not a perfect image by any stretch. That funky thing to the right of the bride is actually me, or my whale tail (I know it sounds funny). The bouquet toss is so crazy and fun, I think this captures that.

 

Again, more fun. Toasts can really fun the gamut and poor Amy was subjects to more than a roast than toast. It really was hilarious. Amy, at least you don’t look like a boy now

 

 

Heather’s Picks 

Be still my heart! I LOVE this image! It’s everything a first dance should be (and the perfect capture to boot). There are moments that every little girl dreams about – fairytale type moments where the room melts away and it’s just you and your one true love. Yeah, I know, it’s sappy. But it’s true! This is one of those moments for me. This is love.

 

This is also a fairytale image, but I’d say it’s more classic. It’s a gorgeous bride in a beautiful, choreographed dance with her prince. It’s pure sophistication.

 

And the award for Best Pre-Garter Removal Dance goes to Derek! This was the most over the top, hilarious thing we saw at a reception this year. I was almost in tears from laughing so hard as Derek circled and danced and danced and circled his thoroughly confused bride. Shake it white guy!!

 

 

Next up – Brides & Grooms Solo!

You may have missed – E-sessions, Getting Ready, Ceremony, and Details