Hello, soon to be bride or groom!

When You’re Getting Married in a Church …

January 16, 2012

… if it’s important to you that the wedding ceremony be well photographed, be sure to ask ahead of time what the church’s policies about wedding photography are.

Virtually all churches impose some restrictions and that’s cool. I’m never gonna be up in your face on the altar with a wide angle while you’re reciting your vows. I don’t want to be seen during your wedding ceremony and I want to do anything and everything I can to ensure that the focus stays on you! So in many instances, I’ll be able to do my job well without ever bumping up against a church’s rules (most of which are usually pretty common sense respect and decorum; both for the religious traditions as well as the bride and groom, the officiant and guests.)

There are some churches however, in which photography is practically disallowed – I’ve shot where I was instructed to stay at the back, and only within the very back, of the church. Since I, and I suspect virtually all wedding photographers, don’t own or carry something like the 400mm f/2.8G around, it’s difficult to capture much of anything in an intimate or personal way. I’ve also worked weddings where I was told to remain in the same seat throughout the entire mass. Ugh!

As to the question of whether or not Jesus likes good wedding photography, I’ll defer to you or your spiritual leaders to decide. Again, most churches are pretty cool with photographers who are, in turn, respectful of the ceremony and those in attendance. A minority may impose rules that are difficult or impossible for a photographer to work within. If intimate ceremonial photography is important to you (as it is to me), then it’s best to ask about this up front and be aware of any limitations that may be placed.

Faith and Dave, Married! : Cleveland Ohio Wedding Photography

January 10, 2012

Long time, me no blog. Between welcoming our newborn baby girl into the world (technically it was my wife that gave birth to her, but you know what I mean), work, the holidays and spending what little time is left over with my family, I’ve been pretty busy lately! So that’s me – how about you?

Or how about Faith and Dave and their wedding back in … ohhh, September? Faith was kind enough to write a review of my photography on Google, in which she said that I “was like an old friend we haven’t seen for a few years.” That just warms my heart! Not only because that is the kind of relationship I sincerely work to create with each and every one of my clients … but because I felt the same way about them! It is truly a special privilege to work with such fun and genuine people and their wedding reflected these traits of themselves and their love for each other, their family and friends.

I hope the pictures do it justice.

Congratulations again to you both and a lifetime of love and happiness!

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Rachel and Tommy, Married | Columbus Ohio Wedding Photography

October 8, 2011

Rachel and Tommy put on a simply beautiful wedding, marrying at the chapel at St. Charles with the reception following at the Franklin Park Conservatory. I must also say, I appreciated that they scheduled nearly an hour to take portraits afterward! Here are a quick few of my faves:

Thank you, Rachel and Tommy, for allowing me to share in your big day! A lifetime of love and happiness to you both!

Thank you also to Dina of Scarlet City Events for doing an amazing job of coordinating the day!

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Abbey and Steve, Married | Dayton Ohio Wedding Photography

September 22, 2011

Abbey and Steve were married in Dayton … and they put on one AMAZING wedding. I wish I could put into words how much fun I had shooting with them and their family and friends. Here are a few of my faves:

Soooo … a little bit of back story on this one. They planned a really, really awesome first dance and surprised virtually everyone of their friends and family with it. They came out to a Colbie Callait song and then went into Footloose.

Even better, if that were possible. Abbey surprised EVERYONE with a song for Steve – her rendition of Heaven is a Place on Earth. I tried, but the pictures truly do not do these moments justice!

Thanks so much for sharing your wedding day with me! A lifetime of love and happiness to you both!!

And a big thanks to the uber talented and all-round awesome person, Shannon Sano for second shooting with me!

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Karlyn and Brian, Married | Granville Ohio Wedding Photography

August 24, 2011

I loved Karlyn and Brian’s wedding. Everything felt so authentic, so “them” but most of all the day felt like a really fun celebration of their love shared with family and friends. And isn’t that exactly what a wedding is all about?

A sudden monsoon unexpectedly relocated their ceremony from the deck into the Bryn du Mansion Fieldhouse … which might’ve been just as well since it was about a 1,000 degrees outside. Here are a few favorites, starting with their beautiful first look

I had never seen this before but LOVED the idea! They wrote letters to each other to read on their fifth anniversary and locked them into this box, along with a bottle of wine!

Thanks so much for sharing in your wedding day, Karlyn and Brian! A lifetime of love and happiness to you both!

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