Heather and Jason's Wedding

Heather and Jason have been such a wonderful couple to work with. For their engagement portraits they braved the snowy winter streets of downtown Madison, and on their wedding day we spent some time wandering around the downtown area again. Photos are very important them, so it was a real honor that they chose me to document their day, and they did a great job of providing me with some incredible photo opportunities.
Their wedding ceremony and reception were held at the Madison Concourse Hotel, so we were only a short walk, or carriage ride, from the Capitol and Monona Terrace. It was fun walking with Heather and Jason and the rest of the wedding party through the maze of street vendors on State Street and around the Capitol. Needless to say we were easily the best-dressed group at the farmer’s market that day!
There were so many great photo opportunities that day that I was overwhelmed with awesome photos, but here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

Melissa and Andrew

So I know I’ve been a little behind on my blogging lately, but it’s only because I’ve been working like mad to try and get wedding photos and engagement photos finished up. Melissa and Andrew were married in Milwaukee on September 2nd and I think it was one of my favorite weddings of the year to photograph. The ceremony was in a very large church and the reception was held at the Milwaukee Grain Exchange, which was also a very large room with some spectacular architecture. Andrew and Melissa have a great sense of style that showed through on their wedding day and they did some unique things like cupcakes, a Polaroid guestbook, and they hired one of the best live bands I’ve ever heard at a wedding - The Love Monkeys.

Between the ceremony and the reception Val and I and the wedding party made a stop at the Milwaukee Art Museum for photos. It’s one of the most photographed spots in Milwaukee and it’s VERY popular for wedding photos, but this was my first time there. We had awesome clear blue skies, and luckily my flashes behaved so I could get some good lighting despite the harsh sunlight. My favorite shots of the day though were from later on that evening. Val and I snuck Melissa and Andrew out from the dance and we went around the corner into the alley. I’m sure they thought I was a little nuts going into the grimy alley, but I thought it was a great space with some very cool texture … and maybe a little smell too.

Check back tomorrow for more of what I've been working on lately! Enjoy!

Rachel & Al

I often say that the highest compliment I can receive is a client’s recommendation to a friend or family member. It’s great for me because so much of my new business comes from word of mouth advertising, but it’s also cool because often times I get to see past clients at weddings. At Rachel and Al’s wedding I not only got to see a past couple but I got to work with the Van Zeeland family again. It made for such a nice day for Val and I because everyone was so easy going and fun to work with.

I was able to do some beautiful photos of Rachel at the church before the ceremony using a hallway that normally probably looked pretty boring and drab. But most of the lights were off except for one and I used that to light her. I just goes to show how great light can turn almost any environment in an interesting photo.

We used the Van Zeeland’s backyard area for some more creative portraits too. They have this fabulous space where a small creek runs through their property, and I managed to get Al and Rachel (in high heels and a wedding dress of course!) out onto some rocks in the middle of the creek. The stream running through the woods created a tunnel that I could frame them in, and the harsh sunlight was softened by the trees and leaves. What an awesome backdrop!

Tiffany and Josh

Anytime it takes me more than two weeks to get wedding photos delivered to a client I start to feel like I’m getting WAY behind. Josh and Tiffany were married more than THREE weeks ago, so I’m feeling really behind these days. So much has been happening that I guess it was unavoidable.
Tiffany and Josh had a somewhat wet, but overall very nice wedding day. We missed some photo opportunities earlier in the day because of rain, but the clouds broke that evening and gave us a spectacular sunset! I think those are my favorite shots from the day. They were a pretty wild bunch out on the dance floor, so there are some great fun photos there too. Congratulations Tiffany and Josh, and thanks for the fun day!

Angela & Michael

Angela and Michael were married on July 14 in Kaukauna and their reception was at High Cliff Restaurant, which was neat because the whole wedding party and some family members went to High Cliff State Park, for photos. My favorite images are of Angela and Michael on the top of the look-out tower. What a spectacular view! There was a fairly strong breeze coming off the lake, so I wanted to get some pictures with her veil blowing. I shot a few frames and then a gust came and stole it right from her hair! Luckily the wedding party was standing down below and picked it up quickly.
It was a real pleasure to spend the day with Michael and Angela and their family and friends. Enjoy the photos!

Nalalie and Alex - 7-7-07

It was the busiest day for weddings ever - July 7th, 2007, or 07-07-07. When I asked Natalie and Alex if they chose that date for good luck they said, "No, it just worked out that way." They were such a cool, relaxed couple to work with. Their ceremony was at the Paine Arts Center and Gardens in Oshkosh - one of my favorite places to shoot. It was REALLY hot that day, but everyone was so nice to work with despite being uncomfortable.

I think my favorite shot from the day was the photo I caught of Natalie through a window as she walked to the ceremony. It was just moments before she walked down the aisle. I love how it's just such a "real" moment. She's holding up her dress as she walks and you can just see the anticipation in her expression. I live for those moments on wedding days!

Angie & Jay

Jay and Angie held their wedding at the beautiful Heidel House Resort in Green Lake. It was a perfect day too - sunny and not too warm. Jay and Angie are about the nicest people you will ever run into - very easy going and relaxed. They were a total pleasure to work with for the day.

One of the nice things about weddings at the Heidel House is that you're always just a short walk from the lake. The sun was pretty harsh in the afternoon, so the lighting for photos wasn't ideal. We snuck out of the reception and spent a few minutes on a peir shooting the last little bit of the sunset and it made for some fantastic shots - some of my favorites so far this year.

Congratulations Angie and Jay!

Kenny & Sara

I'm still playing a bit of catch up with the wedding photos - I've finally finished Kenny and Sara's pictures from their June 23rd wedding. They chose a Hollywood theme for their day, which meant that I got to play the part of the Paparazzi, and I did my best to play out my role. I even hung out the side of the car shooting photos of them as they rode in the limo down University Ave!
Most grooms aren't very lively on the dance floor, but Kenny is definitely one of a kind when the music starts up. He led a conga line out of the reception ballroom through the lobby and bar of the hotel! Crazy! It was a very fun day for everyone - enjoy the photos!

Renee & Jason's Wedding

I'll admit I've gotten a bit behind on my projects lately, so I'm really happy to finally have photos finished from Renee and Jason's wedding two weeks ago. Renee and Jason were great to work with - super friendly and all smiles! They're wedding was cool because between the ceremony and reception we stopped by Devils Lake State Park to shoot some photos. I don't normally get to take wedding parties into wilderness type areas, so this was a cool, unique opportunity for me. They were all real toopers for taking the short hike up that hill with the hot, humid weather and mosquitoes swirling around. I like the juxtaposition of the formally dressed wedding party with the natural landscape ... and the picnicers and swimmers in shorts and t-shirts. We drew a lot of attention when we strolled down through the beach area!

Liz & Justin

So because of the move I've gotten a little behind on my work, but I've finally finished polishing the photos from Liz and Justin's wedding. What a wild day! The church was more or less in the middle of nowhere; no buildings around, just fields, which made for a realy cool setting. Liz, Justin, the wedding party and all their guests definitely know how to have a good time, as you can tell from the photos. I've seen a lot of different things that guests have to do to get the bride and groom to kiss, like singing a song or telling a story, but this is the first time I've seen guests doing beer bongs to get a smooch! Val and I had fun and it's definitely a day we won't soon forget.

This is the first time I've put a slideshow into my blog. I hope it works and I hope you enjoy it. Click play to view the slideshow with music, or click the "grid" button to view it gallery style. Enjoy!

Stretz Labinski Wedding

Last Saturday was my official start of the summer wedding season and I had the honor of spending the day photographing Christie and Jason's weddding. It was one of those perfect spring days that we long for all winter - sunny and 72 degrees, puffy white clouds and blue skies.
Jason and Christie and their whole wedding party were awesome to work with. I have to thank them for their cooperation while I dealt with some tricky lighting conditions and our different portrait locations. Having some time in the winter away from weddings is great because I get to recharge my creative batteries, but when it's over there's always a little rust in the gears that needs to get worked out.
My favorite photos are the ones of just Jason and Christie with the hill and trees in the background. I stole them away from the reception for a few minutes as the sun was setting - we had some great light and colors to work with.

Cheers!