Melissa and Dave got married in the town of North Tonawanda which my GPS says is close to Buffalo NY. First it took us to the Amherst Ramada hotel where Melissa had just finished getting ready and was snacking on finger foods and waiting for me and my assistant Kim to arrive. The girls were very eager to get their pictures taken. Melissa had a great idea of doing some pictures on the big staircase and of course I took her up on it, because I LOVE it when brides have creative ideas! We also took a lot of pictures on the second floor landing because the light there was so yummy!
Sneaky sneaky Kim! Stealing shots of me in action again.
Here’s my perspective.
The ceremony was very nice. Melissa walked down the aisle by herself, but she was greeted by her mom at the end to be given a kiss and a hug.
There was a limo for the bridal party, but Dave and Melissa got their own awesome car.
One of the couple’s friends had suggested a nearby park as a possibility for bridal party pictures. You go, friend! The park was fantabulous, complete with luscious greenery and waterfalls!
Here’s a shot of Dave with his entourage…
… and a portrait of him alone.
The guys wanted fun pictures, so they decided that it would be a great idea to pick Dave up and have him lay across their hands. It didn’t work so well… 
But it worked with Melissa! She was freaking out and laughing at the same time. It was hillarious!
We also got some jumping shots. See, told you they were full of creative ideas!
After a while, we let the bridal party go back to their limo, and took Melissa and Dave to a quiet spot near a pond under a huge tree. They hung out there for a little bit and just relaxed.
With just a bit of directed posing, we got this awesome shot. My favorite!!!
After the park, it was time for reception to start. So we drove back to the Ramada for the party. The hall was decorated beautifully, with blue accents throughout - just like the bridesmaids’ dresses. First up was cake cutting, which came dangerously close to being cake-smashing-in-face!
At this point I should probably mention that there were a lot of people that I recognized. We all went to SUNY Fredonia together (Melissa graduated a year before me and Dave was in the music program at the same time that I was). So there were a bunch of people I went to school with, which made the party a whole lot more fun! We were all very relaxed around each other and I was able to get great pictures because people didn’t mind posing for me and doing silly things - you’ll have to watch the showcase to see those images 
Here’s a sweet moment… the members of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia singing the “Serenade To a Girl”
After some very energetic Polish polkas and very sweet slow dances, Dave and the guys went outside for some cigars.
And with that, the night was over. I almost wished that I could stay and party all night long (the music was fantastic!), but Kim and I had a long drive ahead of us to go back to Rochester. So we bid farewell and headed out - but not before we got big giant hugs from the newlyweds!
Thanks Dave and Melissa for being such an easygoing couple, for being “OK” with the ceremony/GPS glitch, for being so creative with artistic posing, for the amazing tip, and for being so stinkin gorgeous! And as usual, my parting words are: SHOWCASE (see a few more of my favorite pictures from this wedding) and PROOF GALLERY (if you are a friend or family AND have the access code AND want to see all 800 images)
Thanks guys! I had a blast!!!
