The girls got ready at home. We were able to use natural window light which made me very happy since I don’t enjoy using artificial light too much.

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The wedding ceremony was held at the beautiful St. Ambrose Church. It was sweet and touching, and the newlyweds had some good laughs.

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Don’t you just love the purple/pink color scheme? Or, rather “eggplant” and “fuchsia”

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We took the bridal party to the Webster park and Arboretum (even though it was closed for renovation, no one stopped us from going in)

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When we got to the Webster Golf Club, we took some family and friend pictures outside while the cocktail hour was going on indoors. Channon’s great mood never faltered, even though it was hot and humid and we had been outside for what felt like forEVAH.

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Thank you guys for having me as your wedding photographer! I had a blast working with you. Both of you are an inspiration to me, carrying on throughout the day with a terrific energy and positive attitudes, lots of smiles and laughter. It was a fantastic celebration!

I am preparing a Brides For Brides post in which Channon answers some questions about her day, so hang tight for a few days and all your questions will be answered, including other vendors I had the pleasure to work with on the Loiacano wedding.

With Love,
Kristina
(Webster Wedding Photographer)

Yelann and Kevin’s wedding in Bristol Harbour was on September 5th, 2009. They got married outside at the gazebo, with wonderful views of Canandaigua Lake in front of them, and had their reception in the newly remodeled Great Room. I arrived in time to catch the girls getting ready and Yelann was just about to get her wedding dress on. I snapped a few quick images of the dress, shoes, bridal bouquets, and other details while the girls were putting on the finishing touches.

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One of my favorite images from the day:

The gorgeous bridal bouquet and bridesmaids flowers were courtesy of Wegmans. Impressive!

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The handsome groom Kevin:

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The ceremony

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Ring exchange

After the perfect wedding ceremony, we took some family formals and then had some fun with the bridal party.

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My associate photographer Will shot this image while I was photographing the guys.

You may have seen this image already, it’s on the header on top of my website. Favorite!

Little Bakery provided the wedding cake

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First dance (you can see how different the ballroom looks from how it was at Kelli’s wedding – gotta love creative minds and different ideas!)

The newly minted Momots and all their wedding guests were able to enjoy an unexpected fireworks show which I have now seen twice at Bristol Harbour.

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For this shot, I placed the wedding rings on a Chinese fan that had a bright red/orange cover. Ring shots are my favorite!

With love,
Kristina
(Rochester Canandaigua wedding photographer)

The day started with the bridal party arriving from the hair salon to finish getting ready at the house. Even though slightly sick, Shari was completely calm and relaxed.  There was no need to rush, which everybody appreciated. We slowly got ready, took some relaxed bridal portraits, and calmly waited for the ceremony to start.

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The ceremony was held in a shaded area by the pond. Shari and Josh’s two awesome dogs participated in it, too! My favorite pastor Jack Porcello officiated.  It was nice to see some familiar faces (just like recently married Dana, we all worked at the same Wegmans together)

Josh’s expression was priceless!

Gorgeous day for a wedding

Shari and Josh kept smiling all during the ceremony.

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Ooops, you got some lipstick there.

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My Wegmans girls from the accounting office.

The bridal party

Sit! Good dogs!

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Josh’s sister gave a very nice toast.

And so did Shari’s sister.

During dancing, we went outside for some photos around the Senator’s Mansion. This was my favorite.

As always, I’m gonna finish with a ring shot. You know how much I love ring shots!

The theme was purple and peacock feathers. I just love Natalie’s purple polka dot shoes with pink soles.

By the time we arrived, Natalie and most of her bridesmaids already had their hair and makeup done – but she wanted to get a picture of it anyway, so she posed for me. Glad to oblige!

The bridesmaids wore black dresses, which complimented their bright and beautiful bouquets.

How cute is this flower girl! Purple tutu and glittery converse shoes completed her outfit.

Natalie and Tom had a “first look” – a bit unusual in upstate NY weddings, but quite the norm on the west coast.

Stunning bride! I wish I could move to San Diego so I would have gorgeous natural light like this all the time.

My partners in crime… er.. wedding – [B]ecker and Karen Revelle.

This was one of the biggest groomsmal parties I’ve photographed. There’s “wedding” party, “bridal” party… why not “groomsmal” party?

Natalie with her dad walking down the aisle, glowing as always.

The sun set behind the hills just as the wedding ceremony started. It gave us beautiful light.

We had about 3 minutes after the ceremony to catch the last bit of the sun, so we spent that time with the newlyweds creating some quick yet timeless moments.

The reception hall was decorated in the same peacock/purple theme.

First dance

Bouquet toss

Thank you so so SOOOO much [b]ecker for letting me shoot with you, it was such a great opportunity! I am so glad to have finally met you in person. And yes, your hair looked perfect.

With love,
Kristina
(Rochester NY wedding photographer who loves to travel)

The story begins in June. I decided to visit my mom in Madrid, so after checking my calendar and finding a free weekend in September, and finding dirt cheap tickets to boot, I booked the flights for myself and my boyfriend/assistant extraordinaire Ben.  I was very excited to add another country to my list (26 so far! Weee!), and Ben had never been across the puddle.  We had two months to prepare for the journey, but of course with me being a photographer I immediately started googling Madrid wedding photographers. Unfortunately my Spanish is barely passable, and most of the websites I found were in gibberish, or the photographers never replied, or they weren’t actually located in Madrid. I got frustrated and gave up the fruitless search after a while. After all, I had a wedding-less weekend, so why not enjoy it by being a tourist?

Then one Thursday I was sitting in class… Aand this is where the story gets good. The “class” was actually a live study held by the one and only [B]ecker, amazing CA wedding photographer and principal of the B-school, of which I am a proud member. B-school stands for “business school for photographers” by the way. The class that day funnily enough focused on referrals and networking. I had just booked my tickets and mentioned via chat that I was looking forward to travelling to Spain, and what a pain it had been so far finding photographers outside my area to have coffee with and share ideas with. Another member reading the chat replied that he was from Spain, and we promised each other we would connect after class. Sure enough, Marco contacted me via Facebook that same evening, and we discussed my upcoming trip, the dates and locations, etc. He soon told me that his studio had two weddings on Saturday September 12th, and that I would be more than welcome to join him or his wife at either one of them. Needless to say, I was ecstatic!

After working out all the nitty gritty details, Ben and I ended up in Seville one lovely Saturday in September, and helped Marco shoot this amazing wedding which I’m about to share with you! Beware, a bazillion images are about to flood your screen. I just couldn’t pick any fewer favorites, every image reminds me what a fantastic day it was, and what an absolutely incredible experience we had. We were so honored to be treated as equal members of the team, and extremely lucky to have a bride and groom who wanted a traditional Spanish wedding celebration. Ok, ready? Here come the pictures!

We started with the ceremony at the church. The groom was walked down the aisle by his mother, who was dressed in traditional garb, including a crown with veil. They waited for the bride together and held hands.

The lovely Elena was escorted out of the Mercedes by a helpful guest (apparently there’s no such thing as a bridal party there) I immediately fell in love with her traditional Andalucian gown and hair style.

What amazed me most was that during the ceremony, both parents sat at the altar together with the bride and groom, and that the photographers and videographers were allowed to stand right next to the priest.  I ended up standing in the prime spot where I could catch every little smile Elena was beaming at Jose Maria.

During the vows, the videographer stood soooo close to the couple that I was able to use his video light as my light source!  Not only was this accepted, but encouraged – I got prodded to get closer.

Vows

Jose’s mom looking on and shedding a small tear as the couple exchange rings.

Like I said, they all sat together, with their backs to the audience for most of the ceremony.

The church was breathtaking.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds released a dove. The poor thing was so blinded by the light that it crashed a few times before flying away. Here you can see it flying in the wrong direction, heading straight for the wall. Hey, at least I caught the right moment!

The wedding was a bit nontraditional in that we had a few hours between ceremony and reception. We headed to Plaza de Espana first. For all you Star Wars nerds, this was where a scene in Star Wars II was filmed (Ben of course is a Star Wars nerd. Of course.)

Favorite picture of the day #1

We kept traveling around and stopping in places significant to the newlyweds for a few pictures here and there.

Here we are in front of the Catedral.

Professional secret – Ben acted as “wind” in this stunning veil performance. Favorite of the day #2!

We were extremely honored when we were granted access to a 5-star hotel’s roof top access. Hello Catedral roofscape!

Another professional secret – here, Ben is behind the scenes with a video light, playing “sun” for Marco and I.

Hello gorgeous! Elena was up for anything I asked, including posing like a supermodel in the elevator…

… and twirling in the streets of Seville!

Ready to go to reception.

The Hacienda.

New experience of the night – a professional sherry pourer. Yes, this lady was standing next to a cask of sherry, pulling the long stick and cup of sherry, and quickly and professionally pouring it into glass after glass, per guests’ requests.

Here’s a look at the simple yet elegant table set up inside the hacienda. Yes, there were at least four glasses per guest (not counting what they brought in from outside), and at least twice as many utensils!

The couple cut their cake right at their table.

Mmmmmm… everyone knows I photograph weddings because I know there will be dessert!  Haha!

The couple’s first dance was a waltz, and after a few minutes of dancing, their family and friends joined in, and the party got started (it was around 1am by that point)

The wedding in Seville was an amazing and unforgettable experience. And it wasn’t even a singular experience! After we left this wedding, Marco took us to another side of town where his wife and team #2 were shooting wedding #2 of the day – at 2am.  Oh, and I should also mention that we saw at least eight other wedding couples getting pictures taken at the Catedral square – but none of them looked so cool, so elegant, so… SPANISH as ours did. So all in all, a fantastic adventure that kept on going until 5 am. Take that, American weddings!

If I may, I would once again like to mention the B-school and just say what a wonderful networking tool it has been for me, because not only did I connect to other photographers in my town, state, and country, but all the way around the world. If you are a professional photographer, please do yourself a favor and join. It has a great forum, classroom, and mentors to help you lift your business off the ground and make you the best you can be. I also want to thank Marco Marcovich for extending his hand in friendship and camaraderie, for being a gracious host together with his wife, and for allowing Ben and me to experience the magic of a Spanish wedding. And of course my mom for living in Spain – but that’s another story and a different set of pictures, which I will leave for another day

Here’s a shot of Ben acting as a light stand while Marco makes magic happen. I’m still waiting for Marco to process his images from the wedding, as well as the video, but I know he’s been swamped with work. I’ll share links as soon as I’m able!

I’m hungry for more destination weddings!

Thanks everyone for reading, and leave a comment below to let me know you were here in person and in Spain vicariously

She’s so cute!

And so were the guys.

Their ceremony was in the beautiful Notre Dame Retreat House in Canandaigua NY. Here’s a shot of the ring exchange. All the flowers and decorations were put together by Katelyn and her mom. I LOVED the gladioli displays!

During the whole ceremony it poured as if the sky knew no limit. We had planned to take family pictures outside because the House sits right on the lake, but we had to compromise and instead take all the shots by the altar – which I didn’t mind because of the beautiful decorations! It was funny how, while I was doing the formals, people around and behind me were picking up all the flower petals that had been dropped for the ceremony – and I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I accidentally tripped over someone crouched right behind me! That got a good chuckle out of the families, and everyone was smiley and relaxed for the duration of the photoshoot. And what do you know… right as we finished formals, it stopped raining! So we were able to go outside for some fun shots with the bridal party and the limo.

The sun was peaking through the clouds more and more, so we decided to chance it and go to the pier on Canandaigua Lake.

I haven’t mentioned yet that Katelyn’s veil was suuuuuuuuper long!

Yummy kisses

We had so much fun on the lake. We did jumping shots (look for one in the Showcase), kissing shots, girls AND guys showing off their legs shots, you name it! It was such a pleasure to work with such a relaxed and fun wedding party! After the lake, we went to Ravenwood Golf Club. They have an awesome garden in the back, complete with colorful flowers and even a waterfall.

From there on, the night progressed in a pretty standard way. Introductions, first dance, toasts, dinner, cake cutting, and dance dance dance!

Bottoms up!

A few minutes after the shot above was taken, I was hearing things like “you made our day so much fun!” and “we really enjoyed working with you!” I hope that wasn’t just the alcohol talking

Thanks Katelyn and Tim for such an awesome day! I’m so glad it stopped raining after your ceremony. Thanks for being such an awesome model Kate, and thanks for being so laid back, relaxed, and fun the WHOLE day!

Take a look at the SHOWCASE for more images of this awesome wedding. And if you are family or friends, also make sure to check out the full gallery of over 700 images!

Oh, and here’s one more shot of yours truly in action. What a handsome groom to work with! And that’s definitely NOT a big butt. I wear a waist pack that contains batteries, cards, and yes, even hairspray! LIFE SAVER I tell you!

Anyway… Way before this mad weekend, I documented a really nice and relaxed wedding for Alicia and Matt in Greece, NY.  Upon arriving at her house, I immediately noticed that Alicia REALLY likes leopard print

Her one big purchase for the big day (also in leopard print, DUH!) – Jimmy Choos!

Gorgeous dress!

The ceremony was at the St. John the Evangelist Church in Greece. It was definitely something new and different. The tainted windows in the back gave off this soft purple and green light.

The limo driver was super awesome! He showed us a small but pretty location for some bridal party pictures before the reception.

The reception was held at the Italian American Community Center. It was nice to be back again (I shot two weddings there in 2006) In two years they have been busy building, and there is now a beautiful chapel on the grounds.  The maid of honor found this tractor and just HAD to get a few pictures with it!

In front of the chapel:

The reception was so much fun. There was a lot of dancing, Matt sang a song to Alicia, they smashed cake into each other’s faces… great entertainment for everyone involved! There are some pictures of that on the SHOWCASE. Oh, and if you’re a friend or family, you can see the whole wedding at the online proof gallery! I hope you kept the card I gave you with the access code!

Thanks Matt and Alicia for a fun-filled day and all the laughs!

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!!!

After the pink shoes (with insanely high heels!) a pink wedding dress followed

As bridesmaids milled around in their poppy red dresses, Lisa received a beautiful card from Duke, which made everyone in the room tear up. She couldn’t wait to see Duke! The ceremony was held in the chapel in Colgate Divinity School. This was the first time I had shot there. What a beautiful location! The chapel fit a decent crowd but the ceremony still felt intimate. My assistant got this awesome shot of the happy couple walking up the aisle to the cheers of the crowd:

The whole day it threatened to rain, but as soon as the ceremony was over, sun started peeking through the clouds, and we were able to shoot formal family pictures outside.

I took the newlyweds aside for some more fun pictures. There are too many to blog!

The reception was held across the building in the big ballroom. Lisa and Duke danced their first dance between dinner tables before dinner began.

After dinner there was lots and lots of dancing! The band Hi-Risers brought everyone out to the dance floor. The crowd went wild when Duke joined the band for a very special number he dedicated to his wife.

There was cake cutting, bouquet tossing, and general festivities that went on well into the night even after I left. There are a few more pictures up on the SHOWCASE, as usual. Check it out. Also, if you are a friend or family, check out the full gallery of 850 images from this wedding!

Thanks guys for having me! Your wedding was a blast. I will always remember your shoes

I’ve had a week’s worth of long and frustrating hours, because my computer is just too slow for this kind of work… grrr… move it, move it!!! It has decided that since I plugged in TWO external hard drives (a main one and a back up one) PLUS a bazillion gigabyte card reader PLUS a printer and other paraphernalia, that its USB ports no longer want to be 2.0 superstars. So for the whole week it has been chugging along – or rather, limping – to its own tune of 1.1 USB speed. Thus all my editing work took waaaay too much time! I get so impatient when I see amazing wedding images, and I want them on my screen NOW so I can edit them NOW and not 10 minutes from now when Photoshop finally decides to import them.

Anyway…. (breathe, breathe) I am finally at the last stage of this weekend’s wedding. I started out with 2300+ images, which throughout the process got narrowed down to 895 amazing shots. Everything has been edited, designed, and uploaded. I am now waiting for the print proofs to come back, at which point the whole sweet package will go to the happy newlyweds.

As always, there is a SHOWCASE for you to look at. It contains a condensed version of the whole day, and I will share some of the images here as well.

We started the day at Larissa’s house. She got ready in her fantabulous red room with lots of childhood memories and great natural light:

Isn’t she gorgeous?

Chris isn’t so bad looking himself!

We spent about an hour at the bride’s house taking pictures of her and her bridesmaids as well as her parents.

Larissa wore a simple yet elegant dress with a pretty lace back and a frilly train. It fit her perfectly.

One of the sweetest moments of the day happened when Larissa received a gift from her fiance. She read the card out loud which made all of us tear up. And she received a Yankees jersey which is what she has always wanted.

I got to work with amazing wedding professionals, which made the event go very smoothly and without glitches (I’ll include the vendor list at the bottom of this blog). Bonnie Goldsmith is an amazing florist who works with fresh wedding flowers, and you should’ve heard the girls oooh’ing and aaaa’ing over their flowers!

The ceremony was held in Browncroft Church.  This is the second time I’ve shot there, so I knew what to expect – I had to crank up the ISO and make sure I had steady hands, because the church is quite dark.

After the ceremony there was a flower toss which I thought was very cute and romantic!

After doing some formals in the church, we went to Shadow Lake where reception was to take place. I always enjoy photographing weddings at Shadow Lake because it is such a great location with lots of romantic spots for pictures.

My assistant snagged this gorgeous shot as the sun began to set

They are such an awesome couple and I went totally crazy with the pictures. I don’t have enough space here to show them all. I couldn’t stop shooting!   After an hour or so we finally had to stop because reception was about to begin. Everyone got introduced, and Larissa and Chris danced their first dance as husband and wife.

During dinner I borrowed the rings so I could play with them for a few shots. I noticed that both of them have tiny fingers. Eat more cake, guys!

And they did!

Larissa got a group of her girlfriends together for a memory shot

The bouquet toss was a success, and I’m saying that because there’s this big beam in the middle of the dance floor that could’ve easily been hit. What can I say, Larissa has good aim.

There was one other professional photographer at the event

There was lots and lots of dancing, wiggling, jumping, and flailing, thanks to Turner Productions.

Thank you Larissa and Chris for letting me celebrate with you, it was a great party and I had so much fun! What a great couple and a great way to start my wedding season.  Oh, and that dress looks like Trash The Dress material! Seriously! Let me know if you’d be interested in a TTD session

Don’t forget to check out the SHOWCASE, and if you are family or friends, the PROOF GALLERY for all 895 images.

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• Ceremony: Browncroft Community Church
• Reception: Shadow Lake Country Club
• Florist: Bouquets by Bonnie
• DJ: Pierre from Turner Productions
• Videographer: Deb from SE Video

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