Sunday, June 29, 2008

Lauren and Kevin :: June 7, 2008

fun without power

Yes - 06-07-08! What an awesome date to be married! And awesome it was! Lauren and Kevin's wedding is by far the most eventful and crazy wedding I ever encountered in my life!

The day started out in the mid 80's - hot, sunny and humid. I was happy when I entered the church to find out that the AC was on full blast! Lauren and her girls were getting ready in the bride's room and Kevin and his guys were in the parking lot decorating their pick-up trucks.

painting the trucks

painting the trucks

dress

The first challenge of the day came from the pastor of the church. I wasn't allowed to come up the middle aisle for any part of the ceremony. That meant I couldn't be in my usual spot for the rings, the unity candle or the kiss! Luckily the pastor allowed me to be half way up on the side aisles... I captured the exchanging of the rings from the right aisle and Jason Samsa (a photographer shadowing and second shooting) covered it from the left aisle. I ended up sitting as a guest in the pew for the kiss and popped out at the last moment to get an awesome shot from the center. I was able to capture all the moments as they happened and from a more unique angle.

After the ceremony and receiving line we were ready to start shooting the group formals. At that exact moment the tornado sirens started to blast. I hurried and completed all the family and wedding party poses. After the last group the power flickered and eventually the church lost all power. The sirens went off again and eventually everyone that was left in the church found their way to the basement.

Sometimes challenges can lead to more creativity in the way I shoot and not having access to light is a major challenge! Another challenge was to keep the momentum of the day from dying out. So we played! Jason came up with a great idea of painting with light. I had all the bridesmaids and the bride open up their cell phones and trace letters in the air while I photographed them with a long exposure. The results were fantastic!!! We had soooo much fun and it made the one and a half hours in the basement of the church go by without stress.

fun without power

window light

descending

We finally made our way to the reception hall, thank goodness the power was on! I was able to shoot about 15min outdoors with no rain. I decided to stay past my end time to get some outdoor shots of the bride and groom alone. It was worth staying the extra hour to get beautiful images of Lauren and Kevin on the golf course.

you can stand under my umbrella

Here are some more highlights:

reflection

shoes

preperations

preperations

hymn

fun without power

one darn good assistant

embrace

snuggle time

rain drops

the rings

turtle in parking lot

rainbow

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

In good company...

Last night I attended the Wisconsin Bride Magazine Best of 2008 awards event in Milwaukee. It was held at the beautiful and historic Ambassador Hotel downtown. I was lucky to run into a bunch of Fox Cities vendors when I first arrived. It was very nice to see some familiar faces and to hear that many of them were nominated!

I also had the opportunity to hang out with some photographers that I have become friends with this past year. Especially Molly from MThree Studios, Michael Krakora, and Craig Stodola from CS Photography.

Molly introduced me to Monica (The White Box of Wedding Design) a fabulous wedding consultant in Milwaukee. These girls are so cool and fun to be around!

The evening ended quite late... I made it home around 12:45am. It was so worth the trip to Milwaukee to hang out with other wedding professionals who have the same passions (and funny stories) as I do.

Local Vendors who where nominated for WI Bride Magazine Best of 2008:
Marshall Florist - Kaukauna
Lenz Studio (Videography) - Appleton
Artistic Cakes and Cookies - Kimberly
Elegant by Design - Appleton
Paine Art Center and Gardens - Oshkosh
Heidel House Resort - Green Lake
Copperleaf Boutique Hotel and Spa - Appleton


Look for the Fall/Winter issue of Wisconsin Bride Magazine on newstands in a few weeks!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Coming Soon....

I am excited to introduce my latest project. Unveiled Portraits by Ardent Photography. Unveiled Portraits are boudoir photos that are sexy, sweet and sophisticated. Do something fun for yourself and create the perfect gift for your husband-to-be or the perfect anniversary gift.

I believe that every woman is beautiful and deserves to express that beauty in professional photographs.

Sessions include a 1.5 hour session, up to two looks/outfits, private online proofing, a 5x5 peek-a-boo album, and retouching of all images. Additional photographs can be purchased a la carte starting $10. A stylist is also available for an additional fee.

Please email me at info@ardentphoto.com to book your session. I have 7 spots available for the July marathon session. Mention this blog post and receive $50 off the session fee!

Upcoming dates:
July 11 and July 12

If you are interested in reading more about Boudoir check out this article: What is Boudoir?

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Laura and Rocky :: May 31, 2008

Laura and Rocky were a blast to photograph. From the getting ready shots to the reception... the entire day was filled with emotion.

Laura dressed at her parent's home in Green Bay. This room was absolutely perfect for the final phase of "getting ready" - the lighting was beautiful and the room had great space.

the preparation

These earrings are real diamonds were loaned to the bride (along with a diamond and sapphire bracelet and necklace) from their jeweler in Chicago.

diamond earings

I love dramatic angles and selective focus. Here, I focused on her grandmother's ring (her something old) and also captured a beautiful smile as she looked up at her parents on the deck.

angelic

Aren't they gorgeous!?

Laura

Rocky

Rocky was sooo excited as they left church he did a heel click. I was literally "shooting from the hip" for this shot. I am sooo happy I captured this moment!

heel click

A funny moment produced a terrific smile from Laura - guys.... you know what I'm talkin' bout!!!!!!
laugh

This image was captured on the road leading up to Thornberry Creek Country Club.
one of my favs

Here are some more teasers from the day...

love in her eyes

place card pots

cake

bird's eye view

rocks on rocks

exit shot

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Kati and Cory :: May 24, 2008

You may have seem Kati and Cory on my website... I took their engagement photos I took last fall with an amazing display of color as a backdrop. They are an awesome and fun couple and they make my job as a photographer extremely enjoyable!

I knew that their wedding day would be filled with some awesome moments. The first amazing vision I came across was the beautiful small white church in the middle of the country. The church was so intimate and historic. It aisle consisted of only 8 pews... I could photograph the entire church with my 28-70 2.8L lens!

my favorite church of all time!

After the ceremony the wedding party traveled to Lawrence University for their photo session. The flowering crabapple trees were still in bloom making for an awesome splash of color in the photos.

friends

Kati and Cory's romantic photo session was relaxed and fun... having done their engagement session a few months ago really helped them relax and enjoy the moment while they were in front of the camera.

a moment

Our coverage time ended with cutting the cake at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in downtown Appleton, WI.

Here are some additional teasers...

the dress

leading lines

the girls

the lineup

peek a boo!

elated

dip 'n kiss