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It is ironic, many people have pointed out, that I'm a wedding photographer and yet I walked my dad down the aisle first. He and his girlfriend (that sounds so funny for a 60-something year old) of several years tied the knot on November 16th at the Chelsea Center in Sarasota. And let's get the annoying question out of the way: No, I was not their wedding photographer. If I was a professional chef who catered weddings, no one would expect me to attend my father's wedding behind a chafing dish serving guests salmon and pasta, so why do some people think people you can be the hired photographer and still be an honored guest? This has come up a lot in my family as I'm the "family photographer".) Enough ranting, back to wedding reporting. The ceremony was held outside, and during the recessional they danced and shimmied down the aisle to a jazz tune, very sweet.. Music during the reception was heavily influenced by my dad's favs (who taught me how to dance to the Beach Boys at age 9)- a lot of '50's dance classics as well as a lot of Dylan and The Stones, and my dad requested Billy Idols' "White Wedding" as a father/daughter dance (my dad knew all the words as I apparently played it ad nauseam throughout the house as a fifteen year old. Poor dad.)Ginger and my dad are both avid readers, so for parting gifts they gave their guests keepsake bookmarks, and on the back they read, "To marry again is the triumph of HOPE over EXPERIENCE."
(between the 2 of them they have 7 marriages- now that's experienced!) I now have an instant (just add a wedding and some 'steps' to the relation)step mother (Ginger), older bro Philip and step sister in-law, as well as a cute set of twin step nieces and nephews. So if your great uncle and older but cuter sisters are driving you crazy this holiday season, remember this: you can pick your nose, but your can't pick your family. Where am I going with this (and is this appropriate to post on a wedding photographers blog? I don't know, it's therapeutic.) Happy
We had a fun (and travel wise, exhausting) time at Michelle and Ken's wedding.. I flew from Boston to San Fran, and the next evening my assistant (Jill) and I boarded a red-eye with 50 pounds of gear plus our luggage to Mexico City, where we had a 6 hour layover, and eventually getting to Ixtapa bleary eyed. It was a short cab ride to Zihuatanejo, and we stayed next door to the fabulous 5 star resort, The Tides, where the wedding was held. Mollie Jones from Paula LeDuc in San Francisco (who 
had referred me to the couple) was there to facilitate but also a friend and guest at the wedding. They had a welcome dinner on Thursday at Casa Sol, a private home that overlooked the bay, and then everyone played and partied for the next few days right up to the wedding day on Saturday. Michelle wore a lovely Monique Lhuillier lace sheath dress with a scoop back, the bridesmaids wore J. Crew dresses in fuchsia, and the groom and groomsmen wore oh-so-casual white linen shirts 
from Tommy Bahama. There was a shoe concierge provided by 
the Tides as walking on sand in heels is like drinking too much tequila: a good way to fall on your
face. Most of the guests were shoeless for the wedding, the best way to not get sand in your shoes.. In addition to the wedding invitations and dinner menu, Hello Lucky created the wedding program as fans, a very practical idea for guests to cool off in the heat during the ceremony. They had fuchsia napkins with their names and date from Union Street Papery in San Francisco, but my favorite napkins were the ones the provided at the bar at the end of the night and had a great Frank Sinatra quote about drinking.. it quite summed up the reception! Speaking of drinking, guests were encouraged to wear a homemade looking shot glass around their neck to do tequila shots anytime with their fellow compadres..
It rained on and off during the week, luckily not during the ceremony, and then it poured a mean streak during dinner, which made me think this crowd wouldn't be stopped by some water in order to grind it up on the dance floor. Angelica Celestino, The Tides wedding coordinator fed Jill and myself well with the same amazing courses as the guests- crepes with pumpkin blossoms, corn, huitlacoche with poblano sauce. Instead of wedding cake, the couple had churros (traditional Mexican fried 'cookies' 
with dipping sauces) as well as absinthe lollipops to go with the party-hardy theme 
(I was told they taste like Vicks menthol cough syrup, but maybe you
could see the the green fairies?) The rain eventually stopped and the couple did their first dance to 'Just the Way You Are' by Billy Joel (note, I gave them a cool twist on their song by playing the Diana Krall version of their song in their Love Story), and immediately following their dance, surprising their guests with a fireworks show.
Everyone danced, drank, partied and drank under the stars until 2am or maybe later. Jill and I got to play in the surf and sip fresh pina coladas from coconut shells on the beach a few days beforehand which was great.. When I got home, I took a week off for siesta time. Ole! zzzz...
To see their tequila and lime soaked celebration, view their Historia de Amor (Love Story)
(the last pic- dos amigos Melissa and Jill enjoy a pina colada on their day off.)
Lisa hired me almost 2 years before her wedding, as she told me that photography was one the most important things to her. We did their engagement portrait session in August 2007 ( you can view a few of them, they are the first 3 images on my 'Portrait' in the galleries section of my website). Lisa works as a producer at ABC news and Evan is a florist in NYC, and they now feel like old friends as we spent the last 2 years talking on the phone and having lunch in NY this summer.. that's why I have the best job in the world.
They had about 125 people for their rehearsal dinner at the Landing at Bowens Wharf in Newport for a traditional lobster and roasted corn dinner, and a spectacular sunset view. My second photographer Carlton and I went back to are hotel to get a good nights sleep and charge our batteries (literally, as well as our electronic gear) to prepare us the 13 hour day we coming. We snuck into the recepetion site (Belle Mer) in the morning to do a little location scouting, then we walked next door the the Newport Hyatt where Lisa and Evan were getting ready. Lisa's dress looked like vintage 1930's with a retro neckline and exquisite beading done by Jenny Packham, and her 2 bridemaids wore flowy black bridemaids dresses by Jim Hjelm.
The Hyatt isn't all that special inside, but does boast an impressive historic lighthouse on it's property where we ended up doing most of their formal portraits after the ceremony. Evan's background is Greek, and Lisa's is Italian (hey, pretty close on the map, and they met a mutual friend's wedding in Greece). Their ceremony was held at the quaint St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox church in downtown Newport with lots of gawking tourists.
After the ceremony, I told them to quickly get in their limo to avoid a spontaneous burst of a time-sucking receiving line (they seem to happen if the couple stands alone for more than 15 seconds after exiting a church, trust me). The weather was crisp with the perfect New England chill in the wind, wonderful to be outside next to the bay, the deep blue sky above and the old lighthouse. We even got the last 5 minutes of the sunset behind them as we photographed at the lighthouse, postcard perfect. 
We walked back to Belle Mer as it got dark, and we just got the last bit of light as guests sat around the gas flame pit with the Newport bridge lit up behind them.
A jazz trio played inside as guest sat around the fireplace, and I almost didn't notice the woman dressed as a tree (she played a tree so well that hardly anyone noticed until we started taking a frenzy of photos of her and got people to pose).
The bride and groom made their way down the stairs and surprised their guests by showing off their dance moves (they took ballroom dance lessons for a year). After getting lots of hugs, the group of 225 people formed a whirling vortex circle dance, a traditional greek dance (Syrto) where dollar bills are thrown at the couple, and the couple held a napkin between them as they danced.. they even did what I would say looked just like the Horah (raising the couple up on chairs),
so maybe Greeks and us Jews have more in common then I knew.. There was lots of every kind of dancing and rocking thanks to the great band Kahootz, and for dessert the couple had white and green cupcakes from Cappuchinos. Congratulation Lisa and Evan!
Congrats Lisa and Evan!
View their little Italian, (who-are-you-calling-fat, buddy?) Greek Newport wedding Right heeeah
It is ironic, many people have pointed out, that I'm a wedding photographer and yet I walked my dad down the aisle first. He and his girlfriend (that sounds so funny for a 60-something year old) of several years tied the knot on November 16th at the Chelsea Center in Sarasota. And let's get the annoying question out of the way: No, I was not their wedding photographer. If I was a professional chef who catered weddings, no one would expect me to attend my father's wedding behind a chafing dish serving guests salmon and pasta, so why do some people think people you can be the hired photographer and still be an honored guest? This has come up a lot in my family as I'm the "family photographer".) Enough ranting, back to wedding reporting. The ceremony was held outside, and during the recessional they danced and shimmied down the aisle to a jazz tune, very sweet.. Music during the reception was heavily influenced by my dad's favs (who taught me how to dance to the Beach Boys at age 9)- a lot of '50's dance classics as well as a lot of Dylan and The Stones, and my dad requested Billy Idols' "White Wedding" as a father/daughter dance (my dad knew all the words as I apparently played it ad nauseam throughout the house as a fifteen year old. Poor dad.)
