Category Archives: Wedding
Lady & Danny’s Vintage Historic Dubsdread Ballroom Wedding – Orlando Wedding Photographer
One thing I know about weddings, you can’t control the weather…as was the case the day Lady and Danny decided to get married at The Historic Dubsdread Ballroom. The stage was set for a gorgeous ceremony out under the grand oak tree, but Mother nature had another plan in store…about 10 minutes before the scheduled ceremony, the rain began to pour, much to the bridal party’s discontent…but never fear, Dubsdread jumped right in and made the best of what could have been a bad situation and fixed the reception area in the ballroom for the wedding to take place there instead. They even hung the bride’s paper decorations that had been hung in the trees outside. Nobody would have ever known that wedding wasn’t intended to be inside, as the room was spectacular, and the bride and groom were thrilled!
Lady and Danny chose to do a “First Look” and were so pleased we had done their portraits earlier in the day, so they didn’t have to worry about portraits in the bad weather. We got some gorgeous shots out on the Dubsdread golf course. They yellow and melon colors really popped against the greens of the gold course, and the vintage theme was so much fun! Lady looked STUNNING and Danny, so suave.
The two were very emotional as they exchanged their vows. The fun began when the reception started. The bridal party walked in and then all broke out into the “Wobble” on the dance floor. It was so much fun to see! I loved working with Lady and Danny to capture their Big Day! If you are interested in my wedding photography packages, be sure to contact me through the website.
 |
Carmen and Aaron’s Old Florida-Themed Wedding Published in Orlando Wedding Magazine – Orlando Wedding Photographer
I LOVE working with fun and laid-back couples and Carmen and Aaron take casual cool to a whole new level. The couple planned their DIY wedding in their lovely back yard, complete with tent, mojito station, wine bar, pastry table and more. Aaron brews his own beer and had two special varieties on tap for the wedding guests, along with a cigar area and Scotch. The decor was a mix of traditional and old Florida, with cigar boxes decorating the tables and Florida oranges mixed into the design. I wasn’t surprised when Orlando Weddings Magazine decided to feature their table decor in their current issue of the magazine. The magazine selected their tables, with cigar boxes and Florida oranges as their cover story images. The clean, yet elegant table decor was a perfect fit for their fun wedding.
I always love capturing and telling wedding stories, but this one was so much more exciting for me because of all the personal touches Carmen and Aaron included into their wedding day. I asked the couple if they had written out vows and Carmen presented me with a sheet of small paper, with the vows typed out, while Aaron’s were hand written and a little crumpled from carrying them around in his pocket all day. It was a detail I knew I had to capture as the vows the two of them wrote to each other were some of the best I’ve seen over the years. They included details like Aaron agreeing to “Always top off Carmen’s beer”. Good stuff.
The couple agreed to do a “First Look” together, so their could maximize their portrait time and spend more time with their family at the actual wedding and “after party”. It was so much fun capturing the love the two share. As I snapped away, Aaron would whisper into Carmen’s ear and she would burst into laughter. Their love radiates all through their wedding day images. They are so clearly in love, and have a good time together!
One of my favorite details from the reception was the small chalkboard I found inside the house. I passed it around to all of the wedding guests and had them write personal messages to the bride and groom, then I took their photo with their message. The couple even got to leave personal messages for each other that they wouldn’t see until they saw their wedding proofs.
As the day drew to an end, I was left with a good feeling about love and life. Aaron and Carmen are so much fun and I thought to myself, “Work isn’t supposed to be this much fun, right?” I know one thing, those two definitely know how to throw a good party…I just hope I make it on the guest list again. Check out the feature published in Orlando Weddings Magazine.
 |
Kimberly + AJ’s Bella Collina Wedding – Orlando Wedding Photographer
Kimberly and AJ became Mr. and Mrs. Green on December 1, 2012, and I had the pleasure of photographing their AMAZING wedding at Bella Collina Weddings. Every last detail in their black and white themed wedding was spectacular and elegant. My special tradition to the couples I have the honor of doing their engagement session is presenting the bride with a special charm for her bouquet when the flowers arrive. Kimberly loved her black and white charm, to match her colors and theme.
If you haven’t experience Bella Collina, well you need to take a peek at what they offer their brides…the dressing room alone is the most amazing space, complete with access to the spa area and tubs. There is plenty of room for the bride and all her lovely ladies to dress with ease and even space to relax. Kimberly was even given a personal butler for the day, waiting on her every need.
]
The special relationship between Kimberly and her mother was so evident as I captured them interacting while Kimberly got dressed in her gown. Her mother helped her plan all the little details, and the pride showed on her face as she saw her beautiful daughter as a bride.
Kimberly and AJ chose to do a “First Glance” session before their ceremony, to make the most of their portrait time. We found a perfect spot in what looked like a tuscan courtyard for their peek-a-boo portraits. These types of portrait sessions allow couples to make the most of the venue and the lighting, if they select to marry at sunset or dusk, during months where the sun sets early. They are also such a nice option to have some “alone time” on your wedding day. Kimberly and AJ said this was one of the best decisions they made that day, because it allowed them some one-on-one time to relish the day together. 
When it was time for the ceremony to begin, I was drooling when I saw the rose petal design down the aisle, Kimberly had asked for. Debra with Atmospheres Floral really outdid herself with an elaborate rose design and amazing floral display by the alter. Everything was just as Kimberly had imagined for her beautiful ceremony. Bella Collina is one of my favorite venues to photograph, as every bit of scenery and backdrop makes you feel like you aren’t in Florida anymore…it’s as if you’ve stepped out of Florida and right into a Tuscan wonderland. I was able to capture the brides mother’s reaction when she Cheryl first saw the ceremony site. She was clearly thrilled and filled with emotion as she saw the details of the day coming together, just as she and Kimberly had planned. 
I LOVE their expressions, right after they are announced as “man and wife”.
I LOVE it when the groom is so clearly and madly in love with his bride. AJ’s expressions are so sweet, and he looked at Kimberly all day with such love in his eyes.
The ceremony took place on the lawn of Bella Collina, but the reception was held indoors. The rooms were amazing, accented with amber uplighting from Kristen at Our DJ Rocks and PhotoBooth Rocks. Kristen was also on hand as the DJ for the event, providing microphones and sound for the wedding and DJ and uplighting for the evening cocktail hour and reception. I have worked many events with Kristen, and she really is amazing at getting a crowd going and creating an atmosphere of fun entertainment at a celebration!
The bride used her grandmother’s silver to decorate the tables and the guests ate on her grandmother’s silverware! What a wonderful way to include her grandmother’s memory on her special day. Each room was different, but the silver and white floral decor was so elegant and lovely.
All the guests were so surprised and excited when they realized that the cake was only the first of the sweet treats they would receive at the reception. The servers from Bella Collina appeared from the back with silver trays full of hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts as favors for all the guests. What a unique and fun party favor! YUM!
As the night came to an end, the two ran two lines of party guests, waving lit sparklers over them, as they ran to their car. What a way to end a wonderful wedding celebration!
Special thanks to all the vendors who took part in making this wedding celebration beautiful and perfect!
Check out the highlight reel created from this wedding by the very talented, Enrico Marcellino from Barefoot Empire Films.
Highlight Reel – Kimberly & AJ’s Bella Collina Wedding
VENDORS:
Heather Rice, www.HeatherRicePhotography.com
Brittany, with Tickled Pink Brides, coordinated the event
Debra, with Atmospheres Floral, provided the gorgeous floral decor, bouquets and table scape details
Kristen, from Our DJ Rocks and Photobooth Rocks provided the gorgeous ambient amber uplighting and was the DJ for the ceremony and reception
Enrico, from Barefoot Empire Films, did the videography
This gorgeous venue was Bella Collina Golf and Country Club, in Monteverde, Florida
 |
Destination Wedding FEATURED on International Blog for Secrets Resorts – Destination Wedding Photographer, Caribbean, International
It’s always exciting to get word that your images have been selected to be featured in print or online, but I was very excited when I heard the news that Amber and Shawn’s destination wedding from Secrets Maroma Beach Resort was going to be featured on their International blog and website.
Amber and Shawn told me about their wedding venue and when I did some research on the ruins and gorgeous beach and tropical vegitation, I knew we would have some AMAZING images from their wedding weekend. We flew down to Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo and arrived a Secrets Maroma Beach and stayed from Thursday to Monday. We had plenty of time to schedule an engagement shoot on the beach and in the beach cabanas, and scout out the best spots for portraits.
The resort was over-the-top luxurious and the wedding was beautiful. We braved the heat, sand spurs, and a little Mexican guard, to hike up the beach about a half a mile to the ruins an hour before the wedding. Although Amber thought she might die and wanted to end the session early, I encouraged her to continue on and get the shots she came for…the end result was so worth it, as the pictures are breathtaking!
Amber and Shawn were married, surrounded by their best friends and family at sunset, overlooking the resorts infinity pool. I am in LOVE with this fabulous place. If you are looking for an amazing wedding venue for your destination wedding, or a wonderful honeymoon location, be sure to check into this resort.
Check out the blog and my featured images as well Link to Secrets Blog, Featuring Amber and Shawn’s destination wedding.
 |
Stylized Wedding Shoot – Casa Feliz, Winter Park, Florida
The best things come from collaborations and this is especially true of the vendors who contributed to make our Casa Feliz stylized photo shoot a success. I was so honored to work with amazing vendors like, The Pastry Studio, Lee James Floral, True Envy Salon, Melissa Hinds lead Wedding and Event Planner from Once Upon a Wedding, Minerva’s Bridal, Kirby Rentals, Scott Adams, Annarose Krone, and Barefoot Empire Films.
I was amazed with all the vendor contributions to our collaborative effort. I called Lee James, and he agreed to contribute the flowers. Thomas, from Lee James Floral brought over the most beautiful floral table centerpieces and glass decor, and a stunning bridal bouquet, complete with rhinestone accents in each rose. Melissa Hinds, worked tirelessly to bring together the table linens, decor and organized the photo shoot with me. She is an amazing wedding and event planner and I am so thankful for her hard work and effort in bringing the creative vision behind the shoot to life. The Pastry Studio arrived with the most gorgeous 3-tiered elegant cake, which looked amazing amidst the pop of blue accents of the Casa Feliz house.
Trish and Ramar and their team of hair and make-up professionals from True Envy Salon really did a fantastic job on the hair and make-up looks and especially the vintage hair piece and look. Those models looked amazing! And, speaking of models, what can I say about Scott and Anna? They are both amazingly talented and naturally gifted at what they do. I was honored to be able to work with models of that calibre. Stanley and Enrico, from Barefoot Empire spent the morning filming the behind the scenes reel. Check it out Behind the Scenes Casa Feliz.
A BIG “thank you” to everyone who helped out that day. It was a dream team, for sure. Looking forward to future collaborations. I love the images from the day! Take a look and leave some comments!
 |
“You get what you pay for” – The real cost of not hiring a true wedding professional.
You get what you pay for…so the saying goes, but these days everybody is on a budget. When planning a wedding or event, a budget is key to making your dream become a reality, but having a good idea of how to measure cost -vs.-quality when dealing with vendors is very important for couples to understand. Being thrifty and working on a budget to plan your wedding is a good thing, but knowing where not to cut corners is also essential in planning a good celebration. When planning your wedding hiring true professionals, with experience may cost you more in the end, but you can’t measure their worth, as I have seen what happens when brides and grooms try to cut corners to save cost by hiring vendors that are not invested in their businesses full-time. Not hiring an experienced professional will cost you a lot more than money in the end…
Here are some of the many examples I have been witness to, in my years of working weddings.
At one wedding the cake was late (2 hours) and when it arrived, it had been finished in marshmallow fluff, not fondant or buttercream and in just a few minutes, I noticed it was sloping. I quickly grabbed up the bride and groom and we were able to get a few cake shots before the entire top slid right off the table, onto the floor, while the bride and groom watched in horror!
Last summer, I worked a wedding in which the flowers for the reception and the wedding party didn’t show at all! The bride was in a panic, as the groom drove to the actual florists store, only to find they were closed and nobody was answering calls! They had already made the final payment for the flowers and were out all that money. Meanwhile, the groom had to go on a mad dash to find another florist locally who could pull something together for their event in just a few hours! The bride and groom lost a lot of money, and it caused a lot of drama for the poor bride and groom.
One bride hired what she thought was a professional DJ. Throughout the night, I was shocked and amazed as this “DJ” not only played horrible, dated music and had to ask the bride and groom for their song list right before the reception, but I caught him repeatedly sneaking off to take shots of Jagermeister from the open bar. After about 2 hours of drinking, he began ranting over the microphone, reminiscent of a scene from the “Wedding Singer”, telling the guests, “They only paid me to be here for 10 more minutes, but because I love all of you so much, and I’m having such a great time, I’m gonna stay and play ONE MORE SONG…!” He promised, “ONE MORE SONG” for another hour and a half, to my shock and horror!
I have seen the result time and time again of hiring a friend or family member to do your wedding portraits…blurry, low-quality images, that can’t be repaired. I often am told by brides that they love my work, but they found another “professional” photographer who was willing to shoot an 8 hour wedding and give them a CD for $700, not understanding that anyone who will do a wedding for that price, is NOT a professional, and will NOT offer professional products, or magazine-quality editing.
You only get one shot at making sure your day is perfect! Why not hire trusted professionals, who know what it takes to get the job done the right way? Can you place a value on the peace of mind you will have knowing that your wedding day will be stress-free, because the vendors you hired are experienced and professional, and are there with the one goal of making our dream day a reality. I found another blog website that really has some great feedback on how you get what you pay for when you hire a professional. It’s worth the read. http://everylastdetailblog.com/2010/08/19/thursday-tips-you-get-what-you-pay-for/
 |
STAY CONNECTED
