Jenell + Thomas had a beautiful day for their wedding. The rain just cleared out and the sun was shining. Thomas’s Air Force brethren helped with the formalities, and Jenell looked absolutely stunning.

It was my first time at the Independence Seaport Museum and I couldnt think of a better venue for the happy couple. The stunning views and top notch staff from Culinary Concepts (helmed by the incomparable Nancy) did everything possible to make the day go smoothly. Rich and his crew from Cutting Edge DJ’s kept the dance floor packed well into the night.

Congrats Jenell + Thomas!

Jim and I go way back. In a previous life we worked together designing Swiss Army stuff. He’s a tremendous artist and illustrator (seriously) and has an uncanny ability to find the best food within a 500 yard radius of wherever he is. It’s his gift and his curse.

Jim’s a pretty laid back guy and it takes a lot to get him to show extremes of emotion. Chamonix is one of this things that just causes him to explode from his zen-like state into that of a giddy schoolgirl. It was obvious whenever he talked about her that he loved her more than just about anything.

And who could blame him. Chamonix is the personification of that amazing dress – beautiful, elegant, unique, a little offbeat, and completely awesome.

Their day was the personification of the two of them – photos in various parts of New York City, a wonderfully intimate venue, and the most amazing cookies I’ve ever had in my life (and trust me when I say I’m a connoisseur). I was thrilled and honored to be there and couldnt be happier for them.

When I first met Payal + Nathan at their home in DC last year I knew I had found a special couple. The story of their first meeting was simply too amazing.

It all started when they lived in the same apartment building. One of those large apartment buildings where you can go years without meeting all of your neighbors. They both lived there, unaware that within those walls was the person they would marry.

One day, Payal was in the process of moving out. Nate saw her and took a chance at fate. He asked her out in the last minutes on the last day of her living in the same building. The rest, as they say, is history.

Their wedding day was a reflection of them. Two beautiful ceremonies (and a seemingly endless string of outfit changes, makeup touchups, and hair styling, reflected their culture and backgrounds). Two groups of families and friends coming together to celebrate a couple that fate had smiled upon. Two people I’m honored to know.

Oh, and the staff at Springfield Country Club did a great job the entire time – no small feat given the length and complexity of the day.

Check out the slideshow below, or click here for the bigger version…

Regular readers of this site know that I love to talk about all the weddings I photograph. I have a REALLY cool job and get to see some pretty amazing things – and work with even more amazing people – so it’s only natural that I want to share my experiences. The photographs that you see on this site represent the first half of the wedding photography experience. Today I’m going to talk about the other half – all the stuff that happens after the wedding. I’ll get to that in a second, but first I want to talk about Kate + Mike.

Kate + Mike got married in May at the Drexelbrook. When I got to the hotel to photograph them getting ready, it was pouring. They had originally planned an outside ceremony and sadly it looked like it would have to be moved indoors. That’s always a risk when you have something planned outside, and even though they didn’t let it bother them I could tell that they were both a little disappointed.

About 45 minutes before the ceremony started the skies cleared and it became a beautiful spring day. The venue went into overdrive and got everything set up and dried just in time, and Kate + Mike got their outdoor ceremony.

The rest of the day was equally great. Touché did a great job keeping the party going (the killer lady gaga medley helped) and the crowd took full advantage of their talent.

Anyway, back to the second half of the photography experience…

My goal with my clients is twofold – to create great photographs that truly tell the story of their day, and to make the entire experience – from booking to album delivery – as easy and stress free as possible. Everyone has stories about someone they know that had a horrible wedding photography experience, and I’m determined to make my client’s experience as good as possible. Weddings are historic events, and need to be treated with the appropriate respect.

Here’s how Kate + Mike’s post-wedding experience went…

They went to Italy for two weeks. While they were enjoying themselves (and a seemingly inordinate amount of pizza) I was working hard on their images. I sorted, edited, and did their preliminary album layout. They live in Chicago, and only had a day when they were in Philadelphia between their honeymoon and going back to the windy city, so I needed to make sure everything was ready for their return.

A note about albums – I predesign the album, ignoring the page count and choosing the photos that I feel tell the story in the best way. My clients then have the option of purchasing the extra pages, cutting them, rearranging, etc. I’ve found (and my clients would agree) that this method is far superior to leaving it up to them to choose all the images. To be honest, unless you are used to looking through hundreds of images and choosing the ones that tell a story, it’s an overwhelming task. This is where the talent and experience of a pro comes into play. There’s far more to a wedding than showing up with a fancy camera.

When they got back they came to my studio and saw their images for the first time in their preliminary album layout. They were quite happy to say the least, and after a little time cutting and rearranging the layout, they landed up ordering a beautiful 72 page 12×12 album with a metal cover. By the time they got home, their web gallery was online and their photos were on Facebook.

I sent the album out for production and somehow the stars aligned and it was completed in record time. It’s normally about 6 weeks for production but they got theirs back in 2. I have no idea how it happened so quickly but I won’t complain. After checking the quality and snapping a few quick pics I shipped it out to them.

The end result of all this was that they had their completed album in their hands one month and one day after their wedding.

The point of all this is that your wedding photography is a big deal, and your relationship with your photographer is the only relationship with a wedding professional that continues long after the wedding. You need to choose someone you can trust, who’s work you love, and who you get along with. This isn’t an area I would suggest cutting corners in because as cliched as it is, you really do get what you pay for.

You can see some of favorite shots below, along with some really quick photos of their finished album (the album shots were done with my cell phone so please forgive the poor quality). And of course you can check out the slideshow here…

fancy pretty packaging

Metal cover. It looks killer in person

Detail of the cover

Where the leather meets the metal. Perfectly done

All of my albums only have a small crease. It allows for a lot more creative possibilities when you can design full spread.

Crease detail

Accent leather detail

Back of the album