After a good evening of blog reading last night, I kept thinking about this particular post from Grace Ormonde’s blog. “Don’t overlook the details” inspired me to look back at some of my favorite detail images from this past year. I agree that details can certainly tell specific parts of the wedding story and these images can also reflect the personality, character and style of an individual wedding.  Brides and grooms spend hours choosing the jewelery, the dress, the invititations, etc. and as wedding photographers we feel that these parts of the day should get their due attention in the wedding coverage.

This image below is a very standard and simple ring shot taken on a window sill at The Langham Hotel in Boston, MA. This is one of my favorite ring shots of the year, not because it is overly dramatic or stylized, but because it is simple, clean and elegant; and undoubtedly a reflection of the style and taste of the bride and groom. There are probably a few different ring shots from this year that would gain more attention but this is my favorite. That’s the beauty of photography; the subjective, instinctual and visceral feeling that comes over us when we fall in love with pictures.

-RP

Two years ago we had the best time working our booth at this very same show, so we decided to return. The fast pace and excitement of a packed trade show can really get your adrenaline up; and we have the opportunity to meet new couples and talk to them about their wedding photography expectations. The only down side is there just isn’t enough one on one time with the guests (it’s kind of like speed dating), but we always try to stay in touch for the first couple weeks after the show to answer any questions they may have. Hopefully this year we get a booth located conveniently near a bakery display, as their give-aways are so tasty, and it keeps people returning to our booth {grin}.

Here are the details:

The Original Wedding Expo
January 23 & 24, 2010
11 am to 3:30 pm

Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road West
Marlborough, MA 01752-1883
Phone: 888-774-3976
www.rplazahotels.com

Brides: Have you had a good experience at this or any other bridal show in the New England area? If so, we’d love to hear your thoughts (please comment below); and it would be highly beneficial to other brides looking for wedding professionals as well.

Grooms: There is no NFL games on Saturday the 23rd, but the 24th is Conference Championships, so…. see you on Saturday I guess, or I’ll see you checking your phone for updates on Sunday.

Photographers / Wedding Professionals: Will you be attending the Original Wedding Expo in Marlborough, MA on January 23-24th? If so we’d love to connect with you before the show.

We shall leave you this a picture of a yummy cake to further emphasize that you get FREE CAKE at this or any other bridal show. And if you’re trying to stay away from the cake, there will be tons of other great stuff for you too.

Boston, MA – This October wedding was a small and intimate affair. Held on the Odyssey cruise ship in Boston Harbor, guests enjoyed the beautiful Autumn weather during the ceremony and also got a chance to witness a beautiful sunset as we cruised around the harbor. Kim and Sean were great, we couldn’t have asked for a more laid-back and fun bride and groom. More photos from there Rock the Dress Session coming soon!

Dracut, MA – Kerry + Henry could not have asked for a more beautiful August wedding day. Of course in August, beautiful means hot and hot means “I hope the church is air conditioned.” Thankfully it was and the rest of the wedding was just as perfect. Their ceremony was held at St. Francis Church, a gorgeous church in Dracut, MA. It’s right on a hill, which means that on a sunny day the place just fills up with some pretty light. We weren’t allowed to use flash during the ceremony, so the combination of the weather and the availability of natural light turned a normally daunting task into an opportunity to grow and learn as photographers. Without that perfect August day,and its abundance of sunshine, we would have a hard time capturing some of these important images. So as it turns out, it was us as well as the bride and groom, that could not have asked for a better day, and we got it.

Congratulations to Kerry and Henry!!!

As Ashley and I have begun the search for our own wedding venue, I’ve looked back at the last few years to find some unique places that I’d like to highlight. Today I’d like to feature the Zukas Hilltop Barn in Spencer, MA. One word: “Wow”.

When discussing venues there are a few main categories to consider: First is the grounds and what the place has to offer for location portraiture and for composition for the candids; Next we consider how the staff handles the bride and groom, the wedding party, the guests and last but not least the vendors; Lastly we calculate our desire to return to photograph at that particular venue. Zukas scored perfectly on all accounts.

We photographed Michael and Angela’s wedding at the Zukas Barn, in late August of last year and I have to say it was one of the most pleasurable experiences either of us has ever had working a wedding. A lot of it had to due with the couple who are fun, down to earth, easy-going folks who are just overall great people and an absolute delight to photograph. Mike and Angela decided to take care of the formal portraits before the ceremony which is the photographers dream because you can do so much more when you’re not pressed for time to get into the reception. There are so many different spots for portraits you almost don’t know where to begin, until you realize they have an old style swing! We had a great experience during the portraits.

The ceremony was outside on a hill and was a stunning example of the New England countryside. The reception was on the back deck covered by a beautiful tent which had lights streaming up the peaks. The lights added some color and composition to what would have been typical “tent” photographs. Overall the place was decorated beautifully and the staff was amazing. Alyson the coordinator was incredibly attentive to the bride and groom and was very informative and treated all of the vendors very well.

Overall the Zukas Hilltop Barn was an amazing experience and we are anxiously anticipating a future return visit. If anyone is interested please visit their website http://www.zukas.com/

Thanks for reading

-Rich