One word sums up this wedding extravaganza and thats “WOW”! Seriously its only February I feel like we could end the year with this one. This wedding had it all in terms of beauty, energy, class, mega details & great families. I remember exchanging emails with Sarmad back in April of last year and instantly liked this guy. Something about emailing back and forth with Sarmad just felt like I was talking to one of my boys. So when they setup a meeting I got to meet his wonderful wife to be Anjella. I instantly knew she was going to make an absolutely beautiful bride. Boy was I right! We showed up to the Gideon Putnam for the pre wedding photos. The ladies were all on the 3rd floor being primped and pampered and the men were on the 4th floor gelling up and getting their bow ties just right. Often we don’t get shots of the groom getting ready since we’re at the brides location. In this case with all parities in the same building why not, right? Since all went well upstairs if was time for Anjella & Sarmad to head downstairs and have their first look. We chose a very private spot that only us, the bride, groom and both sets of parents could see their first look. I absolutely  love the first look images, the light and emotion is just breathtaking. Then it was outside for a handful of some bride & groom portraits. I always feel the need to thank the bride and groom for toughing it out in these cold months while we deliver the images we love taking. Now its time to head to the Hall of Springs for their beautiful Persian ceremony. Now, correct me if I’m wrong I believe the ceremony table spread is called a Sofreh Aghd and it was decorated so nice. I know tons of work went into this since I was there on Thursday before their wedding and the families were setting it all up. So I just wanted to say I thought it looked awesome, see for yourself below. After their ceremony it was party time. The lighting by Clifton Park Rental changed color and the candles were lit. The flowers were by a florist I’ve never worked with before, Anthology Studio. I gotta throw props their way because the room looked great. Evan, Kara & their team did a real nice job! I don’t know their DJ companies name so if anyone does feel free to leave it in the comment box below. The DJ had a percussionist and a violin accompany the tunes. Its one of the most unique sounds I’ve heard. They were off the hook as a direct result was a packed dance floor all night long. Anjella & Sarmad didn’t leave out anything and really threw one hell of a wedding. I hope Mexico is treating you well and I hope once you see this blog post your trip gets that much better. Big Joe & myself can’t thank you and your families enough for everything. We look forward to working more with your families in the future.

My turn’s next! 10 days…
JP

Twin brothers…. this threw me off all night!

Speaking of two’s… Anjella had not one but two makeup artists.

I love this getting ready shot.

Sarmad was a little nervous and tense before their first look…

Right here Anjella’s telling Sarmad “Don’t make me cry.”

BOOM!

What a ridiculously good looking couple.

She’s working it. How awesome is the dress? I love them mermaid dresses.

Outside for a few..

I love this little series.

The eye contact is pretty sweet here.

I think the one on the left is making the wall.

I often talk about grooms that are styling… Sarmad was rocking a John Varvatos tux.. not too shabby. All grooms should own their tux. I know the tux rental companies might get mad at me for saying that but come on… Does the bride rent her dress?

A whole lot of beauty in this image..

Something seems right about bow ties in b&w… You know the bow ties back big time right?

If I must pick a favorite from the day I think this is it.

Wow… I pick these as a fav too!

I love the tones in this.

The Sofreh Aghd

I love this shot.

I told you the room looked great!

The candy bar was so fun to photograph. Confession… I ate more of those chocolate covered pretzels than I care to admit.

Remember where you saw it first ;)  Oh yeah… Anjella has a new look from this image on..

First dancing it up!

I love when a bride and groom are on the dance floor together all night.

I love shooting in the Hall with all this light!

I’ll end with one of the coolest wedding cake displays of all time… again I don’t know who did this so feel free to leave their name in my comment box.

Hey all! So sorry for my absence here on the blog. It’s tough when you have just 11 days until you get married. I planned to blog my butt of this month but things happen and I think I can get a pass since it’s my turn to tie the knot. I do plan on having 2-3 more posts within the next week so make sure to check back. Anjella & Sarmads wedding was just wild so wait till you see this blog.

So with this post I thought it would be fun to share some party photos. I normally don’t blog party shots but these images I wanted to share. So on with the post…

Peace,
JP

I love this ending shot from Jaimee & Sean’s first dance. They danced to “Can’t take my eyes off of you” Frankie Valli

Then late night it turned into a disco!

Something tells me this is a Bon Jovi or Neil Diamond song…. just a guess.

This was Journey “Don’t stop believing”

I take it Alissa didn’t know this song?

Why not?

Cause if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it.

These sisters made my dancing blog post last year.

This girl was funny….

Eye of the tiger here! Wow no one was getting that tossing bouquet haha!

Say cheese!

Packed dance floor!

I just laugh at this one.. Matt was buggin mid air.

I have no clue what was happening here but I love it.

Sorry I can’t dance with you!

Where did the chicken come from?!?

I’ll end with this just because I love this shot…

What up peeps? This is a fun post right here. I thought I’d title it “how’d i miss that?”. Everyone who follows this blog knows my wedding or engagement session posts can run long. There’s a reason for that and thats because I think there are just so many great images to blog. Sometimes after I blog something I look back on the event a month or two later and say to myself, “I should have blogged that.”  So here are some images I should have blogged from 2009.

Peace,
JP

When I viewed this image the second time around I loved it. It became an instant new favorite from their session.

How I did not blog this one boggles my mind. The color is just ridiculous.

This should happen at every wedding.

I love this spot in Troy. I could have shot the whole session here.

The Canfield Casino made such a sweet backdrop for this winter wedding.

Everything about this image makes me smile for Melissa & Jerome’s September wedding.

The yellow in this pic is almost as awesome as this bride & groom.

Here is what we call that good good light.

At this wedding the light was doing some nice stuff. Rain was on the way, had this couple not opted for a first look we would missed this moment because on their way out of church umbrella’s covered their heads.

How could you not just love this engagement session?

I picked 2 because I could have picked 22 more from this one.

This one sums up this couple in a nutshell. Really all thats missing are Yankee hats and DMB tickets.

I had to throw her in. Mona rocks!

But Andrew rocks too. All couples should laugh like this.

I love this color palette. Stay tuned for their bling shot.

Its funny to think two days before their wedding I froze my but off. Late in their wedding day resulted in some of that good good light.

These guys tie the knot 21 days after I do. Same location too! The color in this shot is really awesome.

Speaking of color. This is why you get married in October.

Speaking of October,. this location was as empty as it was the day we shot there. Sorry guys I couldn’t resist. But I do love this shot.

This photo makes me miss summer.

Another fav of mine from Jivon & Anthony’s engagement sesison.

Their wedding photos rocked too. The color & light was just nutty.

Gotta love images like this.

I must have said something funny here.

I don’t know how I missed this shot. Its my all time new fav from their wedding day.

Another classic October image.

Such a great image from Nicole & Nick’s or “The Nic’s” engagement session.

I search for a sky like this at every wedding. I actually call this a Tuesday night sky since they seem to only show up on Tuesdays not Saturdays.

June in a field. We all know I shot in my fair share of fields in 2009.

Another field. Only in October. True story Tracey walked barefoot this location because her shoe’s hurt. What a trooper!

When you can’t shoot outside, you shoot inside.

The color in late August at Saratoga National is sweet. It was actually a lot darker than it appears in this photo, gotta love 1.2 lenses.

Light was no factor at Lindsey & Ryan’s September wedding. Neither were moments like this.

The shoe’s, the spot, all awesome.

I see you Sarah.

All that lens flare is simply beautiful.

Sarah & Ben in one of my favorite Saratoga locations.

The classic car with the classic white church in a classic toned image is all around awesome.

Jaimee & Sean, you gotta love this wedding.

I wont lie, It was pretty cold here. Was it worth it? Hell yeah!

Alissa & Shane were just off the hook all day.

I wonder what he was saying. My guess, “Andrea, you know this image is going to be off the hook right?” ;)

Hey there peeps! Sorry for my lack of blogging lately. Thats what happens when your 31 days away from your own wedding. I really have a whole new compassion for all you busy and stressed out brides (& grooms) out there. I never knew all that went into planning these things. Thankfully we have wedding planner Christine Wheat working with us which has been a HUGE weight off our shoulders. I think you all need wedding planners. They just know so much and all kinds of stuff we’d never have thought of. So I just wanted to give Christine some much due props. Thanks Christine! I also need to mention publicly that I have an awesome fiance and without Kris Ann all we’d have is a photographer and a band. She’s got such a vision and great ideas going into our wedding I just can’t wait to see it. Keep up the good work babe! Ok now that my wedding/venting/praising is off my chest on with the post…

So here we are, another issue of Well Wed is out which means I can finally share the images I’ve been sitting on since September when I shot them. Remember when I teased them? This issue is awesome too, there is just so much stuff for the brides your heads will explode. As always, I’m honored to be part of the Well Wed family when I get asked to shoot the gown feature. It’s a huge compliment since editor Krista Washburn is one of the pickiest peeps in the biz. Anyway I drove out to the middle of nowhere in Vermont to shoot at the Tunbridge Fair. Seriously it was the middle of nowhere. Luckily I had an assistant to keep me company the whole time. April K assisted and photographed me behind the scenes all day so I thank you April! There were a few other photogs on this shoot as well and I’d me remiss if I did not mention Barrie Fisher, Daria Bishop & Beltrami Studios all from VT and all  bunch of very talented individuals. That being said, this book always comes down to Krista and her staff. I don’t know how they do these magazines and keep their sanity. So much work goes into them so if you can get your hands on one or see it at your local bookstore, pick one up before you grab some national magazine. Enough rambling for now… on with the photos.

Peace,
JP

I’ll do this as a beind the scenes shot, then the final result. This was a really fun spot to shoot. Only, I never got any cotton candy of candy apples but whatever.

The result of this image is just awesome. I’m all about patterns and color so this was just a sweet spot (pun intended).

I love her look in these images. Although this models thing was serious faces and high fashion I managed to make her smirk a little.

This is the second gown I shot. I love the dude off to the left totally checking her out.

I just love this image. When you pickup the issue, you’ll see this is the opening image to the whole spread.

Normally I’m not a tripod shooter, but you’ll see why I used it for the next couple images…

When I mentioned I liked the carousel to Krista she said they already shot there. I promised her I’d give it a different look and it was with a different model anyway. But I wanted movement in my image. I’ve photographed a carousel so many times but never like this.

Just for fun..

Last but surely not least… These shots coming up were totally worth the trip to Tunbridge. I’m crazy about them.

To say I LOVE this image would be an understatement.

Really, sitting on these since September has been killing me.

Wow!

I had to.

And of course the whole crew…

One more thing… Well Wed also featured one of our weddings from 2009. After I posted this wedding back in April it instantly became a blog favorite. You all remember this one right? Well here is the spread….

I’m happy with the way it turned out however I would have liked to have seen some more images, so I put a little compilation of my favorites from Jaimee & Sean’s awesome April wedding.