If I had a dollar for every time I received an email asking if we were available for September 10th 2011 lets just say I could retire. Ok so maybe I’m exaggerating a little? In all seriousness this was the most requested date for 2011. I couldn’t even count the inquiries but last I tried it was at almost 90 interested bride and grooms. Everyone wanted 9.10.11! We only take one wedding a day though and I can’t tell you how excited I am that this was the wedding for nine ten eleven. When I first met with Jessica and her mother Jayne back on Thursday April 8th 2010 I knew we’d be hanging out again last Saturday. We just hit it off so well! Then came Jason who I met seconds before I did their engagement session last summer. I love the guy! How can you not? He’s funny and just a good dude all around. I’ll say it again, and I know I speak for Big Joe as well when I say we couldn’t be happier to have spent September 10th 2011 (9|10|11) at the beautiful Sagamore Resort with you two.

My biggest question about 9.10.11 was will it live up to the hype? I’m not really a pessimist but I was like watch it’s going to pour all day and be freezing cold. Boy was I wrong! Upon opening my sunroof to a ridiculously blue sky on RT 9 in Lake George and seeing my temperature gage hovering around 70 degrees all I could do was smile. Can you say perfect day? I think so. It’s days like this that remind you life is good. What else was good? Well for starters the first person I saw at the Sagamore upon arriving was wedding coordinator Christine Wheat. It’s always a moment of relief when I hear a client tell me they’re working with Christine. Why? Because I know we’re good. Everything will run on time and Christine and her crew will just take care of business. Another face I love seeing in the bridal suite is Alayne of Make Me Fabulous because I know my bride will be ready on time and look drop dead gorgeous. At this point we’re two for two. Wanna make it three for three? Throw in the talents of my incredible wife Kris Ann Elario of Fleurtacious Designs and she’ll make your wedding look awesome. So awesome people will be talking about it for months! Thats how Kris Ann and her talented staff at Fleurtacious Designs bring it. To say I’ve never seen the Sagamore look so good would be an understatement. Talk about a trifecta!

Do I need to tell you how Jessica was more than stunning when she stepped into her gown? You’ll see from her fathers first look how much love was in that place that day. After a quick champagne toast we headed outside with Jess and her girls to take some snaps. You see we feed them alcohol and then photograph them. Totally kidding! After we did our thing with the ladies we headed down to lake to meet up with Jason and his boys. Then the ceremony space started to fill. It was a little windy down there but hey we’re on the lake right? The best thing about the outdoor Sagamore ceremonies is the buildup to when the bride arrives. Its a long walk down many sets of stairs and once Jess and her father got to ground level all stood and it was time. After the ceremony it was time for photos per usual. We literately dodged a mega wave down on the dock. You’ll see it was kinda crazy. With Jess rocking a new hairdo by Alayne for the reception it was time to party. Body and Soul band brought it! The reception was at level 9 then 10 then 11 ;) all damn night! You see what I did there? If guests weren’t in the Elario Photo Booth all night they could be found on the dance floor or even eating up the surprise Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream station! Word, it was like that. Jess, Jason and families we can’t thank you guys enough for having us spend the day with you. Your wedding was simply elegant and one hell of a party. I only wish we could do it again sometime! We got mad love for you all.

Peace,
JP

We remember them from this engagement session

Seriously I wasn’t lying when I said “ridiculously blue sky”

Thats one incredible gown from Angela’s Bridal

and some great shoes as well…

Oh hey there Alayne!!

Ok.. how fabulous can she get?

Wedding coordinator Christine Wheat and the Fabulous Alayne Curtis: As I mentioned above seeing these two ladies in the bridal suite will bring a photographers blood pressure down.

Wow..

Killin it..

This was my favorite moment of the day..

Lots of emotion in this room.

How proud is Dad? and how beautiful is Mom?

I met most of these girls one time with Jess and she was like “this is my bridal party” Seriously? Too much beauty in one photo.

Speaking of gorgeous things.. Fleurtacious Designs brought it!

Yup.

How beautiful is that gown with all the detail? Jess, this dress was perfect.

A nice high key portrait..

The handsome Jason. All men should tie their own bow ties. Pre tied are for proms.

Fellas..

Talk about a beautiful setting. Does it get any better than this?

The moment is here:

I’ll take this view all day.

Mr & Mrs..

Sup bridal party?

They got configured on their engagement session..

and again on wedding day..

Gorgeous..

I love this one..

And then the killer wave(s) came..

Jess just hams it up.. haha

The beauty at the Sagamore is undeniable

One more.. we’ll get back to the bride and groom portraits a little later.

Like I said the Sagamore never looked so beautiful. Mad props to Kris Ann of Fleurtacious Designs and all her ideas to pull together a phenomenal space.

The tent liner is a perfect touch to soften the room up.

Time to set it off..

First dance..

I love this one..

Some toasts…

Ok.. time to have more fun!

I love the resort in the backdrop..

You two and your pretty eyes..

This was my facebook teaser. The color, the butter light. Come on now..

What a view..

:)

Probably something I said..

Surprise! I can vouch that Ben & Jerry’s is a hit at weddings.

Meet 2012 Elario Groom Michael. Trust you’ll see more of this next November… btw I tried these moves last night in the mirror and failed miserably lol.

What a party!

To say the Elario Photo Booth was a hit at this wedding would be a complete understatement. Thanks to Hayden for doing your thing!

Ice cream!

Grrrr! LOL

Caught!

Elario brides rock!!

Congrats to you guys!!!!!!!!

Yeeeaaah! (lil john style) It’s time for Melissa and Andrews blog!! I must admit I’ve been looking forward to their wedding since they first signed up! I just love shooting weddings at the Historic Canfield Casino! I mean, who doesn’t? I’m quite positive you blog stalkers remember these two from their engagement session. It was the most viewed engagement session I blogged from 2010! I must say it was one of my favorites as well. Let’s cut to September 9, 2011. It was the beginning of what turned out to be the nicest weekend of the year. In Melissa’s parents home was Tina as in “Flawless by Tina” with her side kick Madeline. The ladies, obviously all were looking good. The house just had a great vibe and good energy! The music was bumping which set the tone that it was going to be a good day. After we smoked it at the house it was time to head to the church and catch up with Andrew and his crew. I gotta give props to Andrew and his boys for purchasing some nice grey suits, I loved it with the ladies pink dresses. Well done! So after the mass we headed to Congress Park for a hot little photo session! The light was at its best right then as you’ll see in the images below. Also I urge you to check out their video on my good friend videographer Al Woodard’s website. It’s awesome!! Back to that energy I talked about earlier, it seriously carried through the rest of the day and into the evening when DJ Paul Malo took the stage. Also the Elario Photo Booth was at level 10 all night long, thanks to Hayden for killing it as usual. All and all, a really wonderful day for some great people! Melissa and Andrew, you both are awesome and we can’t thank you enough for choosing the Elario men to be part of it all. Wherever you’re honeymooning right now best have some wifi so you can peep this blog! Much love!

Peace,
JP

Their engagement session from last November.

September 9th, 2011..

It’s like Melissa went to the school on “how to prepare for the wedding photographer.” I love when all the details are all out and ready.

Bling bling..

More details..

Tina doing her “Flawless” thing..

Word, how could she not smile?

I love this shot with Mom and her MOH..

I love all the heavy backlight… Stunning Melissa..

I love the colors in the flowers..

Birdcage veils rock! Nuff said.

Can you handle all that beauty?

Meanwhile in Saratoga Springs..

More grey suits please..

Oh hey Melissa, you ready to get married and stuff?

On deck..

Andrew, taking it all in.

Mr & Mrs..

Good looking crew in Congress Park.

We’re going to jump right into the configuration..

Ooooh that light!!

Stop right there. Favorite shot of the day alert!

It was too easy.

I love the soft tones in this one..

I would say this is a quintessential Congress Park image right here.

Of course this was my facebook teaser.

The Historic Canfield Casino.

Props to Melissa for designing all her paper goods.

Ready?

First dance..

My favorite image to capture in this room is a bride and groom enjoying a dance!

yup. the photo booth was crazy all night..

Meet Melissa and Matt. You’ll be seeing more of them on the blog as they’re part of the Elario class of 2012 and have an engagement session scheduled soon.

haha

Greydient was a perfect backdrop choice for this wedding.

aww congrats guys!

Team Elario + Woodard.

Today we’ll be sharing our labor day weekend wedding. This was Amanda and Kevin’s big day! You probably remember them as I blogged their engagement session back in early July. It started out at Amanda’s parents home where the energy was at level 10! The music was bumping as it should be while Flawless by Tina was wrapping up with Amanda. Cheryl from CASL Productions was in the house too! Before we knew it we headed to the church for the ceremony. After that it was off to the Sage Campus in downtown Troy for all our portrait photos. We always get good stuff there! The ballroom at Mallozzi’s looked awesome thanks to the talented peeps at Fleurtacious Designs. They smoked this wedding as they do for all their brides and grooms! Once Music Man Mike Garrasi began playing tunes the floor was packed! Seriously if they weren’t on the floor they were over with Hayden in the Elario Photo Booth just bugging out. Amanda and Kevin, thanks for choosing us to capture the big day! We all had a blast! I wish you guys nothing but years of happiness. Have fun blog stalking from Hawaii!

Peace,
JP

One from there engagement session..

Shoe shot..

Do I have to tell you who did the makeup?

Tina and Amanda having a good laugh.

I love this getting ready shot.

Once that gown was on all she did was smile..

How about that awesome bouquet from Fleurtacious Designs?

One more of the beautiful bride.

Church time..

Kevin gets to finally see his bride..

I really loved this church.

I wonder what she’s saying?

Mr and Mrs..

The ladies..

another one.

I especially like the little man, he’s got some swagger.

Newlyweds..

Gotta love Troy.

My facebook teaser.

So cute..

Let’s get configured.

I love this one..

Mallozzi’s Ballroom by Fleurtacious Designs

Time to set off the party!

Meanwhile over at the Elario Photo Booth..

Another hot drop from drop it MODERN this ones called “black keys” for your b&w needs!

I love this.

Here’s our photo booth all star Mel (and Chris).. you probably remember them.

Blog Stalkers!

Congrats to you both!!!

Sunday August 28th 2011 around here will be remembered as the day we met Irene who was a hurricane/tropical storm. It will also be remembered as Laura and Edward’s wedding day. I woke up that morning and knew it was going to be a complete wash out but I had one image come to mind that I wanted to get. Lets be honest, there is nothing easy or fun about working in the rain. Now you throw a tropical storm into the mix and it really gets interesting. For starters Glen Sanders Mansion didn’t have power, no biggie though. Mazzone and his peeps are so awesome they were prepared and had a generator. Thats how they roll. The day before this wedding Kris Ann of Fleurtacious Designs (their florist and my wife) told me she was going to bring everything but the bouquets to Glen Sanders that night incase the roads were bad or whatever. Thats right folks she ventured to Glen Sanders around 12am on Saturday night (or Sunday morning) while I was just getting home from my wedding that day. Laura and Edward (aka Trey) were lucky to already have both Kris Ann and Glen Sanders on their side, these guys don’t mess around when it comes to weddings. Back to their day. To save power on the generator for the reception GSM had limited light. Alayne from Make Me Fabulous had to work in the main ball room which was half lit for all their hair and makeup. When we showed up it was a interesting scene to see Alayne setup in the ballroom. Using the light on my iPhone I ventured upstairs to the real bridal suite and determined there was enough window light coming in to shoot the getting ready stuff in there. It was actually fun. Laura had the best attitude about the whole situation. The storm didn’t matter, I called her the day before and she said “Come hell or high water, Trey and I will get married tomorrow!”. Before heading to Union College Chapel we made a spontaneous pit stop at the Stockade Inn. On my facebook status that day Trey mentioned they had a billiards room he thought looked good so ask and you shall receive. Then over at Union College it was time to do the first look. I love their first look, so much excitement and emotion. I also love the fact that we had this beautiful setting to work in. Why don’t more of you guys use this chapel? Its incredible! So they got married, it happened and it was time to head back to GSM. I however had one more shot in mind. Like I said, I woke up thinking about this image. Listen you don’t get married at Union and not get your photo in front of the iconic “Nott” building! All we needed was an umbrella ella ella and boom! Now its party time and the joint was jumping. DJ Jeff Scott proved again he knows how to pack the dance floor. Its not hard with Union College peeps because they know how to party. Laura and Trey, we can’t thank you enough for having us. You were both just so fun as were your families and friends. This is one for the books right? Much love to you!

Peace,
JP

Yup..

Literately the only light was about a 5′ opening behind me.. No flash because thats not how I roll.

You gotta have fun right? Alayne was so funny with this little head light…

I love these b&w’s..

Flowers by Fleurtacious Designs

Once that veil gets put on it’s like you’re officially a bride and thats what Alayne must be expressing here.

A father see’s his daughter for the first time as a bride..

Ok stop right there. Wow. You’re doing it Laura

Over at the Stockade Inn Trey and the fellas..

First look time at the Union College Chapel

A cute little series.. A little fact about these.. Nor myself or my father shot this. Our friend Amanda was working with Kris Ann and I said ok, I’m going to set the tripod up with the 200mm 1.8L, compose the image,  and you shoot the hell out of this first look. Thanks Amanda!!

They were so happy to see each other..

I love the classic look here in b&w..

We had a little overhang… It was raining pretty good behind them.

The yellow flowers look sick (that means awesome) against those bridesmaids gowns.

Laura bought all these crazy umbrellas so we had to use them for one shot..

More stunning bride images..

The Elario Configuration…

We then headed upstairs away from the rain..

This place is gorgeous..

I love this image…

Ok.. its wedding time!!

Trey and the boys on deck..

Laura and dad on deck..

Such a great moment..

Again, I don’t think this place gets used enough. I’d love to shoot more ceremonies here.

This is Laura’s “we did it!” expression.

Mr and Mrs..

OK. While Laura was standing there in this doorway her and Trey were the last people to leave the building. I said, we have to go to the Nott building and take a couple shots. Laura said something like “but its still raining”. I just gave her a look and said “this is why you got married on this campus”. There was a moment of hesitation that was probably 2 seconds but felt like 2 minutes to me and then they went for it. Just so you know, I wouldn’t have let you get on that bus until I got you both in front of that building holing my b&w umbrella.

Not only was this my facebook teaser it was the image I thought of when I woke up that morning. Thank you for trusting me.

A little wind cameo from Irene..

A behind the scenes.. This is special to me because I was so freaking happy I got them outside.

Back at the Mansion the sun actually made a brief cameo.

I’ll end here because I love this image. Congrats you two!