Beautiful.. Thats it gang. Clarissa & Neema wanted a simple and beautiful wedding that was also intimate at the same time. I’d say they sure pulled it off on a hot and humid Friday in July. Its been a while since we’ve shot a whole wedding at The Saratoga National Museum of Dance and I really did miss shooting at that place. Its probably the most perfect room for smaller weddings while keeping with that whole Saratoga feeling too…

Was this deja vu? Here we are arriving at the same hotel, for the same family for the second time in just 8 months. Only this time it wasn’t Mona’s wedding and it wasn’t 40 degrees outside, it was 90. No, this time it was her brother Neema and her now sister in law Clarissa’s big day. Back to arriving at the hotel… Clarissa was all smiles upon entering suite 527. She was getting finished being made fabulous. We shot some getting ready photos of this beautiful July bride and then it was off to the Museum of Dance for their first look. I just loved everything about their first look too. The light, the calmness of the couple but then capturing the emotion the time they laid eyes on each other. It was pretty darn cool. I saw something cool outside that happened to be red. It was an old vintage taxi cab. Neema’s father’s friend was kind enough to park this bad boy out front for some photo ops. After all those photos were done it was time to get married. This space is just spectacular for ceremonies. I think my favorite part was when Clarissa and Neema’s son Paul walked Clarissa down the aisle and they both were just beaming with pride. After the ceremony I wanted a little more of this red taxi and a few more couple shots in some softer light. Then it was time to head on in for their reception. Let me just say thank god for my iPhone. Neema had burned a few CD’s with their first dance song on it. Unfortunately those CD’s would not play for whatever reason. Have no fear, JP’s iPhone with the iTunes store is here! Without skipping a beat I downloaded the exact version of their first dance put my iPhone on airplane mode (because how embarrassing would it be if I got a call or text during their first dance?) and handed the phone off to the band. I felt like a hero (cue hero my enrique iglesias now). Anyway it was a wonderful evening and smooth sailing from then on out. It was truly an honor to be asked back to shoot another wedding for the Ghazi family and great to meet Clarissa’s family as well. We loved being surrounded by good people we consider friends before clients. Thank you again and congrats to Clarissa & Neema!

Peace,
JP

Here’s one happy bride…

Alayne’s right hand gal Sue from Make Me Fabulous (see t shirt) putting some finishing touches on Clarissa.

cool shoes..

a little closer..

oh hey mona! we all remember mona right? to my newer blog stalkers you can find out all about her here, here & here.

Everyone got all excited when Clarissa was dressed and ready.

Seriously? This is too easy.

Frist look!

here she comes..

Neema is somewhat of a more serious person. To see him lighting up like this is just great.

Back to our beautiful bride.

I love this b&w

Just one for now, but we’ll get back to this red cab..

8 months later.. Mona… and Andrew ;)

I don’t know who was more happy here? Paul or Clarissa?

This space is so awesome.

No matter what side/angle you shoot from.

Mr & Mrs..

Back outside..

Oh yeah! That red is screaming!

The facebook teaser

A little closer.

Too cool for school.

Fav shot of the day…

A couple more soft portraits..

Some details…

A great fist dance.

Lastly a great moment with their boy Paul… congrats guys!

WOW! That’s basically the reaction to this one peeps. From the beginning to the end everything that went down at this wedding was just awesome. A stunning bride, a super stylish groom, great families, awesome bridal party, beautiful ceremony, sweet details, top notch two hour cocktail hour, more sweet details, the most awesome tents I’ve ever seen, great entertainment and fireworks that would make the Golub’s jealous. That sums it up!

Lets start from the top though… Normally we do not take weddings on the 4th of July. We work pretty much every weekend all summer so the 4th every year is just a given that we’ll be off. However, we simply could not say no. We knew both the bride and groom from pervious weddings etc plus they’re just a great couple. Peter and his family throw a 4th of July party every year with fireworks, only this time they added one heck of a wedding to the festivities. That being said here we are 2:00pm on July 4th 2010 at Connie’s house ready to roll. Did I mention it was hot? Oooh man, this was a hot one. Like any photographer would we searched outdoors for that perfectly shaded area and when we found it we began photographing Connie and her 10 bridesmaids, 1 junior bridesmaid and 2 flower girls. Now thats a BIG bridal party. Everything was held at Peter’s parents home and he had quite the entourage waiting for us too, 12 groomsmen and 3 ring bearers! WOW! After a ceremony where the sermon was delivered from an iPad (how cool right?) we quickly photographed both families, bridal party and Connie & Peter. However we saved the good stuff of the b & g for when the light was right. The cocktail hour was 2 hours long and their 300+ guests had more than enough food to choose from. Big shout out to Angelo Mazzone, Traci Montanino, Mark Delos and the rest of the team from Mansion Catering for absolutely knocking this one off the charts. Since I’m giving shout outs I would be crazy not mention the tents! WOW again! These tents were the most beautiful tents I’ve ever seen. What makes them so special you ask? Well they’re not your typical vinyl tent. No no, these Sperry Tents are made of sailcloth. They came all the way from New Hampshire by a comany called Sperry Tents Sea Coast. I guess each post is like a whole tree too. I learned that fun fact from this couples florist David Michael Schmidt from Renaissance. David did a great job on all the florals, linens and those porcelain angels. Props to The New York Players for keeping that awesome wooden dance floor rocking all night. Also we shot along side videographer John Tegan from the Clark+Walker team, Johns a fun guy, I look forward to their trailer John so get on it already ;) ( i know john so i can bust his chops) One link and contact I’m lacking is the firework provider. Please leave that in the comment box if you know who was responsible for the most insane firework display I’ve ever seen at a wedding. I guess that wraps us up here! Connie & Peter, congrats and thank you so much for having us shoot your big day. We are beyond thrilled with this collection of images and I have a feeling you will be too.

Peace,
JP

Pretty bride, pretty flowers.

Count em up! 10 beautiful bridesmaids, one former Elario bride (jaimee who’s expecting in august congrats guys!) and one current Elario bride (connie)!

Connie, seriously thanks for making my job so hard.

She knows how to work the camera.

Anyone who knows Peter knows this image really captures him. He’s just on the go with rings in hand…

The Amedore boys…

Very stylish guys, I’m digging this dark brown tux.

Ceremony site..

A couple Renaissance details.

She was so happy to see Peter.

Peter was pretty excited too. I love this shot.

Seriously the coolest tents ever.

Delivering his sermon from an iPad while they enjoy a laugh.

Classic Elario double angle.. Big Joe’s 14mm

My 35mm 1.4

A couple guys got together for the 4th of July..

When I captured this I might have screamed with excitement.

How cute are they?

A little attitude,

An awesome cocktail hour with local celeb chef Jamie Ortiz.

Another insanely beautiful tent.

With some Renaissance details..

A first dance..

and a toast. Although there were 300+ people Connies MOH looks like she’s just speaking right to Connie.

I normally don’t blog “kids at weddings” on my site. Why? I just think it’s too easy to post a shot of flower girls. People will always say “awww”. But I just loved this light that scraped through the tent for about 3 minutes.

A little more nice light.

How fun..

Here they have this beautiful house and I take them into the weeds.

My facebook teaser.. I just love this little series.

Cute..

Forehead kisses..

I think this is in my top 3 from the day.

I had to throw in a b&w.

I asked them to dance.

wow.. just wow.

As the night went on the scenes got prettier..

Then the fireworks came.

Wow. This was an impressive display.

Everyone enjoyed them for at least 20 minutes.

Connie & Peter didn’t move. They just embraced while the sky made magic. I told them forget Price Choppers display of fireworks, next year I’m going to the Amedore home.

Shout out to some blog stalkers! My boys Michael & Matt (both in blue)… thanks for following gentlemen.

In the Elario Photo Booth its a must you jump. Kind of our thing.. We make everyone jump…

even Angelo, he jumps for Elario Photography!

On July 3rd 2010 we had the honor to shoot a local celebrities wedding. I’m sure you all know Kara right? Kara was one of those brides that was just fun from day one when we met. Actually I’ve known Kara for a few years now. Paul is not too far behind on the fun factor either. He’s just one really likable guy, you just wanna give him a big bear hug haha. These two are like a perfect match. With two fun personalities like Kara & Paul what better time of year to tie the knot than independence day weekend? Its like Christmas of the summer and everyone just comes ready to have a good time.

So lets start from arriving at Kara’s house… From stepping out onto the super hot pavement I saw a great sight. Whats that you ask? It was makeup artist Flawless by Tina and hair stylist Mark Anthony done for the day. I love when I can work with professionals that are on time! That makes us very happy people. Kara was pretty happy too. She had 100 dozen roses on her coffee table from Paul. I imagine thats got to make you excited to get married. Anyway, Kara was ready to hop into that fun gown and slip on her pink shoes. After that, we then stepped out back and shot some portraits of the girls. The light outside was so nice too, you’ll see. When we arrived at the church Paul and his boys were in the back just bugging out and having fun, then the men had to get serious for the mass and nuptials. After mass it was time to head to Saratoga National. When you walked in there you knew it was going to be a good time. Aside from a champagne station that whenever a glass was taken it was instantly refreshed by the awesome staff at national, you were greeted by life sized cutouts I photographed of Kara & Paul back in May. Heading upstairs I was blown away with the transformation of the ballroom. It was a completely different room. David Michael Schmidt and his team from Renaissance were on this one and they did a great job! Talk about great jobs… the cake! Oh man that cake was an instant home run by Debbie Coye Saratoga’s famous cake lady! From then on out it was party time. Ad a b&w dance floor and some nice toasts and you instantly have a party. So Kara and Paul, we’d like to thank you for having us capture your big day. I knew it was going to be a great one and not only that but I knew you’d both be a great couple! Congrats to you both!!

Peace,
JP

Pink shoes = fun bride.

I do, love these images. ;)

Here’s Kara!

Our back for some shots. The light was pretty awesome. For it being so sunny Kara’s white house acted as a reflector. This was a gift from god.

So pretty…

Classic bride and bouquet shot. Bouquet #1 too.

Kara & Dad… probably my fav from the whole day.

As they were turning the corner to walk down the aisle.

Classic Elario double angle… Big Joe up top..

and mine from the ground..

Pretty cool huh? Shout out to Paper Dolls of Saratoga, they did all the paper things ;)

I’m pretty sure the b&w dance floor came from Total Events since thats where we got ours from along with the pipe and drape and extra lighting.

Yes, this is Saratoga National folks..

I shot the head table before the big pieces came up. You’ll see them in the toast shots. Flowers by Renaissance

Cake by Debbie Coye. How fun is this cake?

The details on the cake were pretty awesome and totally amazing.

Angelo himself serving tomato soup sips. We had these at our wedding and they were a major hit! All “One Reputation” brides & grooms should order these!!

First dance!

How great are these?

Pauls father was his best man… he decided about 1 minute into his toast he didn’t need notes. Paul got a little roasted by his Dad.. too funny.

That Nikon 14mm is straight up sick.

Cheers!

Out onto a new Elario original SNGC spot..

for some sweet images…

and some awesome light…

followed by a little dancing..

and some laughter.

There is nothing like an amazing b&w..

This one is more amazing though.

I love having couples laying in the grass.

I mentioned above there was a second bouquet.

And I’ll leave you with my facebook teaser image…….

I hope you all enjoyed part 1! If you have not watched it yet I urge you to watch it before you peep part 2. Just a technical note… you might want to crank the volume for a few of the clips that take place with dialogue later in the video. We shot them “off the hip” and didn’t have an optimal mic on the camera. Thats what happens when you have something spontaneous to shoot I guess. Anyway, watch you’re about to watch here is basically a rundown of after the ceremony on. This is what I call fun time! So sit back and enjoy it! Again big thanks to our pal  Al Woodard for supplying me with all these clips!

Peace,
JP