July 12th, 2010
Joe and Claire – Wedding – Part 2
Part numba 2 comeing at you. If you haven’t seen Part 1, check it out here first.
Sometimes there are just so many photos that you want to show you need to do it in two posts as to not overwhelm the audience. This was one of those weddings.
The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee is such a gorgeous place. So many beautiful things and lots of ornate details that transform a wedding into a fairy tale. Everyone was looking their best and ready to shake it on the dance floor. Jake and I partied with everyone and were able to capture some of the energy on the camera.
Bon appetit!
The two sexiest dudes on the dance floor. (Their words, not mine)
Yess!!! Ali and Brandon are getting married in August and I get to shoot it!
We snuck outside for some photos. Awe yeah!
There were a lot of folks getting Iced. Granted it was @blatzliqor’s wedding…
Joe might, or might not have Iced me…
One last photo from a fantastic wedding.
July 10th, 2010
Joe and Claire – Wedding – Part 1
Oh my. Gorgeous location? The Pfister Hotel for a Milwaukee Wedding . Beautiful bride? Yuh. Great details? Uhm hmm. What more can a photographer ask for??? Crazy groomsmen? Now its a Valo wedding.
Joe and I met through Twitter. @blatzliquor and I, @simonmcconico started following each other (That still sounds awkward even though Twitter is a lot more mainstream now). I frequented his store (They have lots of tastings, wine classes, and great people) and when he got engaged, I, naturally, enquirer who was going to shoot his wedding. We met to talk about their wedding and I got to meet his beautiful bride-to-be, Claire.
Time goes by and the wedding day comes. We started out at the Pfister Spa shooting the ladies getting ready and details. From there we left to get some peoples married at Old St. Mary downtown Milwaukee. They got hitched and we hopped on a Trolly, swung by the Blatzs to pick up some beverages and then ran around downtown to take some amazing photos.
There are so many photos that I decided to do this in two posts, so this is where I leave you to look at photos and wait for another day or so 
June 17th, 2010
Sneak Peek – Joe and Claire
June 15th, 2010
Wedding – Vanessa and Drew
Rain. It’s a part of life. I just hate that sometimes it is a part of weddings as well. Vanessa and Drew’s wedding was my first experience shooting in the rain and it seemed like they barely even noticed it.
Their wedding was in the same church as Jason and Allison’s, but the decor and vibe were quite different. It is really cool to see how the same space can be used and decorated very differently. Vanessa went to school and does graphic design and you could see her design influence all throughout the day.
They had a cake/hors d’oeuvres reception after the ceremony and then we left to take photos. We arrived at our location and it started to drizzle. We got the group shots done and then it started to pour. We ran around and found overhangs and some cover to shoot in. Eventually we were all soaked, so we just shot in the rain. (I’m super glad all my gear works. Thank God for good equipment!) We finished outside and Jake and I still wanted to take photos… a photographer is never done. One more shot NEVER, means one more shot. That is like a preacher when they say they are almost done… fiction. Anyoldways. Jake suggested a coffee shop might be fun and so we headed to the closest one, which was closed. Awesome. Well, guess we have to… go… ho… wait. Grocery store in the rear view mirror. Wonder if they would be up for shooting there? They were and it was epic.
Drew. Vanessa. Thank you so much for being amazing and trusting that even though Jake and I had never shot in a grocery store before, we would come up with something interesting and a memory like no other for your wedding day.
(If you saw their sneak peek, you know you can click twice on the last photo to see it large. It’s a combination of about 7 photos that I stitched together. If I printed this at it’s original size it would be 60 inches wide by 13 inches high. I hope they have large walls…)
P.s. What are you watching on TV? Americas Next Top Model doesn’t come back on for a while and I need a new show.
P.p.s. Leave some love on the blog for Drew and Vanessa, not just the TV show
June 9th, 2010
Sneak Peek – Vanessa and Drew
Dang. Rain. Dang. Nicole and I had some rain on the morning of our wedding, but the sun came out before our ceremony. Drew and Vanessa were not so lucky. People say it is a good sign to have rain on your wedding day, but it is tough to be positive when it’s raining and you want it to be nice out. These two were smiles all day and it was such a pleasure to be able to photograph them. It was pouring out and we finished up shooting outside and were looking for a coffee shop that was open. We went to the first one that was on Google Maps and it was closed. I saw Sendik’s in the mirror and though out loud to Jake, ” We should go shoot in there.” To which he replied, “Heck yeah!”
We made our way to the store and ran though the rain with our cameras and started to shoot. Lots of fun looks and congratulations were sent their way as they modeled up and down the produce aisle. It was super fun and here is one shot that I got that I will show you… Gotta wait for the rest (Which is actually about seven shots stitched together in Photoshop to a total of 60in wide x 13in tall).
P.s. Click on the photo twice to see it larger (still not as large as the original file, but it is still pretty big.
May 26th, 2010
Wedding – Jason and Allison
Woah… it’s been a while since I blogged a wedding. That is crazyness. Well, here is my first wedding of the season and it’s gonna hit you right between the eyes. (Well, only if you get really close to the screen your looking at this on).
Jason and Allison are awesome. A fairly young couple who do an awesome job of throwing a great party. The dancing was a huge highlight of the night. Groovin and shakin and Grandpas and Grandmas on the floor rockin to the Cupid Shuffle. Doesn’t get better than that folks.
These two were sent our way by Drew and Vanessa, who’s wedding we are going to be shooting in the next few weeks. Jason is a book of questions (I could probably publish our emails back and forth), but, he wanted to make sure he knew what they were getting and that it would work for the both of them. We got all the questions taken care of, they booked us, and we rocked and rolled till around midnight when they took off in a blaze of glow stick glory. After the wedding Jason sent an email (he is the king of email), that said: “All we have to say is “WOW”. We were nothing short of blown away at your guys ability to take pictures, have fun, control a crowd, and dance the “Cha Cha Slide” all while doing your work.” – That made my day.
Roll it:
Credits:
Cale: Sweet Perfections
DJ: Music On The Move – Q (super cool DJ)
Reception: Pano’s Bar and Grill
Church: Victory International Fellowship
You can check out all of their proofs Here (Like usual, you will need a password which you can get from the bride and groom)
P.s. Summer is finally here in Milwaukee… been sticky and warm, which means that the bugs are coming. Anyone know a good way to deal with Ants?
April 16th, 2010
I’m Murried!
Oh my. I got married. Which means I am Murried. That is pretty awesome and I don’t know if it has all set in still. All I know is that I get to hang out with a hot lady for the rest of my life and we get to do cool stuff like go to Ikea. Anyways… thanks so much for all the love on Twitter, Facebook, and in real life.
Speaking of love… My good friend Sam Dodge (One of the MANY photographers who attended our nuptials) put together a stop motion video of our wedding and reception.
He is pretty much the man. Check out his site and some more of his Stop Motion stuff.
Also, some people might have seen this, but Nicole and I went out and took some photos after we got back from Door County (Super cool modern B&B with the best owner ever). Her dress was kinda a mess from the wedding day from all of the running around and dancing, so we decided to take it out and make some more photos. We did a lil Trash the Dress shoot and got some really great stuff. Here is a lil’ sneak peek of what is to come (One of the perks to marrying a photographer).
P.s. If you didn’t see the post from yesterday, check it out. I am teaching a class on Digital Photography.
P.p.s. I’m Murried!!!!!!
February 17th, 2010
Wedding – Marquel and Nicholene
I love it when I get asked by someone that I know to be a part of their wedding. If it is being in the wedding, or shooting the wedding, I love it. Marquel and Nicholene knew that they wanted me to shoot their wedding even before they were engaged. Well… I KNOW Nic did because she told me every time she saw me.
I went to college with both of these folks and had a great time creating music with them. Marquel can pretty much sing any part in a choir and play anything on drums, keys, and probably lots of other instruments and Nic would bring down the house with her singing. Creating music is amazing, but creating amazing music is even better, which made it quite appropriate that they got married at Orchestra Hall.
I arrived in Minneapolis with my friend Paul Sparks to shoot their wedding and was super excited. The wedding was outside and in the morning it looked like the weather was not going to cooperate with us. Gladly, a few hours passed and the clouds moved along, taking their raindrops with them. The weather, other than being crazy windy, was perfect. Great light and a lovely location at Orchestra Hall made for some fantastic photos.
Marquell is from Milwaukee and Nicolene is from Jamacia, but they met and now live in Minneapolis. It was great seeing their family come together and have a great time at the wedding. Sooo… enough of me babbling… here are the photos:
January 11th, 2010
Wedding – Kevin and Sarah
Madison is crazy after a Badgers game. Not to mention when the Badgers lose. To the Hawkeyes. Granted, this was good news for Kevin and Sarah. Call it an early wedding present for the two Hawkeyes that were getting married that day in Madison.
The setting: The Orpheum
The Orpheum was a really cool venue. Really dark… but really cool. Lots of texture and lots of space. Those always make for fun photos. Jake and I went up to Madison a few hours early from Milwaukee to shoot an engagement session for Nick and Dana who are getting married at the same place next year. After the shoot we got some lunch then it was time to get our wedding shoes on. (I don’t really have wedding shoes, although I did wear pink and white chucks when shooting my cousins wedding)
There were lots of cool touches to the wedding that made it very personal and fun to shoot. Sarah had her mother and grandmothers dress on display as well as their stories for people to check out. The bouquets were made out of different herbs and smelled amazing. After they said I Do and kissed, Sarah’s dad busted out a guitar and Kevin serenaded her on the steps of the stage. It was a very warm and fun wedding to shoot even though it was chilly outside. I am so glad that we got a chance to be a part of these two Hawks special day.
