February 17th, 2010
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:








































2 Comments | In: Weddings | tags: @sparksphotog, canon 5d mark 2, milwaukee, milwaukee photography, milwaukee wedding photographers, minneapolis, minneapolis wedding photographers, minnesota, simonmcconico, Valo Photography, wedding. | #
January 11th, 2010
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.




































3 Comments | In: Weddings | tags: @jakedavidrohde, canon 5d mark 2, http://www.orpheumtheatre.net/, madison, madison wisconsin, milwaukee photography, milwaukee wedding photographer, milwaukee wisconsin, orpheum theatre, Photography, photos, the orpheym, Valo, Valo Photography, valophotography, wedding, wedding photographer, wedding photography, wedding photos, wisconsin, wisconsin photography, wisconsin wedding photography. | #
January 6th, 2010
Oh my, oh my, oh me… Again, I can’t express how much I love shooting weddings of people who have a personal flair to everything that they do. People who infuse their personality into everything from the vows to the shoes to the drinks to the wedding party.
Shawn and Cassie’s wedding had all of their awesomeness infused into one giant day which has now turned into one giant blog post. I loved everything from the Chuck Taylors that the grooms men wore to the Crazy Booth that is going to be tough to top in 2010.
The wedding was at the Eisner Museum in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, which has tons of really great places to take photos. After the ceremony we went running around the Third Ward taking tons of photos, tripping on things, and dropping bridesmaids. (Wasn’t as fatal as it sounds) From there, the Ceremony rocked and the Crazy Booth was brought. By the end of the night I was exhausted, but had such a fun time shooting and capturing an amazing party for two amazing people. Congrats Shawn and Cassie.
(now on to the photos which is why you are looking at the blog anyways)









































2 Comments | In: Weddings | tags: @jakedavidrohde, canon 5d mark 2, eisner museum, historic third ward, milwaukee, milwaukee photography, milwaukee wedding photographer, milwaukee wisconsin, Photography, photos, simonmcconico, Valo, Valo Photography, wedding, wedding photography, wedding photos, wisconsin, wisconsin photography, wisconsin wedding photography, www.eisnermuseum.org/. | #
December 9th, 2009
There are not many words that can describe these photos. Well… by not many, I mean none.


























Oh. My. Lord. These are divine. Jowels.













Yeah… Shawn and Cassie were so much fun… pretty much love them. To be able to shoot for clients like them is a pleasure.

I know that was a mutha load of photos, but hope it was worth it.
p.s. pretty sure the booth makes the reception killer (well, your DJ betta be rockin it, but whateva)
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Shoot me some love: simon (at) valophotography.com
3 Comments | In: Crazy Booth | tags: @jakedavidrohde, canon 5d mark 2, milwaukee, milwaukee photography, milwaukee wedding photographer, milwaukee wisconsin, Photography, simonmcconico, Valo, Valo Photography, wedding photographer, wedding photography, wisconsin, wisconsin photography, wisconsin wedding photography. | #
November 25th, 2009
Before I leave to spend Turkey day with my folks in MN, here is a lil something for you until next week:

You can check out their E-Session HERE and HERE
No Comments | In: Weddings | tags: @jakedavidrohde, canon 5d mark 2, milwaukee, milwaukee photography, milwaukee wedding photographer, milwaukee wisconsin, Photography, Valo, Valo Photography, wedding photography, wedding photos, wisconsin, wisconsin photography, wisconsin wedding photography. | #
November 24th, 2009
The Orpheum, The Art Museum, and a whole lot of awesome light in Madison helped make this E-session with Nick and Dana pretty amazing. From there we went down the street to a fantastic little restaurant and took some more photos and had lunch. We said goodbye and then Jake and I went to shoot a wedding at The Orpheum.













2 Comments | In: E-Sessions | tags: canon 5d mark 2, engagement, engagement session, madison, madison e-session, madison wisconsin, milwaukee, Photography, photos, the orpheum, Valo, Valo Photography, valo photos, wedding photographer, wedding photos. | #
November 23rd, 2009
Running around a strange town is sometimes the best as a photographer. Not knowing any locations or places, you get to look at all the great landmarks and places with fresh eyes. Nick and Dana took Jake and I around downtown Madison for their E-Session and we had a blast. Here’s a sneak peek on what I am working on.

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November 17th, 2009
Matt is one of the most amazing guys ever. And he can take down a groomsman like no one else… I got a post of sweet wedding photos coming up, but here are some Crazy Booth photos for you to chew on.




Air guitar at it’s finest.







One of us has to be responsible.

Guess it isn’t Jake

Body Surfing?






3 Comments | In: Crazy Booth | tags: @jakedavidrohde, canon 5d mark 2, Crazy Booth, funny, milwaukee, milwaukee county war memorial, money, Photography, reception, simonmcconico, Valo Photography, war memorial, wedding, wedding photographer, wedding photography. | #
November 17th, 2009
I am editing weddings out the ear right now. Going through the photos and seeing the emotion of the day is one of my favorite things about being a photographer. It also doesn’t hurt when you have fantastic clients. Jake and I have been editing as fast as we can and as long as our eyeballs stay open. There are so many photos from this year that I love and so many locations and weddings that were beautiful. On that note… Ima get back to editing.

2 Comments | In: Weddings | tags: canon 5d mark 2, milwaukee, milwaukee wedding photographer, Photography, Valo, Valo Photography. | #
November 11th, 2009
this is why you need to make sure you rig the dollar dance.
Women… this is why you need to have the crazy booth at your wedding (because you ALWAYS win this and can gloat for years to come)

No Comments | In: Crazy Booth | tags: @jakedavidrohde, canon 5d mark 2, Crazy Booth, funny, milwaukee, milwaukee county war memorial, money, Photography, reception, simonmcconico, Valo Photography, war memorial, wedding, wedding photographer, wedding photography. | #