Alex the Photo Blog

Bethany and Chris were married last month in Boone, NC.  Their wedding was at a cute little church in the mountains.  However, as mentioned in a prior post, they have a ton of friends and family!  Because of this, the church got pretty hot during the ceremony… so hot that not only one, but TWO people in the wedding party passed out during it.   The first one surprised the audience, but after the second people understood why.  Aside from that, the ceremony, receptions, and weather were great in Boone.  We had a fun time and my mom got to catch up with old friends (Bethany’s mom and mine went to college together at Appalachian State).

As a side note, my new(er) camera broke about 8 shots into the wedding… however, with a little bit of googling after I got home, I found out that the repair was a known issue to Canon and they repaired it for free!  In fact, they turned it around so fast that I got the “we have received your repair and will begin work on it promptly…” letter three days AFTER the camera was already back in my hands as good as new!  Props to Canon!

The bride’s mom:

Katie and Robby had a beautiful wedding 4 weeks ago at Transfiguration Catholic Church in Marietta, which happened to be the church my family went to for a number of years of my childhood.  The wedding went off without a hitch and was followed by the prettiest church reception I’ve seen.  I never knew Transfiguration had such a classic reception space- big windows, wooden ceiling, good lighting.

I had a fun time getting to know Katie and Robby when we snapped photos at the hotel pre-wedding.  However, I really got a sense of what a great man Robby is from a toast given at the reception.  One of his best friends from high school, whom he played football with, was in a bad car wreck a few years back.  He was left partially paralyzed, requiring the use of a walker to get around.  Apparently, when he got back to his apartment after his time in the hospital, he got a call from Robby.  Robby said that he was packing his things to move in so that he can help his friend get around and become acclimated to his new way of living.  If that isn’t a great friend, then I don’t know what is. 

With that said, here are the photos from the wedding.

A good friend of mine from college was in town a few months ago.  We went out to dinner with his sister and I heard about how she was planning a wedding in Marietta.  The way I understood the story, her and her husband were recently married but due to his deployment in the middle-east, they were unable to have a true ceremony at the time.  Times are tough when your hubby is committed to his country.  To make matters worse, two days after our dinner she lost her job at Skirt Magazine.  So, needless to say they were on a budget.  And what better budget photographer than Alex the Photo Guy!  …..actually there are probably plenty of others, but I was delighted to be the chosen one. 

Despite the rain pushing the ceremony and photos inside the Whitlock Inn, we had a great time.  Celina was such a beautiful bride and the couple had a wonderful time at their wedding.   Plus- Celina found a great new job!  At www.getmarried.com of all places!  I think Celina and Alex the Photo Guy are going to become great friends. 

The beautiful bride (my favorite photo of the day):

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Part 2:   The wedding day.  Great weather and a beach- can’t go wrong!

Getting Ready:

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Alice was referred to me back in December by her sister Tina, whom I work with.  When I saw the couple had a website, I clicked over to it and was like “hey!  I know that guy!”  Rob and I apparently went to high school together.  I think he was president of the drama club, back when I was a freshman and thought drama club would suit me well (I was very very wrong- I can’t act worth crap).  So when we all met up to show them my portfolio, he and I were able to catch up on old high school friends.  It was a nice, laid back introduction for me.

This wedding was in Pensacola, FL.   I’m not gonna lie, I was stressed about this one.   It was a beach wedding.  Normally, I would think a beach setting for photography would be like shooting fish in a barrell.  However, I was a little more stressed about the timing of the ceremony.  The couple planned the ceremony just before sunset.  They knew the sun went down at 7:27pm.  First I heard the ceremony would be at 5, then 6, then when I got there it was 6:30.  My photography friends knew just one hour to squeeze in the ceremony and formals afterward would be way tight.  However, the ceremony was short and sweet, the subjects knew to hang around, and I had Keri at my side helping to bark out orders and poses.   Fortunately, we got all the shots we needed even though a few clouds rolled in toward sunset.

Aside from being a little stressed the day of, I loved the location shoot.  Keri and I got to hit the beach the day of the rehearsal and she got more sun on the wedding day while I took the “getting ready” pictures of the girls.  It was a fun vacation for Keri and I that paid for itself.   Now I just need to find someone getting married in Italy that wants to take me and my assistant along…  suggestions welcome!

Rehearsal Day:

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So these pictures aren’t from my “Poppy,” but from my boss’s dad.   He recently was remarried at a small ceremony in Duluth, GA.   For this shoot, I was paid in italian food rather than dollars. 

We had a fun time.  I’ve never seen a priest laugh through a wedding ceremony, but when you read bible verses to a 72 yearold that say “there comes a time when a man must leave his father’s home…” and “may you be blessed with many children…”   I guess he couldn’t help but laugh.   No worries, everyone else enjoyed themselves too. 

Sean... in Italy