Another fairy tale, another dream wedding. You can’t go wrong when the bride is a wedding planner herself, and the groom is a boy falling head over heels for the girl. I feel like this day was more of a fairy tale for him than anyone else. You could see throughout the whole day that he was in disbelief being able to marry such a beautiful bride. If you want an idea of what his reaction was like all day, watch this video.

I think the best brides are those who are a control freak when it comes to setting the stage up perfectly for the photographer, and then releases her trust and control to him or her. She is a perfect example.

On another note for you guys, it seems like the most popular gift for a bride on her wedding day is something that’s red at the bottom. I’ll let you figure out what it is.

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That’s how I describe one of my favorite couples to have photographed… “the French couple.” There was a flair of style like no other, a spirit of youthfulness found in a child, and an overwhelming flood of love that was contagious between the two. They made me smile the whole day observing them. Not to mention of my top 5 wedding dresses of all time.

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Yes their last name is Hennessy. Yes they are one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve ever been to. Yes they are my ideal couple. As artists themselves, their attention to detail made the wedding day what it was, yet they also understood my role as the photographer to capture those details in my own way. They are also by far one of the most laid back people I have ever met, it was truly about enjoying the experience rather than fulfilling a tradition or ritual or family request. It’s the type of wedding where if you had access to a mansion and catering for one night, any night, you would invite your closest friends for some good food, dancing, and even some karaoke! In fact when I asked them if they wanted to take family portraits, they said “later”. Well in all honesty, I still can’t remember if “later” ever happened. It was also about sharing the most beautifully written vows I have ever heard, I wish I had the transcript.

At the end of the night there was no usual announcement for last dance or end of the party, I watched the two lovers walk away into the distance without goodbyes to anyone. The guests casually dispersed as if they would all see each other the next day. Their theme centered around time, though I did not ask what the significance was to them, I think you can come up with your own conclusions from the images. The rustic mansion at the Alder Manor reminded me of ruins from a Tomb Raider game.

I truly wish all weddings were about enjoying the experience, while keeping traditions as a reminder of our cultural backgrounds, but not to run the show.

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This was the third destination within a month, you can imagine how tiring it can be. Traveling to exotic destinations to shoot a wedding is not fun and games as one would expect just by looking at the photos. Imagine lugging a thirty pound bag with you at all times, that is not what I call a vacation. However, when you have a couple like Sunny and Marjorie, work becomes easy, and there’s nothing else you’d rather be doing than taking photographs of a fun group of misfits. I will let the photos do the talking.

Sunny enjoys photography too and he had imagined a specific shot he thought would’ve been cool if I took during the reception. Instead of telling me what his idea was, he just positioned himself to be at the right place at the right moment. The idea was during the father and bride dance to have the groom visible standing in the background. Lo and behold, I saw the opportunity and took the shot. It was after he saw the photo that Sunny told me he thought of the same shot. The point of the story is, even though the bride and groom should “ignore” the photographer and be natural, it also helps to be mindful to help create the opportunities for certain shots to be taken. Beautiful photographs are a two way collaboration between the subject and photographer.

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The week after Grand Bahama trip, I flew to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for another destination wedding. I made the trip out with my friend James Jeon who is quickly becoming a great cinematographer for all sorts of events and projects. The trip was an adventure exploring the local town, trying tacos from all over the place, driving into a desert, finding local beaches, and go-karting all with the help of James’ fluent Spanish. The wedding was also followed by a Trash the Dress session the next day. We took a boat out to Lover’s Beach and without a dock, we had to jump into the water by the beach to get ashore. This is quite scary when you have two DSLR bodies to carry with you and the boat is rocking  up and down a few feet at a time! It was a great trip, but I have to say, I like Tex-Mex food in the states better!

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