With destination weddings, the opportunity to use the unique and exotic settings for portraits is too much to pass by.  And for this reason I like to add extended potraits sessions for my couples around their wedding day. 

Dawn and Brian’s wedding in Las Vegas offered the chance for not one, but two, unique locations - the lights of the Las Vegas strip, and the desert beauty of the Red Rock area.

Most people don’t think of water and palm trees when they think of Las Vegas - but rather lights, glamour and glitz.  But Brian and Dawn’s wedding was a more laidback affair held at the beautiful grounds of the the  Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort - a romantic wedding destination.   Around 90 of Brian and Dawn’s family and friends had flown in from around the country for their wedding.

Of course, as a wedding photographer, it is particularly thrilling for me to shoot outside of my usual New Jersey / New York areas, and visit exotic or fun locations such as Las Vegas.

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From much earlier in the day, while Dawn was having her hair done …

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The ceremony and reception were held at the resort’s beautiful grounds overlooking Lake Las Vegas. 

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Dawn and Brian’s first dance …

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Of course .. Elvis!  What did you expect?  This is Las Vegas.

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After the party, we all went to this famous landmark, visible to anyone driving down towards the Strip.  Here is everyone - family and friends - who attended Dawn and Brian’s wedding.

Brian and Dawn, thank you!  I had a fantastic time.  Congrats and best wishes.

Lindsey and Ren’s wedding ceremony was on the beach in St Augustine, Florida.  And I’m simply going to let the photos stand as proof of what a beautiful day it was, and how wonderful a couple they are  … and what a fantastic day I had, photographing their wedding.

Lindsey & Ren - congratulations again, and thank you!

Miami, Florida … great weather … a fantastic venue … and an incredible couple. What more could I ask as a wedding photographer?

This wasn’t quite a destination wedding, since Michelle is a resident of Miami, but it was my first time there. (Quite different from New Jersey.) The venue was the Deering Estate - which is a beautiful venue on the seafront, and it was easy to see why Michelle decided she had to have her wedding there some day.

Michelle and Antonio were a wonderful couple to photograph - and Michelle especially - I couldn’t take a bad photograph of her!

An image of the bride during the ceremony …

Michelle and Antonio .. thank you, I had a wonderful time there!

I was very fortunate in photographing Desha and Kyle’s wedding in an exotic a location as Aruba. And really, if you’re going to get married, why not Aruba - where the number plates on the motor vehicles read, “One Happy Island”.

As you can guess my family and I had a fabulous time over here - and even better for photographing a couple as wonderful as Desha and Kyle, who spent the extra time and energy in working with me in getting exceptional wedding photographs and portraits of them as a couple.

Here’s a slideshow of the best images taken over the three days there.

A few of the portraits of the couple, directly after their vows on the sunset beach …

More of the ceremony itself :

The wedding event in Aruba started off with the civil ceremony on Monday morning - and then afterwards I did some portraits of the newly married around the center of Oranjestad. In the early evening they exchanged vows on the beach with just a few family members in attendance. And on Tuesday morning (today) we did some more portraits using the Aruba landscape.

Here is a slideshow of the best images ….
(click on the header above the slideshow to return to the blog.)

It is very easy to see why Aruba is a great choice for destination weddings.  And I must admit that I’ve fallen in love with Aruba, for the quaint mix of colonial and island cultures - and the easy-going nature of life here. And also that they speak Dutch here and a lot of the signs are in Dutch. I immediately felt at home here, and would return any time for a vacation. 

I would also like to heartily thank my friend David Mielcarek for involving me in this event.  Congratulations and best wishes to you, Desha and Kyle - it was a wonderful experience!