One of the most amazing things about being a wedding photographer is that people have me come to beautiful locations and be a part of one of the happiest days of their lives.  Lisa and Shaun  did me the honor of hiring me to photograph their destination wedding in the Bahamas. 

A fun evening at the nightclub, an intimate ceremony and reception and 2 portrait sessions later, and here are some of the many, many images I captured over those 3 days I was there with them. 

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There was even a quick volleyball game during the photo session.

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After dinner, Lisa and Shaun’s group of friends went to Aura, a club in Atlantis where everyone partied on until late into the night …

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Two of the photos from the portrait session we had at Atlantis.

Lisa and Shaun, I had a great time with you and your families. 
I wish you the best of luck in your future together! 

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.

What, may you well ask, is going on in the photo above?

Although it doesn’t look like it, this image was taken during a wedding - it was during the reception of an Orthodox Jewish wedding I photographed recently.  And it is typical of the general delighted craziness going on during these events.  The photo shows some of the guests dressed up in costume - this time in surgeons’ wear. 

The premise of an Orthodox wedding is that the guests make the wedding for the couple, meaning, the entire energy of the event is directed towards doing whatever it takes to ensure the bride and groom will be happy. 

The guests take turns to delight the bride and groom with all kinds of antics. I’ve seen magic acts, and juggling, human pyramids, and the absurdest of silly things.  All hugely entertaining -  and it certainly makes for memorable one-of-a-kind photographs!

Let me say this out straight - I hate gazebos.  I hate gazebos and fountains and I especially hate having to photograph a couple at whatever landmark/feature that a reception venue has, where every other couple from the last five years has been photographed.  There, I’ve said it. I feel better now, with that weight off of my shoulders.

Wedding portaits should be about capturing the romance, and capturing the relationship between the couple.  I would much rather work with the couple and with the light available.  I want to show how much they are in love with each other, rather  than the wooden structure that the reception venue bought from Home Depot. 

The portrait above from Simone and Damien’s wedding was taken in the late afternoon.  The maitre’d of the venue suggested I use the fountain as a backdrop for the couple - the same fountain that every other photographer uses as a backdrop for every other couple who gets married there.   Instead, I looked at where the light was coming from … and it was stunningly beautiful glowing light.  And the best was, the spray from the fountain was lit up by the glow from the late afternoon sun.  This created that ethereal looking golden mist behind them.  Looking for and using great light, and looking for a beautiful backdrop to place the couple in context … is so much better than photographing them against unconnected objects in the landscape.

Wedding portraits should be about romance, and not the gazebo or fountain. 
Indeed, we need more cowbell, less gazebo!