After the Hendricks Chapel ceremony the couple changed their clothes and headed to The Inn Complete at the other end of the Syracuse University campus for their reception and Korean wedding ceremony. Ya gotta love this world with it’s many different people, traditions and cultures. Blending them isn’t always easy but Ashley and Heerak did a fabulous job celebrating both of their families and backgrounds.

Then the party started. They managed to have quite the fun party in that little place. Lots of dancing, laughing and yes, even Karaoke. Heerak and Ashley started off the Karaoke by impersonating Sonny and Cher and singing (?) “I Got You Babe”. It was hilarious, and bad, and really, really fun. We wish them the best of luck and happiness in the years to come.

Remember you can click on the photos to see them larger

They’re planning a NYC wedding, since both of them are actually from the city.  Maybe they’ll realize Picture Infinity is portable.  We can always hope!  I love these guys and it was fun hanging out with them for a while.

June 12, 2010

• Wedding ceremony venue: St Mary’s on the Lake
• Reception venue:  Anyela’s Vineyard
• Wedding photographer: Sarah & Matt Picture Infinity Studios
• Music/DJ: The Mere Mortals
• Transportation: Big D’s Limo
• Bakery: Upper Crust Bakery

This wedding was awesome!  Melissa and Stewart are some of the nicest people we have ever met.  You can tell how much they love each other just by seeing them together.  It’s a real special pleasure photographing weddings when the emotion is genuine and all the guests share in it so completely.

It was a bit difficult to find Melissa because she wanted me to meet her way out in the middle of nowhere at her parents home on the shore of Cross Lake.  The address was Fire Lane something or other. The further I went down this dirt road, the more unsure I got about whether I was actually heading in the right direction.  I did eventually find her, though, in the midst of all her girls in a frenzy of the “getting readys”.  The rain cleared up enough for us to grab a few photos on the porch before we headed to the ceremony.

I rarely cry during ceremonies.  I have heard it all; all the readings, all the homilies, everything you can imagine but this one got to me.  Father Lang started out by saying that Mel and Stew love each other for the right reasons. Not because they like what the other person can do for them, but because of the kind of people they are and how they admire things about each other that brings them closer together.  I was stunned at this amazingly simple and perfect description.  Then when I saw the way the two of them were looking at each other I knew it was true and yep, I cried.  I wasn’t the only one, either!  There were quite a few tissues in use all around the church.

All in all it was a beautiful day full of happiness and joy for two wonderful people.

Keli was simply gorgeous and I think Isaac has to be the happiest groom I’ve ever met.  I thought he might burst when he saw Keli come around the corner and head down the aisle.  Their joy was contagious and there wasn’t a straight face to be found during the entire day.  Everybody was beaming and having a wonderful time.

There were so many memorable moments.  I truly hope that our photos help keep this day fresh in Keli and Isaac’s hearts so they can always remember the way they felt as they placed their rings on each others fingers and the way their eyes met when Isaac was told to kiss his bride.  And, of course, the whole crazy party afterward.

The one part of wedding planning I looked forward to the most was the cake tasting!  Rather than going to the bakery, I decided to have both sets of parents over for dinner and then have the cake samples as dessert to make for a more fun and relaxing time.  My dad had to go out of town for work at the last minute so my grandmother came instead—she had so much fun!

Our cake is coming from Pascale’s Bakery who works directly with Justin’s Grill.  We were given a list of different cake flavors, fillings, and icings—it was hard to choose only 4 flavors!  Here is what our decision came down to:

Justin’s Grill was great about making sure the pieces would be big enough for all of us to get a taste.  We were able to try a bunch of different combinations! Here is what my plate looked like:

The only PROBLEM with the tasting…..

Is that there wasn’t more!!!!

We decided on layered black & white (chocolate & vanilla) with fresh berries!  They are also going to add a little bit of the frosting, bettercream, to the berries so they stick between the layers better—I can’t wait!

May 30, 2010

• Wedding ceremony venue:  The Landmark Theater
• Officiant:  Rev. Jim Urtz
• Wedding Dress:

We have been waiting for Brandy and Jesse’s wedding for a LONG time.  We first met them almost 2 years ago.  They were planning their wedding.  A beautiful, traditional wedding with ball rooms and churches and stuff.  Well, things didn’t quite go as planned and they had to put off their special day.  In the meantime, Brandy got caught up in the excitement of planning the wedding exactly as SHE really wanted it.  It went from traditional to eclectic, beautiful and totally original.  As she put it:  “This wedding is much more ME.”

Meanwhile, they were blessed with an adorable baby boy named Rowan and I got to take maternity pictures for them.  Not a bad way to pass the time while waiting for an incredible wedding.  We got to know each other pretty well and now I feel like they are almost family.  I love this couple from the bottom of my heart and I hope they have a wonderful life together.

The day started as most weddings start:  late.  The girls were scrambling around trying to get ready.  Brandy was looking more and more amazing as the transformation progressed but she was getting pretty nervous.  Her dress was beautifully detailed, her makeup was glamorous and she had mehndi on her hands to go with her multicultural theme. She looked like a movie star when they were finished.  Red and white and gorgeous!  Then it was a quick flight to the Landmark Theater in downtown Syracuse.

The Landmark was gorgeous, of course.  All the renovations they’ve been doing are spectacular.  It is DARK (photographers beware!) but absolutely stunning.  It was the perfect backdrop for Brandy and Jesse.  Glamor and glitz!  I hardly noticed any of it at first since I had to run for three blocks after having a tough time finding a parking spot.  Ha ha.  I barely got into place, huffing and puffing before they started coming down the aisle.  This wedding was like an Indiana Jones movie, with adventure and romance.  So let’s get to the photos:

Becky and Jess had an engagement session with Allison & Tim this time.  I thought I would go along to help out and maybe give them some input.  They did great and hardly needed me at all!

We all met at Tim’s family’s lake house on Skaneateles Lake and started shooting down by the water.  What a great place.  I can just imagine little Tim spending his summers there as a kid and having a ball.

Allison looked GREAT and Tim was very handsome.  They had fun being supermodels for the day.  Allison kept saying “let’s do the model look” and they’d look out over the water very stoically.  Ha ha.  I’m sure they will enjoy having Becky and Jess as their personal paparazzi during their wedding.

Alyssa & Sean’s engagement portraits were our first chance to get the whole team of Becky & Jess together on a Picture Infinity shoot.  Both have shot for years before joining us but this is their first year working together for us.  We caught up with Alyssa & Sean at Green Lakes in Manlius and walked around for awhile.  Sean told us he’d do “up to” 50/50 sunglasses on/off.  You can tell that by the end of this shoot we had turned those numbers on their side to about 75/25.

We had a lot of fun – Sean and Alyssa are both HILARIOUS!  We enjoyed shooting with them and I know I can’t wait to see how Becky and Jess handle their wedding photos!

I’m going to have Becky and/or Jess add their thoughts on this session here shortly too!