The reception was also very beautiful with touching speeches from Rolanda and Richard’s children and a very well-done song by Rolanda’s sorority sisters. I had a wonderful experience with Rolanda and Richard.

St. John’s Cathedral is one of the most ornate churches in NEO. The church has definitely relaxed its rules a bit, at least for photographers.  After the beautiful ceremony, we all hopped on the trolley and headed to the hotel, then all around downtown Cleveland. There was a mini baseball field set up for kids next to Progressive Field. We thought it would be fun to play some ball until we got kicked off by a security guard. But we did get one pitch in. After that, we went to the Rock Hall for more photos and Windows for the reception. There was no shortage of laughing, dancing and having a good time all night.

Lisa, Alan and their bridal party were such a relaxed and fun crowd to be with all day.

I was really anticipating this wedding because I had such a great time with Eboni and Mark during their engagement session. They were really natural and playful and had no problem being themselves. So almost a year later, the big day finally arrived. I began shooting the girls at Excentrix Salon, which is owned by Tierra, a member of the bridal party. Everybody was really calm and relaxed. The girls were practicing the Wobble for later that night. You can learn it here.

Eboni and Mark had a beautiful ceremony officiated by Mark’s grandfather. After the ceremony we went to Colby Park. We were a little against the clock there,  but we still managed to get some great shots. Lance Anderson second shot with me and did an awesome job as usual.

Congratulations to Eboni and Mark!

Tom’s Country Place has beautifully landscaped grounds. I could have spend hours shooting there without running out of ideas. Stacy and Ryan are fun to photograph because no matter what I asked them to do, it looks so natural. They just had fun together.

The reception was full of surprises, including a couple gnomes and a excellently executed dace to Thriller.

Lance Anderson second shot with me and caught some awesome moments, as usual. It was an awesome wedding and Lance and I had a blast.

Marriette and Mark were married at St. John Vianney in Mentor and the reception was at La-Vera Party Center in Willoughby Hills. After the beautiful ceremony we took some photos outside of the church and at Colby Park.We had a lot of time for photos, so we really had a chance to take advantage of what Colby Park has to offer.

Hanging out with Marriette, Mark and their bridal party for the day was a great time.

Here’s a few photos that I really liked.

Holly and Ian were wonderful to work with and their bridal party was a great bunch as well.

Congratulations to Holly and Ian!

I went to Gina’s house in the morning. The scene was so familiar to me, having covered a disproportionate amount of Italian brides in my day. Tons of people in the house, tons of hairspray in the air and tons of food on the table. I love these kinds of weddings. Everyone is buzzing around doing different things in all parts of the house. The living room is temporarily transformed into a salon.  The men just hang out in the kitchen and stay out of the way.

Gina looked absolutely stunning, as I knew she would. I joked that I was trying to take a bad photo of her just to challenge myself. If that were true, I would have failed miserably. After the getting ready shots everyone headed over to St. Albert the Great in North Royalton for the ceremony. After that we wnt to Coe Lake in Berea. The bridal party was a lot of fun. Everyone was easing going and willing to try anything. However, I’m sure they were more than happy to get back on the air-conditioned bus while I was finishing up with Gina and Steve.

The reception was at Blue Heron Country Club in Medina. Its a beautiful facility and I always enjoy shooting there.

The hit of the party was the big candy bar. People were scooping up candy and putting in in bags to take home until it was gone. I’ve never seen people so excited about a candy bar before.

The Marino Brothers provided the entertainment. They did a great job, as always. They really know how to energize a crowd and keep people on the dance floor. It was packed with people until the very end of the reception.

I had a wonderful time with Gina and Steve and I wish them all the best.

I met with Marie about a week before the wedding to discuss what she liked in terms of style. My previous wedding (Catherine and Jamie) was almost strictly photojournalism all day, which I love. But Marie (and I’m sure Paul too) wanted something totally different. “Old Hollywood glam.” Cool! And I knew Marie and Paul could rock it with ease. They just have that look. But what made the photos really work was that their emotion was real. The poses weren’t just poses. They felt it, and it comes through in the images. I loved shooting them.

I have to say a few words about the band, Soul Village. I’ve seen a lot of bands play at weddings, but at this wedding, I felt like I was at a concert. This band is so musically tight, especially in their jazz numbers. But they jammed Def Leopard and Bon Jovi with no problem too.

As I was packing my bags, another band took the stage. I don’t know its name, but Paul had a guitar in his hand, so I figured I should take the camera back out of the bag. Paul and his friends jammed some AC DC and Van Halen. Everyone went nuts. It was a great way to end the night.

Marie and Paul’s wedding was a thrill for me shoot.

Di Nero

We had a great time shooting this wedding because it was a break from the traditional. The ceremony and reception took place at the winery. The facility is beautiful, with lots of great backdrops, indoor and out. It was also really fun because we did a photobooth at the reception. Everyone loosened-up and got crazy while Lance snapped away.

Topaz and Michael are incredible people and really made me feel like an important part of their day. Working with them was such a pleasure.