Life. Love. Lipstick.

Awhile back I featured a few wedding shots full of emotion. It is still one of my favorite posts, however simple. I love that I can look at a single shot and feel pure joy or have my eyes fill with tears. That is the sign of a truly wonderful photographer.

Photo by Chenin Boutwell

Photo by John & Joseph

Photo by Justine Ungaro

Photo by Natalie Moser

Photo by Poser

Photo by Paul Johnson

Photo by Apertura

Photo by Jenna Walker

I love discovering a photographer I didn’t know about! It’s so exciting to add more styles and perspectives into my Google Reader! My latest discovery is Clane Gessel, based out of Seattle. Clane is a sweetheart and his photography is to die for! He recently sent over images of Cody and Jeanette’s wedding, another black and green masterpiece to put me head over heels!

For years, I’ve pored over the beautiful wedding recaps in the Weddings We Loved thread of kvetch.  I love to see couples do things their own way.  Last week I was browsing the threads and found this beautiful wedding of  IB user tryingsohardtobelieve.  Stunning!  The bride and groom look like they are straight out of a magazine.  The invites and paper goods are to die for, and that cake?!  wow.

Definitely check out the full thread on IB.

Photography by Nick Murray.

My favorite wedding images are not the ones of little details like a custom napkin ring, not ring shots, not those images of colorful wedding shoes… the ones that stay with me for hours, sometimes days, are the ones that so perfectly capture emotion.  Once in awhile, I run across these breathtaking photos on photography blogs and want to do something with them.  I can see this will become a regular feature on this blog, much like ring shots used to be.

From the wedding of Miki and Joel, by Apertura:

God, the image of the groom, Joel, watching Miki come down the aisle chokes me up.  What a powerful photo.

And from the wedding of Liz and Josh by Anna Kuperberg:

oh, there are NO WORDS for the image of the hands.  That would be a huge canvas in my living room if this was my wedding.  So much love just there in the hands.

Ok, I’m a known hater of all things purple, but it was used in such a wonderful way in this wedding.  Dare I say, I think the purple could be one of my favorite accents to black and white now?!?

This bride’s adorable look, paired with the gorgeous reception details makes for an amazing wedding!  The photography was by Melissa Jill, and I especially love the reception detail shots.

You can see Melissa Jill’s entire post about this wedding on her blog.

There are times when I am too tired (lazy) to do a full wedding post.  This is one of those times.  I feel guilty about it though, because this wedding and its photographer really deserves a big post.  it is really a unique and relaxed and intimate wedding, shot sooo beautifully.

Erin and Jeremiah’s wedding was shot by the FANTABULOUS Amelia Lyon.  Definitely check out the full post here, as well as the rest of her blog posts!

Well, as happy as I am about our decision to elope, I’m sad to wave goodbye to Eric Laurits.  I had my heart set on having Eric shoot our nuptials, but deciding to get married this year means that we just can’t afford a top-notch photographer.  So here we are, searching for a decent photographer that meets our criteria:

1. Local to Orlando, to avoid travel costs.
2. Will shoot for just an hour or two, much like an engagement session, with a little ceremony thrown in.
3. Will sell us a disc of edited images for a reasonable price.
4. Will sell the disc of UNedited images for way cheap.
5. Is a good fit with our favored styles.*
6. Can be booked with just a couple months’ notice (wedding will possibly be on a weekday, so this isn’t impossible).
7. Will do the shooting itself for under $400.

Am I seeking the impossible?

I’m going with NO, and am going to search for the right photographer!  I know a lot of photographers read this blog, so if any of you can do this, or know someone who can, please let me know!

*Samples of these favored styles can be found on these photography blogs: Eric Laurits, Susan Stripling, The Image Is Found, John & Joseph – Just a few of my faves.

Oh, how I love me some ring shots.  I’ve come to realize that I pretty much like 2 types…

Quirky-

And downright beautiful art, suitable to hang as a huge canvas above the mantel-

And this, my friends, is my absolute favorite one to date… both witty AND beautiful art-

Photo credits:

• Next Exit Photography
• Studio ATG
• Whitebox Weddings
• Susan Stripling
• Blue Nalu Photography
• Anna Kuperberg

The main thing that caught my eye about this wedding is the imagery, by the amazing Wiebners. As i’ve said before, I love when emotions and relationships can be felt in a photo. These are truly wonderful photos.

I know I used a lot of images from their blog post, but there are actually many more! Check them out!

Somewhere between invitations and wedding cake, floral arrangements and favors, engagement rings and champagne toasts, lies the reason for it all… The ceremony. Too often, couples lose sight of what the wedding day is all about… the joining of two people. Even when a bride or groom is excited about the ceremony itself, they don’t usually give it much attention in the planning. However, in the end, the photos speak for themselves.

A good photographer captures emotion in a way that takes you back to that day. I absolutely love ceremony photos…he looks on the faces of the bride and groom, the tears of the guests. I didn’t attend these weddings, but I can still feel the powerful emotions, and I love that.

Image credits:
Evoke Photography, KGallery, KGallery again, Image Is Found, Susan Stripling