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saturday i shot katie and ryan's wedding with the fabulously talented michelle ross of under grace photography.

beautiful day.  beautiful location.  beautiful couple.

katie and ryan came down from chicago to tie the knot at pere marquette in grafton, illinois.  katie wore a gorgeous, classic dress from jcrew.

here is a looooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg post of favorites because there were just so many.
scroll down for the slideshow.

my self-assigned creative challenge for the day was to shoot everything wide open, meaning at the largest aperture (same as f-stop) my lenses allowed.  this ranged from 1.4-2.8.

aperture is the size of the opening of the lens.  the smaller the number, the larger the opening, the more light allowed in and the shallower the depth of field.

katie's dad MADE the arbor under which they got married!

a hidden moment, not posed.

a few moments after we trespassed wandered onto the levee-under-construction in grafton, the police drove up.  we had already heard how much they can be sticklers, so we were amazed when they drove off.

we continued on to alton where we trespassed wandered onto a series of barges/boats tied together.  while michelle started shooting, i sweet talked the men on board.  after i witnessed a rather puzzled look from the main dude, i heard the two behind him speaking spanish.  under pressure, my spanish is no tan bueno (not so good).  i may have been better off speaking english, but i explained that we are photographers.  duh.  as if the large camera around my neck didn't give that away.  and la gente se casan.  the people are getting married.  well, they already did, but anyway.  esta bien sacar fotos?  is it ok to take photos.  he nodded.  SCORE.

below is my new favorite wedding photo of all time.

this one was shot through a rusty metal vice.

we hit a turquoise wall and a little spot across the street in alton and then headed back for the reception.  this was shot through a car window.

light falling on becca...
1. doh!
2. doh!
3. where is my mouth doh?
4. AHA!

we tried to take a ferry shortcut back to michelle's house, but we ended up stuck in that little strip of no man's land illinois between the rivers.  the second ferry across to st. charles was closed, so we had to turn around and take the belle of calhoun back.  it was actually a nice detour.

and the slideshow!

kathy and tim put their hearts and souls into their wedding. they made it THEIRS. too many people get wrapped up in all the should dos instead of the i do.

their love and laughter was overflowing. for their "first look," kathy and tim wanted something with personality- kathy coming out of a whale, perhaps? for their last look of the evening, they swung from ropes. we can't ask for more fabulous clients, especially when THEY are the ones to suggest they swing from a rope.

the first father/daughter dance was amazing- not a slow dance (that was their second), but a fast-paced, well choreographed number. later on, the parents suprised k + t with another performance, chorus line style. at least a dozen of their friends and family members rocked out in sparkly gold hats. it was magnificent.

family flew in from around the world to join them on their big day. that's how special they are.

some favorites and a slideshow: the candy bar created by bridesmaid, erica...

kathy's beautiful bouquet...

kathy's mom AND dad walked her down the aisle. i LOVE it!

the best father/daughter dance i have EVER seen...

and the chorus line number... kathy and tim surrounded by dancing love!

yesterday, as the floats were rolling, the beer was pouring and the unmentionables were exposing at mardi gras in soulard, we were busy celebrating the equally fun nuptials of liz and rob- our first 2008 wedding!  and what a way to start the year- with lots of irish catholic goodness!

liz and rob, you both looked stunning yesterday and you were a blast to photograph.  you were great sports at every turn.  we've never been in the middle of a snowball fight on a wedding day before, but liz, you didn't even flinch! 

wedding party, you guys also rocked!  rebecca and connie, i doubt we will ever see such an award-winning bouquet grab.  i smile every time i think of it. 
 
and families, thank you for making our jobs easy by being incredibly friendly, welcoming and easy going.

as always, scroll down through a few favorites to reach the slideshow.  press the little arrow on the bottom left of the window to start the show.

and show some blog love!!!

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, LizandRob, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers, weddings

the details, the emotion, and the heart and soul that went into this wedding made it one incredible day.  weddings these days can be a little cookie cutter.  since we are not cookie cutter photographers, i especially love when couples really put themselves into their big day- you see it in emily's beautiful dress detailed with black beading and the hilariously wonderful kiss groom's cake and matching life-sized kiss cutout.  emily and dennis, you are both amazing and we thank you for choosing us to be a part of such a amazing celebration.

a few favorites and a slideshow are below.  show some blog love and leave a comment!!

Labels: BentonParkPhotographyCo, EmilyAndDennis, slideshows, StLouisWeddingPhotographers, weddings