Reese & Chris’ wedding has kept me on the happy-high for at least a week now.  At this wedding, there was definitely no one happier than Reese–in every single photo, her smiling/laughing/just plain beaming just jumps out of every single photo. Here are some of my faves from the wedding, and a video with more of the wedding photos at the end. 

Here is the wedding video that we created, enjoy!

Congrats Reese & Chris!  Thank you guys so much for letting me be a part of your amazing day! 

Reese & Chris Engagement Photos 1

Reese & Chris Engagement Photos 2

When she met Dave, I think she knew that he would be the one. After dating for 5 or 6 months, he got a job transfer to Tokyo, and trusting in how she felt, she moved a million miles away with him. Crazy and amazing at the same time, right? That’s how much she knew she loved him. After Tokyo, Dave got another job transfer, and they’re now living in Hong Kong totally in love, and with their adorable dog.

They flew in to New York City for the wedding, and tons of people flew in from all corners of the word, including Australia and Japan, to attend. Everything about the wedding was just amazing! I was sad that I didn’t get to use my camera much since I was in bridesmaid mode, but here are some photos from before the ceremony.

How great is the flower in the hair?

Here is Lara, trying to convey how big she wanted her hair to be.

I’ve spent some serious time wondering where or when I could rock out these crazy fake feather eyelashes.

Some of the lovely purple details. We had a running discussion about whether asparagus was actually used in the bouquet, so someone took a bite and confirmed…not asparagus. Isn’t the stamped “Bride” tag adorable?

The Vera Wang gown was seriously TDF fabulous [my sister has informed me that I am too old to say TDF...]  and the detailing on the dress was unbelievable.

Sandra helping Mary with attempting to find a bustle.

Alyssa, the sister and Maid of Honor.

It’s a totally different experience photographing a friend’s wedding when you’re not the wedding photographer.  For starters, there’s no lugging around the two giant cameras, lenses, flashes, etc., but even more than that it totally changes the dynamic.  There’s no setting up the lighting, there are a ton of people with point and shoot cameras clamoring (and sometimes nudging) in front of you, and if you’re traveling light with one lens, you just work with what you’ve got.

We recently attended our friends, Ramya and Mark’s wedding in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in a traditional Indian wedding ceremony.  There was tons and tons of fantastic Indian food, some seriously great warm weather (well, warm compared to DC, the native Floridians were all in some serious coats when we were there) and lots of great catching up with other friends who attended, much of it over some Texas Hold’em using gummy bears and jolly ranchers.  The wedding was so vivid, just full of unbelievably rich colors.

Now the whole image is a bit softer, but there were certain parts of the photo that I want to keep sharp, mainly the hair, the eyes, and the eyebrows. To make sure these parts aren’t blurry, I added a Vector Mask, and from here, used a black paintbrush to paint over the areas that I want to keep sharp. To do this, go to Layer –> Vector Mask –> Reveal All. Select the paintbrush tool, select black paint, and then paint over the parts that you want to be sharp.

Finally, fix any skin imperfections. Click on the 7th icon down in your toolbar on the left and hold down until you see the Patch Tool show. Using the patch tool, encircle the area that you want repaired, select the Source button on the top bar, and then drag the encircled area to clean patch of skin. This tool is amazing.

Here is the below and after. No huge changes, but enough to make her look her best and draw attention straight to her amazing eyelashes.

Here is Sandra getting ready in her traditonal Afghan wedding attire. 

Sal’s niece and nephew, adorably hamming it up for the camera. 

This was the bridal procession that entered the wedding before Sal and Sandra.  They carried candles and other items that were later placed before the bride and groom on stage. 

After Sal and Sandra entered the room, they sat at a table with the Spiritual Mullah who said prayers for the couple and provided advice for their new life together. 

Guests also prayed to provide blessings to the couple. 

After the Spritual Mullah finished speaking, Sandra and Sal took their seats on stage on their thrones.  They were officially married and the reception began!

Guests looked on and clapped while Sandra and Sal performed their first dance. 

Then all the guests joined in on the dancing–bright colors whirled around everywhere.   

Halfway through the ceremony, Sandra changed into a white wedding gown, Sal changed into his tux, and the rest of the guests changed into evening gowns.  There was a bit of rain outside between the changing room and the reception locating, but it didn’t stop anyone.

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Sal and Sandra made it back to the reception in their Western wedding attire, and the party continued late into the night! 

Congrats Sandra and Sal!  Thanks for letting us be a part of your amazing day!

Enter stage right: the self-publish photobook.

Keep in mind that this only works if you get rights to your photographs on a CD or some other digital format. If your photographer isn’t willing to give you digital pics, then you’re stuck with only getting albums that your photographer can make for you.

There are a bajillion easy to use options for album making. When going through a website, all you have to do is upload pictures, assemble, and voila! you’ve got a fabulous album that will make your grandparents eyes tear up. The album is easily made, although it can be a bit time consuming.

While it’s hard to tell what photobook service to use, since you can’t see the album in person, there are a bunch of websites that provide reviews of the different options. Tom’s Guide provides a very thorough analysis of different options. Another great one is here.

Here is a link to some options:
Blurb: great for picturebooks as well as books that are more text-heavy
Picaboo: has some higher end gorgeous cover options
iPhoto: although it seems like the program is free only if you own a mac
Shutterfly
Snapfish