Alyssa & Matt's AWESOME Wedding in Ocho Rios Jamaica!!! Part 1

A few weeks back Michelle and I had the most amazing opportunity to photograph Alyssa & Matt's wedding at the Riu Ocho Rios resort in Ocho Rios Jamaica. I don't think we could have asked for a cooler couple to make the experience of our first destination wedding so unforgettable. When we arrived a couple of days before the wedding Alyssa & Matt treated us to a beach bag filled with beach necessities like sunscreen, aloe and lots of other goodies- they made us feel like guests! Both of their families were absolutely wonderful- it's no wonder Alyssa & Matt are so awesome. Jamaica has to be one of the most beautiful places ever. We loved how relaxed the entire atmosphere of both Jamaica itself as well as the wedding was. We had so much time with Alyssa & Matt following the ceremony for photos that I have no idea how I'm going to edit the photos down. I have soo many photos I'd love to share but here are just a random selection of a few shots that we loved from the wedding day. Stay tuned for more images including those from our day after session!

Michelle shot this one during the ceremony. Isn't it awesome!:

Can you say magazine cover?:




I caught this photo right after the ceremony when they thought nobody was looking:




They had the coolest families- how many families would be willing to do this?:

This guy's not too shabby himself:





Matt showing off his juggling skills with some random fruit on the beach:

CD Cover Shoot with Dianne

I'm so excited to finally be able to post our session with Dianne from last month. We met her up in Evergreen in the open space for her upcoming CD that will be released this fall. She is crazy talented and plays several instruments including the violin, piano and cello that are featured on her CD. We even had the opportunity to hear a little bit of her playing the violin while we took photographs. Originally we had planned on her session at the Opera House but when things didn't work out for us to use the space as intended, we suggested going into an open field since it seemed to fit the theme of the CD and we figured we might be able to get some flowers in the shots that were similar to lilacs (since they were something she really wanted to include in the photos as well). So, armed with bugspray- to keep the mosquitos away, we started the photos close to sunset and got some beautiful shots! Although, when we were greeted by a park ranger right after starting photos we weren't sure if we were going to have to change our plans. We had only been at this particular location one other time and were unaware that we need to get a permit to photograph there. Fortunately the park ranger was very kind and allowed us to finish up our session. We had a great time photographing Dianne! She was so easy to work with and it was a blast getting to do something completely new for us. Thanks Dianne for the opportunity and we'd love to get a copy of your CD as soon as it's out! Here are just a few images we took throughout the session that she maybe using for her CD cover- enjoy!

Jen & Ryan's E-Session in Evergreen

A month ago we photographed Jen & Ryan's engagement session up in Evergreen. We started their session at the lake and then headed to a nearby field to finish up. We'd passed by that field so many times before while heading to the lake that I just had to test out the area- it turned out to be awesome! We made it there just before sunset and the light was so beautiful! We had a great time photographing these two and getting to know them and hear how they first met. They were so natural in front of the camera and made my job so easy. We are very excited to photograph their wedding the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Last year we said we should sell that Sunday as including a rainbow with the wedding since both last year as well as 2007 ended up with a rainbow while we took the bride & groom's photos. Apparently that tradition is continuing in some way since Jen & Ryan's wedding venue has the word "Rainbow" as part of the name- who would have thought? Anyways, here are just a few photos from their session last month. The last one is one of my favorite ring shots that was completely unplanned. A lady bug just happened to land on Jen's left hand and stayed there long enough for me to catch a photo with the ladybug and the ring in there as well. Enjoy!

Calling All Ladies Contest Winner Brandy!

I realize this post is long overdue but things have just been hectic around here the last few weeks so we're glad we're starting to catch up on a few things. Our Calling All Ladies Contest that we held a few months back turned out better than expected. We had a close race up to the final hours of the contest and until midnight we weren't sure who would win. In the end Brandy was declared the winner with a close second going to Kacey & Jay. Last month we set up the actual session with Brandy and decided on Castlewood Canyon as the location. Donna Kelly did the makeup and hair for Brandy and did a beautiful job. She helped us out for our first Senior Rock Star Tour last month as well and did such a great job that we had to have her help us for this event as well. When we got out to Castlewood Canyon the park ranger warned us about the mosquitos and boy was he right. By the end of the day we totaled 59 mosquito bites between the three of us- yet Brandy was such a sport through it all! We had a great time taking photos the entire afternoon and even got in the water (which I don't think helped deter the mosquitos at all). Here are just a few images we took during the session. Check back for some video footage we took of the day with my new camera. If you or someone you know is interested in a bridal fashion shoot please let us know!










I caught this one right as Brandy was getting bit by a mosquito.