You can trust me, but this time you don’t have to — I have proof. Chandeliers tell no lies, and Amanda and Glenn’s wedding rocked the Merion so hard the darned thing looked ready to come down.

Passionate, fun, and ready to tear the foundations off a building with merriment — these are my kind of people. Thanks to Dustin Finn for assisting the mayhem (and spotting the chandelier).

Just a reminder that, with all this talk of authenticity on the blog this week, I do still like a nice trick or two. And when you arrive in the chosen spot for wedding portraits and it’s pitch black, it’s nice to have a big back of tricks, literally and metaphorically. It took a flash composite AND a panorama to pull this one off.
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Lens: 35mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Lowel id-light

Elizabeth had elements of this day planned in her fancy three-ring binder for quite some time — some of them, I’m willing to bet, before she met Anthony. I don’t know if it said “Be fabulous” in there, but some things are just a given.

It’s been quite a journey for them, from playing Guess Who over cups of tea in the cafeteria to a fabulous fall day in Central Park. Weddings, of course, are not without challenges, which is something that keeps them interesting. The gods of the New Jersey Bridges and Tunnels were not kind, leaving the choice of either having the ceremony without 90 percent of the guests or having it in the pitch dark in the only place in Manhattan without lights. But it doesn’t say “problem solver” on the left-hand side for nothing. Under a canopy at night is too much for even my D3s or my eyeballs to see, but luckily I always travel with video lights. I used the help of the videographers (Peter Ferriero and team) to set up light in the corners of the gazebo, about 90 seconds before the processional had to start. Not only was there no disaster — they got to enjoy a stunning twilight ceremony with the lights of Southern Manhattan twinkling in the distance.

There’s nothing I can say about the emotion of the day, about their connection, about the fun that was had — both theirs and mine — that the images don’t say better. But it was a pleasure and honor to be there and to have my friend and phenomenal photographer John Edgar there to capture the day with me. John basically owns Canada. I hope there will be some more international team-ups in the coming year, because this was an amazing experience.

In turns gorgeous, elegant, hilarious and wild, Yvonne and Clyde’s wedding at the Palace at Somerset Park had me smiling behind my camera all day. We started with a Catholic ceremony at the gorgeous St. Lucy’s in Newark (a city that keep surprising me). Unlike Erika and Chip, Yvonne and Clyde just missed Hurricane Irene. I’m not sure if anyone would have noticed if it tore the roof off, given how wild the dance floor was, lead by Clyde’s extremele energetic twin brothers.

Thanks to Zack Delaune for helping me with this — that’s his photo of the bride being hoisted on the dance floor, since it was spontaneous and I was shooting elsewhere. In addition to being a great photographer who’s attended my workshops, Zack is a FEMA professional. That’s right, when a hurricane threatens, only I will bring FEMA with me to make sure that everything goes OK.

Jessica and Brian commute to the city every day by boat. That’s pretty cool. One rung under commuting by jetpack. I’m working on that.
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Camera: Nikon D3s
Lens: 8-image “Brenizer method” panorama with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 (equivalent of 55mm f/0.9 according to Brett’s calculator)

Sometimes trying to zig where others zag isn’t enough, and I remind myself to zig where I would normally zag. It’s the best way to see things in new ways, or after taking hundreds of thousands of photos and looking at countless millions more, taking those that make me say the magic words: “Hey, I haven’t seen that before.”
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Lens: 35mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Sb-700 on a mini-stand.

Once again, the first word that came to your mind when you saw this photo probably wasn’t "Newark." But it is.
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Camera: Nikon D3s
Lens: 18-image “Brenizer method” panorama with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 (equivalent of 36mm f/0.6 according to Brett’s calculator)

It also is apparently home to a family of some very tenacious peacocks, who I feel were the mascots of the wedding in sort of a “groundhog-from-Caddyshack” way.

Stephanie and Joe were awesome; the wedding was touching, fun, and crazy on the dance floor, just how I like it. Congratulations, you two.

But it all comes down to the emotions. A lot of hankies were used that day, and there were so many deep bouts of laughter, the kind you can’t help but share in. I could fill half a wedding album with just the varied emotions of Tara and Ramin as they listened to speeches from her father, the best man, and the maid-of-honor. Congratulations, you two.

(I’m bringing back slideshows for the public until I change my mind again; in this case I’ve started to think about which images are best in layout format and which are best standing alone in a slideshow, so for the completeists just a note that there are lots of pictures that are in one but not the other, in both directions)

All you need to know about why Jen and Scott are awesome is that it was Scott’s idea to pose by the recycling cans, though I said “OK, if we’re going to do this, we’re going to REALLY do this!”
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Lens: 24mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Lighting: SB-900s, composited from three frames

But it was the couple that made the day truly great. By the time I photographed the wedding, I’d already shot their engagement portraits, their engagement party, and Kruti’s pre-wedding ceremonies, so I felt I knew them and their families very well by the start of the wedding day, and it was an absolute pleasure throughout. It takes a solid group of friends and family to stage an entire, 20-minute-long parody of Family Feud during the reception. Not for one moment did a little April showers slow this wedding down, as you’ll see below:

I have never walked out of a wedding with this many photos. Could you try to be less awesome? It makes my editing job more difficult.
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Lens: 35mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s

I’ve always had energy and drive; I think the biggest thing that I’ve developed in nearly 200 weddings is a handy sixth sense for how and when Murphy’s Law will strike and a necessarily unflagging sense of confidence. This job requires you to be a little crazy, and if you’re bringing a bride out to a field like this in heels, you’d better deliver.
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Camera: Nikon D3s
Lens: 17-image “Brenizer method” panorama with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4

I feel like my blog has unexpectedly become a travel brochure for Newark. But man, Branch Brook Park did their cherry blossom display right, and Cindy, Sharvin and I had all sorts of fun there.
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Camera: Nikon D3s
Lens: Nine-image “Brenizer method” panorama with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4

And their reception at the Merion was as wild, emotional, and intense a celebration as I’ve seen. And given that most of my weddings seem to be in a constant competition for craziest dancing, that says a lot.

The day was a cross of classical style and incredible energy, from a dress with gorgeous lace picked out in part by the bride’s grandmother, to the throngs letting it out on the dance floor. And at every moment, Sebastian and Gianna’s connection for each other was stronger than numb fingers and the February chill. Congratulations to a fantastic couple.