In late August, I travelled to Mexico for the wedding of some dear friends, Aaron and Paul. They were getting married in the beautiful town of San Miguel de Allende, and my husband and I were to be guests. With celebrations planned over a period of a week, it was a great trip until my husband fell to food poisoning a few days before the actual wedding….
On the day of the wedding, he was still able to attend the service and a short period afterward, but then missed the rest of the celebration. There was no “official” photographer for the event as it had been designed to be a casual affair, so I decided to use my simple cellphone to document the event in my usual wedding style as a way to keep myself occupied as I was suddenly solo in the crowd.
Documenting a wedding on a cellphone proved to be an interesting experience in many ways. There are pluses and minuses to it as I quickly found out. No large camera equipment was definitely a plus. Slow control of focus and other controls was definitely a minus. While low light capability on cellphones is extraordinary these days, it doesn’t solve all problems with moving people. Flash is still pretty useless for creative control. I could go on. But as I used to tell my students, you make do with what you have, so I shot the event with what I had, a Galaxy S20, a two year old cellphone. For the gear heads out there, for the ultra low light shots I chose to hand hold at 1/6 and 1/10 of a second. All of this contributed to the look and feel I ended up with in what you will see. I shot in jpg for space (which I never do) and streamed to OneDrive for security and then did minimal editing in Lightroom to avoid too much destruction and excess artifacts.
Tech stuff out of the way, it was an absolutely beautiful occasion and achieved the casual and laid back feel that Aaron and Paul had wanted. The air was filled with love and friendship and the close group of friends that had assembled clearly enjoyed themselves and being together. The food and drinks were sensational, and the location divine. All told it was a fantastic experience and I was thrilled to be part of such a love filled weekend. Cheers to the happy couple and lots of love for the future!
Category Archives: unions
Friends, relationships, and a whole lot of love.
Weddings are all about love, relationships, friendships, and people coming together. Usually, that’s mostly to do with the people I’m photographing, however every once in a while, the universe makes things happen in an unusual way.
Enter the wedding of Lauren and Flynn. I’ve known Lauren since the mid 2000’s when we used to work at Starbucks together. She is an amazing powerhouse of a woman; energetic, direct, principled, ethical, and sincere. She’s also an alum of Northern Kentucky University, as am I. I left Starbucks in 2010, but through the wonders of social media, we have been able to remain connected to each other. This year, she and Flynn, who also works at NKU, were to be married.
Everything was set for their date of April 29th. Then one week before, due to unforeseen medical circumstances, their photographer had to withdraw from the event. Lauren and I met over drinks and I was delighted to be able to help by stepping in. Normally this would be a challenge as my work is based heavily on relationships, but as I already knew Lauren well, I felt that I could capture the heart of what I was sure would be a great day.
The day did not disappoint. Neither did the people! There was so much friendship and love on display and the sense of bonding from Flynn and Lauren’s fraternity and sorority brothers and sisters was incredible. From the getting ready stages of the day, to the ceremony, and on to the fantastic reception and party that lasted well into the evening, this day was about love, special people, family, and being connected to each other. Being able to step in and be part of it was an amazing experience for which I am truly grateful. Here’s a selection of images from the day.
Congratulations, Lauren and Flynn!
Once upon a December morn.
One of the great things about being a photographer is that interesting opportunities often pop up out of the blue. One such opportunity was the wedding of Dustin and Mike that happened on the morning of December 3rd, 2016.
Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I typically start meeting with the people I photograph about a year in advance. With Dustin and Mike, I met them for the first time on the day of their wedding. The reason for this was not a lack of planning, but more to do with spontaneity, romance, and chance. Dustin emailed me 5 days before their wedding asking if I was free on the third of December. Apart from photographing the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus in the evening, my calendar was clear. They had decided to move the date of their wedding up from March of 2017 to December 3rd, 2016. Several factors had played into this; the recent election and the fact that they had some cherished friends coming into town on that weekend that they wanted to be able to be part of the ceremony. I said “yes” and Dustin promised to email me the location and details in a few days’ time.
A few days later, as promised, I received an email telling me that the wedding would be held in Washington Park, Cincinnati at 11:15am. There would be five guests attending and the ceremony would last about 15 minutes. The officiant was to be Julie Niesen Gosdin, a friend of mine whom I have worked with before in a number of capacities. There was no time for a pre-meet, and explanation of my work, or anything; just a “yes, I’ll be there” response. The plan was for them to marry in the bandstand.
I arrived at around 11am to make some early images of the park. It was a cold, winter morning, but the day was delightfully crisp and invigorating. I began making images and then became a little concerned when the park managers showed up with a throne and lots of boxes to turn the bandstand into “Santa’s Grotto” for a Santa meet and greet. Bandstand idea, scratched.
Dustin and Mike arrived at 11:15am, and after telling them about Santa’s Grotto, we decided on a beautiful square with Music Hall in the distance. After a quick pause to do a KSU (Kansas State University) pose for the alumni magazine, we got down to the business of marriage. The whole event was just a magical expression of love, romance, and closeness. Close friends, heartfelt and sincere words at the ceremony, followed by expressions of love and applause from the guests, including rousing cheers from people strolling through park as Dustin and Mark kissed, warmed the heart on this chilly, but beautiful, December morning. We ended the morning with a simple portrait session before the happy group departed for Nada for their wedding meal.
I was delighted to be part of this experience. Great things come as surprises. Thanks, chaps, for including me in your special day!
Rick and Mark – Tenderness and Laughter
Rick and Mark are a unique couple in so many ways. When you first meet them, their sense of humour can often catch you off guard. Bone dry could be one way of describing Mark’s humour and Rick is often the butt of his jokes. I remember when I first met Mark I wasn’t quite sure when to laugh and when not to, but I quickly learnt that all of the joking between them exists because they love each other so much! That’s a great thing to witness. It’s especially important when planning a marriage.
Rick is very hands on and detail oriented when it comes to the planning of things and I like that approach. From the beautiful pumpkins, peacock feathers, bottles of blowing bubbles, an extra cake for Marks mother, and the signage around the venue, everything was meticulously planned. As we went through our meetings, Mark clearly enjoyed teasing Rick about everything, but cleverly knew that he was also going to be the beneficiary of it all!
The day itself, thanks to Rick and Mark, was a great success. Deftly managed by Katherine, their event planner, everything ran without a hitch. But the most evident thing to me, as the observer with the camera, was the tenderness behind all the planning. All of the things were done for a reason and to demonstrate love. The beautiful pictures of absent family members in the hallway were one example of the inclusivity of the day. The extra care over special menus for guests was another. There were many, many more touches as well.
Tenderness was also clearly visible in their love for each other. I think you’ll notice that in the pictures. Rick resting his head against Mark; Mark holding Rick with clear affection as they danced. These are the special moments of wedding days and this day was full of them. All the humour and laughter revealed a tremendous amount of love and comfort and I was thrilled to be a part of it all. I hope you’ll be able to see some of that warmth and love in this small highlight of their day.
Congratulations, Rick and Mark!
Maura and Aaron – Family, rain, and tons of love.
Relationships are what my work is all about. The wedding of Maura and Aaron was another milestone in a wonderful relationship that I have had since meeting the Lambert family four years ago. That was when I photographed their daughter Hannah at her marriage to Ben. Then I photographed their friends Chris and Krista at their wedding. Earlier this year I photographed the wedding of Dave and Jim, close friends of the family and the wedding planners for Hannah and Ben. My connection with this family is a great one and one that I am really proud of.
Maura and Aaron were getting married at Cincinnati Zoo on April 30th. We had begun meeting last October and had been talking about the event for a while. When it came to the actual day, though, none of us were happy about the weather. Rain clouds had rolled in and steady rain accompanied everything from early in the morning. It was to be an outdoor wedding too! But this is not a family who let their spirits get dampened. I joined them at the hair salon, while Lindsay, my other photographer, joined Aaron and the guys at his parents house for beer and pizza. From the moment we started photographing the sense of family, love, and support was in the air and no amount of weather or anything else was going to get in the way of this day being something special!
We went through hair and make up, walked out in the rain to get lunch, and Marcus, Maura’s close friend, monitored the weather closely on his phone right to the end to see if we had to make the call to move the ceremony inside. At 2pm the call was made. We were outside, rain or shine! As you can see, we had a little shower to contend with during the ceremony, but we were mostly lucky with the weather clearing for us. This family has luck, looks, and love in large amounts!
The whole day was just so marvelous. From the giraffe that munched through the ceremony, the owl at the dinner, and Chris dancing, everything was just perfect. I’m so pleased to know this family and their friends. I’m only sad that they don’t have more people to get married! Congratulations, Maura and Aaron!
Jeff and JP – Mexico, France, and new friends.
A lot of the time the people who I get to photograph are people that I know in some capacity. I’ve usually either met them at an event I’ve photographed, or they are friends, etc. In the case of Jeff and JP, though, they were a brand new couple who were recommended to me by another friend of mine. That makes the initial process very different and means that there is a lot more “getting to know you” stuff that goes on to make a successful photographic record.
I first met with Jeff and JP back in October 2015. We hit it off immediately! They were planning a 2016 event for all of their friends to celebrate their 2015 wedding and there were to be guests from all over the US and Europe in attendance. We had a great time at our pre-meetings discussing everything and it wasn’t long before I started to see them around at other events too! Their event took place at the fabulous Bell Event Center in Cincinnati and was an exceptionally well put together and stylish affair. With Mexican and French heritage, Jeff and JP had put together an event with nods to both of their cultures in a delightful way, including traditional dances from both.
You’ll see from the slideshow here that the event was a roaring success. I’ve also come out of this with two fabulous new friends as well which is something really special to me. The love that these two share and radiate is infectious. Take a look at the video and see what I mean! Congratulations, chaps. I’m glad we met!
Ronny & Dave – Family and a “first”
A couple of weeks ago I received a Facebook message from Ronny asking if I was free on a Friday afternoon for an hour or so. It wasn’t a usual request for me, as being a documentary wedding photographer my wedding work is a little longer than 60 minutes! However, I know Ronny from two places; the Human Rights Campaign in Cincinnati, but also through a company called Interbrand where I interned for three months in their photography studio in 2009. He and Dave, his now husband, have been together for many years and were planning on having a very private and intimate ceremony at Mount Auburn Presbyterian church in Cincinnati. Mount Auburn wasn’t their regular church, but the pastor and church council welcomed them with open arms. The members of Mount Auburn had stopped all legal weddings in their church back in 2004 – until “all” could be legally married in it. Since the marriage equality ruling that came down from the highest court in our country, the church had reopened for legal weddings. Ronny and Dave were to be the first same sex couple to be legally married there, something that they considered a great honour. I was delighted to be able to say yes and to be part of their celebration!
The afternoon began with meeting the pastor of Mount Auburn, Barb, the musician, Beth, and going over the details of their ceremony. Ronny, Dave, their children, and groomsmen arrived about fifteen minutes later. For those of you have not been to this church before, it is a big space, but what surprised me was that it was instantly filled with a fantastic feeling of love, family, and warmth. It was really quite amazing and I felt quite special to be a part of it. The ceremony started at 5pm sharp with a short procession and a beautiful candle lighting ceremony dedicated to family. There were some readings, beautiful blessings, wonderful music, and some fantastic singing by Ronny, who I’ll now be talking to about the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, one of my regular clients…..
After the ceremony, we took a quick trip to Eden Park for some additional photos. The early evening weather was beautiful and the flowers were in full bloom. We found a great spot under some trees where Dave and Ronny cracked open a bottle of champers to celebrate their nuptials with their groomsmen. It was the perfect closing to their ceremony that was filled with moments from the heart. It goes to show that events that are simple and straightforward are just as poignant and memorable as other more lavish affairs.
Ronny and Dave, thank you for including me in your afternoon. I am honoured to have been included. Congratulations to you both!
Rick and Richard – The Surprise Wedding!
I’m really fortunate that I get to work with so many people that I know from other parts of my life. I know Rick through the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus and also through photographing for the American Guild of Music, an organisation that he has been involved with for many years. When Rick called me to tell me about his wedding plans I was excited to get the opportunity to work with him again.
What was making this even more special was that this was to be a surprise event for all of the guests. Each year Rick and Richard throw a fantastic and highly anticipated holiday party. This year, however, they had told their guests that there would be a few surprises in store and the biggest one was that Rick and Richard would be getting married! Other surprises would include Richard dancing, something that I was looking forward to with great excitement….
The evening turned out to be just as amazing as planned. As the guests arrived they were caught by surprise at the wedding arch in the grand room, the atmosphere was fabulous, and the feeling of love and respect in the air was magical. The ceremony was beautiful and Rick sang beautifully to his groom during the vows, leaving everyone with moist eyes. Rick and Richard danced a superb first dance that Richard managed fantastically! It was such a special evening of love, friendship, and blessings and I was delighted to be a part of it
Congratulations Rick and Richard. You’ve waited many years for this moment. Here’s to many more years ahead!
Mark and Tom – A Night at the Museum. Slideshow and blog
On April 18th, 2015 Mark Palkovic and Tom Shessler tied the knot in New York City after 31 years together. Following the footsteps of many couples who get married out-of-state, they went with a small group of friends and made things official with an intimate ceremony, a romantic dinner, and a whirlwind weekend. Not wishing to leave the rest of their friends out back home, they also organized a celebration the following week for almost 100 people at the Cincinnati Museum Centre.
Home to both the Cincinnati Museum and the headquarters of the all things railway in Cincinnati, the evening began at Union Terminal in the Presidential Office and Suite for some family photographs. We had been worried that we might not be allowed to climb on the furniture after our tour the previous week, but with no one looking, we risked it anyway and spent a wonderful 30 minutes exploring the suite and taking pictures in the chairman’s office and boardroom. Next stop was the Graeters Ice Cream Parlour, complete with original Rookwood tile for a quick portrait or two, before heading into the museum area for an intimate reception, where I discovered that Tom and Mark like to hug people….a lot. Everyone was hugged multiple times and then again for good measure. The feeling of love was, well, palpable.
After cocktails and canapés, the party headed through the museum itself to the lower levels for dinner, where, next to a boat with an appropriate sign of “Queen of the West”, guests listened to a couple of speeches, toasts, and jazz for the rest of the evening. There was plenty of chat, laughter, wine, and a lot more hugging. The cake was cut, people danced, Tom and Mark visited all the tables and hugged everyone again, old friends caught up with each other, and new friendships were made. The evening completed with some special cards being exchanged before everyone hugged for the final time and headed off into the night.
It’s always special when I get to photograph with friends, especially ones who have been together for a long time.
Thanks, Tom and Mark, for letting me be a part of your celebration!
David.
Kevin and Jasen – Getting Hitched. Slideshow & blog.
A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of photographing my first same-sex union. Kevin and Jasen approached me last year to ask if I would make photographs of their day, and without a hesitation I jumped at the chance. As a gay man who married my husband in 2010, the opportunity to do this was something I certainly wasn’t going to pass up. Having known Kevin and Jasen for a while through our associations with the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, it was exciting to get to photograph my first same-sex union with people who share a similar vision on so many issues. As someone who is passionate about love, relationships, and equality, I was excited at the prospect of working together with Kevin and Jasen on an occasion that I knew would be very special for them. Our first meeting in November of last year talked about the documentary driven style of my work and we quickly agreed to work together for their date of October 11th, 2014.
Their day was a magical day for so many reasons. Starting with the “getting ready” phase at the Hilton Netherland in downtown Cincinnati, the air of friendship, excitement, and love was very evident. I had also worked with Kevin and Jasen the night before at their rehearsal dinner, so watching the day unfold and gather speed proved to be a great build up to the main event at 5pm. A slight mishap with the first bus leaving for the church without the two grooms sent us to Fountain Square for an impromptu photo session (together with some anti-fracking protestors), then a ride to the church on the second bus with additional guests all helped lend a merry and convivial air to the occasion. The ceremony was beautiful, with the celebrant, Alice, delivering some stirring words while people laughed, cried, and kissed their way through the hour, culminating with Kevin and Jasen declaring their love and getting “hitched”, as their twitter hashtag put it.
The evening portion kicked off with a cocktail party back at the Hilton, a reception hosted by local celebrity Penny Tration (of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame), a surprise rendition of “Everything’s Possible” by a scratch Men’s Chorus comprised of singers from the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus and the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, sumptuous food, the “Rubber Chicken” photo booth, and an evening of dancing and delights. It’s clear that everyone had an outstandingly good time. The sense of equality, joy, and compassion that existed throughout the day was fantastic and I was so thrilled to be a part of it. I certainly can’t think of a better wedding to blog about for my first post on this new blog than this one. My first same-sex union, and hopefully the first of many more to come. You can view a slide show of image highlights from their day below.
Congrats chaps! #bleylecoolearehitched
David
Kevin & Jasen – Married. October 11, 2014 from David Martin on Vimeo.
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