Posted by: Poser: Image | September 7th, 2010
It appears I am making the rounds on the Indian wedding circuit, which I take as quite a compliment. One of the things you notice quickly when booking an Indian wedding is how important family and tradition is in the ceremony. I think this is fantastic and the symbolism is just beautiful. However, this can also mean a traditional style of photography might suit these weddings better, and that is much of what I have seen, but I have been entrusted three times now (and two more on the books currently) with telling their story and telling it my way, and I for one am loving the results.
I loved me some Neil and Monica. They got married at the Crescent in Dallas and the party did not stop (in true Indian style) till the wee hours of the morning.
Event Coordinator – Events By Hala
Ceremony/Recpetion Venue – Crescent Court
DJ/Lighting – Riz Entertainment
Floral - Elegant Affairs
Hair/Makeup – Ms. Painted Lady
Tags: Aruba, cabo, cabo san lucas, dallas wedding photographer, dancing, destination wedding photographer, Fashion, flare, Indian wedding, intimate, island, island wedding, lifestyle, Mexico, mexico wedding, ocean, passion, Poser, poser image, poser weddings, romance, southern weddings, Wedding Photographer, Weddings
Posted by: Poser: Image | August 19th, 2010
Last month I welcomed 18 talented photographers into my home for the maiden voyage of POSER:EXPOSED, Quasi-Wedding edition. Let me just say that putting together a full wedding and a workshop in the same day is a daunting task. There were definitely some lessons learned for next time, but it was an absolutely amazing experience from beginning to end. It started with me, like a fool, installing hard wood floors on the entire downstairs of my house. I started the project on Friday, the meet and greet was Sunday night. Fool I tell you. Lesson learned, number one.
Most everyone came to the meet and greet the night prior to the workshop, and I cannot tell you how impressed I was with the group. Everyone got along so well, and there was an obvious energy in my home. Some knew each other online but had never met, some knew each other from previous excursions and some made the trek alone, the braver ones I think. I immediately loved the group to be sure.
I had Uncle Julios (What?) cater the meet and greet, and OF COURSE everyone loved it. Might have been my favorite part of the whole experience :) Ok, maybe not, but it ranks.
The day of the workshop arrived and I was nervous, but excited. The teaching began around 10:30 or so and continued until around 4 or so when the Quasi-Wedding began with the getting ready portion, which I was doing right there in my house. It sure was a strange experience having 20 people sitting around and watching while you work, but I found it oddly comfortable. Not sure what that is about. Destiny did the hair and makeup and well, she’s rad.
This is the point of the post where I begin talking about Jeremy and Tara. Also it’s the point where you fall in love all over again with my past clients. Jeremy and Tara’s wedding post caused quite a stir with my blog readers and to this day I get people asking me about them and how they are doing. Seriously. From a blog post. This is not a “Yes, I did a great job” comment, it’s a reflection of the reality between them. You could not question the connection the two of them shared, the excitement at the wedding, and the genuine love everyone felt on that day for Jeremy and Tara. That wedding changed my life, for real. I finally understood why I was doing what I was doing.
Well, when the idea of shooting a wedding for a workshop came up, they were the obvious choice to be the bride and groom. I knew that Tara had done some acting and I thought she would be comfortable in the “lead” role. Funny. While there surely was some role playing, there was one thing that was obvious form the moment she walked down the aisle on this hot, July day. Something here was real.
The ceremony began with Tara walking down the aisle and spontaneously the attendees and some other people, there to fill the seats at the wedding, stood up and began to clap :) This exact same thing happened at their real wedding. It was a surreal moment. And it only got better from there. You see, Tara had been pushing Jeremy, telling him the she wanted to “get married again” for the few months before I asked them if they wanted to be my bride and groom. So when they said yes, they decided this was going to mean something. They treated it as a vow renewal, and to make things cooler, Jeremy’s dad, who did the original service, did the Quasi-Wedding as well, and I’m telling you, this was no “faux” ceremony. Ask anyone that was there.
And yes, I cried. But I wasn’t the only one.
After an emotional ceremony, the first dance was to Ray LaMontagne’s (what?) “Let It Be Me”. Brilliant choice if I don’t say so myself :) Honestly, they had no idea what song I had chosen, so it was neat to see them listen to the words and dance while looking into each others eyes.
Cried again.
The evening went on like that. Jeremy and Tara absolutely MADE the Quasi-Wedding, and I am humbled to be their photographer, and consider them friends. All of the photographers that were there had some beautiful comment about the two of them, and how they weren’t expecting THAT at a fake wedding.
I will now move on to the REAL stars of the Quasi-Wedding, the Dallas vendors that made it all happen. This list begins with the planner extraordinaire, Deanie Yuska of Deanie Michelle Events. When I consulted my friend Kelly Simants at Sweet Pea Events and asked her to help me find someone that had a similar vision to me, and she knows me fairly well, she told me Deanie was my girl. I am so glad she did :)
Deanie was given about 6 weeks to pull together almost an entire wedding, and she did so effortlessly, coming through at every turn. Working side by side with the florist, papers, and the venue, she was truly the master of ceremonies :) I gave very little, if any input on the design of the wedding, other than to say, “Yes, that sounds awesome!” So kudos to Deanie, everyone that attended was BLOWN AWAY when they walked into the venue.
Thank you so much for your efforts and energy Deanie.
You heard about Ashley yesterday.
Brad. THE Brad. Brad extraordinaire. Dude, you constantly slay me with your humility and your talent. You truley are becoming a good friend, and for that, there is no amount of thanks that can be spoken. I can be a hard man to be around sometimes, given my passion for basically everything, but I appreciate you letting me be me. Bro it up dude.
Here’s the list of the every one of the amazing people and places that made this awesome day a reality:
Deanie Yuska – Deanie Michelle Events | Coordinator and decor
Nikki Morrison – Doodle Dog | Paper Items
Adam Key | DJ
M&M Rentals | Chivari Chairs
Sprinkles | Cupcakes
Cafe Malaga | Venue, food and beverage
The venue was gorgeous (thank you to everyone at Cafe Malaga for being so accommodating), and the people were even more beautiful. A special thank you to the attendees of POSER:EXPOSED, you will always be special to me. This was my first workshop to do on my own, and while there were certainly hiccups, everyone was gracious and genuinely seemed to have a great time.
One more thing.
There is a certain woman whom I know that is the backbone of everything my business is and this workshop was, my wife Destiny. Thank you so much for your tireless preparing, selfless cooking and serving, and all-together AWESOMENESS. Without you, there would be no me. I love you.
I will quote Surya, a bride that you will come to know well in the coming days….
“Epic win for Love”
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Posted by: Poser: Image | August 9th, 2010
I met Ravi an Pooja through Sundeep and Tina who’s wedding I shot last year. The Indian wedding is such a beautiful experience, it always leaves me feeling overjoyed, witnessing the family and friends’ adoration and affection towards the couple. It also leaves me exhausted. These events are not for the faint of heart. But the images are always worth every ounce of blood and sweat (in this occasion, buckets – Houston), and the tears are always welcome for me :)
Tags: Aruba, backlit, cabo, cabo san lucas, dallas wedding photographer, dancing, destination wedding photographer, Fashion, flare, Fun, Houston, Indian wedding, intimate, island, island wedding, laughing, Mexico, mexico wedding, ocean, passion, Photoshop, Portraits, Poser, poser image, poser weddings, romance, southern weddings, sun, Sunset, Wedding Photographer, Weddings, wind
It was that kind of party.
