Chris & Annie tied the knot at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 22nd, 2009. Friends and family traveled from all over the US and Asia. After the ceremony Annie had arranged for the entire wedding group of 80 guests to be shuttled over to the famous Las Vegas Sign for a massive group photo. All was going well, the shuttles and limos came, and guests set out for the sign……….. or did they??!!!! Naturally the limo with the bride and groom made it, and I directed the 2nd shuttle to the sign, but the other 2 shuttles vanished!! It’s still unclear what happened to half of the wedding guests. Traffic? Flat tire? No one will ever know, but I can certainly think of a few ways they might have killed an hour in Sin City =)
Festivities resumed at Maggiano’s Little Italy, guests enjoyed the live band and specialty martini menu while the food began to flow. If you haven’t been to Maggiano’s you are missing something special. This is not your local Olive Garden around the corner, there’s a reason every celebrity that is anybody has a signed autographed picture on the wall. I can’t go too long without at the very least popping in for happy hour and having Crispy Zuchini Fritte and Stuffed Mushrooms. I am always tempted to try and fit the bottle of White Star that is as big as me into my camera bag, but physics prevail. Dinner was served family style, and as guests struggled to loosen a few belt notches they received a visit from The King! Elvis melted a few dozen ladies and gave some karate kick lessons to the guys. I think he left just in time to avoid the 2 laps of XO shots around the room with the bride and groom. If you are thinking back now if whether or not you made a “shot” face afterwards, you probably did, and yes, it’s on camera =)
Great celebration, I hope you all enjoyed Las Vegas! If anyone missed the email list and would like to be added for the final image list, just send an email to ron@ronmphoto.com
Congrats Rich & Chelsea! Friends and family gathered at The Grove in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 14th, 2009 on a chilly but thankfully non-windy evening of celebration. I kicked off the day in Southern Highlands at the Miller residence, and as the girls finished up hair and makeup to a breakfast of mimosas and cold pizza from the rehearsal bash I did a photo shoot of a particularly friendly pooch. Right on time we struck out for North Las Vegas, and in the spirit of “make it work!!!” we managed to fit 1 bride, 1 maid of honor, 1 bridesmaid, 1 suitcase, 1 trunk packed full of wedding goodies, 1 wedding dress, 1 camera bag, and 1 skinny photographer into a Mustang.
I had heard some talk on cells phone and among guests about the Hawkeyes/Buckeyes game, and spied quite a bit of OSU all over the guests, I knew it was a dire-hard group…… and as Chelsea and Rich strode down the aisle newly married someone yells, The Buckeyes Won!!!!!
Have a great time in Florida guys! If anyone missed the email list that went around and would like to be added to the final list you can send an email to ron@ronmphoto.com
It doesn’t get more epic than the Grand Canyon when choosing a wedding location. All you have to decide is which part of the 1,218,375 acre park you want to visit. Formed as a result of millions of years of erosion, it is 6,000 feet (1828 meters) deep at its deepest point and 15 miles at its widest. How do you get there? Well, you can drive if you have some good tunes and an abundance of time, but if you want to really experience the Grand Canyon you need to do it from the air. Leaving from Las Vegas it’s a 45 minute flight straight east to the eastern rim, and the mouth of the Colorado River.
Typically the heli pilot is chock full of great info about Las Vegas, the Southwest, Lake Mead, and Hoover Dam, and this last trip was no exception, I always learn something new! The Hoover Dam Bypass has made amazing progress and is still on track for completion November 2010. (image above) It’s very interesting to see 2 of man’s most intensive labor projects over the past 80 years, just before flying over nature’s effort of millions. Jim, our pilot, flew special ops missions for 15 years and decided to switch things up. In his words he was a little tired of “getting shot at.”
We landed uncomfortably close on a ledge overlooking the Colorado River with walls around us a mile tall (yeah!), and on cue our officiant make quick work of Craig & Alla’s wedding vows and we went into marathon picture mode for the remaining 25 minutes on the ground. Alla was the ultimate ham, no complaints here, work the camera girl!!! We mounted up, took off, made the mile long climb straight up out of the canyon, and crested the edge of the eastern rim to a beautiful sky (image above).
Chris & Carrie… married! Friends and family witnessed their ceremony at Caesar’s Palace in Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada on November 7th, 2009. Guests got a 3 hour break between the ceremony as D & myself took the newlyweds on a intensive trek of the strip. It’s funny, I think that during the engagement shoot the bride & groom had become familar and easily recognized my smile/nod that essentially translates to “Yeah, you’re gonna dig this one!”, and our momentum just kept building until we arrived fashionably late to the reception.
The afterparty was at Koi Restaurant at Planet Hollywood, were the passed sushi flowed like water. Very hip place, reminded me of Tao a bit, with a different vibe. D & I are most assuredly heading back to have a go at the regular menu. It will be hard to work through all the amazing restaurants in this town when every 3rd trip is to Tao for seabass, but we will try. I was enjoying the mellow, intimate party when the DJ abruptly switched from mellow to yell-at-the-person-standing-right-next-to-you mode with “Don’t Stop Believing”. The party erupted, and an impromtu first dance followed immediately to a gallery of teary eyes. (Image above)
One day I will have to slip some fine print into the contract that includes paid travel to the honeymoon if I choose to. Have fun in Amsterdam & Paris guys, and don’t forget to send a few pics of that hotel!
If anyone missed the email list that went around you can be added by sending an email to ron@ronmphoto.com
I love shooting with couples prior to the wedding, even if it’s only a few days before. Besides being a ton of fun, it really helps just about anyone get comfy in front of the camera. When the wedding day comes, you’re already old friends! And if you’re from say, Toronto, Canada.. you can venture outside of the city limits a bit and check out something we have plenty of here… desert! As usual, evening gave us an amazing sunset to work with, and we worked it hard until the light was completely gone.
Just before packing up, I heard, “Wow, the stars are just amazing! We can’t ever see them inside the city”. No way I was leaving without giving them something to take home then, and after a go or two I gave them the nod and the smile…. we were good, and headed out. (image above)
Paul & Laura tied the knot on October 30th, 2009 at Raspberry Plain in Leesburg, Virginia. Raspberry Plain is a historic property and former plantation in Loudoun County, Virginia, and was one of the principal Mason family estates of Northern Virginia. The property was amazing! Surrounding the brick mansion were beautiful gardens, fields, and with fall colors in full swing the trees were just stunning. Before the ceremony I took the bride and groom on a lap of the grounds for a few pics. With every glance at my lcd I got a few goosebumps in addition to the ones I had from that breeze, we nailed it guys, can’t wait for you to see the rest!!
Friends and family gathered on the back lawn for the ceremony, with a picturesque view of the hills. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres & cocktails, and we took care of a few remaining family photos and kicked off the reception to the sounds of Millenium. This crew was far the best live band I have heard this wedding season, the live vocalists ran laps around those on the dance floor, sang 3 part harmonies, and flawlessly skipped through genres all the way to the last dance, The Monster Mash!! Don’t worry Iggy, I gave you an A- minus on those lyrics, they aren’t easy!! Cheers guys, wish you were out west!
Even with a slight wardrobe malfunction, the night was a marvelous celebration for Paul & Laura, thanks to all who attended!! If you missed the email list that went around and would like to be added to the final list for the full wedding gallery, just send an email to ron@ronmphoto.com
