Paul & Megan - Wedding - Nov 10th, 2007

Posted on November 15, 2007

Paul and Megan got married this past Saturday, the 10th of November. The ceremony was at St Mark’s Catholic Church on Kempsville Rd. The reception was at Barclay Towers down on 8th and Atlantic at the ocean front. I shot their engagement session in June of this year up in Richmond , Virginia at Maymont Park. (I’ll do a separate article on that).

It was a dreery, cold, wet, windy day. But, just like in show biz, the wedding must go on. For me, it means I have to bring extra lighting and LOTS of batteries for speed lights. I would have normally shot the formals and things like that outside either at the church or at the beach during the reception. The weather wasn’t going to allow that. So, with portable studio strobes, 4 cameras, 5 speed lights and enough batteries to power the space shuttle I set out for this wedding.

That’s the interior of the chapel at St Mark’s Catholic Church. I shot that with a fisheye lens. I have to be careful with that one since if I’m not I end of with GREAT pictures of my own feet. That’s how wide a wide angle it is.

It’s always pretty funny when someone hands a groomsman a box of Boutonnieres with a “I don’t know how to put it on, don’t ask me!” look on their face. It’s also always pretty funny to watch 5 men try to pin them on themselves without drawing blood. (seen that happen too, (the blood part)). I pinned one on a groomsman, demonstrating how to do it. Then I turned them loose on each other.

Then it was time for pre-ceremony formals. I shoot details and preparations, and once everyone is close to ready, it’s time to get some formals done to save LOADS OF TIME after the ceremony. I generally shoot the groom in the chapel, and the bride somewhere out of
sight. I try to look for a window with SOME light filtering in. It’s a great look.

Mom helps Megan put her veil on. Then, it’s time for the ceremony to begin. We knew this because the deacon performing the ceremony came looking for Megan.

This was a short Catholic Ceremony. Not a FULL mass. The resident priest was out of town, so the ceremony was performed by the deacon.

I think there are over 180 image from the Ceremony in this wedding. So, good thing it was short! This article is going to be long anyway without all of the details of the ceremony.

After the guests all leave the chapel, it’s time for the post ceremony formals. I’ll just post a couple of those.

I like to shoot the family formals first, which I did. They can then be released to the reception. The wedding party is next. After them, it’s Paul and Megan alone. I did a few tints and things to some of the images which I normally will do as part of my coverage. I don’t shoot with the intent of tinting or doing a montage. I just come up with them during the course of editing. The last formal is a montage of a formal shot and the wedding program sheet that was being used for the Ceremony.

Then it’s ON TO THE RECEPTION! This was CLEAR across town, so I had to disregard public safety and blatently disregard several traffic laws to get to the Barclay Towers before Paul and Megan. They just had to leave the church. I had to pack up all the cameras and lighting, pack up my car, get to the hotel, unpack the car, and BREATH once before they got there. But, fortunately, I got there before they did. (I know a shortcut called NOT STOPPING for lights)

“Ladies and Gentlemen! For the FIRST TIME AS HUSBAND AND WIFE!” uhmmmmm, no. The Deacon said it FIRST back at the church! (pet peeve of mine!)

Paul and Megan’s first dance.

And Mom cries.

You can almost hear this little one’s gears turning. “Sponge Bob, Square Pants!” “When is all this icky dancing going to be over so I can have some of that HUGE CAKE!?”

Then Megan and her Dad dance.

And Mom cries some more!

Naturally, this is just a cross section of what I shot at this wedding. There were over 890 images presented to Paul and Megan.

Then it was time for the Bouquet and Garter. I liked the chair made from the groomesmen for Megan. Nice touch.

I think this poor guy got framed! Foul! It’s odd. The girls will fight for the bouquet, and the guys will fight to not be in the same ZIP CODE as the garter. Why? Because we like to pretend to NOT need women I suppose. At least not in front of OTHER guys. If it were just a room full of women with ONE guy to catch the garter you can bet it would be caught with acrobatic flourish.

There had been great dancing and energy all evening. The DJ did a great job. Like this little sequence teaching people the Cha Cha Slide. The dance floor at Barclay Towers is tricky to photograph simple because the room is small, the dance floor is small, and it’s got walls around two sides, one of which is a HUGE window on the boardwalk facing the ocean. But, I’ve worked there so many times, it’s just a no brainer to jump up on the window ledge or on top of a chair behind the DJ setup.

To catch Paul and Megan having some fun.