Oooooh boy! Ok so who plans a wedding in four months?? Well let me answer that for you. Polina & Tony do, thats who! How? Well, they got good connections and got all the top vendors in this area on the same page for Friday May 18th 2012! Plus with Polina being in the wedding industry she knew who to look for. Yeah, thats whats up! Back when Polina was emailing me for my open dates and telling me she was thinking May 18th I was like yeah right. OK I can admit I was wrong, it all came together and this wedding that was planned in four months looked and felt like it had been in the works for well over a year…
The day was set off at their home in Albany. Wedding coordinator, Katie O’ was on the scene and ready to keep this day moving for us all! Again, how spoiled are we with all this amazing coordination during the month of May? Also as I walked into the room where Polina was getting ready in I thought “how spoiled are we with these stunning brides?”. So lucky! Obviously Polina did her own makeup because thats what she does and man did it look great! Once she was dressed and ready it was up to Saratoga Springs for their first look! We arrived in the park where Tony and his best man Brian (former Elario groom too) were waiting. Now you local people might know Tony (Brian and Mike) aka BM&T Management Group. They own and operate some of Albany’s finest establishments and actually most of Madison Ave ;) To name a few, The Point, Juniors, Cafe Madison, Spinners.. you get the deal. They are neighbors of us at Elario Photography Inc and we’re honored to share the block with them. Anyway back to the wedding day! Also in Congress Park was their dog, Pulo. I’m staring to see a lot more dogs at weddings and I’m loving it! Makes me wish we had Lex at our wedding. Once we finished at the park it was off to Saratoga National.
The ceremony tent at Saratoga National looked incredibly stunning thanks to some sweet fleurs and decor by Fleurtacious Designs. Upstairs there was a Ketubah and our pal, Rabbi Sugarman. Once it was official with the signing we headed to the tent which was full of some of Albany’s finest ;) After the ceremony the new terrace opened at Saratoga National and was packed with guests! This party was officially underway. I headed upstairs to the ballroom. I gotta tell you guys I think this was probably one of the nicest ballroom setups I’ve seen at National and I shoot literately a dozen weddings there a season. Mad props to Fleurtacious Designs on this one!! Before the room would fill up we needed to take care of business! There was some sweet light to be found and I headed out onto the course with the boys from Nu Vue Cinema to capture some sick sunset shots! Once we were done it was all in the hands of the man, the myth, the legend, DJ Vinny Vin of NonStop Music. Did you know he DJ’s so hard all the brides wanna find him? (Ye and Hova reference). Anyway this one was off the chain. They partied like it was their jobs until late in the evening! The floor was packed, the energy was at level 10 and I had a blast working this one. Hell, it wasn’t work for me it was a blast! You guys are great and pulled off one amazing wedding in four months. Congrats and thanks for choosing your neighbors down the block!
Peace,
JP
We’ll set it off with the gown..
Some fly shoes!
And our pretty bride Polina getting ready. If you didn’t read my write up (shame on you), Polina is an amazing local makeup artist which is why she’s doing her own makeup.
Getting ready..
Insert stunning bride here: I just love this image!
Tony, getting his swag on..
First look..
Another amazing creation by Fleurtacious Designs
The bridal party how I like them, simple.
Love the all the green in this one.
Pulo!!
More dogs at weddings please!
They were so easy to photograph!
You gotta love a bride who’s not afraid to sit down..
Ok so how pretty is she?
Yup.. killing it.
One more because its my blog and I said so! I love her makeup.
Classic car, check!
Arriving at National.
Making it official..
The ceremony tent by Fleurtacious Designs. Paper by Jenny C Design, check out her facebook page to see their amazing lace invites.
Time to get married!
Love that one of Polina on the left..
Mr & Mrs..
Sunset time!
Aaaahh!
Killing the Elario Configuration..
so sweat!
My facebook teaser! Love this one.
“Hot butter” (inside joke.. haha)
Seatign chart by Jenny C Design
The amazing ballroom by Fleurtacious Designs and the paper goodies by Jenny C Design
I’m telling you one of the best setups I’ve seen there!
Each table had food and vodka waiting for everyone!
Seriously a home run by Fleurtacious Designs.
They entered to a packed floor. DJ Vinny Vin of NonStop Music was killing it all night!!
1st dance..
A great toast by best man, Brian..
Dance floor insanity.
I’ll end with the rings on the lace.. Love this. Congrats you guys!!
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Ok folks its no stoppin’ over here! You ready for another wedding that was off the chain? Thought so! Ok so lets hop right into this May 19th 2012 wedding of, Heather & Mike. Big Joe and myself set the day off at different locations. He began at Heather’s fathers incredible home with the fellas and I began at the Springwater Bed & Breakfast in Saratoga Springs with the lovely ladies. I suggest you all check out that place because it sure beats the hotel rooms! On the scene again was wedding coordinator Christine Wheat. This May we shot 6 weddings and 5 of them have been with wedding coordinators! LOVE IT! After both myself and Big Joe finished at our locations we met up at Saratoga National Golf Club to find a stunning ceremony tent by David Michael Schmidt of Renaissance Floral Design. As always Mr David Michael Schmidt (because you must say all three names) brought his “A Game” and designed a wonderful event for Heather and Mike. After the ceremony cocktails started flowing on the new terrace at SNGC. Some of the staff wore gondola outfits too(you’ll see below)! Once the party began myself and the film crew from Clark + Walker Studio waited for that good light and boy did we get it! I love the sunset shots from this wedding! Every time you turned your head there was a surprise or something wonderful happening. The fireworks were bananas too and of course the New York Players packed the floor! What a wedding! Heather and Mike, so happy to have been part of your special day. You guys are so fun! I hope your Mediterranean cruise treats you well! Congrats!
Peace,
JP
The men getting dressed at Heather’s father, Tony’s incredible home.
A nice Burberry watch, a gift from Heather to Mike. She needed to match the tie! ;)
A nice relaxed shot of the fellas…
How about the Manolos?
Getting beautified by Make Me Fabulous.
Heather got her gown from Something Bleu Bridal and Denise (of Something Bleu) helped dress her.
Love this shot!
So pretty, Heather!
The brides pretty flowers by Renaissance Floral Design
Hey ladies!
Wow!
The ceremony tent at SNGC by Renaissance Floral Design
Mike’s first look..
This ones funny..
Mr & Mrs…
We shot our formal photos in the tent because it looked so pretty..
I don’t normally blog the formal bride and groom shot but I happened to love this one..
My friends in their cute uniforms. :)
I want that drink right about now..
Upstairs, the ballroom by Renaissance Floral Design I love the center dance floor. A must have if you’re putting a live band in that room (just my opinion)
An amazing cake by Debbie Coye.
One more..
some bling..
Party time!
Cheers!
Ok so we’re bout to get into some sweet sunset pics..
my facebook teaser.
With all that warm color, it was hard to commit to this in b&w but ultimately I love it this way..
Yup!
This fence line is off the heeeeezy! I was screaming while shooting these!
OOOOOOHH The color!
I love this stuff. love it!
ok.. one more..
Working the config
I do love this one too!
How bout them fireworks?
New York Players pack another dance floor.. Congrats you two!
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Who doesn’t love a wedding at the Canfield Casino? How lucky were we to have two weddings there back to back? Our first of the Canfield back to back was with Shannon and Matt. Shannon first found us back when she worked at Saratoga National as a bridal attendant. I remember when she and her mother Sharon came in to meet us they were both so enthusiastic and excited. That very much carried through to May 11, 2012. They were wise at their choices too! They added wedding coordinator Christine Wheat after they read my blog post about wedding coordinators. Thank god for her and her team! I LOVE LOVE LOVE having wedding coordinators more than anything! Anyway, back to the date… We set things off at the Hampton Inn then it was off to a location that local people might be familiar with. Its Yaddo Gardens and to be honest we sort of avoided this place for a while since it had been a bit overdone in the photo industry. I must say it was a breath of fresh air to shoot there again. The images I captured there are some of my favorites from the day! So Justin Timberlake once said “I’m bringing sexy back.” and I’m saying “I’m brining Yaddo back!” After our session at Yaddo we all headed to the Canfield Casino. The ceremony space was set and Mazzone Hospitality was on their A Game welcoming Shannon and Matt’s friends and family. With the high sign from Christine Wheat the ceremony began and a teary eyed bride walked down the aisle. After that it was full blown party mode but thats what you get with the New York Players. If you are lucky enough to have them or be at a wedding with them you best have your dancing shoes on! I must say working with Shannon and Matt was an absolute pleasure! You’re both so fun and super easy to photograph. Thanks for allowing us to be a big part of your amazing day. Congrats to you and keep the love strong for decades!
Peace,
JP
Setting it off with some sweet details..
getting pretty..
Shannon and her sister putting on the finishing touches.
Oh how I love these!! How amazing is the back of her gown?
First look!
Stunning..
My facebook teaser…
Ppppffft yeah right..
I really forgot how beautiful Yaddo was.
So sweet.
Shannon, you killed it girl!
Amazing.
This is classic Yaddo..
Oh hey ladies!
fellas..
ladies and fellas ;)
All types of emotions come out at ceremony time.
Mr & Mrs..
Love this.. so after the ceremony I walked into the back room and this is how they’re sitting. So awesome to kick back for a minute on your wedding day.
The Canfield Casino ballroom.
Back outside for the good light shots..
I love this one!
In the configuration!
The Elario Photo Booth was in full swing!
Hah!
Cute..
Uhhh, yeah.. Umm.. :)
Congrats you two!!
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As I mentioned in my previous post we had two weddings in a row at the Canfield Casino. I know right? How lucky are we? Anyway wedding number two was a blast as well. This was Laura and Joe’s big day. May 12th 2012 was probably the most requested Saturday of all during the month of May and I couldn’t be happier we were on this wedding. I’ve known Laura for quite a while. She worked for the special events office for the City of Albany again back when I would shoot alive at five. After that I know she worked with wedding coordinator Katie O’ before setting up shop in NYC. Needless to say Laura was on her game when planning and coordinating this wedding. She had her friend Katie O (who doubled as a guest) coordinating the day which was awesome. I’m so damn lucky this month with all the wedding coordinators I’m working with. Anyway, all great weddings have great teams and I must throw some crazy props to my wife Kris Ann of Fleurtacious Designs for absolutely knocking this wedding out the (congress) park ;) She smoked it! Again, we got totally spoiled with the weather too. It was just an all around beautiful and comfortable day to get married! We did all the photos ahead of time in Congress Park before heading to St Mary’s in Ballston Spa for the ceremony. After that we all ventured back to the Canfield Casino where Classe Catering awaited with food and drink ready. After some sunset portraits (which I’m in love with) we headed back in and they partied their butts off thanks to the sounds of the Perrone Bros Entertainment. However, if they weren’t dancing, they were in the Elario Photo Booth all night long! I had to talk Laura into the photo booth and I know she’s glad she did it because she only told me like 20 times that night! Also they now have over 700 extra images of their friends and family having a blast! I must say, I had a blast myself. Working with you guys was a pleasure and a treat. We’re honored to have been part of your big day and I think we should get together next year on May 12 and do it again! Right?? Thanks again, love you guys!
Peace,
JP
Some awesome details. Who has two pairs of shoes? Laura does..
Makeup artist Amy Elizabeth doing her thang!
getting ready..
I just love this bouquet by Fleurtacious Designs
Another incredible display of fleurs by Fleurtacious Designs. Each bridesmaid had their own!
And boy were they a good looking crew!
You think Joe was happy to see Laura?
The fellas… loving the bow ties.
So pretty..
She has some amazing blue eyes too!!
This is how a tuxedo should fit. I call this perfection!
I’m telling you, it was the kind of day that makes you just wanna hang out in the park.
I love the red hair illuminated !
A nice forehead kiss.
Its always my favorite image to capture!
Mr & Mrs…
back outside for the good light!
the Elario configuration was looking good on 5.12.12
I do love this one..
This was easily my favorite though.. thats why it went crazy viral on my facebook when I teased it the following day. So fun!
The Canfield Casino by Fleurtacious Designs
Some details of the head table..
The color palette was amazing.
Cheers!
The Elario Photo Booth.. as I mentioned above I had to kick and scream with Laura to get her to go for it but I’d bet the house she’d tell you all how great of a decision it was!
So fun.
Crazy people!
Congrats you two!!
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Ok! We’re officially back in action over here and first up is Sara & Joe! Has this month not been amazing for weddings? Seriously we’ve all been so lucky throughout the month of May in terms of perfect weather. Thats how this month was set off. Sunday May 6, 2012 was just perfect! When we arrived at the Pauze home where Sara was ready to get dressed and get the day going! We took the ladies and family outside to a little patch of shade we found and did our thing! The it was off to the church and time to put a ring on it! I loved the moments with Sara and her father just before walking down the aisle. Now, we’ll be doing this again with the Pauze’s in just four months! You might remember Sara’s sister Edda (& Mike). Ok so back to May 6… after the ceremony we headed to Central Park in Schenectady before making final stop at Mallozzi’s. The ballroom looked great as always and you know the food was off the hook too! Two of my favorite wedding players were on this one as well. Videographer, Al Woodard and DJ, Paul Malo.. I love these guys! Sara and Joe, thank you both for choosing us! Your wedding was awesome and I enjoyed laughing with you guys all day! You guys rock! See you in September!
Peace,
JP
Perfectly, Sara with those chuck’s..
She’s so funny…. I swear all we did was laugh..
All the pretty girls..
Our lovely bride.
The boys..
such a sweet moment.
Congrats!!
Mr & Mrs..
in the park..
I love this spot..
My facebook teaser.. so pretty!
That configuration I like ;)
Another favorite.
Mallozzi’s
Time to party!
in the good light..
I’ll end with this sweet little capture! Congrats you two!
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