we left off at the end of the ceremony.  right after the ceremony is usually when family members assemble, line up, and smile.  as you’ll see…when i’ve got the time and willing participants…i like to have a little fun with the most traditional type of photos i normally take on a wedding day.

nicki’s sister made sure shane knew no one was going to tolerate any sort of shenanigans from him…and nicki was just a sweet older sister.

so, i think i’ve mentioned before that i love to shoot the groomsmen…something about the suits/tuxes/UNIFORMS! sparks my creativity…and i have lots of fun with it.  also…i should probably see someone about this, but i derive a strange sense of enjoyment from making them do ridiculous/silly/awesome things.  like pretend they’re cracking each other up in a random field.  you know…as you do.

so…see that guy on the left on the end? i don’t know what his real name is. know why? well, let me back up. as a wedding photographer, i spend about 6 days a week by myself–which suits little introvert me–and on the 7th day, i have to be the person at the party who remembers everyone’s name…whose jokes are snappy and lively…who gets things done and makes you smile while doing it. so, i work really hard to remember key peoples’ names…key people like…groomsmen. so, the guy on the end told me his name was ernie. so i called him ernie. repeatedly. “ok, ernie, please turn to face me a little bit more. ok…square your shoulders. right. perfect…and…smile everyone!”

then we were doing shots of the entire group…i called him ernie again, and the ladies looked at me blankly. “who’s ernie?” the rest of the guys laughed, and he sheepishly admitted that ernie was not, in fact, his name. it’s a squadron joke the guys have…whenever they go somewhere, one of them is always ernie. which…i have to admit…is kind of funny, even if it DID make me feel pretty stupid at the time!

this is probably my FAVOURITE bridal party shot of all time. i told them, “ok, now the inspiration for this is…’TAKE THE HILL!’ guys…i want you all running at me, sabres drawn and held high…go!” it was lots of fun. and hey! no one lost an eye! bonus! (they weren’t running very fast…out of concern for aforementioned eyes.)

after that it was time for portraits with the bride & groom…one of the best times of the day!

i slowed my shutter speed way down so that when shane spun her, the motion of her dress would be captured in the images.

(image on right by shyla)

first dance

getting toasted.
wait…i mean…

see this? THIS is why i need to have me a military wedding…how badass is that? oh, let me just lick the frosting from my FRICKIN’ SWORD.

those guys on the right…they are not doing their best ray charles. the groom is a fighter pilot, so of COURSE the guys had to sing “you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling to the bride.” they brought down the house…it was awesome!

and last but not least, i grabbed the bride & groom and took them outside for one last smoochy shot…we played w/ the street lamps and some flash and the timbers supporting their awesome venue (the cliffside lodge in poland spring, me).

nicki & shane…sorry i took so long to finish this up! you’re both awesome, and i’m so glad to know you!

everyone else…if you’re having a military wedding…puh-leaaaaase contact me to come shoot it.  i would LOVE to be a part of it…(and if you have hot single officer-guys as groomsmen, i will somehow learn to live with it.  i’m a coper, what can i say?)