A.E.LANDES PHOTOBLOG

Talk about a lucky bride and groom! There are not too many days in January when you can wear short sleeves – but if any couple deserved such a beautiful day, they are Sarah and Emmanuel! With some amazing weather and a historical church near the Eastern Market in Washington, DC, it was not hard to find some great framing for the happy couple and their delightful wedding party. The couple warned me of the dark interior of the church, but to my relief they had awesome stained glass that filtered in the sunlight so nicely for the ceremony images. While dodging cars is not my specialty, we got some great street photos before heading off to the HUGE reception in a church directly behind the US Capitol. Jan and I enjoyed Sarah and Emmanuel’s company and laughter throughout their day, and we wish them many, many more ahead!

Here is a link to Sarah and Emmanuel’s Complete Wedding Gallery and Print Order Page.

In a delightfully historic building in downtown Washington, DC, with tight corners, bright interior wall coverings, and a charming courtyard, Alicia and Ronnie’s wedding offered me plenty of photo opportunities. Both Alicia and Ronnie were a joy to work with, and both of them made even better photography subjects! Being mid-day and sunny, the light bounced around off the porches and brick walls with a unique signature, so we had to move the large family shots and portraits around to take advantage of this great effect. The ceremony and reception was chock-full of people having a great time, and one of my favorite moments was a guest circling around the reception with camera in hand and getting the crowd to chant “KISS! KISS! KISS!” to all the couples in the room. Add in some edible chocolate programs and an amazing cake from Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe (a personal favorite bakery!), and Alicia and Ronnie have a great start to an amazing marriage.

For the friends and family, here is a link to Alicia and Ronnie’s Wedding Gallery and Print Order Site.

Ever since Iris and Joe told me just a *bit* about their wedding, I knew I absolutely must be a part of it. From the great state of CA, they had some entirely unique ideas of how a wedding should be properly “thrown.” Can I mention it was a beautiful day, perfect for a wedding complete with a moon-bounce, croquet, fishing, canoeing, potato sack race, blueberry pie eating contest, a bonfire, and a ceremonial smashing of (traditional) dinnerware? Between three different ‘costume’ changes and a fun loving crowd, the photography opportunities couldn’t have been better, and we also shot with a few amazing antique and toy cameras for that special look. Seriously, I think I had as much fun as the guests!

Here is a link to Iris and Joe’s Wedding Gallery and Print Ordering, and please check out Iris and Joe’s Film Collection (print ordering from our film selections will be enabled soon!).

Party people that weren’t in attendance, let me tell you, you missed a great time at Lindsay and Chris’ Wedding! Held at the Bella Vista Restaurant in my hometown of Gilbertsville, PA, there were plenty of outdoor scenes and huge windows in the reception hall to play with light and ideas. The weather was perfect for the wedding, and the young crowd had the party going even before the ceremony. I really enjoyed the photographs we produced in the bridal suite, and the outdoor shots of Lindsay and Chris… Enjoy!

Here is a link to Lindsay and Chris’ Wedding Gallery and Print Order Site.

Jen and Danny… My oh my. I love photographing weddings, and especially when I feel there is a welcome connection between myself, the couple, and the family. I felt a part of the getting-ready shots with both Jen and Danny, and the ceremony at the Our Lady of Angels Church had gorgeous back-lighting from the stained glass. We photographed outside of the Fort Belvoir Offiicers’ Club, and the huge glass windows overlooking the Potomac River made the reception beautiful. Personal touches were everywhere: Danny had made movie posters for every table, Jen picked out the Dia de Muertos cake topper, and friends from NYC and the UK made for a lively crowd. Duran Duran, anyone?

Here is a quick peek into Jenny and Danny’s Wedding Gallery.

And for the friends and family, here is the Order and Print Site for Jenny and Danny’s Wedding.

Kim and Steve had a lot of fun at their wedding – I mean, with lots of kids, a moonbounce, bike ramps, balloons, and a desert bar full of candy (ahem… not just for the kids), it was tough to keep up! I met Kim and Steve at a mountain bike camp over the winter, and I just knew I had to photograph their wedding. Between watching Steve come down the aisle and jump a log-pile at the altar and Kim holding down a huge balloon for flowers, I had lots of photographic opportunities to keep me busy. I enjoyed their relaxed attitude (and Hawaiian shirt dress code!) and the amazing food as well, and watching to big kids plow down the moonbounce was entertaining to say the least. A special video put together by Kim and lots of toasts topped off this special day.

Thanks Kim and Steve – here is their wedding photography gallery.

For the friends and family, here is Kim and Steve’s Complete Collection and Print Order Site.

The contemporary space at American University’s Katzen Arts Center for Kendra and Mike’s Wedding was a fantastic backdrop, with strong architectural lines and a wide staircase for nice photographic compositions. With the weather cooperating and a large circular skylight over the ceremony and reception, the light overhead was glowing and softened a lot of the shadows – so the post-shoot editing I had to do was not as intensive. I just had to bring out the right colors and get the cropping just right. The paper lanterns and coffee-bean wedding cake (YUM!) were nice touches to this artistically-inspired wedding, and Kendra and Mike’s fun attitudes towards their wedding definitely comes through in the photos.

Here is a link to Kendra and Mike’s Wedding Gallery.

And for the friends and family, here is Kendra and Mike’s Complete Gallery and Print Ordering Site.

Before I sent Joe an email asking if he had a photographer for his wedding, I said to myself, “This will probably be the craziest wedding ever.” And believe me, it was.

Ann and Joe are an amazing couple with a pretty amazing outdoor skillset – and we used just about every one of them in the week of climbing and camping leading up to their wedding in South Dakota. A week of death-defying adventure was planned out, as a pre-wedding party for the crew. First was a fifteen hour, through-the-dark-night rock-climbing epic in Boulder, CO, which is not too unusual for a Joe Baker led climb. Second was camping and climbing out in Vedauwoo, WY, with stellar campfire images and giant boulder formations, and the third episode had us climbing through the foggy Needles in the Custer State Park, SD.

Did I mention their wedding was on a mountain-top lake? Check out the Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park in South Dakota… Breath-taking beauty with lots of great backgrounds, bright clean light, and lots of rock formations for the wedding party to climb up on. The wedding ceremony and reception was rightly Ann and Joe – a lakeside ceremony, break-dancing gorilla, Destroy Nate Allen DJing/performing, and a presentation of an antique WWII rifle to Joe from his groomsmen. Joe and Ann’s wedding was a photographer’s dream – so many opportunities for capturing this wild bunch doing what they do best out in the wild.

Here is a link to the complete collection of Ann and Joe’s Adventure Wedding.

With the rain and sunshine taking turns all day, Kelly and Justin had a wonderful setup at the Mendenhall Inn – saturated colors outside, old train tracks, big windows, and a very elegant dance hall all created plenty of photographic opportunities and backgrounds. Kelly handled all the pre-wedding stress amazingly well, and Justin and the guys were a lot of fun to be around photographing the group shots. One of my favorite images is of Kelly’s dad with his ‘Father of the Bride’ hat, with Kelly in background, looking like she is being sassy. The reception had it’s ‘funny’ moments as well, (just remember to keep the cake out of Kelly’s hair – yikes!), and the group dances with Kelly’s Brittney Spears solo was amazing.

Here is Kelly and Justin’s Wedding Gallery.

And for the friends and family, here is Kelly and Justin’s Complete Collection and Print Order Site.

After 60 years of marriage, yes – you DO deserve a party and a huge cake! These two lovebirds have been together for long time, and photographing their surprise party was a real treat. Over at Toftrees in State College, PA, it seemed like a lot of the guests were from out of state, and to have it anywhere else would have made the Brenneman’s a bit suspicious. With the kids running around having fun (and hitting up the chocolate fountain!), there were plenty of great photo opportunities of the guests with their hugs and kisses.

Here is a snippet gallery of The Brenneman’s 60th Wedding Anniversary.

And for the friends and family afar, here is the Complete Gallery and Print Order Website.