I just realized I have several weddings from the summer that I never posted on the blog! They’re over on Facebook…but sometimes all these sites are just daunting to keep up with! Blarg.

Ok, so…Lisa and Vivek. These two are a few of my favorite people ever. Their so sweet, so in love. They actually married at a courthouse a while ago. Then they went to India and married in Vivek’s hometown with all the traditional Indian ceremonies. Then, they had their last big party here in NY where they celebrated both family cultures, dancing the Hora and J’ai Ho and they had a woman (who apparently is considered the Indian Jane Fonda…her words, not mine…though I cannot remember her name!) who taught the crowd some Indian dance moves. It was fantastic–the two families, though so different, loved each other so much. And Vivek’s mother and Lisa’s mother talk on the phone weekly!!! Here are a handful of my favorites:

I try hard not to let Craigslist ads upset me. Most of the time, it’s just people who really don’t understand the kind of time photographers put into their work and the sort of overhead and cost of materials for a fullday of event photography, like a wedding. But this?? Here’s the ad:

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Looking for a photographer that can shoot ceremony and reception. Need the following 1-Premium 8 x 10, wedding album (photos sealed inside the album), 1-16 x 20 framed portrait, 2-8 x 10’s, 4-5 x 7’s, and 150 proof book with 2 parent albums and 50 thank you notes. all negatives on CD ( a comparable package would be considered). Can only spend $1000- $1100. Thank you

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This person is looking for 3 albums, a FRAMED 16×20 , other prints, a proof book, 50 thank you notes AND a release of all the images on a CD. For $1,000.

::Blink::

::Blink:: ::Blink::

The only thing I can think here is that she must not realize that WE, THE PHOTOGRAPHERS have to pay for the cost of printing all these things. They don’t pop out of the sky from the magical printers with a free code all photographers have for products.

Those prints, albums and proofs alone would probably cost me close to the $1,000 she/he was paying. Then factor in me having to design the album pages, design the thank you cards, frame the portrait and not to mention, ohhhh, PHOTOGRAPH THE WEDDING. I’m only taking home $200 after a full day of shooting and weeks of post production? Crazy.

The only thing making me feel slightly better is that maybe, JUST MAYBE, she/he meant that the $1,000 would just be the cost of the products she wants. And then shooting time would be on top of that.

It might be unlikely, but to make myself feel better and hopefully sleep tonight, that’s what I’m going to believe.

So, this wedding happened in July. JULY! And I am just now getting around to blogging about it. Shameful…

Amanda and Ray got married back in July up in the Bronx. It was a little hard to get to from Brooklyn, but somehow me and my directionally challenged ways managed to get there on time. With the help of Missy and google maps.

I started at the groom’s house to photograph the guys getting ready and I rode in the limo with them to the venue. On the way, one of the groomsmen (who shall remain nameless) started whistling at a girl walking down the street. Out of the open window, he asked her if she’d want to be his date for the wedding. Laughing, the rest of the guys grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back into the limo. What followed were many crude (but funny) jokes regarding the sizes of all their manhood. Oh, how I love my job! =0)

So, we arrive to the ceremony and during the portraits before, I make a comment about how Anonymous Groomsman was hitting on random women.  At this point, all the groomsmen give me huge eyes…you know the eyes I’m talking about. The “Shut up” eyes. And one of them leans over to me and points to his girlfriend a few yards away. I was pretty sure she didn’t hear anything, but for all I knew her mother or best friend could have been standing next to me.

I cleared my throat. “Oh, I didn’t mean it was HIM hitting on women. It was, uh…” and as I looked at all the groomsmen, I realized they were all married or taken. There was no one else to blame it on except “Me. Yes, it was me. I was trying to pin it on the guys, but wow…er…she was so fine. I couldn’t help myself. Me and my lesbian ways.”

All the guys hollered in laughter. Several fell to the ground laughing. I’m not sure what was funnier–me trying to cover up my blunder…or me as a lesbian. Needless to say, my gratuity that night was fortiful. And it wasn’t necessarily from the bride and groom!

The sad thing is, this shoot is months old. I just simply haven’t had the time to update!

In any case, Lindsay and Vince are such a gorgeous couple! Not only that, but the three of us had so much fun running around Philadelphia doing this engagement shoot. They’re playful and goofy–which I love. There were easily 100 amazing photographs to choose from, but here are a couple of my favorites.

Two weekends ago, I trekked my butt up to Poughkeepsie to photograph Ashley and Chris on their wedding day. They make a great looking couple and are, what we in the biz like to call, a “portfolio couple”.