Picture Trails; The Shadow Horse Studios Blog: Small Weddings

Showing posts with label Small Weddings. Show all posts

Friday, January 30, 2015

Stephanie & Edwin {Sept, 18th 2014, The Piedmont Country Club, Haymarket Virginia}

On Thursday, Sept 18, 2014 Stephanie and Edwin tied the know at the Piedmont Country Club in Haymarket, Virginia. It was a gorgeous, the venue was perfect, the wedding/event planner, Alicia Cooper of Tina Lane Events, was stellar!

Alicia Cooper of Tina Lane Events with the bride and groom!

Sunday, August 10, 2014

First Look {At A Glance}

You've asked, "What exactly is a first look? Well, simply put – it’s when the bride & groom spend some time before the ceremony in a private moment where we get to capture the intimacy of them seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day. Yes, we are breaking tradition, actually, I like to call it, "starting a new tradition"! For those clients with a fast paced wedding timeline, it may be the best option for photography! Typically, the photographers will scout out a spot that is remote and away from guests. Then we’ll lead the groom over to wait anxiously for his bride to tap him on the shoulder so he can turn around and see her in her glorious beauty, share true & intimate emotions, and admire who he is about to walk down the aisle with.

During a recent wedding this summer, I was shooting solo, yep, no assistant at this wedding and to make it more challenging, the sky opened up and rained. We were limited to shooting inside on a stairwell, which was the main entrance to the golf club. I had to work around arriving and exiting golf patrons and hope the guests would follow directions and stay out of the way for our shooting. It worked and I was happy with the results! What follows is just a sampling of a few of the images. More images to be shown in the final blog about this beautiful New Jersey wedding.

There are some circumstances that truly call out for a first look, such as: *You have an evening ceremony and you want to use natural light to capture your important photos.
*You have a tight wedding schedule and you need to do all of your group/family photos before the ceremony. Some photographers include the WHOLE wedding party in the first look session, whereas typically it is just the bride and groom portraits.
* You want to have plenty of time to venture out for your bride/groom photos.
* You don’t mind trying out this new tradition.

Not only does this make for some amazing memories & photos, but you get to share a moment together in the rush that can sometimes be your wedding day! Most couples say that their nervousness is completely gone afterwards, and that despite having seen each other before the ceremony, they still feel equally special when they walk down the aisle and see their bride/groom again. Why? Because both moments are completely different. Nothing can ever replace seeing your bride/groom at the end of the aisle, locking eyes for the first time and realizing that in a few minutes you will officially be a married couple!

The first look, on the contrary, is more of a moment spent together, in privacy, at a slow pace – in what otherwise might be the hustle and bustle of your busy wedding day. It’s a chance for you both to soak it all in and enjoy one another.

How is the first look session beneficial to photographers? It gives us the opportunity and the time to artistically plan photography work, whether if we are working with lighting (flash, studio, etc.) or natural lighting. We are not so rushed to quickly capture your moments, but have the time to devote directly to your images without worrying too much about a quickly paced timeline, providing our clients plan ample time in their schedule to accommodate for a first look session. We recommend 2-4 hours depending on the size of the wedding and if the client wants to also included the entire wedding party and understand that sometimes, it rains!

Photographers like to believe that our clients not only hired us to document their day, but because they love the art that we create in our photography and that they want that same style for their own wedding photos. At Glass Eyed Pony Photography, we strive to produce the best images possible as nothing brings us more joy that seeing our clients happy and in love with their images!

Images are memories captured, they last a lifetime and beyond! When you invest in great photography, you are investing in your memories!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Marriott Ranch {A Wedding Venue}

The smell of Autumn is still but a hint on this mid summer's breeze, but, it awakens something deep rooted in my soul. My belly fills up with that warm tingling sensation of excitement as nostalgia suddenly arouses the memories I cherish so dearly.

I am a New England girl at heart, born, raised, and transplanted in Northern Virginia. I miss the dense forests of my native New England. There, the trees paint the skyline in hues of brilliant oranges, golden yellows, deep burgundies, and scarlets. Leaves crunching beneath my hiking boots is music to my ears. When I notice the leaves turning their colors, here in my Virginia home, I grow eager for the beginning of the Autumn wedding season. Even early in the year, during bookings, I grow excited whenever I have a bride-to-be inquire about Autumn dates.

I am an artist through and through and color is what I love and lots of it. Autumn colors, in my opinion are far richer, livelier, and more vibrant than spring's colors. Its nature's last hurrah before winter slumber, and nature has a way of putting on a grand finale. When, editor Cindie Reinhold, of Brides and Weddings Northern Virginia inquired about my availability to photograph magazine coverage for the Marriott Ranch, I was elated!

"The Marriott Ranch is situated on 4200 acres in the foothills of Virginia's majestic Blue Ridge, Marriott Ranch and the Inn at Fairfield farm provide individual travelers and small corporate groups with a unique alternative to the standard style of larger facilities. Offering a historic Manor House as the property's centerpiece, the Marriott Ranch lets you experience true hospitality while relaxing and retreating in a natural setting. The Inn at Fairfield Farm operates on the Marriott Ranch as a traditional Bed and Breakfast with ten rooms and also serves as an unparalleled site for small, effective meetings or retreats. Privately arranged individual or group activities include horseback riding, jeep adventure tours, clay target shooting, western style cookouts, flyfishing ponds, event areas for small and large company picnics and the perfect spot for weddings and other more elegant social events."-www.marriott.com

I welcome you to revisit last Autumn, October 2013, with me now, through images captured by Glass Eyed Photography. I am honored to have been able to work aside of CurvyGirls Bridal, Carolyn Cutshall of Hunt Country Jewelers,who was also our model during the shoot, Mary E. Taylor of Brush Strokes Salon, Victoria Wu of Cakes by Happy Eatery, Cynthia Damico of Design in Bloom, Lori Shepherd of Everything Linen, Stephanie Dasch of Diamond Events, Stephanie Thimons of Marriott Ranch, and of course, again, Cindie Reinhold, editor of Brides and Weddings Northern Virginia. Also, big thanks to my assistant, Iryna Krutchko, and our rookie photography apprentice Aubrey Ryan.