Eli Manning Cover Shot by Ron Antonelli

See… that’s why our weddings aren’t just “photojournalistic style”.

i thought i’d share a couple of examples of these over the next few days.

case in point:

“I can tie my shoes all by myself.”

but let’s back up a bit.

this summer when we had the pleasure of working again with a very special family that truly knows how to enjoy life.  They flew us to Florence to join them and photograph three days of non-stop events and well planned fab experiences for all their guests.  (caveat – to protect our client’s privacy we won’t be showing too much detail from the event)

Florence has always been toward the top my list as places I’d be willing to live for many reasons – the people, the art, the architecture, the food and the light.

florence’s famed “duomo”

  and Ponte Vecchio

It’s just a fantastic place to be.  And an inspired place to get married.  Now in this case, in addition to the big day itself, the partying included 3 days of hot air balloon rides, cooking classes, museum and art tours, as well as a wonderful welcome dinner and a white party which started in the tiny ancient town of Fiesole and ended after a champagne tour on double-decker buses on the banks of the river arno with the historic Ponte Vecchio nearby.

It was a very private area on the river bank – belonging to the country’s oldest rowing club, Canottieri Firenze.   everyone was in white and the tent and all the decor were white as well. the drinks were flowing (esp. the aperol spritzes) the food was outstanding, and as the sunset turned to night the dj began spinning and the groove got going.

And for the late night sugar boost, a bicycle based – gelateria cart arrived plying everyone with more energy to move.  (For those interested mixologists: aperol spritzes – one part of the bitter italian apertif aperol mixed with one part prosecco and one part club soda served on rocks and garnished with an orange – giving you a beautiful practically glow-in-the-dark orange cocktail)

THIRD DAY

now of all the villas in tuscany, there is one that is generally considered to be the superlative example – the one that ends up on the cover of all the ‘italian villa’ books – villa gamberaia.  and this is but a small taste of why:

 the garden ceremony at Villa Gamberaia

sunset over the olive grove at Villa Gamberaia

of course, if you’re going to have a 4 day wedding blowout in the hills of tuscany – you had better get yourself a good wedding band.

the groom surprised his bride after dinner with Sting and his full entourage in the formal gardens at villa gamberaia

and i have to say it was awesome!  not only because it was the closest I had ever heard Sting play (and things sound soooooooooo much more amazing on an intimate scale), but we also were there for the sound check and rehearsal and got to see how Sting works with his band to develop just the sound he’s looking for.  Later, during the show, I actually was able to get up on stage and shoot the bride dancing with Sting and the groom singing along with him.

now while all that was fantastic, here’s what I think makes this family super special people.  when they heard that Celeste and I might be heading over to Italy early to take our kids to Rome and Florence on their school break – they insisted that the boys also join in on some of the festivities.  the boys made friends and hung out with the other kids at the white party, which when it got into full dance mode, the bride said to me, “will you put down your f*ing camera and dance with your sons?”  Coolest people ever, right?

and the night of the wedding, the groom wanted to ensure that my boys were there before the surprise band was revealed.  this had special meaning for me because Sting’s opening number was “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” which was the first song my youngest son Cole ever sang along to.  To him, it was affectionately known as “The Magic Song”.

Cole enjoys the show from the best rock in the house.

after the show, I got to hang backstage with sting and his wife trudie styler who are a really sweet couple truly in love with each other. They are also in love with their “side jobs” as vintners – growing their own grapes biodynamically and bottling their own brand of wine, Sister Moon which they brought along as a gift.

as i was getting onstage to shoot,  i grabbed this shot of trudie admiring her man performing .  isn’t she radiant? – beautiful both inside and out and madly in love with her man – you can see it in her eyes.

and lastly, Cole wanted to make sure I included this shot of him helping his daddy take pictures at the white party.

Meghan’s dress is by Oscar de la Renta.

Flowers and event design is by the wonderful Matthew Robbins Design.

Lauren arrived at the church in a perfectly restored Model A Ford.

Lauren awaiting her big moment… the cue to walk down the aisle.

Ron’s alternative take on the recession.

Chris and Lauren wave goodbye as they depart the church in the Model A.
(What I thought was amazing was that the gas gauge is actually a small glass window through which you actually see the gasoline sloshing around. – scary!)

Ron had to address the issue, “What do you do when you’re shooting outside on the streets with fifteen (15!) groomsmen and it starts to rain”?

I think funniest shot of the day goes to Ron – who got this great one of Chris (who is a banker).

Many many thanks go to the fabulous Claire Bean who planned this event.  There are some people that do a great job at event planning and design and are really FUN to work with and we put Claire at the top of that category. We just love her.

PDN has just released the results of their annual Top Knots contest. This image from David and Vanessa’s wedding snagged a place in the receptions category!

The image, titled “Fin”, was used to end the article. Clever, PDN… very clever!

Twas a bitterly cold winter day so we were lucky to have a place like the Chateau since there are so many great rooms to work with inside.  Fountain rooms, garden rooms, a pool /solarium, billiard rooms to name a few (this place goes on forever).

We did venture out for a brief brisk walk…

kim got this wonderful shot of the ketubah – she managed to get the entire line of gold ink to perfectly reflect the light so it makes a really strong focal point

under the chuppah…

and immediately following the ceremony…

Venue:  Pleasantdale Chateau

Event Design:  Marc Elliot

Hair Stylist: Rosalie Kahle

Makeup Artist: Nam Vo

Dress:  Vera Wang

Below, Ranee gets ready in the Presidential Suite of The Plaza Hotel.

And the best part for you 80s disco/funk  junkies – their band was Kool And The Gang.

Cake by Sylvia Weinstock.

Below:  Seth Rogen helps out a fellow groomsmen get dressed and gets some added encouragement.

David and Vanessa see each other for the first time in a secluded area of Central Park.

The celebrity studded groomsmen take a break on Central Parks’ Bow Bridge.

The goofy group had a great time hammin’ it up – brining their LA-based love for the camera to NYC.

But the ceremony was touching and very emotional – quite old school – and a big contrast to the horsing around in the Park.

And below you have the one and only ChuppaCam in action.  I wanted a birds eye shot of the kiss in the context of the beautiful setting that Michelle Rago had created in The Terrace Room at The Plaza – but since I’m really against intruding on the sanctity of the ceremony we came up with a plan to rig up a remote triggered camera that we buried in the canopy of the Chuppa.  The camera was completely covered with leaves so that it was completely invisible to the guests and we triggered it wirelessly.

We have loads of beautiful portraits of David and Vanessa but I wanted to show you this one since I think it really captures the playful spirit of this special couple.  Vanessa with her nose slightly scrunched – David goofing around but through that – you can feel the real love and connection that these two have for each other.  Beyond being able to capture all the beauty and the grandure and the moments and the details, I think the real magic of photography – is capturing the personalities of my couples.

Lots of wonderful images to share from the celebrity filled evening as well coming soon.

We’ve won an award in this quarter’s WPJA Photo Competition for a shot from Vanessa Britting and David Krumholtz’s celebrity packed wedding at The Plaza Hotel.

I’m a fan of the WPJA since the way they run their competition puts every Wedding Photojournalist on even footing.  Every member get’s the same limited number of entries so you can’t buy yourself an advantage like many photographers do in other competitions.  You also don’t name your photos or provide any additional information about the backstory.  If the photo doesn’t say it – it doesn’t factor into the judging.   You also can’t photoshop your image – so there’s none of that crazyness.  Get it right in the camera or go home.  Lastly, it is a true worldwide competition with thousands of photographers competing (it’s amazing how many great pj wedding images come from Eastern Europe!) so even a sixth place is pretty cool.  This is our 5th winner in WPJA contests.

p.s.  Can you spot the 3 videographers?

See more of this wedding in the forthcoming New York Magazine special Weddings issue.