Saturday the 30th brought the second of our triple play- this time at the quintessential New England- Guilford Yacht Club download Toy Story . What a spot! Right on the water with a beautiful green lawn for a ceremony area- a balcony area perfect for a bird’s eye view of the reception hall- and the sunsets this place gets are OUT OF THIS WORLD! So I’m hooked!
Now Cari and Steve and just two of the kindest people I have had as clients. They are completely in love with each other, and are in tune to one another like nothing I have seen. They are so gentle and respectful and nice to each other. It was really great to sit back and soak it all in, to be honest!
So Cari got dressed not too far from the yacht club, and we got there with time to spare. Mike, Katie and I just love shooting all of the details and today was no exception. We took her beautiful gown out of the room where everyone was getting all gussied up in and set the dolly hoo ha right in front of the big window here. But not before having our big super strong Mike move the massive and heavy fish sculpture thingy gently to the side!
Isn’t this shot KILLER!!!???? No, right. Well, before I set it up how I actually saw it, I wanted to show you all what it looked like before all of the Carla Ten Eyck fussing. See? Just a dress, albeit a very pretty one, hanging on a cart thing, with paper everyplace. Crazy wheels on the cart thing, you get the drift.
This is what I saw in my head.
A nice leading line in from the left, no wheelie things to add clunkiness to the delicateness of the dress, and a slight tilt to keep you in the frame. I lead you in with the trim on the left- your eye follows it up the bottom of the dress, up the rails, and back down to the trim to lead you right back in! Ta da! I exposed for the detail on the dress, fully knowing that I was not going to get any detail in the curtains behind it. I didn’t want any, because to me too much detail would distract from the beauty of the dress.
The above shot was shot on program at : ISO 160 / f 5.0 1/100 of a second
The final shot, where I was in control of every little decision from my ISO to my shutter was shot on manual, ISO 100 / f 1.8 / 1/100th of a second. Both were shot with my 50mm G lens, on large Fine JPG. (more on this later…I know Mike will blow up my spot soon enough!) See the BIG exposure difference in the aperture from the first to the second? Going from 5.0 to 1.8 just dumps light into my camera, blowing out the background beautifully but still letting me capture the detail. I compensated the teeniest bit by going down to 100 ISO from 160, not a ton but just enough to let me have the finest quality.
Cari had these pink shoes, right? Riiiiight……..! And I loved her more for it!
The lovely ladies of Naomi Martinez in West Hartford did the hair and makeup honors, and they did a fabulous job on everyone!
Steve did a fantastic job on the gift- a stunning and perfect pearl necklace that Cari wore for the wedding.
Her ladies help put on the finishing touches…
There was a LOT of excitement in the room after she put her dress on, before she put her dress on, and well…. pretty much the whole day! Her ladies were so supportive and cute!
MY FAVORITE RING SHOT, EVER!!!!!! This was shot by the very, very funny KATIE SLATER, purely for me!! She knows I have an affection for Bill Clinton, saw this and just had to shoot it!!
Cari and Steve opted for a first look before their wedding- so we shot this at Hammonasset State Park.
“After they saw each other they were so cuddly and cute, so I stepped back and let them have a moment…. and then got distracted by the honeysuckle! ” said Mike. Because he totally took this shot, not me. MY BAD, But I was CONVINCED I did- and lost $20 on a bet with Mike. oops! Thank god for Lightroom and metadeta and stuff, right Mike?
Their bridal party was picture perfect in yellow dresses from Nordstroms, and tan linen suits with pink ties!
I just love this portrait of Steve
The ladies were watching Mike photograph Cari and Steve, and I just had to snag this! Look at their strappy sandals and their peonies….
Really? Can they be any cuter
Back at the yacht club….I just love Steve’s parent’s expressions as they walk down the aisle and look at their son
Cari’s Dad giving her away
I have always had a distraction for red headed little boys… I see one, and I am like, waaaaait…… let me take your picture! Go figure that both Katie AND Mike have red headed sons!!! I’m like a red headed son magnet or something! Maybe Robin’s little guy will come out with red hair too?? Back to my distraction…. so I saw the ceremony through the spikes of this little guys hair, and those freckles?
‘ That’ll do donkey, that’ll do…’ (name that movie!)
What a day for a wedding….
During the ceremony their minister held up a picture of Steve where he was the ring bearer (i believe) for HER wedding 19 years ago!!! How sweet is that?
I love this series…. The first one: Steve checks out his new bling- the second: IT’S SOOOOO HEAVY! But then he loves it still, and then they laugh!
I’m always a fan of the triumphant bouquet over the head ‘we’re MARRIED!!!’
This floral ‘R’ was such a special little surprise for me, I wanted to just dive into it!!! I mean, I am sure it wasn’t just for me, per se…but I sure loved it!!
pretty all across the board! And those cupcakes? Jordan Caterers did it up nice
Cari’s grandfather danced with her and was just too much. But the pink tie around the head? He was our fourth shooter and had our backs!! Look at his concentration!
Cari and Steve were ALL over taking a few minutes out for some sunset lovleyness!
I love this totally candid moment where a well wisher caught their attention for a split second
They just hung out and talked and cuddled while I laid around in the grass and got eaten alive by the crazy mosquitos! They were loving some Mexican that night!
I was embracing my inner New England….
Excuse me, can we be the poster children for the beautiful Guilford Yacht Club?
I am Mc LOVIN’ all of the dramatic exits at my weddings these days!!! My very favorite wedding picture of mine is our sparkler exit shot, I have it right over my Mac Pro so that I can look at it every day! Thanks Jaime O!! And thank YOU Mr. and Mrs. Renn for this awesome day and the opportunity to photograph your wedding!!
Please make sure to also check out:
The Photographic Stylings of Mr. Michael Romano
and the super funny and talented Miss Katie Slater Beverly Hills Chihuahua hd for the FULL story on the day!!
xxoo
I love that wide ceremony shot from the ground, totally awesome. Great job Carla!!
fabulous as always, Ms. Ten Eyck, but the kid with the camera and the tie around his head, pure Diane Arbus, unbelievable.
Amazing work as always Carla!!! Love the post on these…spot on sister!
The sunset shots are just beyond beautiful! Thanks for the dress shot tutorial. . .keep it comin!!
totally Shrek…by the way.
LOVE this wedding!!! I’m such a huge fan of the guilford yacht club. it’s nice to see another perspective
Yaaaaaay Cari!!! Congrats girl, you looked incredible!!!
Great shots, Carla. Love the 2 dress shots for comparison. Workin’ your magic.
Lots of great moments here but I love the series of the groom checking out his new ring!! Come to think of it–his expression is pretty priceless in that last shot of their exit!
Great wedding photography. you really captured the day for Cari and Steve. Nice work!
I love the sunset shot of her sitting in his lap in the lawn chair. Gorgeous!
I’m stocking up on sparklers this July 4th just for you! Awesome stuff, as usual.
The other day Denise told my friend Robin, “Do what you can to get in a Carla Ten Eyck photo at Jaime’s wedding. She’ll make you look fabulous!”