Earlier in August I traveled to the Minneapolis to photograph the wedding of a close friend of mine, Derek Till. I met Derek way back in 1991 during my freshman year at RIT. We shared almost all of our freshman photo classes, along with a group of other close friends of mine- and many years later, have all managed to stay in close touch. We have had many reunion trips since graduation that have included our families, and some that have just included us. We have all traveled the world over to attend each others’ weddings and have been there to support each other through happier times like the births of children, or getting engaged to the sadder, darker times to some of us losing our parents.
Through it all, no matter if years have passed in between our last seeing each other, it was like time literally stood still for our little group of photogs from RIT.
Sol 6 is alive and well in our brains,and yes, Schmartin, we have to go to Gracie’s.
Now Derek was a Fine Art major at RIT. I don’t know why but I was always a little intimidated by Derek and his resolve of all things arty and weird. He saw art everywhere. He saw meaning in things that I did not. Derek is not an Art Director for an Ad Agency, kind of like the guys in Mad Men, according to our buddy Gus. I have not seen the show yet so I will take his word on it.
The 12 Dogs of Christmas ipod Dance of the Dead ipod
For me to photograph Mr. Art Director Man’s wedding? Not only that but Aleks is like super arty lady on top of it as well? Yeah, I was intimidated.
But the best part of it all was how much these two underplayed the coolness of everything that they had at their wedding.
See image below to get what I’m putting out there.
Seriously. Derek got his hair trimmed before the wedding at this little place that he goes to all of the time. And it has taxidermy. Every. Where.
It was by far the BEST getting ready place for a groom. Like ever ever.
Adding to the magic of the day was the fact that one of my bestest friends in the world, Jaime aka Sister O, one of our very own RIT photog friends second shot their wedding with me. Jaime came to CT last year to shoot with me and Mike, and way back before I knew a single photographer in the state, she was my go to gal for if something went wrong and I couldn’t shoot. I would fly her in from Wichita Kansas to cover for me. Yes, really.
I have the honor of photographing her wedding this coming October in Wichita where us RIT people will converge once again for a super fun time!
I love this old tyme phone that Derek had in his house.
Another fun detail? Her wedding dress was hot pink!!
Aleks was just glowing with happiness
Her necklaces were hand made by a local jewelry artist, and all of the bridesmaids had one
Another awesome detail- all of the maids wore green, but all different shades and dress styles. It looked SO beautiful!!
A shameless self portrait of me relaxing on the bed
Her girls’ reactions were priceless!
This guy. Aleks’ family is Serbian and so they interwove a lot of cool traditions like having a big party before the wedding complete with accordian player with money stuck to his forehead.
The moonshine was a’flowing!!
It smelled so strong I got drunk from the fumes! Well, not really.
What may look like just another picture of a garbage can is not! It shows their resolve to keep things in balance- all of their stuff was either composted or recycled from not only the party but the entire wedding!!
This guy!
Another cool added feature: Derek’s brother had to barter for Aleks’ hand and it was great to watch- here is Derek’s Mom in the blue and Aleks’ Mom in the purple
Aleks’ parents and grandmother had a good laugh during the barter
One of the things to barter with? Lucky items. And so, there were some Lucky Charms! But the final price? A lottery ticket worth potentially $130 MILLION dollars!!
A celebration was evident once Brandon won Aleks’ hand for his brother
They all danced
and danced!
….and then we arrive at the church…..
This post is to be continued since there are so many images I wanted to share!!!
Stay tuned for more!!
So real..Too cool…
Argh! 4 days….I’m going through withdrawal. Please blog again soon! : )
i love me some Sol 6. you guys rock, can’t wait for the second installment.
very cool getting ready shots. I love the taxidermy…even though I’m not a fan of “stuffed animals”. you know what i mean
Wow! So fun and different. The barber/taxidermist is even cooler than you described! I don’t even know what to expect next!
Can’t wait to see more awesome pics! Who is that foxy lady under the taxidermy? Meow!