It was yet another overcast day when I arrived at the church to begin photographing Katarina and Ken’s wedding day. It was still relatively warm though so it was actually perfect weather. My day started with the ceremony at Corpus Christie Church. This was another church I had never been. It was definitely larger then most other’s I have seen. Once I arrived and got set up I instantly started taking photos of the groomsmen and the groom hanging out waiting for the bride to arrive. The atmosphere was relaxed which made for some nice candid photos. It also helped that all the man looked quite stylish. It was almost like I was photographing gangsters in a mafia movie.
Shortly after I arrived, Katarina and the rest of the bridal party showed up with the bus. At this point I hurried out of the church to snap some arrival photos. It was then time for the ceremony which lasted about 45 minutes. It was very nice service and it left me plenty of time to get some fantastic shots. I even managed to go upstairs quickly and get a nice wide angle photo of the entire crowd.
After a short gathering outside it was then off to the Windrose Manor on the other side of town. This is where we did most of the portraits. It was this old mansion with a wonderful front porch as well as a gated fence and entry way. As you can see from the photos it was very difficult coming up with unique and stylish photos at this location. We even got a huge family shot looking on at the front porch.
The reception took place at the Slovak Legion. I had shot a couple weddings here before so I knew what to expect, location wise. That didn’t mean that I didn’t walk away with completely creative and spontaneous photos. Everyone in the party was very easy going. With the extra time we had we took advantage of the outdoor front area. We also go some nice couples’ photos inside.
I then spent some time capturing some detail photos of the reception area. It was really quite beautiful. My favourite was the front mantel piece which was a horse and carriage resting on top of a mirror. Once the receiving line was done it was time for the entrance of the wedding party and then of course dinner. During dinner, all the kids where having fun rolling the large dice and getting Ken and Katarina to kiss. The speeches then followed and were very sincere and heartfelt.
My evening finished off with the cake cutting and then the first dances. The biggest surprise of the evening was the dance with Ken and his mother. She secretly got the DJ to start with the chicken dance song. The reaction from Ken was priceless. Luckily I was able to capture it perfectly. As I do with all my couples, thanks again to Ken and Katarina for letting me share this special day with them!
