Before Erica and Greg’s Wedding day even started, it was a serious case of Lemony Snickets! … At least on the photography end anyway! (Don’t panic Erica, this story has a happy ending!) Anyway, the night before Erica’s wedding, which started at a very early 8 a.m., one of my lenses stopped working, and since I don’t usually rent lenses, I had no idea I had to BE THERE to sign for my backup rental lens that was supposed to come in the mail that day. Needless to say I only went out ONCE for 10 minutes to buy a lasagna pan for the birthday dinner I was making for my stepdad, and that’s when it decided to show up at the door… of course I missed it and UPS said it was now unretrievable until Monday! Cue panic attack! At 8 p.m. the night before, everything was CLOSED and would remain closed until well after 8 a.m. the day of the wedding… what WAS a girl to do?!

Well, I did the only thing I could… called my photographer friends! My second shooter for that day had the lens I needed, but it was Canon, so wouldn’t be compatible with my Nikon bodies. However, when all other attempts to procure the lens failed, we concocted a plan: I would borrow his extra lens AND one of his backup cameras and … drum roll please… shoot CANON! This was only the second time I had ever picked up a Canon camera, and the first time I didn’t shoot with it; I picked it up and my second and I just laughed that I couldn’t even find the “on” button!

Anyway, long story short, after a quick phone-crash-course with my 2nd shooter at 2 a.m. the night before, I got up at 4 a.m. bright and early and drove 3 hours to Erica and Greg’s wedding, where a very exhausted me proceeded to rock both Canon and Nikon! This couple’s day was a serious adventure and I am so proud to show off these pics!

So enough about me, let’s take a moment to really appreciate how gorgeous Erica looked, even in her curlers, which were the cutest thing ever by the way! Her bridesmaids were a beautiful bunch too, and I had a lot fun directing them.

Now Greg is one of those rare-but-extremely-awesome-very-into-photography dudes. During our engagement session, not only did he have some great ideas to contribute, he was totally up for ANYTHING, including breaking just about every park rule in Central Park… gotta love this guy.

The couple’s ceremony at The Estate at Florentine Garden’s in Rivervale, New Jersey, was beautiful; I loved the emotional look on Erica’s brother’s face right after he finished walking her down the aisle.

The ceremony was immediately followed by bridal party and bride-and-groom photos. Enter our second big challenge of the day… shooting outdoor portraits at NOON! We were fortunate to find some shade in the garden, and a few areas with soft light that really worked perfectly for us!

The reception was one of my favorite parts of the day… given the time of day – starting at 1 p.m. – I was fully expecting an afternoon, luncheon-type setting. Erica and Greg had decorated the venue at Florentine Gardens beautifully, with Petals Premier as their florist, and it started out looking very similar to what I had imagined.

Then, out of nowhere, the shades came ALL the way down and BLACKOUT, and the venue threw at us some very crazy lighting scenarious with everything from spotlights to strobes, changing colors etc, that fooled you into thinking you were at a nightclub at 2 a.m. instead of 2.p.m… awesome!

Sal Travis Entertainment did a great job of getting everyone on the dance floor pretty quickly, and what a fun bunch this group turned out to be!

To Erica and Greg, thank you, thank you, thank you for having me as your wedding photographer! You two were an absolute pleasure to work with, and are just a really enjoyable couple to be around. Your engagement session left me not wanting to go home, and now your wedding saw me completely out of my comfort zone and loving it all the way! I swear, there is something about you two that makes things just work out grand! Your wedding was amazing, and did I mention so was the lasagna!?

Second Shooter: Jim Heine
Engagement Session: Central Park Engagement
Makeup: Donna M. Spero
Florist: Petals Premiere http://www.petalspremier.com/
Venue: Estate at Florentine Gardens http://www.florentinegardens.com
DJ: Sal Travis Entertainment