Category Archives: Travel

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Cozumel, Mexico Wedding: Cruise with Jamie and Tommy

Two and a half years ago, dad was in New York to photograph the fabulous wedding of Shannon and Duane.  It was one of dad’s favorite weddings!  The church was gorgeous, dad had lots of time to take the bride and groom around for pictures, the bride grabbed the mic for an impassioned rendition of “Ice, Ice Baby”at the reception, wedding crashers were invited in to come party with the family, and the bride and groom met up with dad just after sunrise the next morning to jump in a lake in their wedding attire!  But of course more importantly Shannon and Duane are kind, down-to-earth, fun people and dad really enjoyed spending time with them and their families.  He was happy when he got the news that they were expecting and we all got to meet Shannon when we were visiting New York and dad photographed her maternity session.  She had her session on a rooftop garden in Rockefeller Center where she worked and we even got a quick  tour of a few of the studios in the building!

When Shannon told us that her sister Jamie was getting married on a cruise, dad really wanted to be there to share in another important day for this family.  He felt very blessed when things worked out and he was able to join Jamie and Tommy and their close family and friends on a cruise to the Keys and Cozumel for the wedding!  Things were all set for the wedding day when the ship docked in the Keys, and then for more pictures the next day in Cozumel.  Then a week before the wedding, Jamie got the news that the ship was canceling the stop at Key West!  Mom says the email Jamie sent out says everything about what a wonderful couple Jamie and Tommy are.  They told everyone, “When life gives you lemons, add Tequila and head straight for Cozumel!”  Because everything was planned for that stop, Jamie and Tommy had to put everything together again for a wedding the following day at Cozumel.  It was wonderful to see how positive they were when many other couples would have let the stress bring them down.  Instead, Jamie, Tommy, and all of their guests squeezed those lemons and limes and it was Tequila time!

Shannon and Duane’s little girl has gotten so big!

Partying as the cruise begins:

The wedding day!

Jamie and Tommy walking around Cozumel with dad before the ceremony began:

The ceremony at a hotel in Cozumel:

Jamie had a nautical theme and the bridesmaids all carried beach balls instead of bouquets (much easier to get through customs than flowers!)

Khaki and navy are so pretty together.  The groomsmen wore navy shirts and khaki pants.

Enjoying the Mexican sun:

Jamie’s parents trying to get Tommy to behave himself during the garter removal:

Jamie and her dad taking a swim.  Mom thinks Jamie should have worn the flippers around the rest of the day!

Jamie and Tommy taking the plunge…literally!  Soon after this, almost everyone was in the water!

Mom’s favorite picture because she says it summarizes the day perfectly.  Beautiful and romantic, yet you can tell it was quite a party too!

Thank you so much to Jamie, Tommy, and their family and friends for having dad there to share in such an wonderful trip.  He had a blast and said everyone was terrific!  Congratulations newlyweds, and we hope your future holds all the happiness, beauty, love, and celebration that your wedding did!

Chelsea and Justin’s Wedding Part Three: Day After Shoot in Las Vegas

The day after Chelsea and Justin’s wedding, they got back into their wedding clothes and headed out for more pictures.  The strip, casinos, and Elvis…it was definitely a Vegas style session!

Thanks again to Chelsea and Justin for having dad join you for your trip.  Dad said it was awesome and he came back with so many funny stories about his time with you two and your families.  Everyone was so wonderful to him and made him feel like he was just another friend there to celebrate the wedding.  We hope you two stay in touch as the years go on!

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Inappropriate, we know, but weird enough that we just had to share!

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Chelsea and Justin’s Wedding Part Two: Wedding Day in Vegas

After seeing the sights on the Vegas strip on Monday, Tuesday was Chelsea and Justin’s wedding day!  Chelsea got ready in her room at the Excalibur hotel.  Dad had fun finding places to photograph her shoes and dress and after she was ready she met Justin on the bridge of New York, New York for their first sight.  Justin looked a bit nervous as he waited for Chelsea to approach, but as soon as he turned around and saw her it seemed as if everything else melted away and all he saw was his beautiful bride.

The wedding party all got on a bus and headed out to the Vegas sign for pictures and then waited for the bus to bring them back.  And waited.  And waited.  Finally Justin, half kidding, tried to hitchhike and everyone was surprised when a SUV actually pulled over for them!  The guys inside gave everyone a ride back to the strip where Chelsea and Justin did family photos before getting in a limo to head over to the marriage bureau to get the marriage license.  The limo driver said Chelsea was one of the only brides to have her paperwork filled out before she got there!

Then it was finally time to make it official!  They headed over to the chapel for the ceremony!  Chelsea’s grandpa gave her away.  Dad said that her grandpa used to be a photojournalist in the 60′s and now does a lot of traveling.  Dad also said that Chelsea’s grandma is deceptively fast.  At one point during the day, dad had to speed walk just to keep up with her!  All of Chelsea and Justin’s family and friends were great people.  They made dad feel like one of the family and he was very grateful for that, so thanks to all of them!  And they were all very excited that they were able to be there to share Chelsea and Justin’s wedding day with them!

After the ceremony, everyone went to Yolos restaurant in the Planet Hollywood hotel for dinner before calling it a night.  It was so much fun for dad to be able to join Chelsea, Justin, and their guests for their Vegas wedding.  Dad wants to thank Chelsea and Justin lots and lots for having him there, and for being such awesome people!  They are truly an amazing couple.  Mom has become friends with Chelsea through emails and Twitter and she was so excited that she had butterflies when she woke up Tuesday morning and knew it was Chelsea and Justin’s big day!  It feels like Chelsea had been planning this day (and re-planning after plans changed to a Vegas wedding!) forever and mom could not believe the day had finally come.  We know married life is going to be a blast for Chelsea and Justin, and we wish them all the best!  Stay tuned for a few of their day after pictures coming to the blog soon!

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Just for you Steph ;)

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Chelsea and Justin’s Wedding Part One: Arriving in Vegas

Dad just got back from Chelsea and Justin’s wedding in Las Vegas!  He came home with lots of great stories about hitchhiking, casino pit bosses, and other adventures.  Chelsea, Justin, and their amazing friends and family made dad feel so welcome and at home with them.  We’ll have pictures of the wedding day and the day after pictures on the blog soon, but for now here are a few from their first night walking around seeing the Vegas strip:

On the plane to Vegas…check out Justin’s “Game Over” Mario shirt with his wedding date.  So cool!  It is from Something Blue Designs on Etsy and they have a matching pink one for brides as well.

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View of the Grand Canyon from the plane:

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You know the first thing dad did when he got to Vegas was go buy some crêpes.  He ate so much that he had a full tummy the rest of the day!

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The Excalibur Hotel:

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Paris and Planet Hollywood:

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New York, New York:

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The inside of the Bellagio was decorated beautifully for fall.  It even had a moving tree!

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Stay tuned for pictures from Chelsea and Justin’s wedding day!

Kim and Matt’s Wedding in Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Kim and Matt, thank you so much for having dad join you in Wisconsin for your beautiful wedding!  Almost a year ago, dad photographed their engagement session in Clearwater and he was excited to see them again for their Sheboygan wedding.  Dad said it was a wonderful city and he had a terrific time on his trip there.  The “Sheboyganites” were so nice and the weather was absolutely beautiful.  Leaves were just starting to change and the air was so crisp!

The wedding day began at Now and Zen salon where Kim and the girls had their hair and makeup done.  Kim looked beautiful!  The ceremony was held at Trinity Lutheran Church and afterward Matt’s parents hosted cocktail hour in a tent at their house.  Kim and Matt went there to check it out for a bit before going with dad and the wedding party to take pictures near the water.  Then it was party time at City Streets Riverside!  The DJ was from Streamline Productions and wore a cheesehead hat.  Dad said he was expecting to see more of those around town!

The bride and groom and their guests had a blast at the reception.  Dad said they partied for hours!  Kim and Matt are lots of fun and are going to have a wonderful life together.  It was such an honor for dad to be there for the start of it.  Thanks again Kim and Matt!  Wisconsin ROCKED!

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