Senior Session :: Hannah
As the end of the school year comes to a close, senior photos are starting to boom. These shoots are always my favorite because they push the boundaries of my creativity. Brides usually have a certain look and feel they are going for, not always, but usually. Seniors are open to anything, sky's the limit. Crazy lighting effects, grungy overlays, it doesn't matter they love it all!
My latest senior, Hannah, is an artist. I knew there was only one place to go, Downtown's Arts District! Her art has a dark yet vibrant feel to it so I wanted to try and match it the best I could. First stop I had in mind was the "Gateway to the Arts District", towering neon paintbrushes created by the late artist Dennis Oppenheim. Then we headed across the street to Bar & Bistro and Artifice for some cool background lighting. Our greatest find of the day was the staircase in front of the Coit cleaners building. Although it was a bit weathered, I had the idea to showcase her artwork in the panels of the railings. What an awesome shot! Downtown Vegas comes through once again for another amazing shoot. ~ Mike H
Kelly+Gary :: Double the Fun!
Our most recent couple was a double shoot, engagement shots and a full wedding. Kelly & Gary came all the way in from the UK and brought forty two of their friends and family members, yes, I said FORTY TWO! Since this was their first trip to Vegas, they left it up to us to pick the locations for the photo shoots. For the engagement shots, we went with Downtown Las Vegas at the Fremont St Experience and the East Fremont District. DTLV is always a favorite for us, but it turned out to be a very good choice. The couple was blown away by the neon. It was exactly what they envisioned 'Vegas' to be, but were not able to find on The Strip anymore. I was stoked that I was able to deliver exactly what they were looking for. I was even more excited by how amazing the photos turned out.
Their ceremony was held at the Juno Gardens of Caesars Palace (beautiful by the way). Immediately following, we did a quick shoot around the iconic fountains and Roman columns of Caesars. Since the entire group was along for the ride today, they rented the two largest limos in all of Las Vegas! NTS Limo provided a massive stretch hummer and a monster of a limo called the Big Blue. From there we made a quick stop at Bellagio to catch the fountains and then off to the Vegas Sign. This group loved hamming it up for pics down there. We finished at Mandalay Bay where the reception was being held in the Marquee Room inside Slice of Vegas (vegan options!). My favorite part of the reception? Kelly & Gary's choreographed dance routine! This got their group going and the dance floor was packed the rest of the night.
Kelly & Gary were so enamored by their Vegas experience I wouldn't be surprised to see them back here next year for their anniversary, probably minus the FORTY TWO man entourage! ~ Mike H
Little Vegas Blog
Las Vegas is a truly magical place to be married. This city is full of excitement, glitz & glamour. Wading through the tons & tons of Vegas wedding sites across the internet? Not always as enchanting. Especially so when planning from out of town. Kelly Zenkewich understands this perfectly. A destination bride herself, who planned her own 2010 wedding here at the beautiful Springs Preserves, Kelly created Little Vegas Wedding, an authentic & informative source for couples planning their Vegas nuptials. Be sure to go take a look around her Blog and don't miss my favorite section, The List, an awesome breakdown (with photos!) of Vegas wedding Venues. ~ Caitlin S
Facebook 500 Club
Yes, the rumors are true, Glitter Lens Photography has finally hit FIVE HUNDRED likes on facebook!!! I want to thank everyone I've ever met in my entire life! No, seriously though, everyday is an absolute joy because of my awesome clients and all of the amazing people I get to work with. Cheers to touching 500 lives and salute to the next 500 and the 500 after that! ~ Mike H
Elizabeth+Randy :: It's wedding season, kid!
Wedding season has officially begun! Elizabeth & Randy's wedding last month set the bar very high. I got to spend a lot of time with them during their engagement photo shoot, so I knew this one was going to be a lot of fun. I will admit, I am extremely lucky to live in the wedding capital of the world. Not only does it keep me very busy, but the average bride that does choose to get married in Vegas is typically on the chill side. Not exactly dealing with Bridezillas here and Elizabeth couldn't be any further from that if she tried. I've actually gone looking for a term that is the complete opposite of Bridezilla for her, surprisingly there is not much out there. I guess not to many people are lucky enough to get such a cool bride. She has inspired me, I am now determined to think of a term for anti-Bridezilla now. All I have seen that come close is Briderella or uberBride, not bad, but not good enough. I think I am going to go with Bridetastic, yeah definitely BrideTASTIC! (If anyone can think of something better, please feel free to leave it in the comments.)
Now to move on to the actual wedding. It was held at the Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, on the second level balcony of their gorgeous Mystic Falls Park. Even though I annually visit the Mystic Falls for their amazing Winter Wonderland light and water show, I had yet to see a wedding held there. Boy was I impressed! The balcony had a perfect panoramic view of the entire atrium and completely set the mood for this intimate and romantic ceremony. Everything went off without a hitch, even the adorable twin flower girls made it down the isle with very minimal coaxing.
The reception was moved down the hall to the main ballroom. This place was a photographers dream, the lighting was perfect and instead of chandeliers they had rows of bulbs running in square patterns throughout the ceiling, giving all the photos a fabulous background glow. Once we finally got a chance to break away for a private shoot, the sun had gone down and the atrium of the Mystic Falls Park was pitch black. Thanks to my second shooter Tyge, we were able to play with a few lighting options and actually came away with some of my favorite bridal portraits to date. ~ Mike H
...but this might have been my favorite pic of the night, a groomsmen getting his freak on...