Wedding Photography & Photo Booth :: Sara+Spencer :: Par For The Course
Rules... they were made to be broken. Many couples these days are ditching the aging tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony. It dates back to the time of arranged marriages and thankfully that doesn’t happen much these days. First looks are now taking the place of this tradition and it is much more relevant to the modern day wedding. I will still gladly respect the wishes of anyone who wants to refrain from seeing each other beforehand, BUT it does open up a lot more time for the portrait session and to be honest, that is my favorite part. :)
Sara managed to fit in two first looks. One with her groom, Spencer, and an extra special one with her father. Since the couple saw each other before the ceremony we had an extra hour of portraits before the ceremony even started. I was in heaven! With all that extra time I was able to throw every pose and scene I could think of at them and with a wedding party full of characters, they were all happy to oblige. I dragged them all over Angel Park!
Once we got the first half of portraits done, we moved over to the green for the outdoor ceremony. Despite it being August in Las Vegas, the weather was perfect and the gorgeous sunset offered an amazing background for their nuptials.
They moved the party back inside for the reception and the only thing that could upstage the impressive line at the photo booth was the dance off grand entrance by the wedding party. They went one by one down the aisle and each had their moment to shine, it was pretty impressive. If that wasn’t cool enough, the bride bucked another tradition by forgoing the father-daughter dance and replaced it with singing a duet with her father. The groom seemed very touched by this and began to “lose his contacts”.
That wasn’t the last trick Sara had up her sleeve for the night. She took the mic and brought her mom and dad out to the dance floor, she surprised them with a dedication and gave them the first dance they never had. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house and I may have gotten “something in my eye” myself. Overall it was a fantastic night full of laughs, cheers and maybe even a few tears (I swear, I swear, I had something in my eye). ~ Mike
| Venue: Angel Park Golf Course | DJ: Gabriel @ All Events Disc Jockeys |
| Bridal Gown: David's Bridal | Tuxedos: Bowties Bridal Boutique |
| Hair & Makeup: Anna @ Stardust Salon | Wedding Cake: Sweet Lucy's Confections |
| Florist: Flowers by Michelle | Photographers & Photo Booth: Glitter Lens Photography |
The Suite Life
We love our Vegas bachelor & bachelorettes. These groups are SO. MUCH. FUN. So much fun, that we decided to offer a photo shoot out on the Vegas Strip perfect for these boisterous get-togethers. Or, we're always happy to design a photography package tailored to whatever place they have in store for the night. Don't worry, we put the camera down if there is any 'What Happens Here, Stays Here' stuff going down.
I was reminded today of how Vegas is THE destination for bachelor/bachelorette parties by two articles I came across. The guys over at Thrillist listed their top 7 pimpest of the pimp Vegas hotel suites and Vegas.com put together a not too shabby, more affordable compilation of grandiose rooms as well. Can we be invited, please? ~ Caitlin
Riddle Me This Batman!
Sorry, I just wanted three straight blog posts to have a superhero reference/pun, mission accomplished! I’m done now, I promise, but it is somewhat relevant, my latest bachelorette party photo shoot was FULL of riddles. Our Vegas Views package is often used for Bachelorette parties, because it is the perfect way to capture all the action. This time the maid of honor came up with a fun game to make the photo shoot just that much more of a party, she planned a scavenger hunt to go along with it. Six riddles would reveal each shoot location as well as multiple challenges along the way.
As we all sat in the limo, they started it off with an easy one... What is the most photographed object in all of Las Vegas? … THE VEGAS SIGN! And the adventure began! Next we hit Margaritaville, where she had to finish one of their most famous drinks, the 45 ounce ‘Booze in the Blender’. Then we were on to the Venetian for a gondola ride and then to Gilley’s so they could take their turn at the mechanical bull. A quick stop for a quickie mock wedding with our bride to be and the limo driver (what a good sport) at The Little White Chapel and we wrapped it all up with some very interesting photo ops with the characters on Fremont St.
Overall it was a very exciting evening and made for some excellent photos. The Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt was an amazing idea, I might just have to borrow that. ~ Mike
Quick, to the Frat Cave!
Yes that is the second superhero reference/pun in as many posts, but I couldn't help myself. The WSOP (World Series Of Poker) is back in town & that means Bovada (an online gambling destination) is bringing us back to the Man Cave, now with a college fraternity theme. What's the difference you ask? All the Man Cave goodness, but now with more keg stands & beer pong!
While the WSOP is in full swing over at the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino, Bovada is once again treating their sponsored poker players to 4 days of absolute debauchery in their themed hospitality suite over at Planet Hollywood. The suite provides an open bar with tons of prizes. The prizes are awarded for competing in the various games provided, including pool, foosball and beer pong tournaments, along with high scores in skee ball, wii bowling and daily trivia. This year they're even including a huge photo contest worth thousands of dollars. They are having everyone show off the Bovada 'Britney' doll all around town and giving points for the most creative pics, too bad I'm not eligible.
I can't wait to see what they come up with next year. Maybe a Big Top theme, with full on carnival games to win their prizes. One can only hope! Either way they always throw one hell of a party. All you have to do to get yourself invited to next year's party is get really good at poker. You got one year, start practicing! ~ Mike
Opening day at the World Series of Poker.
Bovada after party at Lavo inside The Palazzo.
Wedding Photography :: Lisa+Josh :: The Superfriends Gather at Mt Charleston
Being a lifelong Las Vegas local, Mount Charleston has always been a favorite quick getaway. The fast pace of Sin City is immediately forgotten once you reach the tranquil atmosphere that is just a mere 40 miles away. It doesn't hurt that there is a refreshing 20-30 degree temperature drop either. When I heard this wedding was going to be at The Resort on Mount Charleston, I was totally excited! I was even more excited to find out that the resort doubles as the Hall of Justice...
When I met the bride & groom, Lisa & Josh, it seemed like they would be a lot of fun, but I had no idea what was in store for me. Josh's only wish was a shot with all his groomsmen and their Justice League t-shirts under their tuxes and Lisa's main goal for the day was to get a 'Bridesmaids' esque photo shoot with her and the girls. Love it!
On top of their goals for awesome party photos, they managed to plan a really gorgeous wedding. The ceremony and formals took place on the balcony of the resort which overlooks the breathtaking mountain range and the reception was held inside the main ballroom which had a rustic yet elegant style. The portrait session took place all over the property, everywhere you turned at the resort was prettier than the last. What an amazing place for a wedding, I can't wait to shoot there again. Maybe next time I can get an Avengers theme or ohh ohh X-Men, yeah X-men! ~ Mike
Click on their gallery to see more of the fun!