UP THE CREEK FARMS WEDDING | MALABAR, FL | Paige & Christopher

UP THE CREEK FARMS WEDDING

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his Up The Creek Farms Wedding was nothing short of pure wedding bliss, and I mean that from both the clients view point and mine as a “vendor”.  Oh.. let me explain..  let me explain..  But, before I do let me give you a little more back story on this very special Up The Creek Farms Wedding.  First of all, this wedding was for the step daughter of the most incredible wedding planner I have ever worked with.  Ana Vento, who owns “Events by Vento Designs” based in Ft. Lauderdale.

Having worked with SO MANY “wedding planners” over the 8 years I have shot weddings,  I can tell you some real horror stories, as it seams that every young girl who has been to a wedding thinks she can be a wedding planner and that’s really annoying to deal with.  In fact, I have grown so frustrated with most of the “planners” in the Miami market that I almost don’t take any of them seriously.  That was until I got to actually work with Ana, and her team.  I was inspired again, and shown that not everyone lives in the same “bubble”.  I could go on, and on.. and perhaps in a different post I will.  For now, all you need to know is that when it comes to wedding planners.. Ana and her team are at the top of my very, very short list 😉

The other aspect of this Up The Creek Farms Wedding was in fact, what an honor it was to shoot it at all!  Ana, and her step daughter Paige could have gotten ANY photographer.  She has been in this business longer then I have, and knows everyone.  The fact that she wanted me to be apart of it, really meant something to me.  You know, in professional photography there really are no awards (to spite all the silly ones photographers like to pretend they get from websites like Wedding Wire, and The Knot for convincing people to write reviews.. which.. to me is a big game).  The real “awards” are this.  It’s being called out, and invited to event’s like this from other people that are at the top of their game.  This is my award, and I was very proud.

Now before being invited to shoot this very special and unique Up The Creek Farms Wedding, I had never actually heard of this place.  All I knew is that it was about a three hour drive from Miami, FL and that we needed to spend the night LOL.  On the morning of the wedding we rolled in early around 9:00am and my assistant Jorge leaned over and said that he liked this place better then the epic trip we just got back from in Virginia.  (you can see that wedding here).  This Up The Creek Farms Wedding is another very, very unique location.  This is incredible because it’s not just another “hotel”, or place where 5 weddings took place yesterday. 

Jessica.

Jessica was my point person for this Up The Creek Farms Wedding, at the property.  She lives in the house pictured below in one of the rooms, and has a solid understanding on how to WOW everyone!  We walked in, and were greeted and offered a whole spread of fruit, juice, coffee, muffins, cookies, it was a mini Biltmore spread!  It was like “mom” was there attending to all of her guests in the house.  This feeling was immediate, and SO warming, and SO non-existent anywhere else I have been!  (I’m not saying she is a mom.. LOL.. she’s actually a very attractive young lady, it’s just the “feeling” we got, and that was incredible”   This is what people will remember most, and talk about at any Up The Creek Farms Wedding I can assure you of that.  As the day went on, she provided lemon-aid, lunch, and more goodies!  Anything anyone needed at the Farm.. she was on it!  Thanks Jessica for being so incredible.   I notice that kind of stuff, and it’s a big deal!

Finally, this Up The Creek Farms Wedding would not be complete without some great client’s.  Like I wrote in my last blog post, a nice venue is worthless without great clients!  Thank god, Paige and her future man Christopher were some of the best I have had.  Easy going, flexible, and appreciative of all the ideas I tried to work into the day.  Having great people like this is truly the oxygen for any creative photographer.  It motivates us to want to work hard, push the limits, and try new ideas.

Thank you all!  I love you all so much, and truly was honored to be here and make this Up The Creeks Farm Wedding happen!

TH

Check out that beautiful dinning room behind that dress!  It has this old time, country elegance that I just had to bring into an image 🙂Some very sexy purple, velvet Jessica Simpson platforms!That is one beautiful invite!Paige had written a card for her man on the wedding day.  Now this was something special!  Check out this pocket watch, with an image of Paige and Chris inside!  I just loved this!Just above the kitchen, there is this little game / guys room!  Perfect for some hanging out shots 🙂   I went with a black and white here to kinda set a muted tone as this is what they did to pass the time before the ceremony.The funny thing about photography, and the thing that most photographers get wrong is –lighting–.  You see, I love mid day sun for shots like this one above.  I have a free “hair” light and then I use my powerful lighting to get the perfect exposure.  It’s all about finding the light, and not being seduced or told to shoot in a specific location.  Find the light, go there, and then work that location to make a nice shot.
I love this shot.  It was my idea for the shoes too.  I walked by, and “saw” this shot in my head.  In fact, I was thinking.. boy.. it would be cool if she was wearing the sexy shoes AND getting ready all at the same time..  so.. I asked, and here it is.  I showed everyone in the room the back of my camera right after it was taken, and everyone agreed.. it was well worth it 😉  Paige is really a breath taking bride.I love this room SO MUCH.  It’s like the perfect “little girls” room.  I mean, it’s just incredible.  I do wish I had more time to spend in here for more styled shots!  Next time for sure! 😉Here we have Paige’s sister Nicollette (far left) with the other girls.All of the girls together, having a moment before they got dressed.  I love shots like this.I noticed a mirror on the wall, and it had some blinds..  so, I would toggle between shooting this, and then turning to actually shoot my subjects!  Pretty cool effect!Paige’s mother used to do bridal modeling back in the day! Despite the expertise, she found it hard to choose from the splendid diverse bridal gowns that were presented. The flowers were really pretty stunning!  They also provided a nice contrast to all the shots what we took all day!  They were provided by Bella Fleure Design.Very much love this one (above).  This is a powerful, beautiful shot of Paige.  Her eye’s are incredible and really shine here.The girls are Paige’s sisters kids.  Very sweet, and soft loving memories here.Both Christopher’s mom, and Paige’s mom here.Now.. this was a shot that Paige told me she wanted.  The thing is tho.. LOL.. shot’s like this are very, very tricky to do.  First, you need to manage the color balance of the room and in this case as had a mix of tungsten and daylight.. which means, it was almost impossible to get perfect in the camera.  Even in the edit it’s very, very hard.  At this point we were about 30min behind the shot list.. and she asked me on the way down to do the first look with day if we can take this picture.  I bet I sounded like an idiot as I stumbled over my words, and pretended to say no we need to keep moving..  but, I took literally 30 seconds and snapped this one.  I did some magic in post production, and really love it.  It’s a moment of “real”.  It’s a moment where it’s as if no one else is around, and she is one with herself, looking back. I had this idea.. what if we get dad to come up the stairs..  and then Paige.. you can be over on the side.  I will start here getting him coming up, and then move over to the side to get your faces!  Lets try it!  😉Very in season colors, and very vibrant!  The two sisters.This was Christopher’s sister.. and I really loved her.  She was incredibly sweet.  I had learned that she was in a horrible car accident, at some point in the past and almost did not make it.  She must be a very strong person, and I am so happy that she got to be apart of her brothers wedding day.  It’s not the type of thing people like to talk about, and that’s understandable.  I myself am sensitive to this, and all during the day I just wanted to give her and her parents the biggest hug.  So, this is for her XOXO  🙂I have said it before, and I will say it again..  if you want the best shots.. you need to do a first look.  It’s almost not an option anymore.  You will thank me, I promise.Look at that tiger bite!!  I thought I was the only Tiger at this wedding.  I guess I was wrong!Details, details, details…Now.. I’ll tell ya.. shooting a wedding near “golden hour” IS amazing.  BUT.. BUT.. it can also be incredibly, INCREDIBLY tricky.  Today, it was tricky.  You see, the sun was going down where they were walking in from.. (backlit) which is okay, but move an inch, and it blows the shot out with flare LOL.   Then, the other issue is that looking the other way (with the sun) makes for a very hard light on the subjects with hard shadows.  This also means the camera settings jump from one extreme to another and it becomes a constant dance with the camera and physical position.  No amount of experience makes this any better either LOL.  On top of that, we had clouds roll in and out during the procession.  All in all.. I think it came out really well, and could not ask for anything better in the end 🙂This is the other reason you have an Up The Creek Farms Wedding.  LOOK at this ceremony location!Dad holding in his emotions…  good luck with that 😉Below is the inside of the barn (reception) and it’s incredible!  Check this out..Here are my girls!  Ana, Fernanda & Nicollette.  Fernanda and I were working together for this wedding.  The three of these girls represent the best of the best when it comes to wedding day logistics.  Nicollette, your hair.. was.. amazing!Ah yes, the Tiger squeezed in for this shot 🙂  Love you both, Thank you so much! A little good night photo 🙂

The end.