Here's a look at our coverage of Rashadema Bridal's recent grand opening. They've done a great job of bringing the uncluttered, personal feel of New York City bridal boutiques to Nassau County, Long Island. Adrianne Harris will do a great job of helping you find the right gown from the beginning, and also has the ability to guide your wedding planning the rest of the way.

In addition to wedding photography and cinema, we're also happy to create sharp, inviting sizzle reel videos like this one that you can embed on your website in order to present your message in a concise way that puts a face on your business. Feel free to give us a call at 888.577.6355 to schedule an appointment to talk about upgrading your website's look today!

The Signature Club of Lansdowne and Seasons Catering are getting set to put on their annual event, The Art of Entertaining, and this year, they've asked me to be a part of it.  Every year, a selection of Lexington's finest designers, florists and other vendors put together their interpretations of elegance in decorating for your special soiree.  Come out March 31st between 5 and 7 pm and be inspired by their creations, enjoy some lovely culinary delights from Seasons, and maybe talk with your favorite photographer (that would be me, silly) about how we can preserve everything you want to remember about your wedding, from that smallest thoughtful detail to those passionate moments you'll feel again each time you view your album.

Created by Sweet Surrender of Louisville

Since they first started, we've had a very close relationship with Jacki Allen's Kentucky Bride magazine. We've had a number of weddings featured in there, and also done a bridal fashion shoot for them at the Castle Post in Versailles, as well as a floral shoot with E. Stephen Hein, Florist at his store.  It shouldn't be a surprise, I suppose, Jacki was literally the first person I met in the wedding industry here!

Created by Artisan Kitchen of Paducah

For the Winter issue of the magazine this year, Jacki, Julie and Jaimeson, the creative team at the magazine, brought me in to shoot a series of cakes from some of Kentucky's best designers, plus a couple of cool accessories.  If you've ever been to the Kentucky Bride offices, well, they're in one of the usual office parks that are great for getting work done, but they're definitely not a commercial photography studio.

What to do?  We set up our own studio, right in the foyer of the building.  (There may or may not have been fire codes broken.)  I set up backgrounds, flew studio lights sitting out in the parking lot through windows to simulate window light, and we had a lot of fun.

more images after the jump...

Designed by Martine's Pastries of Lexington. The trick to this one was to light it gently while still making the bling shine.

We had four cakes from all over the state-- one from Mert's Cakes of Louisville, one from Martine's Pastries here in Lexington, one from Sweet Surrender in Louisville, and one all the way from Paducah, courtesy of Artisan Kitchen.  Cake stands came from WeddingCakePedestals.com, RaiseTheCake.com and one that jacki & jamieson, wedding and event planners had in their stock.

By Mert's Cakes of Louisville. All that chocolate smelled even better than it looked.

I'll let you in on a little secret-- while you, as a bride, get to taste their best work, I don't get that opportunity. Most bridal show pieces as well as the ones for photo shoots are foam inserts that are decorated appropriately-- otherwise, they're a little too heavy to move around the way I need to on a shoot.  That's also a lot of cake that would go to waste after the 30 minutes in front of the lens.

By Sweet Surrender of Louisville.

The cake spreads can be found on pages 29-32 of the Winter issue of Kentucky Bride, on sale now.

By Artisan Kitchen of Paducah

***

Miniature phalaenopsis orchid (left) and calla lilly (right)

As long as they had me, they also figured, "Why not get some additional photos done?"  You'll see four boutonnieres from The Best of Flowers in Lexington on pages 19 & 20.

Green hydrangea, poppy pods and curly willow (right) and white rose.

I also shot some additional accessories for pages 13-15...

Custom wedding charms from The Copper Poppy

Invites by Checkerboard Invitations

Headband by Bethany Lorelle, Blue Lagoon Ring by Christine Darnell

Fabric Flower Shoe Clips by No. 144

Ringbearer Pillow by Maihar Design

Rhinestone Shoe Applique by Mindy Weiss

Linkage:
The Copper Poppy
Bethany Lorelle
Christine Darnell
Checkerboard Invitations
No. 144
Maihar Design
Mindy Weiss - Unveiled Bridal (Cake stand by Raise The Cake)

There's a certain progression to how the wedding booking process goes.  First, the venue-- if you don't have your reception site booked, you don't really have a wedding date yet.  Next, people tend to see the photographers, because we book up quickly.  For most people, the next decision is DJ or band.  While most people opt for DJ's for budget reasons, there's nothing that compares to a really good band at a wedding.  Since I've started shooting primarily in Kentucky, I haven't had a band that I could recommend without reservations.

Until now.

I was working a more intimate bridal show yesterday at the Galt House in Louisville, aimed at a multicultural audience.  With my wide background, it was a natural fit for me.  During the show, instead of having a DJ pump in some music to set the mood, there was a band... and what a band it was.  BoogieJuice showed a wide range of musical stylings, from classic 70's disco to swing, a couple of great Prince songs from the 80's, and even produced a beautifully slow rendition of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions' "People Get Ready."

They played stuff that was perfect for every point in the reception, whether it be something as simple as some music to transition out of dinner time, to the stuff that calls everyone out on the dance floor.

Speaking with singer Maurice Hamilton after the bridal show ended, I found out that they often play in Lexington and even go as far as Richmond for gigs.  I highly recommend them for your reception, and you can contact them at http://www.boogiejuice.com or call them at 513.652.2358, and as always, let them know I recommended you!

Our good friends over at Jacki Allen's Kentucky Bride are asking for help with a survey they've got going to help guide them content-wise, and they're offering a free year of Jazzercise to one lucky bride. Click here for details.

One of my favorite Kentucky venues to shoot a wedding at is the beautiful Acres of Land Winery in Richmond. I did Bethany and Ryan's wedding there last August and I have another wedding there in May. Tina Orr and the staff there take great care of us, and the views are just spectacular.

Early Saturday morning, they had a fire that burned down the winery's restaurant and tasting room, located on the other side of the road from the wedding venue area. The Land family says they will be rebuilding the restaurant soon, and on Tuesday, they'll be opening up a temporary tasting room in the winery production building. It's worth the drive to Richmond to pick up a bottle of their best-selling Vignoles or my favorite, the Chambourcin, which is a great red wine for people who don't like reds-- it's best chilled, unlike most reds.

Stop by and tell Lowell and Katherine that I sent you!