Tag Archives: wedding photos

DQ and Jeanne’s Wedding with a Gangnam Style twist

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Congratulations to our very own DQ, who got married 12/12/12, a date chosen because it’s the last date with three consecutive numbers and it will never repeat again in our lifetime. We thought we’d interview his lovely new wife, Jeanne, about their special day. I went to the wedding -she looked stunning and wore four dresses! I have never been to a wedding with such an amazing wardrobe. You can check out all of their wedding photos from the Kaptur they created of their special day here.

Interview with Jeanne, DQ’s gorgeous bride:

How did DQ pop the question?

It was a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon in August. We drove out for another one of those weekend road trips. This time he told me to dress up. I picked out a green cocktail dress and got all dolled up for the evening. He drove me to the middle of New Jersey saying he had a surprise in store for me. The roads felt unfamiliar to me and all I saw was farms and vast land, it was like a kidnap scenario in the movies. I wondered what the surprise was and was super excited—since I love surprises! When we arrived we parked the car by the parking lot and I saw a Spanish restaurant in sight. I had to use the bathroom and then saw a bunch of people chatting outside the bathroom window. I thought to myself and was wondering if he brought all our close friends to do a surprise party for me. But I was wrong, when I came out of the bathroom; he took my hand and walked me to the back of the restaurant. Low and behold, we were greeted by our host (a couple) that introduced themselves to us, they asked to sign the papers waiving our rights if anything happens and then I realized that I was signing to get on a hot air balloon. I was ecstatic, it was my first time on a hot air balloon ride and I was scared and excited at the same time—with heels on! Other people were going on a hot air balloon too! Except on a different one. We had a balloon all to ourselves in addition to the hot air balloon driver. We quickly filled up the balloon together with hot air, got into the basket and were the first team in the group to take off. I was very nervous and held on to anything I could grab my hands on because I’m afraid of heights. As we got up higher and higher, about 1,000 feet up in the air, he played Canon in D on his iPhone setting the mood of the ride. As we started admiring the view from the flight, the driver of the hot air balloon said there is a nicer view on the other side, and I step over to the other side to see and he told me to look down. I glimpsed down for a second and noticed that it’s a black banner with white letter and two pink hearts (one on each side of the banner). I finally read the question clearly and started blushing and smiling with joy. The banner read “Will you marry me?” I was silent and shocked for a moment. Then he got down on one knee and pulled out a box and opened it. It was the engagement ring we had picked out months ago. I was expecting the proposal soon but not in such a thoughtful and unique way. It was flawless and felt like one of the themes from a Korean drama—something I would watch on television happened right before my eyes.

You had a lot of guests at the wedding, which was in a perfect wedding venue, The Grand Prospect Hall. Did your guests travel far? And why did you choose that venue?

A majority of our guests were close friends, co-workers, and family and relatives that lived in New York. We chose the wedding venue because it was big, beautiful and convenient for all our guests. I was watching television one day at a member firm I was regulating for work and noticed the commercial for The Grand Prospect Hall. The commercial looked so elegant and beautiful because they showed off the Victorian style ballroom with color lights and balcony. It’s like nothing I’d ever seen in my life. The Grand Prospect Hall is a historic site that used to be an opera house. We fell in love with the venue at first sight when we set foot there for a tour, and decided to go with this place for our big day. In addition, the wedding planner at The Grand Prospect Hall was experienced, understanding, patient and friendly. He listened to how we imagined our ideal wedding, catered to our needs and made it perfect from planning to execution on the actual day and customized everything the way we want it.

You wore four amazing dresses on your wedding day and DQ had two different suits. Is this tradition? What made you choose four dresses and how did you decide on the colors? More importantly, how did you manage all of the dress fittings?

The dresses were a tradition that we have in Chinese weddings instead of wearing a single dress like in American traditions. The dresses consist of a traditional red Chinese “Qua” that I wore for the tea ceremony pre-wedding, a white dress for the ceremony (walking down the aisle), a white dress with red contour outline the body’s curve for our first dance, a maroon evening gown I chose for the second half of the event (cake cutting and games), and a light blue gown for the cheers to each table and to greet the guests for departure. I chose from a variety of different dresses based on uniqueness of color and design. This was done to entertain the guest, and it represents the wealth of the bride in that she is able to afford so many dresses. This is very common for Asian weddings to reflect their status and it will create a wider variety of style and color composition for wedding photos.

One of Jeanne’s dresses:

Tell us a little bit more about the hosts and the games at the wedding:

We had two hosts, one male and one female at the event that spoke both Cantonese and English to entertain the crowd and to lead the event. One of the games at the wedding was a kissing game where couples imitated an intense kissing position shown on screen. Another was a version of musical chairs where guests passed a napkin around the table to win the centerpiece to take home as a prize. The hosts also danced hip-hop and sang a song to entertain the guests as well.

What other special touches did you incorporate into your special day?

Traditional Chinese-style banquet weddings are held at restaurants that have a golden dragon and phoenix statue on a red velvet backdrop wall. Since we decided to go with an American-style wedding, we decided to keep a small piece of the tradition by incorporating it into an ice-sculpture instead during the cocktail hour and a cute mini wedding topper of a married couple in an old-fashioned red traditional attire (the husband giving the wife a piggy back ride). To match the theme of our wedding, we gave traditional Chinese glass cups with dragon and phoenix as well as other traditional designs for party favors to add a touch of Chinese culture.

For our reception intro, we decided to do the Gangnam Style dance to loosen up the crowd and start the party with a bang! Even though the bridal party didn’t have that much dancing experience, we still managed to pull it off together by practicing the day before and by watching PSY’s Gangnam style music video (a very popular Korean hip hop song). We knew everyone probably knew the song, so we picked this song to get everyone pumping and in an upbeat mood.

The Kaptur Team at the Wedding:

 

Real Wedding Story: Kaptur your Wedding!

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Meghan McMahon was kind enough to tell us the story of her wedding and how she Kaptur’d every moment when she got married in Williamsburg, VA.

Real Wedding Story

How did your husband propose?
My family was having a birthday party for my brother-in-law then having more friends over later for swimming, dancing and drinks on our back deck. My husband used this opportunity to pull me aside and pop the question. When we came back, the DJ (my brother-in-law) was playing Beyoncé‘s “Single Ladies”!

Did anything unexpected happen on the day?
We had more time than we thought we would. I’m a planner, so I baked in an hour between the wedding and cocktail hour – but pictures didn’t last too long and our guests arrived early. So we entered the reception early!

Were there any unusual themes or special touches for the wedding?
We both went to James Madison University and we had the traveling Duke Dog (mascot) attend – which was just a small statue named Road Dawg. We really wanted our wedding to be simple and elegant, so our small touches were there.

What Meghan had to say about Kaptur:
I love being able to see all my photos and friends’ photos from our big day in one place. I know my friends have enjoyed seeing them all together and have created albums of their own. I am excited to incorporate this into other events in the future!

Thanks Meghan! It sounds like you had an amazing day.

Real Wedding Story: The Mother of the Bride

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Late September in 2011, my older daughter got married. I have been to many weddings in my life, but I think anyone who has planned a wedding will from that point on see weddings in a completely different light. I had no idea how complicated everything was, and how hectic the actual wedding would be, until we planned one. I have a new respect for anyone in charge of planning a wedding. And if I attend a wedding and the mother of the bride seems a bit distracted, I now understand her lack of focus completely.

Every family has variables that make a wedding more complicated–variables such as divorce and remarriage, finances, family relationships, and distance, among others. Our family wedding had more variables than most. We had issues with all of the above.

The first and foremost complication was that the groom (whom I am crazy about) was from the United Kingdom and the wedding date depended on when his immigration papers came through. Complicating things further, he was also in the process of joining the United States Armed Services, so we were also dependent upon his Army unit and the DOD in addition to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization. And to complicate things even further, the groom’s 35th birthday was rapidly approaching, and he needed to have the wedding ASAP so he could apply for his green card.

This meant that the wedding was basically planned in three weeks—three weeks from the day that we got his green card from Detroit’s Department of Immigration and Naturalization.

To add to the drama, my daughter’s father and sister refused to attend the wedding (because they somehow disapproved), and my son was deployed in Iraq. But we still invited everyone from her father’s side…uncles and grandparents…and then waited to hear if they were going to come. Some of them never even bothered to RSVP. In the end, only one attended, which was good, as every one of the guests who did attend were there because they wanted to be there to show their love for the new couple. I have a large family, with lots of nieces and nephews, so we still had much family support, and the groom’s mother was close to Brit David Atkins, who wrote the Madonna hit Ray of Light. David wound up walking my daughter down the aisle, so in the end, everything turned out for the best and it was a lovely wedding. All the drama took place before, rather than during, the wedding, for which we were all grateful!

In addition, because I was divorced from my daughter’s father, and because he disapproved, the brunt of wedding expenses fell on me. And because the groom’s family came from the United Kingdom, with a sizable number in Australia, the fact that the wedding was so last minute meant that most of the groom’s family would be unable to attend as well. But his mother, whom I also loved dearly, flew in from the United Kingdom, and we read letters from some of his family, and my daughter is planning another celebration in England for the rest of the groom’s family, when the time is right.

Fortunately, my daughter and I are quick with decision-making, and fortunately, The Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan did a great job of referring us to printers and designers (for the invites), and to the best florists. In addition, the perfect room was available, and the Amway Grand Plaza did an outstanding job with the catering, wedding cake, and hiring musicians.

My daughter found her wedding dress on the Internet for only $135 and she was a lovely bride. People asked if her dress was from Fendi. What we saved on the dress, we spent on the flowers. I contacted the photographer who took my younger daughter’s excellent high school senior photos. We were making decisions up to an hour before guests arrived…the florist asked if we wanted a unity candle, and we said, “Why not?”—not realizing that there was actually a protocol to lighting the candles, which I was whispering to the mother of the groom as we took our candles to the canopy to light. (My “consuegra”—co-Mother in Law, as the Spanish delightfully call it—accidentally put out her candle, which I fortunately was able to re-light…one of the many funny glitches that make a wedding human and interesting.)

The actual wedding was a blur. Hotel staff were asking me things as the night progressed, old friends were approaching me to talk, the photographer was making requests, I was keeping an eye out for the bride and groom, making my rounds to visit all the tables…and the next day, David said “Things went beautifully. And all planned in only three weeks. You could have planned this for a year and it all could have gone horribly wrong.”

In the days after the wedding, everyone was exhausted, but we all wanted to re-live the event, discuss the highs and lows, process the drama, and bask in the glow of the newlyweds, whose next challenge was to apply for the groom’s green card so that he could join our Armed Services.

This is where Kaptur came in. Many people of my demographic (mother of the bride or groom) might not be as Internet-savvy as our daughter’s generation, but Kaptur is easy to use even for those of us who aren’t on our computer daily. It takes weeks if not months to receive the professional photos from a wedding, and in the meantime, in this day and age, most guests take their own photos and upload them to Facebook.

To be able to go to Kaptur, enter the date of the wedding, and collect my daughter’s wedding photos in seconds, was a godsend. In addition, I created a Kaptur photo book and the auto flow made a book with perfect picture order. After all of the wedding stress, I was glad that Kaptur made those lovely wedding memories so simple to “Kaptur” and create books from.

Wedding Photos Recovered for New Orleans Couples

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Kaptur had the opportunity to speak to Dalisa and John Michael Cooper from Altf Photographers about their “Pay it Forward” New Orleans photo shoot.

The shoot was for three New Orleans couples who suffered devastating losses in Hurricane Katrina, including the loss of their wedding photos. Dalisa and John Michael Cooper, both from Altf Photographers, took part in the shoot, which was run by the Digital Wedding Forum, to help couples relive their wedding memories.

A team of 122 photographers, led by well-known wedding photographer John Michael Cooper, assembled for the shoot.

New Orleans Photo Shoot

Could you give us a breakdown of the day?

Dalisa: Hair and make up started around noon and I ran in to grab a few shots of them “getting ready” just as I would on a wedding day. They were all ready to go by about 2PM, at which time we had all of the other photographers that wanted to join in meet us in the lobby of the hotel. We grabbed some cabs and headed to the French quarter. We were on foot until about 4:30, and we grabbed the cable car back to the hotel. From there everyone had a chance to refresh and grab some dinner, and then we began the full speaking engagement in the hotel ballroom at 6:30PM. The rest of the photographers that were attending the convention were able to sit in on and watch our demonstration which went until about 8:30PM; this is when we re-enacted the couples “first dance” and some “reception” shots as well as indoor portraits.

Which locations did you go to?

Dalisa:  I honestly don’t know how many stops we made – we were on foot in the French quarter and just stopped as we saw interesting settings. A lot of it is street photography but we did stop in a bar and a park as well as a hamburger place and the hotel, of course.

What was your favorite part of the shoot?

JMC: Running around the streets of New Orleans with all of its cool colors and textures as well as having [the couples] re-live their first dance later that evening in the Loews ballroom.

What is your favorite photo from the day?

JMC: My favorite is probably either the image of Holly and Tim in the Hamburger shop window because they are kind of separated from the viewer and the viewer is pretty much completely voyeuristic.

I also love the image of Katy and Bill walking because it’s a good in-between photo – it’s slightly posed and although this couple is very good looking, this images does not rely on their looks.

Dalisa: My favorite is of Darryl and April – she looks gorgeous and I love images that show motion. It just makes me return back to keeping staring at the scene.

What was it like working on this photo shoot, especially with so many other photographers?

JMC: It was a lot of fun – it became a large collaboration. Especially since just one photographer trying to shoot three couples might have been challenged to fill three albums in one afternoon. It was great to see the others’ perspectives.

Were there any challenges working with so many people during the shoot?

Dalisa: When Jeff Kaplan and Deborah Molique of Digital Wedding Forum came to us with this idea, the original set up was to photograph three couples during a two hour class (that 6:30 to 8:30 ballroom set up as mentioned above). Knowing not only what is involved to get enough photos to fill an album for each individual couple but also knowing what it’s like to actually take photos opposed to taking photos while demonstrating and speaking, we immediately knew that these two hours would not be enough. That’s when I requested that we have the opportunity to do a ”pre-shoot” in the streets of New Orleans with these couples prior to this speaking engagement. 

They were all willing to arrange their schedules to be there so I posted a notice on digitalweddingforum.com for any photographers that were interested in joining us and offered that they either shoot along with us or feel free to observe our technique. We received a great response and all the photographers who participated were invited and welcomed by us.

I would not consider this an obstacle as I would a unique experience. There were a few ground rules laid out and everyone was very respectful to the clients and to us. We were not dependent on anyone else’s images; we went into it with a frame of mind that if someone happens to get a great shot and would like to share it with the couple then all submissions are welcome for review. We did choose several images from other photographers to include in the album design when we were putting it together.

What did it mean to you to be able to take these photos?

JMC: It was so great to be able to use my skills to give back to a few people in the community that could use it. Not that I can replace their original images but at least they can have something to hand down to their children.

Real Wedding: Jordan and Leanne, Photographed by David and Sherry

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David & Sherry, of David Buck Photography, are an international award-winning team of photographers who love life, capturing couples in love and just plain having a good time. 

We spoke to David and Sherry about what it was like to work with Jordan and Leanne on their engagement, wedding, and Ever After photo-shoots:

“What an incredible couple.  Sherry and I feel like we have known Jordan and Leanne forever even though it’s just been since they started planning their wedding.” 

Their wedding looks beautiful! We love all the purple accents. We asked David and Sherry to tell us a little more about the couple’s wedding day:

“Jordan & Leanne got married just outside Toronto, Canada on a day which featured everything from the heaviest of rain to the brightest sunshine. It all started at the Hilton hotel in Markham, then they were swept off by limo to the Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Stouffville. Even though the weather man was forecasting rain, the rain held off for the ceremony, and the sun even came out as they were saying their vows! The day was filled with love and joy between family, friends and everyone else.”  

It looks like some of these pictures really capture the essence of the moment – any good stories you would like to share?

“Leanne said to us, ‘I know it’s cheesy, but I want the guys to hold me up in the air.’  I secretly thought, it would be better if they were throwing her in the air…so I told the guys to throw her in the air without Leanne noticing, and as they had her held, up she went, complete with an excellent expression.”

“I asked Leanne after the wedding what Jordan said that made her laugh like this…She had no idea. It will remain a mystery.”

Anything else you would like to add?

“Thank you [Jordan and Leanne] so much for having fun all day long and allowing us to be part of your wedding.”

See what Jordan and Leanne say about David and Sherry here.

More about the photographers: David & Sherry are based part of the year in Los Cabos, Mexico and the other part near Toronto, Canada, this couple loves to travel and enjoys the challenges of a new location. They have been published on the top Canadian wedding sites, have been awarded multiple awards from the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) and just this year had one of their images chosen by Junebug Weddings as one of the 50 best of the best wedding photos of 2011.