I haven’t done a vintage inspired wedding in awhile, but then I had two just last month!  Brianna and Joe planned a 1940′s World War II era wedding at West Point Military Academy, where Joe had graduated from a few years ago.  This retro theme carried through every part of the day, from the vintage shoes and classically designed dresses, to the reproduction WWII uniforms worn by the groomsmen, to the sound of big band and swing music that played all though the reception.  All the guests arrived dressed in 1940′s era clothing for a ceremony at the majestic Cadet’s Chapel at West Point.  Wingtip shoes, gloves and hats were the norm.  Brianna and Joe then exited the Cadet Chapel to the traditional Arch of Sabers before riding off in a reproduction Packard.

Having photographed many weddings at West Point before, I thought I knew alot about the history and grounds.  Joe proved me wrong – we went to places on the grounds I had never been before (Flirtation Walk and the Helipad at North Dock) and gave me more background on the history and traditions of West Point than I will ever be able to remember.  I had a great day as in addition to this beautiful wedding and fun couple, I had the pleasure of working again with filmaker Jen Cassaro!  After a drive around the grounds of West Point, we all headed to Herbert Hall for a reception full of swing dancing all night long.  Even the band came in 1940′s era costumes.  Official draft letters from the War Department were handed out assigning guests their table and MRE’s were given out as wedding favors.  Not a touch was missed.

Dress by Enzonal Blue Collection, Video by Jen Cassaro; Ceremony at West Point’s Cadet Chapel;  Photos at West Point;  Flowers by Main Street Florist; Music by Eric Nicolas & One Love; Reception at Herbert Hall at West Point Military Academy

Rachel and Francisco met 10 years ago at St Pius Church in Tucson, so getting married at St Pius was the biggest must on their wedding wish list!  Rachel and Francisco exited the church after a beautiful full mass to ringing bells and streamers thrown by their waiting guests and then we all headed to Tanque Verde Ranch.  Weddings at Tanque Verde Ranch are a delight.  The beautiful Western ruggedness of the ranch contrasting with the elegant simplicity of the Sonoran Ballroom.  The highlight of the outdoor cocktail hour on the patio was an enormous paella – one of the 1st things Rachel and Francisco had mentioned to me when they talked about wedding plans.  Don’t miss the paella!

Ceremony at St Pius Church, Tucson, Arizona;  Music by Starlight DJ’s;  Flowers by Georgeanne at Villa Feliz;  Wedding Reception at Tanque Verde Ranch, Tucson, Arizona

Carly and Chris were a diy couple with a eco-friendly theme, a black lab named Oscar, and pumpkin pie instead of cake.  I’m not completely sure, but I think I was hired because I like diy, and I love dogs .  Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie is a favorite wedding location of mine and a perfect October day (meaning warm and not raining) with an outdoor wedding ceremony did nothing to change that!  Carly and Chris are crazy in love with each other and I think that really shows in the photos I took as we walked around the grounds in the hour before the wedding ceremony.  Oscar joined us for a few minutes after the ceremony for a quick photo op,  and then everyone (minus Oscar) headed inside to a fall themed wedding complete with carmel apples and pumpkin pie.

Ceremony and Reception at Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie, NY;  Dress by Vera Wang;  Music by DJ Bri Swatek

Jim is in the Navy and Alanna is a dance instructor and works at a Harley dealership.  There was no way this could be a traditional wedding and I was excited as soon as I heard about some of the details.  Alanna’s style incorporated a retro pin-up look, birds, a french netted veil and the color turquoise.  A beautiful combo!  I don’t usually add a vintage look to my photos, but here it just seems to fit perfectly.  A beautiful sunny day at the Chateau Hathorn in Warwick, NY after what seemed like days of endless September rains.  It was another day with old friends as I had photographed Alanna’s sister, Alycia’s , wedding a few years ago – I love it when I get to see people again!

Flowers by Corwins Florist; Dress by David’s Bridal; Shoes by RSVP; Ceremony and Reception at Chateau Hathorn

Jen and Nish chose to see each other and do all their wedding photos before their ceremony at Patriot Hills Golf Club.   And yet their handwritten vows in a ceremony performed by a close friend brought both Jen and Nish to tears and laughter not once, but several times.  I was smiling and laughing plenty too, working once again with a great friend and even better videographer, Jen Cassaro.

I”m finally trying to catch up on blogging after a whirlwind month plus of east coast/west coast weddings!  I hear it snowed in New York yesterday, which makes it seem even nicer to be catching up in the 75 degree Tucson Arizona sunshine.

I met Jennifer and Brian two years ago at her sister Kristine’s wedding.  And Jennifer has the same diy perfectionist skills – every little detail was gorgeous and mostly hand made.  Sparkly purple shoes, handmade diy ketubah, stunning purple and green invites.   But what will forever make it memorable to me will be the ‘no pants’ text from Brian to Jen about 3 hours before their ceremony.  Brian opened up his tux bag at the hotel, only to discover that his pants were mia.  As in never put in to begin with!  And so began a journey just before their wedding to locate a tuxedo store and get a pair of pants.  Jen took it all in stride, no tears, no stress showing.  And just a quick reshuffle on photo timing to make it all happen.  I would say that their amazing attitudes and ability to keep calm under stress were actually the perfect start to what will be an absolutely amazing marriage.

Dress by Auta Graham; Flowers by Anna Dauno; Pantsless tuxedo by MW; Ceremony and Reception at Douglaston Manor; Video by Chris Brian of E-motion Pictures

How do you photograph the wedding of someone who looks at wedding photos all day almost every day?  I mean she knows everything about wedding photography!  Beth is a graphic designer/digital re-toucher at a professional photo lab in Poughkeepsie, On Location Studios.  She is the person who fixes photographer’s goof-ups and mistakes.  So when Beth asked me to photograph her wedding, it was quite a compliment.

Beth and Chris met 8 years ago while both were students at Marist College.  I see Beth at the photo lab all the time, but I’d only met Chris once before.  But I can tell you I instantly picked up on the fact Chris was both anxious about the wedding and extremely neat – based on the fact he had lined up trail mix, a money clip, bottled water, his room key and cell phone in the tidiest pile I have ever seen on the hotel bed.  Beth, on the other hand, was completely relaxed or at least faking it really well to me.  As Beth got out of the limo at Marist Chapel, a usually kinda anxious moment for most brides, she was laughing – a very good sign of things to come.

I don’t usually see Beth as glamorous – I usually see her in sweatshirts and jeans, no make-up.  But WOW!  She is stunning!  She should wear a wedding dress and updo every day.  A beautiful ceremony at Marist College Chapel was followed by photos on the campus and then everyone moved on over to Locust Grove for a party that had 150 people on the dance floor from the 1st song of the night onwards.  I got to see Jackie and Brendan again (I photographed their wedding a few years back) and also hang again with my coolest dj friends, Stephanie and Jeff of The DJ Solution.  They weren’t very challenged on this night though – we finally guessed that these partier’s couldn’t find a song they wouldn’t dance to.  That floor was packed all night long!  The caterer’s, Holbarts, were the same caterer’s Beth’s parents had used at their own wedding 30 years ago.  Which is amazing and a huge compliment to them.  Congrats Beth and Chris – you guys made things so much fun.  I really couldn’t have a better job!

Ceremony at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, Marist College; Video by Bob Gellar; Reception at Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie; Music by Stephanie & Jeff of The DJ Solution; photos printed at On Location Studios, Poughkeepsie;

Having 3 brothers is def not easy!

Marist College, Poughkeepsie

When I fist met Nikki and Owen and they were describing their wedding to me, it just didn’t seem to fit with their personalities – they seemed soooo serious.  Wow was I wrong!  Nikki and Owen met while attending Vassar College.  So it seemed to make perfect sense that the place where they first met is where they planned to be married.  A whimsical wedding theme was planned around sunflowers, purple and yellow, parasols, boating hats and seersucker suits for the bridal party.  It was as it we had  stepped back in time to the early 1900′s on the Vassar College Campus.  Nikki and Owen did thier photo shoot about 2 hours before their ceremony.  They had been laughing and comical while getting ready earlier that day and that mood just seemed to carry on throughout the day.  I COULD NOT get a serious, straight face out of Owen – it just wasn’t happening!  Evidently Owen doesn’t like the way he smiles, so he just laughs and makes faces all the time.  I was hysterical and LOVED every moment I spent photographing these guys!

Coordination and Ceremony by Hudson Valley Ceremonies; Dress by Mika Inatome ; Shoes by Me Too ; Flowers by Seed to Fruit; Music by the Jim Osborn Orchestra; Catering by Fresh Company; Ceremony and Photos at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, Reception at Locust Grove

Well I am way way behind on my blogging, but that’s July for you!  Lauren and Mike’s wedding was on an absolutely gorgeous July day – hot but not tooo hot.  The kind of July day you are hoping for when you’re planning your New York wedding.  I worked with Lauren and Mike last year during their engagement shoot – except that day we had their 6 month old puppy added into the photos.  Minus puppies on the wedding day made the photos so quick and easy that Lauren and Mike probably don’t even remember taking them.  Aqua blue colors put a bright splash in the day, the uplighting in the Grandview ballroom was a perfect accent of gold, and the dancing after a gorgeous outdoor ceremony was amazing.

Another big plus this day was I got to work with two of my fav teams of wedding peeps – Jen & Mike of Beautiful Memories and Steph & Jeff of The DJ Solution.

Dress by Maggie Sottero;  Shoes by Jimmy Choo;  Ceremony by Father Rich Hasselbach;  Video by Jen & Mike of Beautiful Memories;  Music by Steph and Jeff of The DJ Solution;  Flowers by David Anthony;  Ceremony and Reception at The Grandview, Poughkeepsie

Oh and I can’t let this post go by not say something about the groomsmen.  The argyle socks, the ‘please please please take more photos of us’ (what bunch of groomsmen ever want MORE photos done?), the wild dancing that took over the dance floor for part of the night.   There’s no way these guys could’ve shined more than Lauren on her wedding day, but man did they try!

I can't really explain this - but these groomsmen say it all!

Yes, this party was all about the guys!

Adding a little spicy reward and as a thank you to all the brides who made it to and thru the Tucson Convention Center on Sunday, I am showing my love with a contest to win a Tucson engagement photo session. With me of course! And you don’t actually have to be engaged to participate and win. I can also do a beautiful couples or family photo session if that’s what you’d like.

How to Enter: 1) Cruise on over to my facebook page – you can find it on the upper left side of this page – and Click to ‘Like’ me.
2) Now send me an email at lori@loriotoole.com (or just click thru to contact me on my blog or website) and tell me WHY I should select you to win. Tell me your story!
How to Win: I will select my fav’s and post them on my blog for people to vote for the winner

What you Get: An engagement or photo session with me, Lori O’Toole, at a location somewhere in/near Tucson. It will be creative, fun and non-traditional. You will not be allowed to artfully place your left hand on the edge of your fiance’s shoulder to showcase your ring and give me giant ‘cheese’ smiles. If Sears can take this photo, then I am not interested. And yes, I am giving you the files on a disc from this session. After all, this is a contest – I can’t expect you to pay for photos afterwards.  And sorry to all the NY girls – you can def enter, but you will have to come to Tucson to take advantage of the prize!

What I hope for: Than you will talk about these photos and how much fun you had taking them forever

The Value: Priceless. Plus at least $550 worth of photography if you were paying me