I often find myself on the side of tradition. I do like a layered cake with frosting and flowers. Today weddings are seeing more and more cupcakes, cheesecakes, and maybe even a pie for the wedding cake. Ok, I haven’t seen a pie – yet. But you never know what the new year will hold in the way of photography.
This cheesecake played the feature in a recent cake cutting and cake smash.
Cheesecake Wedding Cake
I love capturing wedding details – and wedding flowers are often the defining detail that captures the feeling of a wedding. These flowers at a fall Rose Sachs wedding were some of my favorites of the 2009 wedding season. They were all dried flowers and in wine glasses.
I certainly happy I was able to be the second shooter for this wedding. If I am not busy on a Saturday or a Sunday I love to find another photographer who will let me tag along and photograph for them.
Gorgeous dried flowers
I can’t imagine the amount of work or what goes into creating these flowers. And the bride had a handmade dress by her sister – so you know that the planning and detail was extraordinary.
Gorgeous dried flowers in wine bottles
During the first dance – be sure to give each other a few kisses – traditionally people kiss at the end of the dance – but why wait? And sometimes people join in during the first dance so just in case the dance floor gets crowded – go for it! Makes the photographer’s job easier 
Kissing during the first dance
Weddings are one part ceremony and three parts celebration. And what makes a celebration better? Wedding food such as mini fruit tarts. This little finger foods were photographed at a Rose Sachs wedding reception. I love the attention to detail the cooking team put into these creations. And as a wedding photographer I take all the credit 
Mini fruit tarts
And with raspberries – even better. I don’t know why the Christmas season always makes me think about food.
Mini fruit tarts with raspberries
There is so much that goes into planning a wedding – and then the day of the wedding can be the most stressful. I captured this moment where the groom stands in the rain looking over the parking lot as people arrived with flowers to decorate Rose Sachs. The rain was coming down and plans were having to be changed by the moment. It is a truly candid moment – the one you see if you keep your eyes open and camera ready.
I love this photo because I see a lot of back story – what is the groom thinking at this moment? Is it frustration? Is he planning? Is it pent up excitement? Spoiler: despite the rain – the wedding was gorgeous and everything was beautiful. I will be blogging more photographs of the Rose Sachs wedding in the coming weeks so check back again.
Groom watches as wedding preparations are progressing
It has been a little while since I have featured wedding rings on the wedding blog – and I have been looking for some macro accessories for my camera equipment – so what better moment than this evening? Especially on a Friday – when I should be out and about having a fun time watching movies? So instead here is a photograph of wedding rings I photographed at a wedding hosted at Rose Sachs outside of Salt Lake City.
I photograph details like the wedding rings with my macro lens – there really is no other way to properly photograph wedding rings. You want to get close and then get closer. You can only do that with a macro lens (maybe if you use a bellows or double up on lenses).
Finding wedding rings hidden in the wedding bouquet
And to photograph this close with a macro lens you have to master off camera flash. I usually shoot through and umbrella – although I just picked up a small softbox that I will use a ton in the future. And I think I will always photograph the rings set on the flowers and florals.
Wedding bouquet at Rose Sachs
Recently I had a brief discussion with another photographer about wedding bouquets. She had asked if anyone liked them and if they just were in the way. My response was that wedding bouquets are a touch of fancy that goes well with the bride. I think they are cool. And most important – for bridal photography and even wedding photography it gives the bride something to do with their hands.
On an unrelated note – sort of… Utah is famous for the mountains. The landscape here is truly unique. And if you haven’t seen Rose Sachs on the way up to Park City you should really check it out. It is a fabulous!
The stone and rock formations really set the location apart. There is a waterfall right behind the reception center. This wedding bouquet was photographed on some of the rock steps that lead up to the water fall. It was pouring rain as I took this photograph – all natural light and at ISO 800 to capture the shot. When it rains it gets dark outside so it takes some correct handling of a camera to get the shot right. Woo hoo!
Umbrellas decorate the wedding ceremony at Rose Sachs
I learned man years ago from Boy Scouts – “Thou shalt be prepared!” Sunday I had the chance to photograph a wedding with Stacy from Three Winks Studios. We came bundled in coats and layers. We even had plastic bags to protect the cameras, lenses, and equipment.
And it was overcast and rainy all day. The wedding back up plan was to move the ceremony to a tent to shield people from the elements. And the decision was made that the wedding ceremony would indeed be outside in the grassy area overlooking the valley. And in spite of the rain it was gorgeous setting.
And to be honest – rain will make this wedding memorable. The bride and the groom will remember the dozens of family and friend who braved the rain and the cold to watch their love be sealed in marriage. I will never forget the wedding – that is for sure. And Rose Sachs is an absolutely gorgeous location for weddings. I hope I can photograph there again!
And to other photographers – be prepared! And I recommend using plastic garbage bags – I just poke a hole in the bottom of the bag to give the camera lens a spot to see through. And there is no shame in using plastic bags – you don’t want your equipment to malfunction in bad weather.
