Knot party

Last night I attended the annual party hosted by the bridal magazine The Knot. To be cliché -- a fun time was had by all. It was great to see so many of my wedding colleagues. The event was held at the fabulous Children's Museum on the Northside. This really is one of Pittsburgh’s shinning stars and if you haven’t been there in a while, or ever, you need to go check it out.

Bart Duva of Extraordinary Catering by Bart provided the incredible food and beverages for the party. Thanks, Bart, LOVED the meatballs. Yummy!

One of the highlights for me (besides the meatballs) was finally meeting my awesome advertising rep Kerri Maravich. I can thank Kerri and the Knot for much of my success this past year in the wedding arena.



A few of the other folks I was able to say ‘hey’ to included vocalist and music planner Jennifer Russell, of Ovation Special Events; Casey Andrea Patterson of Soldiers & Sailors and Nick Borelli of Bella Sera by Greco's.

Thanks also to my friend and colleague Joanne Bartone for snapping the picture of Kerri and me.

A Perfect Moment

Last week I had the pleasure of spending a day with world renowned wedding photographer Joe Buissink. Working from his Beverly Hills studio, Joe has photographed the nuptials of many of Hollywood’s most famous couples. One thing he said was most poignant – “there are no perfect pictures, only perfect moments.”

How true! As I review my work from 2006 I find a lot of perfect moments, all of which can be improved upon with a little Photoshop magic.

Below is one such moment. Kevin couldn’t contain his excitement but his outward expression happened in the blink of an eye. I managed to nail it with one frame. A perfect moment captured.

However, alone this picture was far from perfect. Thanks to Photoshop (and the skill gleaned from 15 + years with the program) I was able to adjust and enhance the image for greater impact. It may not be a perfect photograph, but it is a perfect moment, and perfect moments are what we remember years later.

Congratulations Mike!!

Just got the great news, my good friend Mike Colon is a new dad! Logan Colon was born at 8:33 am pst Thursday. He's a big boy at 9lbs 7oz (just like dad already!!). Here's a photo from the hospital Mike sent to another friend Ray Santana.

Congratulations Mike! Lots of love!!

FIRST WEDDING OF THE YEAR -- JANUARY 6, 2007

Now that’s the way to start a new year!

Yesterday I shot my first wedding of the year and it was awesome! Katy and Mike make such a terrific couple. In spite of the clouds, how can you beat temperatures in the 50’s in January?

The wedding was at Bellefield Presbyterian Church in Oakland. The church is absolutely stunning, built in the round with gorgeous stained glass everywhere. You can’t help but be moved in a place so inspirational.

The reception was at The Great Hall in Perrysville. William P. Hutchins designed the Great Hall in the tradition of Gothic architecture for the former St. Teresa of Avila Church. And a grand job he did!

Here is a small glimpse of their beautiful day.

Happy New Year!

Hip Hip Hooray, it’s 2007! I hope you are as jazzed as I am about all the new opportunities that lie ahead in the New Year. I gave up making “resolutions” long ago because they were too easy to break (most didn’t last more than a couple of weeks). I do however believe very strongly in setting and achieving goals, and while I’m not quite ready to share them with the world, I will say I have a lot to accomplish this year!

We are excited about the coming wedding season! So far we have booked a lot of great weddings and would love to book another 15-20 awesome events. So if you got engaged over the holidays, or you know someone who did, give us a call ASAP!! Much to our surprise we still have 07.07.07 open!

On the personal side, I’m getting back into working out every day. I know my personal trainer, Weston Lyon, will be happy to hear that! While ‘round’ is a shape, it’s not a good shape to be in.

Many other changes are in the works, but for those you’ll just have to stay tuned!

Friday night I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph the final gown fitting for Katy, my January 6th bride. Expert seamstress Barbara Mannarino, owner of Thorncliffe Designs (412.278.1112) in Robinson Township, was responsible for the perfect fit.

The question is sometimes asked, ‘why would you want to photograph the final fitting?’ Precious moments. Quite often this is the first time dad gets to see his daughter in her wedding gown. That “first look” is priceless. And let’s not forget how mom feels, this is after all, her little girl.

Below are a couple of my favorites from the evening. But, just in case Mike, the groom, happens to hit my blog before the wedding no photos of the gown appear, I’m not going to be the one to spoil his surprise!