Yearly Archives: 2007

Just when I thought the Omni Severin‘s Carrie Sprague & Amanda Coffey couldn’t possibly spoil us more than they already have, not only did they refer two awesome events to us for Laurie to cover there this past weekend, but they also let us keep our gear in their office overnight. Wendi & Patrick’s Sunday ceremony took place under an intimate chuppah in the beautifully refurbished Fischer Ballroom, which featured some nice floral touches by Kathy’s Kloset. Laurie and photographer Larry Seidman kept this very free-spirited couple on track through the cake-cutting and other formalities, and the equally free-spirited Wendy Reed Band kept them on the dance floor all night with their trademark sassy brand of rock-n-soul.

This is probably as good a spot as any to thank Rich Johnson and Geoffrey Chandler for lending a hand on a very high-demand weekend in which we had an unprecedented FOUR weddings to cover. Rich managed to help us out with taping twice in the midst of his studio’s own two weddings, and Geoff made time to assist us before and after participating in a triathlon. Big ups, fellas!

Photo by Kevin Monahan Photography

After completing all of her preparations at the Omni Severin Hotel downtown, Jainie arrived at Mount Pleasant Christian Church in Greenwood just in time to walk down the aisle for a beautiful wedding ceremony with her new husband Matt. The couple then stopped at the Indianapolis Museum of Art with videographer Laurie Buschmann and super-nice photographers Kevin & Alicia Monahan for some great shots on one of the few pleasant Saturdays we’ve seen all summer. I was hoping to run into all of them there when I arrived with the wedding party I was covering, but it’s probably a good thing that we missed out on seeing the guys dropping trou for one of their time-honored traditional photos in boxers. Then it was back to where they started for a fun-filled reception beautifully decorated by Julie Acheson of Royal Creations and perfectly orchestrated by the Omni’s wonderful Amanda Coffey, who had referred Jainie & Matt to us. (Thanks, Amanda!)

Wedding Entertainment Director Jim Cerone presided over many details while making the guests feel at home at Jennifer & Eron’s reception at the Indiana History Center:

Here are the highlights from Heather & Sean’s beautiful 7/21/07 wedding and reception in Fort Wayne:

Anytime I book a Hindu wedding, I know I’m in for an unforgettable experience, and Sajal & Shash’s wedding was no exception. I joined the festivities on Friday at their party at the Knights of Columbus, where Sajal showed off the most intricate henna tattoos on her hands and feet that I’d ever seen. Once Shash arrived, the drumming and dancing started and rarely let up for the rest of the evening. I’ve never really liked Indian food, but the food that I sampled there was quite good and sold me on trying more in the future. My favorite part of the night was a traditional dance that involved two revolving lines of people hitting each other’s “sticks.” (I’m not going to pretend to remember any of the formal names for these events.)

Then on Saturday morning, Shash (on a horse) and company lined up at the east end of the Oak Hill Mansion’s parking lot and slowly danced and paraded towards the front door, where Shash was greeted by Sajal’s parents. Then the 300-plus guests worked their way into the ballroom for a casually paced ceremony during which many beautiful traditions were observed, the guests freely mingled, and no one seemed to mind me and photographer K.C. Ferrill hanging around in front of the stage to capture the formalities. The room was fabulously decorated by Sonali Patel of Dulhani (her first job, amazingly!) with floral help from Julie Acheson of Royal Creations. Laurie videotaped the reception festivities there that evening, which included some funny speeches, plenty of surprises, and a LOT of colorful and spirited dancing.

Here are the highlights from Jill & Stephen’s 7/21/07 wedding at Northminster Presbyterian Church and reception at Meridian Hills Country Club. They added a lot of unique touches to their day, my favorite of which were the dancing flip-flops for all the ladies at the reception!

Photo by Angela Talley

I was excited when consultant Tonya Shadoan of Circle City Planners first contacted me about flying me out to Seattle to cover Amanda & Doug’s 8/3/07 wedding in Seattle, but bummed that the couple opted to hire someone local instead. I guess I can’t expect to tag along on ALL of Tonya’s destination weddings, but it would have been a blast to work again with Seattle transplant Tania Shepherd (formerly of Studio E Photography here in Indy), let alone on a boat in front of the Seattle skyline!

I was delighted, however, to have the opportunity to cover the couple’s reception last night at the Mavris Arts & Event Center, where I had also worked only six days earlier. Tonya had the venue decked out fabulously with a huge bar in the middle of the room and English daisy accents everywhere – most notably on the yummy cupcakes. Mary Beth Poe of MBP Catering added a fiesta flair with several Mexican food buffet stations, my favorites of which were the fajita bar and fried ice cream station. Photographer Angela Talley and I had our usual great time gabbing in between grabbing shots of the couple and their guests, and it was a pleasant surprise to see the band etc. again after working with them just last weekend.

Here are the highlights from Kristen & Rob’s incredible 7/7/07 wedding weekend featuring a rehearsal at the Indianapolis Zoo, preparations at the Conrad Hotel, and a colorful ceremony and reception at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. They chose a quirky (record scratches and all) French remake of a classic tune that perfectly captures their unique personalities and funky style:

Photo by Jessica Strickland