Lindsay & Seth enjoyed a wonderful wedding weekend, starting with an elegant rehearsal dinner at the Skyline Club, which provides the most amazing view of the city. Then Seth and his huge entourage teed off the next morning at the Legends of Indiana golf course in Franklin. As a former professional athlete in the Chicago White Sox organization, Seth was clearly unfazed by the pressure of sinking long putts with a video camera right at the hole. Lindsay and the gals had their hair and makeup done at Studio 2000 overlooking Monument Circle, where I ran into my good friends Tiffany and Nate of Nathaniel Edmunds Photography covering a different bridal party.

Then it was off to the spectacular Indiana Roof Ballroom with ultra-creative photographer Andrew Scalini (with whom I will be working there again in three weeks), where we enjoyed the luxury of having plenty of time to set up gear and get lots of great shots of the couple while the nice folks from the Shadeland Flower Shop transformed the ballroom. The ceremony took place under a beautifully lit chuppah, where a sneaky hidden camera gave me a great view, and I was tickled that the entire wedding party was willing to listen to my suggestion of switching sides per Jewish custom. The rare post-ceremony ketubah signing took place in the dark balcony, where my camera light came in handy. The reception was predictably spectacular as well, always a given when the Flip Miller Band is lending their fast-paced set to the proceedings, and day-of consultant Martha Rohr did a great job of keeping things moving along, a necessity after the 7:01 p.m. ceremony start time.

Here are the highlights from Krista & Phil’s 6/30/07 wedding at St. John Catholic Church and reception at the Conrad Hotel:

UPDATE: Krista sent me a nice e-mail just minutes after I sent her a preview of her video: “Thank you SO MUCH for sending this out! It totally made my day and I can’t wait to send it out to everyone, especially those people who couldn’t be there! Laurie did a fantasic job and I can’t wait to see the rest! Have a great weekend!”

I’ve always enjoyed traveling to Fort Wayne, whether it was to shoot graduations in the old days, shoot weddings each of the last few years, visit Amish country nearby, or bring the kids to the awesome Children’s Zoo and Science Central. On this particular weekend, I drove up there to cover Heather & Sean’s beautiful wedding mass at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. Heather was recovering from a recent spate of illnesses, but she looked gorgeous nonetheless, and quite relieved to finally be able to kiss the groom and not care about getting him sick anymore. The reception was in what appeared to be an “inflatable” banquet hall adjacent to the Marriott Hotel. Sounds strange, I know, but the inside was very nicely decorated, and the prime rib during dinner was delicious! Everyone had a wonderful time, and I’m sure that Heather & Sean are feeling perfectly fine in Maui right about now.

While I was working in Fort Wayne, Laurie worked a little bit closer to home, covering Jill & Stephen’s ceremony at Northminster Presbyterian Church. Then everyone made their way to the reception at the Meridian Hills Country Club, where photographer Dawn Fisher of Galleria Studios (who referred the couple to us – thanks, Dawn!) got some great shots of the couple while Laurie captured lots of candid moments at the cocktail hour. The reception was a lively affair, and this was interestingly the third time Laurie worked at this venue this year. (Her next reception will be her third at the Conrad Hotel this year as well – pretty strange but cool!)

Here are the highlights from Kim & Adam’s beautiful 6/16/07 wedding and reception in the Ashland, KY area:

UPDATE: Kim just e-mailed me with some nice feedback: “The highlight video is amazing, you did such a great job…thank you so much for helping us remember every detail of our wedding!” My pleasure, Kim!

Photo by Jessica Strickland

Kristen & Rob had the foresight to recognize what a popular date 7/7/07 would be and booked us 18 months in advance, disappointing the countless brides who contacted us since then about that date. A few months later, Kristen also hired me to shoot her brother Jim’s wedding in their home town of South Bend, during which time I quickly realized what a fun and colorful family I would be working for this weekend.
The weekend they planned was as big as the date itself, starting with an informal rehearsal and dinner at the Indianapolis Zoo‘s newly renovated Oceans building. Kristen surprised Rob with a pinata for his birthday before everyone went inside to enjoy a tasty fajita bar. The dinner tables were arranged around the new shark-petting pool, which was a big hit. (Even though my friends from Stacy & Mary Photography caught me trying to pet the wrong shark.)

Once the “lucky” day arrived, another talented friend, photographer Jessica Strickland, joined me to cover Kristen’s preparations in her suite at the Conrad Hotel. After a nice private moment on the staircase downstairs with the groom (see top photo), we got to spend a lot of time with the couple for photos in the lobby, the Artsgarden, a photo booth, and outside the Indiana Roof Ballroom, where the ceremony and reception took place. The ceremony was officiated by former Lt. Governor Joe Kernan, and the music-loving couple cleverly had their friends choose song lyrics for their readings.

Photo by Jessica Strickland

The reception was every bit as colorful as the couple’s personalities, with lots of unique little touches everywhere, like chocolate favors from the South Bend Chocolate Company and Lucky Seven lottery tickets (Kristen won $2 that night – and a husband!) on a wide palette of brightly colored tables. Consultant Tonya Shadoan of Circle City Planners (who referred the couple to me) and her staff did a great job of transforming Kristen’s many ideas into a single, colorful presentation, as well as keeping this very laid-back group on track. Cynthia Layne and her tight band capped the evening with some great jazz and R&B classics.
Check out more great images from the weekend on Jessica Strickland’s blog, and coming soon (once Stacy gets the film back) on Stacy & Mary’s blog!

Our 7/7/07 couple Kristen & Rob had a fun wedding that I will post about shortly. In the mean time, click on the image below to see a “Lucky 7” story featuring them that aired on WTHR over the weekend: