St. Mary’s of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

This wedding took place at St. Mary’s of Pine Bluff, Wisconsin.  This is a very pretty church only about 10 minutes outside of Madison.  It has a beautiful exterior brick and viberant stained glass windows throughout. 

Church 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

The following picture was taken in the getting-ready room.  You can see another sample of the stained glass windows, which makes for a wonderful photographic background. 

I hung up the bride’s dress and set up her shoes and jewelry for some creative shots.  Then I saw this activity out of the corner of my eye.  A bridesmaid was applying hair spray to the bride.  I was able to capture the brief cloud of spray even though the focus was not on her. 

Kalena Getting Ready2 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

Tim Groomsmen3 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

Here one can see some of the beauty and ornate character of the church.  It is a beautiful sanctuary. 

The following is a shot of the wedding party from the balcony of the church. 

Tim groomsmen during the ceremony 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

Here the couple are lighting the unity candle.  I got this shot from the vantage point of the balcony, which gave me a clear view.  It is very helpful when a church has one. 

Tim Kalena lighting the unity candles 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

After the ceremony we headed over to Union Memorial Terrace on the University campus.   This is a nice way to get everyone in the shot and it looks a little different.  To get the shot I am laying on my back using my 5D Mark II full frame camera and a 24 to 105 mm lens.  One has be have a pretty wide lens to get this to work (having a full frame camera helps a lot too). 

Tim Kalena wedding party in a circle 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

One of my favorite shots to do with each newly wedded couple is to shots of them out of focus while the rings are sharply in focus.  It is also nice to get a shot like this and keep the blue sky blue and the faces well lit. 

Tim Kalena rings held out 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

Next we went to the Capitol.  I recommended that we get this shot from State Street so that the whole building could be seen.  With some basic instructions on how to do the dip, we got this photo.  

In this photo a pedestrian is eating his lunch while all this activity is going on in the middle of the road.   I think it’s funny.

Tim Kalena dipping in front of the Capitol 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

The reception was held at the Double Tree Inn on University Avenue. 

At the end of the evening, after the special dances and traditional fun and games, we went outside to get a few more creative shots. 

Tim Kalena at the DoubleTree Inn 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

This was one of several poses using a slow shutter speed.  It requires the couple to be very still in order to keep the focus on them very sharp.  There are cars in the background creating an interesting look.

   Tim Kalena at the DoubleTree Inn with cars2 1 St. Marys of Pine Bluff and the Double Tree Hotel in Madison

Cassie & Cody

Cassie & Cody were married at Saint Dennis Catholic Church in Madison, Wisconsin on July 10, 2010.  

During the ceremony as Cassie’s dad passed her over to Cody, he whispered to Cody as they were hugging, “take good care of her”.  Those words will forever be with them.  

The following are some images from Cassie and Cody’s wedding album. 

This is a photo of the bride with her bridesmaids which brings the bride closer as the focal point.  It was taken in the preparation room, which wasn’t initially the greatest setting.  It served as a nice background after a number of tables and chairs were removed.

CC Album 6 Cassie & Cody

Cassie had a beautiful gown, as can be seen below.   The rings were placed on a Bible with the famous love chapter, I Corinthians 13, in the background.

CC Album 5 Cassie & Cody

Use of my iPhone is one of my new classic shots.

CC Album 16 Cassie & Cody

The reception was at Turner Hall in Madison, Wisconsin.  These images are spread over two pages. 

CC Album 18 Cassie & Cody