A giant congratulations goes out to John, Michelle and their families! What a beautiful and perfect day this was!

~ The Details ~

The Bride’s Accommodations: The Ritz Carlton, Naples, FL
Bride’s Hair and make up: Jan at the Ritz Carlton, Naples
Gown designer: Casablanca Bridal
Shoes: Liz Rene by Benjamin Walk
The Groom’s Accommodations: The Ritz Carlton Golf Resort, Naples FL
Reception: Grey Oaks Country Club
Music: DJ Randy Ray and Pianist Josh Isenburg, arranged by Talent Ventures
Cake: Kakes by Karen, LLC
Florist: Sweet P Florist
Caterer: Grey Oaks Country Club

Michelle started her day out at the fantastic Ritz Carlton here in Naples. What’s not to love about being pampered and getting ready at the Ritz? Even the gown gets the royal treatment here!

 

 

Michelle has impeccable taste. Simple, elegant and classic.

 

 

 

 

 

John began his day at the The Ritz Carlton Golf Resort (yeah, there’s two Ritz’s here!)

 

 

This was shot in the waiting room at the Church. I love the mood of this bridal portrait.

 

Michelle’s bouquet.

 

And Michelle’s bridesmaids’ bouquets…

 

Married! And at our favorite Naples beach! The sky was absolutely stunning that day.

 

 

 

We took some time to get some beautiful portraits of Michelle at the Grey Oaks Country Club.

 

Another one of my shadow shots!

 

One of my favorite shots of the day! On a super-cool golfcart! This shot is so Florida!

 

Beautiful!

 

 

The perfect setting created by Michelle’s vision, Sweet P Floral Designs and the staff at Grey Oaks.

 

 

The yummies! Nothing but the best from the chef’s at Grey Oaks and an absolutely exquisite cake from Karen at Kakes by Karen.

 

 

Another view of the beautiful cake!

 

OK! Can you tell I fell in love with the cake? I LOVE the black and white color combination and it was nothing short of perfect!

 

Dusk at the Grey Oaks Country Club…

 

Paparazzi…!

 

~ Thank you Michelle and John for letting us capture your wedding day! ~

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings by Astrid
2 Comments »

So excited to share that two of our images placed in the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers (ISPWP) Summer 2009 contest. This was our first time entering one of their contests and we found out this morning that two of our portraits placed 2nd and 9th place! It’s exciting for us since we’ve been really trying to focus on entering contests lately!

Placing is definitely something that made us feel great but even more rewarding was having our work alongside some amazing talent! Check out Christobal Perez’ (from Azul Photography in North Carolina) first place entry in the Pure Art category! That’s a beautiful black and white portrait. My favorite of all the entries? Emin Kuliyev’s entry for Getting Ready, which he won first place for. His work is fabulous!

You can take a look at all the winners in the Pure Art category from this link! Make sure to scroll down to view entries from all the categories. Congratulations to all the winners!

Here’s our two entries that placed:

Tags: accolades, contest winners by Astrid
1 Comment »

I’ve been working on Michelle and John’s wedding these last few weeks and I couldn’t resist the urge to put this teaser up. I had so much fun with Michelle on her wedding day….she’s a total sweetheart and made my work SO easy.

I just love the look and feel of these images….like Michelle and John, there is a certain mystery to them. Michelle also has impeccable taste in everything from her venue selections to her gown to her florals to her hair! I can’t wait to showcase all those yummy details. And how cool is that panoramic below? That’s going to look fab as a pano canvas!

Happy Wednesday!

Tags: teasers by Astrid
No Comments »

Last Sunday we participated in the Weddings Florida Bridal and Fashion show and what a hit! Not only did I see some fab gowns but we got some great exposure and made a lot of connections with other top wedding vendors in the area. What a great day!

Angela had video up and running during the fashion show and here it is! You can see us in the back…we had a primo spot and really enjoyed the show front and center. There were some truly beautiful gowns. One of my favorites came with a bolero jacket, perfect for the ceremony and formals and then off with it and off with the bottom of the gown (right above the knee) for a completely strapless and hot reception look (0:22). Truly versatile!

I also fell completely in love with a dark, smoky and truly sensuous bridesmaid gown in a rich, deep and delicious chocolate brown. The bottom of the gown looked almost alive with tiers of ruffles cascading to the hem (2:13). Mmm!

And of course there were some fabulous veils on the models including a bird cage (0:22) veil. Want to skip the veil? Go for a sweet little accessory (1:00). But my fav? The fabulous, bouncy, full-of-life, head-turning runway inspired veil (0.34). Again, delicious and tasty! I’m predicting that this is the next direction in veils for brides that want to step out of that box and into something totally unique. It’s really a blend of different textures, patterns, line and shape to create a very unique couture veil. The model wore what looked like a dotted netting and look at the body in the veil right around the back of her head.

~ The Details of the Fashion Show ~

Producer: Weddings Florida Magazine
Host Venue: West Bay Beach and Golf Club, Estero, Florida
Loretta Bridal
Alfred Angelo
Sir Daniel’s Salon
Salon Alfredo and Spa and Boutique
Vincent Salon and Spa
Making Faces by Andrea
Dillard’s – Lancome and Christian Dior

Tags: bridal shows, gowns, cakes and shoes by Astrid
No Comments »

It’s been a while since I posted any palm tree-related work. We’ve been super-busy with of course, our terrific brides and grooms and families, and we are also working on some other special side projects (not to mention opening up our new gallery)!

Suffice it to say that at the beginning of the year, Rani Richardson, owner of Random Acts of Art, asked me if I would be interested in hanging some of my palm trees up on her walls! Uhm, TOTALLY! If you don’t know, I am really a frustrated painter that can’t paint! Really though, Picasso said it best when he said “Two of the most frustrated trades are dentists and photographers- dentists because they want to be doctors, and photographers because they want to be painters.”

For me, the camera is my paintbrush (yeah, I know it sounds corny but what else can I say)? So my true love has always been fine art photography, of which I did quite a bit of before launching into fine art wedding photography. I’m starting to slowly get back into it and this been a wonderful, superb, fantabulous and totally exciting opportunity to put my art up on gallery walls! This has sparked a new flame in me and I couldn’t have asked for a better home for my palm canvasses than Rani’s gallery right here on 5th Avenue in downtown Naples! Given Rani’s successful history of seeking out artists for the gallery she ran on the East coast, this is a real honor for me. Thanks, Rani!

If you haven’t visited Random Acts of Art, you owe it to yourself to take that great ride down 5th Avenue and stop in and say hi! Rani has some of the most unique stuff I’ve seen in a long, long time around these parts. And I have to say it out loud, she’s brought in a creative, fun and YOUNG vibe into the art scene on 5th (finally)! It’s just not your typical stuff! From home decor to furniture, jewelry to metallic sculpture, Rani has carefully created a collection that will appeal to those with a discriminating taste for the unique! And the great thing about it is that most of the artists in the gallery are from right here in the USA and make their art right here, too. Rani also has a few artists from South Africa as well.

I can’t wait till my next blog post. When I went to visit Rani, I found the most coolest and unique pieces that would work GREAT for Florida sunshine brides! I will be blogging about some of these special gifts soon so be on the look out if you need some fresh ideas for tables or gifts.

So here are a few shots I took of Random Acts of Art and my pieces! Go by and check them out! If you aren’t in the area, no problem! Surf on to Random Acts of Art and see what you find!

 

Here are my three canvasses. Do you see those sparkly geometric shapes hanging to the far left? You fill them with distilled water and hang them in a window where the sun catches them and watch the incredible display of rainbows appear! This is perfect for a child’s room…letting that imagination run wild!

 

Another view…

 

…and the close-up of the canvasses. The top-most canvas was shot at Sarasota Bay and the bottom two canvasses were shot at the Oscar Scherer State Park. The colors are magical in person if I do say so myself!

Tags: ramblings... by Astrid
No Comments »

Erin at Lucky Me featured Nic and Brittaney’s awesome wedding on her blog. Thanks so much, Erin!

If you are looking for a custom-made monogram, check out Erin’s beautiful designs at her Lucky Design website. Her style is fresh and classic, which is always a hard balance to achieve. Beautiful work so make sure to visit! Thanks Erin, and I’m glad that you share our passion for Sanibel Island. It’s a true gem!

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings, published! by Astrid
No Comments »