Nicole’s awesome gown, shot at the beautiful Grandezza, took home first place in the Wedding Gown category! Judge’s comments: “Great use of window light and flare”. And yep. That was natural lens flare, not fake Photoshop flare!

Annemarie’s infamous (for Naples, anyway) La Playa balcony shot took home 7th place in the Framing the Subject category. Judge’s comments: “Absolutely stunning image”.

We placed 19th out of 20 overall from all the entrants all over the world, our first time placing in the top 20 since we started competing (we started in the Fall of 2009 and placed for the first time in the contest of summer of 2009).

So we are were pretty stoked overall…..it’s always a wonderful validation when your favorite images place. I love both of these images….and whenever I select images for contests, I always try to select images that I love, not what I think the judges will like…..’stay true to your vision’ is what we always try to do! It’s never let us down….

Congratulations to all the other winners….there is some FAB talent going on and if you have a minute, we encourage you to take a look at all the winners. Some uber-talented photographers from all over the world placed and it’s a real honor for us. Check out the results right here at ISPWP’s gallery results page!

With Mike and Sarah one of those qualities is their amazing sense of humor and their ability to make each other and the people around them laugh. You can see it in their pictures and you can see it in the smiling and laughing faces of the people that shared their special day with them. What a special gift to share with the person you love and marry….making each other laugh is a foundation ingredient to a great marriage! We wish you both a long life of happiness and laughter!

Mike and Sarah’s beach ceremony took place at the Moorings Beach Park. And their reception was held at the wonderful Grey Oaks Country Club.

Florals and design were created by the uber-talented Jessica James of Jessica James Events. And the gorgeous 5-tiered wedding cake was created by none other than Naples’ own Karen Vazquez of Kakes by Karen.

We are now including slideshows with every wedding we deliver! And we will also be including our special versions of those slideshows here on each blogged wedding. So make sure to view the slideshows first as they really enhance the viewing experience!

This slideshow of Mike and Sarah’s includes some of their engagement session images, too. Enjoy!

And some yummy shot teasers below!

Inspiration comes in many forms. And for us, nature is a very big source of inspiration. Since the beginning we’ve always used nature as a means to pull our brand and design together and this re-design is no different. We hope you like our new site! Aside from a new look, we are happy to be utilizing a horizontal scrolling system for our galleries….we love how you can see images, side by side, from left to right. It’s a different way of experiencing a website and a portfolio and we feel that it fits us well. Our site is also optmized for the iPad. Check out our slideshows, too. After many days we were finally able to get our slideshows to work on pretty much all browsers and platforms, including Flash-free iphones and iPads. And for those of you in love with code, we used CSS and HTML5 yumminess! Enjoy!

A marriage is one of those events, filled with many special moments and memories, love and anguish, anxiety and excitement. Fear and happiness and calm and a sense of being completed.

And while memories are always in our hearts and in our minds, the power of an image, to bring back that moment, that memory is…. Well I could write priceless, but it isn’t really the right word and seems like the obvious cheesy choice word.

For us, images are like little windows into the past. Images are like little time machines, taking us back, giving us that feeling in our stomach or that pain in our heart or that laughter in our belly.

And aren’t memories something we can’t really live without? Could you imagine your life without memories? Good or bad, memories are always with us. They shape us and mold us and make us who we are and help to remind us of where we have been and who we were with and what we love to do. They are so individual they are like our mind’s fingerprints…..memories.

So this is just our post to remind everyone to take lots and lot of pictures of the people around you. The people you love. The people that make your life worth living. Take pictures with those people doing the things you love to do. Take pictures with the animals that give you unconditional love. Not only will you be able to enjoy those images, but your children or friends or family members later on down the road will appreciate those memories.

So then with those words we leave you with Ingrid and Kevin’s second post from their wedding at La Playa. We love what we do. For us it’s not a job and we’ve said this before. We are making memories and how cool is it that 30 years down the road, one of our bride’s grandkid’s will be holding an image we took. An image bringing that moment back to life. Long live love and photography and congratulations to Ingrid and Kevin!! It was an honor for us to capture some of those very special and varied moments that beautiful day.

I’ve always been a details kind of gal. Next to shoes and the gown, details are my second favorite aspect of a wedding that I love to immortalize! Just take a look at the list of awesome vendors that Ingrid selected and worked with…..with a meeting of creative minds like that, well the pictures speak for themselves! Stay tuned for Part II, which includes lots more yummy details from the cake to the reception tablescapes to of course, the bride and groom portraits!

~ Thanks Ingrid and Kevin for letting us do our ‘creative thing’ and being our inspiration! ~

~ The delicious details ~

Bridal gown: Rosa Clara
Bridal shoes: J. Crew
Make up design: Brandy Perkins – Nars – Saks Fifth Avenue of Naples
Bridal jewelry: Judith Ripka
Flower girl dresses: Us Angels
Savvy design and planning: Detailz Event Design
Wedding stationary design: Arabesque of Naples
Beautiful beach venue: La Playa Beach and Golf Resort
Delicious wedding cake: Ella’s cakes
Fabulous floral design: Garden District

My very, very first camera was my dad’s old Gaf 136 XF. It took Magicubes for flash and used 126 film cartridges. I still have the brown and black vintage camera. It’s totally beat up, full of personality and history. And there is still a cartridge of film in it. I know the cartridge has some of our family pictures on it…..

I was probably around 8 when my dad gave me this camera. And even though my father didn’t want to give up his camera (he loved taking pictures as much as I did), in the end he gave it to me. I was never the same after I got that camera in my hands. And ever since then I’ve always had a camera in my hands. Sure. They’ve evolved tremendously. That old Gaf and my D700 sit next to each other and it’s an amazing juxtaposition of technology and design.

So even though my D700 is the baddest around, I am an analog girl at heart. And so I’ve been very happy to say that I’ve found a great way to relieve that analog-angst via my Holga. I just got a pinhole Holga too, which I’m dying to try out.

And I also got the best gift an analog, lomo-loving photographer could want: a box full of 120 expired film, which made its way alllll the way from California, courtesy of the Icon lab. Thanks guys, you so rock! If you do film, check them out! They provide traditional and digital imaging services….follow them on Twitter here, visit their FB page here or check out their cool ass site, here!

And if you are a Lost fanatic, and love photography, take a look at the goodies they are offering here. Limited edition custom printed and numbered, fine art museum quality prints of the cast here!! Woot….

I digress.

So I took my Holga to our Disney trip in January of this year. Why do I love this camera? Cuz it’s FUN, and has NO dials or LCD panels or beeps or knobs or menus or battery packs. It’s LIGHTWEIGHT! It’s fun! Not that my D700 isn’t fun, but when I get to use the D700 all the time. When I’ve on vacation, I want to do something different and I also don’t want to carry around a ginormous camera….and let’s face it. I’d die if my D700 was stolen while on vacay….the Holga, no biggie to replace, right?

What I really love about the Holga though is that I don’t know what I am getting….I don’t receive instant gratification. I have to slow down. Take my time. Take in the scene and make different decisions.With the Holga, I don’t have that free-for-all that digital gives you, which means shooting hundreds of variations of the same image….uh uh!

With my Holga, I step back in time and slow down….and then I get to wait anxiously for the film to come back. It’s magic. And I love that it’s not a perfectly sharp, perfectly exposed and perfectly clean image. Right out of the camera it has ‘life lines’. Right out of the camera, it has sensuality. That’s film….!

And so here are three of my favorite shots from our trip….love you holga!

A spectacular venue, beautiful lighting, florals and food were just some of the highlights of the evening. Grace personally autographed books while guests mingled and networked. We were very happy to meet some incredible talent in the Florida wedding industry and we also had a blast catching up with our very own Kelly McWilliiam’s from Weddings by Socialites. What an evening!

And for some wonderful shots of the evening at the Sarasota Ritz, shot by Ryan Joseph, make sure to visit Grace’s blog!

Annemarie and Brian have a wonderful chemistry that was so effortlessly captured. For us it was a process that we relish: ask a couple to be themselves in front of our lenses and voila! Great chemistry, captured emotions and memorable images.

Look at this beautiful couple and tell us that that we don’t have the best job ever!

~ The fabulous and delicious details ~

The gown! Maggie Sottero (Destination Collection)

Beautiful beach venue: La Playa Beach and Golf Resort

Delicious delectable wedding cake: Ella’s cakes

Gorgeous botanicals: Botanicals on the Gulf

Arch design: Planned Perfection

And what’s not to love about having a destination wedding on a Naples, Florida beach?

Old Florida Style. That’s what you can find at La Playa…..not to mention just the right nooks and crannies for amazing pictures!

Living in Europe, Annemarie and Brian LOVE to travel this great planet of ours. For their seating chart, they picked different countries they had visited as the table names….and listed each guest under each country. How cool and original is that?

Annemarie selected the most beautiful shade of orange as her main color. It’s really a rich and beautiful tone that is easily implemented in a wide range of ways.

One of her dear friends designed all of her menus and invitations, and of course, there’s a shot of their signature drink, the ‘ABtini’. And another design that stood out for me: Annemarie had one of the most unique cake cutting/champagne flute sets I’ve ever seen.

Some of Brian’s frat friends gathered around Annemarie, along with Brian, and serenaded her! What girl wouldn’t love that! And last but not least, the infamous Lantern Lane at La Playa….the perfect spot to close out another beautifully unique wedding. Congratulations to you both!

So it’s with great pleasure that I bring part 1 of one a day that can be described as fun, sincere, emotional, stylish, perfect, inspirational and simply put, a darn good day!

Aside from having the incredibly easy task of photographing Annemarie, (a woman whose beauty is only rivaled by how sweet and sincere she treats you) we had the perfect backdrop: La Playa Beach and Golf Resort here in Naples! Add to that the most handsomest groom ever, an entourage of the best wedding professionals in Southwest Florida and a family that knows how to throw a party and you have a destination-wedding made in Naples-heaven (yep, Annemarie and Brian came all the way from Europe to celebrate here)!

We caught so many great moments from Annemarie and Brian’s wedding that we are dividing their post into two parts. Look for the second part early next week!

Congratulations to Annemarie and Brian! We had such a wonderful time with both of you, thanks for letting us be a part of it!

~ The fabulous and delicious details ~

The gown! Maggie Sottero (Destination Collection)
Beautiful beach venue: La Playa Beach and Golf Resort
Delicious delectable wedding cake: Ella’s cakes
Gorgeous botanicals: Botanicals on the Gulf
Arch design: Planned Perfection

For those of you planning a wedding here in Naples, just take a look at that view from the balcony at La Playa! It can’t be beat!

This series shot by Rene in Brian’s room rocks…the magazine title says it all!

The beautiful colors Annemarie selected for her wedding literally POP on the beach….this palette works anytime of the year and really makes a bold and elegant statement.

There was a lot of wind that day, but I LOVE wind. It makes for dramatic, moody and sensual images!

Champagne and love, the perfect end to a Naples beach wedding!