What makes life worth living? Our children. Our family. Friends, wives and husbands. Nature, our animals, special events, every day moments, hobbies and our work……we all have special people, activities, events in our lives that make it worth living. Life is so rich and deeply woven with moments that they really are endless.

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.

 

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings by Astrid
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If you are a wedding vendor or a bride-to-be or already tied the knot, you know that details in wedding design are always at the top of the list for most brides and any good blog and magazines. Well, I’m happy to say that Ingrid and Kevin’s wedding held at the La Playa Beach and Golf Resort was nothing short of spectacular in every detail of the 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

 

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings, wedding design by Astrid
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Continuing on with Annemarie and Brian’s wedding day coverage, we really don’t want to write a lot down because the images do speak for themselves.

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!

 

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings, wedding design by Astrid
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Kind blog visitors, please accept my sincerest apologies for neglecting you so! It’s not that I don’t love to blog about the great town I live in or my wonderful girls or my fabulous brides and grooms, it’s that I haven’t found the right tactic to squeeze out more than 24 hours in a day and I still need at least 4 of those to sleep!

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!

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings by Astrid
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When I think of that kind of love that is the truest kind of love, the kind of love that endures through life’s ups and waaaay downs, the kind of love that makes you feel like nothing in this world can bring you down, and the kind of love that lets you be yourself completely I think of Liz and Sean having that kind of love!

A few weeks before Liz’s wedding day, I stopped in to talk to her. We got on the subject of love and I told her that it seemed to me that she and Sean would end up just like Rene and I: dieing together. I know! I know! It sounds melodramatic and a bit morbid too, but it’s true! You can just tell and with Liz and Sean, every picture we took of them together always revealed that sparkle of pure love between them. I love when I can take pictures like that…..it’s pure magic.

~ The Details ~

Liz and Sean exchanged vows at the beautiful Miromar Lakes Beach and Golf Club. What a great place to shoot! At every corner we found great spots and the decor is fabulous! Lesley and the staff at Miromar did an absolutely outstanding job making sure everything flowed smoothly and everyone was happy. And we couldn’t have been happier shooting at such a refreshingly unique spot!

Venue: Miromar Lakes Beach and Golf Club
Florist: Express Florist
Videographer: Beth Schell, Elite Weddings
Band: Modulation
DJ: Omar Baker

 

Happy, happy faces on such a special day!

 

Liz is blessed to have a beautiful family and wonderful friends! Just look at her bridal party and her daughters….

 

I love this portrait of Liz….she really does make my work SO easy!

 

I got teary-eyed during the ceremony…

 

A more perfect backdrop to such a perfect union….just does not exist!

 

Ok….how fab is Miromar Lakes to have a wedding??

 

Details, beautiful details!

 

And did we mention just how much fun Liz and Sean and their family are? Not only did Liz and Sean perform THE most original first-dance skit we’ve ever witnessed, but their kids absolutely know how to dance and make people laugh! In the second picture, they are getting down to Thriller, only one of the many songs they included in their surprise firs-dance skit!!

 

And our first installment of our ‘off the wall’ wedding portraiture series….here, Liz and Sean donned their Everblades gear! Thanks for such a cool portrait guys! You guys rock and many thanks for letting us be part of such a memorable day!

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings by Astrid
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Rene and I have the best job in the world! And I don’t like to use the word ‘job’ because it’s most definitely not a job or work! For us, recording weddings is a privilege. To know that the images we create today, will be enjoyed by generations to come tomorrow, is most definitely humbling and special.

We can’t stop jumping for joy when we get to work with brides and grooms that just ‘get’ our vision. Nic and Brittaney totally understand what our vision is all about. They gave us complete creative license, which in and of itself is an honor. But most important and best of all, they pushed us to explore new avenues of creativity, challenged us technically and inspired us to find new ways of thinking about creative image making. Thank you to Nic, Brittaney and their families and friends for the challenges and memories of that most special day!

With every wedding I always try to find a new way of seeing things. This angle of the dress is one of my favorites.

 

Brittaney taking a moment’s pause in her suite’s balcony at Sanibel Harbor Resort & Spa. The resort is located on the harbor overlooking Sanibel and Captiva islands.

 

A quick portrait in her suite. She’s absolutely glamorous here!

 

Brittaney made the entire trip from the Sanibel Harbor Resort & Spa all the way to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers in this authentic Ford Model T!

 

Once we arrived at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, it was time for some a few portraits of Brittaney outside.

 

And we also did some fun stuff inside the Caretaker’s House. This is one of my favorites from the day.

 

And handsome Nic!

 

Brittaney and the guys on the porch of one of the homes.

 

The fab wedding party on the lawn of the Royal Palm Alleé.

 

Beautiful!

 

Meeting for the first time in Mina’s Moonlight Garden.

 

Saying their vows.

 

Finally! Just married!

 

A romantic shot as husband and wife on the grounds.

 

For the bride and groom’s portraits together, Brittaney wanted an edgy and urban backdrop. So we headed out to downtown Fort Myers. We had about 20 minutes to get all these awesomely cool shots, in the dark AND during a Harley biker convention! It was the absolute most fun we’ve had shooting the bride and groom! This is my favorite image from the entire day. This gritty alley was completely dark except for the street light above Brittaney. All I have to say is GREAT job D700!

 

This shot was done in front of an installation that sat in the front yard of the Old Lee County Courthouse. The installation was made of these large steel cylinders with green lights inside and the names of the different botanicals Edison used in his scientific studies.

 

Some shots around downtown’s fun backdrops.

 

Nic and Brittaney had their reception at the fantastic Veranda in the heart of the historic district in downtown Fort Myers. This unique restaurant makes its home in two Turn-of-the-Century homes. The Veranda is a truly charming and romantic place to dine. Brittaney has a great sense of style…just look at how fabulous everything looked that night!

 

And our goodbye shot, a la Nic and Brittaney style! Thanks again guys, congratulations and thanks for letting us be a part of such a magical day! ~Astrid and Rene~

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings by Astrid
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