Philadelphia Wedding Photography | Ashley & Aaron's spring Tendenza wedding

•  Posted by Natalie •

Ashley & Aaron tied the knot at an elegant spring wedding at Tendenza in Northern Liberties a few weeks ago.  Ashley has worked as a hair stylist for many weddings, so she knew exactly what she wanted from her day.  Two of her top priorities were awesome photos and not being stressed—so she was pretty much our ideal bride!

The day started at the Loews Hotel in Center City. We wanted to take full advantage of this location, so we headed to the top floor of the hotel for a few portraits with the Philly skyline. (It was an added bonus to be able to keep everyone indoors as much as possible during the first heat wave of the season!) It was very important that Ashley & Aaron didn't see each other before the ceremony , so Matt and I spent a lot of time strategizing to create portraits that would go together, without having the bride and groom in the same place.  We were able to spend over two hours with the bridal party before the ceremony and about an hour with the bride and groom afterward. That amount of time was an appreciated luxury, and it really gave us the ability to expand our creativity and style unique portraits for this wonderful couple.

The talented Regina Miller of Origin Photo joined our team for the day to take the groom and groomsmen portraits and help document the ceremony. I love her take on the guys!

Both the ceremony and reception were held at Tendenza. I love this venue so much because they truly think of every detail.  It combines elegance and extravagance without being overdone. Teamed up with Beautiful Blooms florist, the reception decor was truly stunning. I love details, so I'm always in my happy place at a Tendenza wedding.

Ashley and Aaron— You guys are such a great couple. Thanks for throwing such a gorgeous wedding — and inviting us to document it! We loved having so much time to spend creating portraits, and I hope we were able to bring all your ideas to life.

WEDDING DETAILS:

VENUE, FOOD & CAKE| Cescaphe Tendenza PHILADELPHIA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS | Matt Godfrey, Natalie Nigito & Regina Miller HAIR & MAKEUP | Jordan Thomas Salon & Spa DRESS | Allure JEWELRY DESIGN | Faye Daniel Designs FLOWERS |  Beautiful Blooms

EVENT PLANNER | Betsy Shoustal of Cescaphe Tendenza TRANSPORTATION | Park Avenue Limosine CEREMONY MUSIC | Elegance String Quartet DJ | White Label DJs

Philadelphia Wedding Photography: Alejandro and Caroline's Wedding

*Posted by Matt*

A few weekends ago we made our first trip back to one of our favorite venues, Valley Green Inn, for Caroline and Alejandro's outdoor wedding along the Wissahickon creek. Portraits were a priority for these two, so they decided on doing a First Look in Center City Philadelphia, inside the Hyatt at The Bellevue where Caroline got ready. We had the bride-to-be descend a spiral staircase to her fiance awaiting below with the bridal party looking on. After that we ventured out to South Broad Street for some bridal party portraits at the Union League of Philadelphia and then bride and groom portraits at City Hall.

Then it was off to Fairmount Park! After a few more bridal party portraits on the bridge near Valley Green Inn it was time to prepare for the wedding ceremony. They decided to have their ceremony on the bank of the Wissahickon Creek, just outside of the 19th century inn. With the creek as a backdrop and a beautiful May day, their ceremony went off without a hitch.

There were a few surprises throughout the night, like the percussion group Alejandro's mom surprised everyone with. Alejandro is from Puerto Rico, and the band played music like you'd hear there, so it was a great way to add some unique flavor to their wedding. Personalized M&Ms and brightly colored poms hanging from the rafters of the porch emphasized their tropical color scheme of pink and light teal. And they incorporated their love of animals with table named after their favorite pets.

The biggest surprise, though, had to be the Kid Robot-themed Groom's cake that Caroline had made. Alejandro's face pretty much said it all when he first saw it come out.

Caroline and Alejandro, it was truly a pleasure working with you both. Your personalities truly do compliment each other and that came through in a big way on your wedding day. Thank you so much for making us a part of that experience!

WEDDING DETAILS:

VENUE & FOOD | Valley Green Inn PHILADELPHIA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS | Natalie Nigito & Matt Godfrey HAIR & MAKEUP | Headhouse Salon DRESS | White by Vera Wang FLOWERS |  Nature's Gallery Florist CAKE | Bredenbeck's Bakery DJ | SilverSound Entertainment

Philadelphia Wedding Photography | Alex & Sean's Crane Arts Wedding

• Posted by Natalie •

Alex & Sean kept us laughing through their lemon & lime-colored wedding at Crane Arts last weekend. Their irreverent jokes and comments throughout the day were a perfect match for our own sense of humor.  Even though Alex had insisted that Sean practice “smiling naturally,” once things got rolling, these two were naturals in front of the camera.

We started portraits with a first look at Elfreth’s Alley. This row of historically maintained homes, is quintessential Olde City Philadelphia.  After dabbling with the old, we headed for the modern, traveling a few blocks away to Race Street Pier.  The recently updated pier is one of our favorite portrait spots since there are so many great graphic elements from the span of the Ben Franklin bridge to the wide-set steps.  From there we ventured into North Philadelphia to check out the graffiti wall. We’re never sure exactly what we’ll find there, but this time we lucked out, since one side was painted entirely silver, which matched perfectly with Alex & Sean’s distinctive color scheme of Lemon & Lime on gray.

The first look ensured that we were able to get a pretty wide variety of portraits before their wedding ceremony at Crane Arts.  After the ceremony, we just took some quick family shots and a few photos of Alex and Sean around the garden behind the arts center, and then they were off to enjoy cocktail hour.

The architect’s eye and the newlyweds’ penchant for details was definitely evident in every aspect of their reception.  The Crane Arts center is essentially a blank canvas, but Alex and Sean artfully filled the space. They lined one wall with a photographic timeline, and on the opposite wall, they used lighting to create a wall-paper effect with a damask pattern. The gray damask pattern was mimicked in their handmade table runners, which was punctuated with bowls of lemons and limes and beautiful yellow and green bouquets of calla lillies, hydrangeas and spider mums (some of my favorite flowers!)

Dinner, catered by Diverse Catering, harkened back to the key cities in Alex & Sean's lives. A cheesesteak station for Philadelphia, a pizza station for New York, and so on. The food really helped add to the personal and unique feel of the wedding these two put together.

Like all great weddings, the dance floor was bursting at the seems when the DJ got going. The guests were ready to party and that's exactly what they did.

Alex and Sean — Thanks so much for including us in your celebration. We love the space you chose for everything and all the time you put into the details. We appreciate the importance you put on photography for your wedding day and we're truly humbled that you chose us to help execute your wedding plan!

WEDDING DETAILS:

VENUE | Crane Arts PHILADELPHIA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS | Matt Godfrey & Natalie Nigito HAIR | Cindy Eisaman MAKE-UP | Richel D'Ambra Spa & Salon  DRESS | Demetrios  FLOWERS | Bob & Sally Ambrose  FOOD | Ken Correll of Diverse Catering CAKE | Momofuku Milk Bar CEREMONY MUSIC | Nikolay Gavlishin DJ | Nick DiGiulio of White Label DJs 

Allison & Dan Duportail House Wedding

• Posted by Natalie •

We kicked off the 2013 wedding season with Allison & Dan's rustic farmhouse wedding at the gorgeous Duportail House. This restored colonial farmhouse near Valley Forge Park was the perfect setting for this laid-back couple. They held their late-afternoon spring wedding ceremony on the front porch, where the home's distinctive archway created a beautiful frame. Allison's younger brother served as the officient, and in lieu of toasts or ceremony readings, the best man and maid of honor shared advice on marriage.

The pale green and pink wedding colors were a perfect compliment for this spring wedding. The groom and groomsmen simply wore vests instead of jackets, and the guest were encouraged to enjoy a beer so everyone stayed nice and cool while the bride and groom exchanged their personalized vows.

Allison and Dan are serious tailgaiters, and during cocktail hour and the reception, guests got to try out the bride's hand-painted Cornhole boards, plus various other yard games including bocce and croquet. Paired with a smoked, pulled-pork sandwich buffet dinner and s'mores for dessert, the whole day just had a wonderfully relaxed vibe.

Dan & Allison—thanks so much for starting our 2013 season so strong. You guys were so much fun, and I love how many ways you truly made your wedding day personal.  You have such lovely families, and it was a pleasure documenting the first day of your married life!

New York Engagement Photography | Allison & Dan's Hoboken Engagement Portraits

• Posted by Matt •

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of joining Dan and Allison for engagement photos in Hoboken, where they first met. Dan was going to college up there and Allison was living close by so it seemed like a natural spot to capture their love for each other! Plus, the view was amazing from Dan's alma mater; a backdrop of the New York skyline in engagement photos is pretty amazing.

We started out with portraits at Stevens Institute of Technology — which has a great view of downtown New York — before venturing around Hoboken a little. You can't really go wrong with engagement portraits along the Hudson River so we did some portraits at the train station and then just wandered along the riverside a bit.

We found out early on that Dan is a Yankees fan. We debated extensively internally about this but ultimately decided that we were okay with that. We found common ground in the fact that we are all baseball fans so, with that behind us, we moved forward and did some portraits at the Elysian Fields. For those who don't know, that's where the first game of organized baseball was believed to take place. (Note Dan's Yankees garb...)

After that we hit a few places that meant a lot to them personally, like the bar where they first met.

Dan and Allison, I can't tell you how glad I am that we decided to head to Hoboken for these photos. I think you guys looked so natural and so comfortable that it was easily worth the ride up there. That sandwich from Vito's was just icing on the cake! Looking forward to your wedding next month!