On Saturday at noon, I arrived at Delaware Park’s Rose Garden in the rain, and confirmed that there was no Plan B – the ceremony would go on as planned, rain or shine. Thankfully my husband had reminded me to take his umbrella, so I didn’t get soaked.

As the girls came down the aisle, I loved that you could actually see the raindrops falling.

Rain or no rain, Megan never stopped smiling… she was marrying Adam come hell or high water!

Thankfully, not long after the ceremony ended, the rain let up and the sky cleared for some really nice formal shots.

After killing a little bit of time between the ceremony & reception (you gotta do what you gotta do when your ceremony’s at 12:30 and the reception doesn’t start til 5) we arrived at McKinley’s and the party got underway. They had the rule that a table had to stand and sing to get them to kiss, and their guests did not disappoint!

When they had everyone in the bridal party dance together, I believe this couple referred to this as “junior high dancing” before the group decided to do a kickline, which then just turned into a massive group hug.

I love this photo of the maid of honor’s parents just after they “won” the anniversary dance, for being the longest-married couple at the reception:

With all the formalities out of the way, the dancefloor was open to all sorts of craziness, and I was not disappointed.

I’ll leave you with this – the bride’s younger brother (far right) and three of his friends performed “YMCA” as The Village People. Megan knew they were going to do this, but I don’t know if she knew they were going to DO IT UP. Just in case anyone’s wondering, yes, he’s wearing purple dinner napkins over his boxers. It was hilarious and I’m so glad I got to see it!

Megan & Adam – thanks for having me and thanks for making the best of the rain… I love all the umbrella pictures and I hope you do too!

On Thursday (yes, Thursday!) I drove to the Esperanza Mansion on the north end of Keuka Lake for Nick & Stephanie’s wedding. As I drove almost 100 miles through some hard rain showers, I had my fingers crossed that it would stay clear that evening for the ceremony & reception. It did sprinkle on & off, but no downpours – hooray!

Since everyone was getting dressed at the same place, I got a chance to visit the guys as they were getting ready too. The bridesmaids had donuts, the groomsmen had tequila and matching hats & sunglasses from “the dollar store.”

The dining room was beautiful. Check out the cake topper – Nick did not seem like he needed a ball & chain to keep him around!

The ceremony was short & sweet, but not free of tears!

We didn’t do too many formal photos because it was already getting dark and the rain kept threatening, but we did sneak in some really nice shots.

I had to have them come back outside after dinner for this shot, but I think it was worth it!

Like most weddings, everyone was waiting to hit the dance flooor! I’m sure if the party hadn’t been cut off at 10pm (Thursday night rule) the floor would have been full for several hours to come!

Congratulations Nick & Steph – best wishes to you both living the Navy life!

After storm clouds threatened earlier in the day, the sky cleared and I arrived to meet Rachel and her girls at the Hilton Garden Inn. While the TV played coverage of the previous day’s top headline (Michael Jackson’s death) the girls practiced their dance moves for the reception and Rachel got her makeup on.

After a few quick pictures in the hotel’s courtyard…

…we headed over to Joseph’s Country Manor for the ceremony & reception, and I met Jeff.

The ceremony got underway in the hot, intense sun, and halfway through, the flowergirl decided she’d had enough and went to sit with grandma.

I found out that Rachel’s grandparents had just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary!

Here’s wishing Jeff & Rachel as many years of happiness!!

Everyone was itching to get on the dancefloor after dinner, and great photo ops were just everywhere. I probably should have expected a reception full of Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean moves and then some, but I just wasn’t prepared… There was a full complement of Michael Jackson tunes in addition to the standard fare. I’m glad to be surprised by *something* at pretty much every wedding I do! I love my job!

Congratulations, you guys. I think the hats were a great idea, and it was obvious that everyone enjoyed the reception a LOT. What a party… I’m sure it was still rockin’ long after I left! Enjoy life in Vegas!

Bride in a fireman’s carry, showing off her muddy shoes. As good a place to start as any!

This is one of those weddings where things didn’t go as planned, but everyone pulled together to make things happen. Eva & her girls arrived at a rented cottage in Angola-on-the-Lake, in the rain, to discover that Eva had left the key back at her mom’s house in Tonawanda (a good 45 minutes away). Luckily Joel’s mom lives in the cottage next door, so we crashed there til Joel’s brother arrived with a spare key.

When I arrived at Evangola State Park, I found that the ceremony site had been moved under the reception tent, which is not what they had wanted (the plan was to get married cliffside, overlooking the lake, but it was rainy & muddy enough that doing the ceremony outside was just not possible.

Inside or outside, the ceremony was very heartfelt and as Joel teared up, I found out what the best man is REALLY there for.

Hugs & formalities, and a few chilly, rainy posed photos later…

…it was time for dinner, and dancing!

They pretended that the garter toss was on the up & up, but it was rigged from the start, and I think the guy in the green shirt knew it! Joel pretended to toss it, then ran & shoved it right in his shirt pocket.

Fun time with friends & family is what a wedding reception is all about. Mission accomplished! Congratulations to a pair who’s clearly crazy about each other!

This photo is out of order, but I wanted to start the post with the photo that made me say “Awwww” as soon as I took it. Nick said, “Wow! We made the photographer say ‘Awwww’!”

Nick & Arwyn hired me to photograph their small, intimate wedding on Friday evening, and I arrived at her parents’ house in West Falls not knowing exactly what to expect because, as Nick put it, “We’re kind of going with the flow.” I knew I was in for a treat when I went upstairs to see Arwyn and her dad put in fake joke teeth for a father/daughter photo. (Pardon the noise, this was at 6400ISO.)

Arwyn had already gotten dressed before I arrived, but I was able to catch her doing some last minute touchups. This mirror was so old… much more character than anything in my house!

I could tell how much family and tradition meant to Nick & Arwyn… they had each other’s family names engraved into their rings, and Arwyn carried her great grandmother’s lace on her bouquet.

Nick & Arwyn’s dogs are important to them too – we tried to do a family photo of the four of them but with one dog not paying attention and the other dog choosing that very moment to fertilize the lawn… here are some individual shots.

Details, details…

The ceremony was in a small church next door to her parents’ house, and was family & close friends only (there were 18 people in the church, including the judge).

We did a few posed photos on the lawn afterwards. I’m pretty sure neither of them stopped smiling at any point. We also did a photo of everyone in front of Arwyn’s parents’ house.

Then we went to Tempo where they had some cocktails, toasts, a wonderful slideshow, and dinner, at which point I bid my adieu.

Good luck to you both! Congratulations, and I’m sending warm, sunny wishes for your reception!