Wendy Mitchell Photography

Renee first contacted me about her wedding in November 2008. In the months that followed, we shored up details and signed a contract, and I also signed a contract with Renee’s best friend Michelle, whose wedding I photographed back on June 26, 2010. It was great to be able to meet & spend a day with Renee & Pat ahead of their wedding, and with the reception being in the same place, I went into the wedding feeling really comfortable that I was going to be able to give Renee just the kind of pictures she wanted!

I met up with everybody at the hotel in Batavia where they were getting ready to get some shots before the church, then we headed over to the beautiful Our Lady of Mercy in LeRoy – gorgeous church!

After the church, we went over to a property owned by the parish for some wedding party photos. Any girl that is willing to get on a swing in a cathedral length veil is a-okay in my book!! Plus, seriously… underduck? I didn’t think he’d really do it so I wasn’t ready! I am glad I caught what I caught!

We checked out the pond for some more formal photos:

Then drove back to Batavia for the reception at Sacred Heart (same place as Michelle & Dave’s) – love that they borrowed the dancefloor-framing lights built by Michelle’s dad for her wedding. It gives the place so much warmth!

Their signature mat used a picture I took of them dancing back in June!

Pat, I realize these pictures emphasize Renee a little more than they do you, but I mean… she’s prettier than you, plus that smile lights up the room!

I took this photo after being inspired by a photo I saw that Mike & Jill Argento did at least a year ago. I thought this wall was the perfect place/color for a silhouette.

Aaaaaand just a few more dancing shots:

Some twirling, some bumping, and … uh, I have no idea what that third dance move was, but it made me laugh!

Many congratulations, Pat & Renee, and I’m so happy I got to be there for two such great couples in one summer. Michelle & Renee – may your friendship be as strong in 20 years as it is today, and Dave & Pat – it was my pleasure to meet two such fine gentlemen! Best wishes to all of you.

On Sunday I got to photograph Chantell and Jeremy’s wedding at The Avanti Mansion. Even though Chantell is pretty much the same age as I am, she is actually my niece by virtue of the fact that her grandfather is also my step-father-in-law. When she emailed me about photographing her wedding, I was excited to see her & Jeremy tie the knot, and to document such an important day for them.

While Chantell and her girls finished getting ready, I took a picture of the rings and saw this little girl being so very amused by brushing her feet against this topiary… the simple pleasures!

The rain that had come and gone that morning stayed gone, and didn’t trouble us at all. It was so awesome to be able to do the ceremony and all the pictures outside… to get married there but under a tent would have been such a shame.

The reception (which was under a tent!) had delicious food, a naughty cake smash (using forks! I was afraid one of them was going to get hurt!), and also a bit of dancing before wrapping up at 8pm.

The staff even got in on the action a little bit, swaying back & forth. I did see a few of them doing the electric slide too!

The bouquet toss almost had a throwdown… check out the two bridesmaids ready to spring catlike into the air to catch that bad boy! Spoiler: the taller girl came out victorious BUT the other girl’s boyfriend caught the garter!

Anyway, congratulations Chan & Jeremy, and to the two guys who REALLLLLLLLY wanted a poster of *that one picture* – I remember your request. We’ll make it happen.

On Saturday, I met Brian & Tressa at St. Mark’s Episcopalian Church in Orchard Park for their wedding. It was a very overcast day, and everyone was worried it was going to rain, but I never felt or saw a single drop come down til after everyone was inside the reception and seated for dinner! I was very thankful.

After the church and Green Lake, we drove to Orchard Park High School, where Brian & Tressa graduated together in 2002. They have actually been dating since 2000… junior year in high school! Their wedding party (Brian’s two brothers and Tressa’s two sisters) also graduated from OP, so it just made sense to do more photos there.

The reception was at Diamondhawk Golf Course in Cheektowaga – my first time there. It was really nice and my steak was great.

Once dancing started, it was, as the kids say, “off the hook.” Do kids still say that? Seriously, I am so out of the loop. There were at least 3 songs that got played that everyone seemed to know that I have NEVER heard before. Oh well, my job is just to be ready with my camera!

Dude did a BACKFLIP into the middle of the dancefloor. Check out some of the faces in the crowd!

Congratulations, guys, and just wait til you see the rest of the reception pictures, LOL. I wish I had room for pretend jumprope and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” reenactment photos!! All in good time, friends, all in good time. Thanks for everything – I’ll be emailing you next month! Have a great mini-moon!!

I am short on time because I’m out the door soon to photograph another wedding today, but here’s Jared & Rachel from yesterday – Rachel’s smile and laugh were the cutest, and I can see why Jared loves her.

Buffalo Botanical Gardens. Go there.

Phew because it’s over, or Phew because it’s hot? I think a bit of both!!

Reception at Curly’s. Window light is my weekend paramour.

What do you do if there’s any empty seat at your table? Make a friend out of your centerpiece, of course.

I accused them of stealing music off my computer. Their cocktail music was right on the money.

Jared’s dad’s toast included something about the families getting together again… maybe for a christening? That got a laugh.

Kyle took his phone up for his toast “because I don’t want to forget what I was going to say and look like an idiot, and apparently there’s an app for that.”

His toast was great. Good advice and good laughs.

Thank you guys, for having me, and I hope you had a wonderful evening and will have a wonderful honeymoon and life together!

On Saturday, I got the worst sunburn I’ve had in a long time. I met Brad & Megan and their wedding party at Lakewood Beach (Chautauqua Lake) at 12:45 for pictures, then photographed the ceremony from 2-2:30, then we did family pictures til a little after 3, so I was basically standing in full, direct sun for 2 1/2 hours. I’m fair skinned, folks. Big time. I now have a painful inverted triangle on my chest from the blouse I was wearing, and the tops of my shoulders are about 110 degrees. I digress; the wedding was awesome.

I’ll start with this. Can you believe this is Chautauqua Lake? Someone from the board of tourism should be ringing me, for real.

This was the house next door. Yeah, that’s right. What an awesome place to photograph a wedding party!

Megan’s hair was SO beautiful – if Joe and I got married again (which I would love, due to the fact that Etsy exists now!!) I would take this photo to the salon and say, “Make it happen.”

I had never seen a pocket boutonniere before. It was like a pocket protector with flowers sticking out of the top and honestly, it was pretty darn practical vs. trying to pin one onto a dress shirt!

Her flowers were just gorgeous, and I loved the fact that none of the bridesmaids’ bouquets were the same either – everyones was different, and they were so very pretty.

Megan had to go hide in a car while we waited for guests to arrive and take their seats… this is her maid of honor who I was told “never makes a normal face in pictures.”

The caption for this photo (bride’s grandpa to bride’s mother): “If you stick me, I’ll punch you in the face.” All in jest, all in jest. Right?

I always love the smiles of people coming down the aisle.

The sky was so insanely blue. This photo is not tweaked at all. It really looked exactly like that.

The reception was at Roberto’s (the old Ironstone) and the food was yummers. The alcohol, was apparently even yummers-er. Nip slip? Check! Mullet wig? You bet! Drinking warm bourbon out of a bottle on a public sidewalk? Believe it!

I’ll end with saying that I’ve done almost 200 weddings (I counted and came up with 195) but I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen pretend jumprope – and Megan absolutely rocked it with her sparkly silver Chuck Taylors.

For a reception that ended at 8:45pm, you guys packed an awful lot of fun into a few hours. I’m so glad I got to be there, and I wish Megan and Brad and both their families the best!