THE TIME OF MY LIFE!

Perfect title for this image, don’t you think. You would think the women were the crazy ones on the dance floor, but you are wrong. The guys took the win in this reception.

The reception took place at Antonio’s Banquet and Conference Center in Niagara Falls. If you have ever been there, you know they have a huge dance floor. This wedding sure needed it. There were over 350 guests present at the reception. And everyone was dancing. What a party! Neal and I had a hard time getting through the crowd for pictures. We found ourselves standing on chairs to see over people. But it sure was fun!

Everyone gets a little nostalgic when the song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley from the movie “Dirty Dancing” comes on. Everyone thinks they are Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and Baby (Jennifer Grey). It is so great to see the dance moves. In this case, the Groomsman decided to play the part. Sure enough, that is the Groom hoisted up into the iconic “lift.” The funny thing was the guys knew exactly when to lift him up in the song! I would say the Groom had some pretty good form as well! They must have practiced in water somewhere before the big day!

This ended up being such a crazy party that it went on until around 1:30am. The drinks were flowing and the guests really were having “The Time of Their Lives!.”

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. Vincent de Paul of Niagara Falls, NY

Photo Session - The Silo on the lower Niagara River, Lewiston NY 

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Antonio's Banquet & Conference Center

SPOTLIGHT ON THE GROOM!

Most people think that a wedding is all about the Bride. But come on, the Groom is part of the day too! It's important that we show them some photo love!

The ceremony was at St. Joseph University Church in Buffalo. It is a beautiful church and great for pictures. Before the ceremony, Neal sneaks to where the Groom and his guys are to get some photos. He will do some group shots and them some solos of the Groom.

Most guys do not like having their picture taken. Guys like to look and feel cool, strong and masculine! We show them a couple great shots right away and then they're excited to take pictures for rest of the day! In the photo above Neal placed the groom in great light and had him give a masculine pose to look "GQ"! This was all done in the moments before he was to say “I do.” 

We keep it pretty simple and harmless for the guys. We try to keep it a comfortable and fun atmosphere. So, guys are not afraid of the camera on the wedding day. It can be a lot of fun and your other half will truly appreciate it!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. Joseph University Church

Photo Session - Carrousel Museum of Tonawanda, NY

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Byblos

SHADOW GAMES

Today’s image comes to you from Statler City in Buffalo. If you have been to the Statler before, you may be wondering where we could have taken this image.

This wedding took place a few years ago, when the majority of the Statler was under construction. (Well more than it is now). Even though there were renovations going on, this Bride and Groom wanted some pictures done around the building. There were many places that were restricted, so we needed to work our magic. The head wedding and events coordinator at the Statler is wonderful to work with. We saw her walking around and asked where we could go. She said she would take us up to one of the top floors, where eventually there would be hotel rooms. It had views of the city. The Bride and Groom were completely up for taking the adventure.

It was pretty much a blank canvas surrounded by windows and wall paper. We took advantage of the windows with the city in the background. As I was walking around a bit, I noticed the sun was setting and casting an amazing glow across some of the walls.  And my shadow looked really cool on the wall. I grabbed Neal and suggested we play with some shadows. The Bride thought it looked really cool as well, so we had her pose. It took a few minutes to get her shadow exactly where we needed it to be. Then we needed her to be a statue for Neal to get the shot. The Bride did a wonderful job and the end result was beautiful! And don’t worry, the Groom was not left out. We took him to another area that had some graffiti on it. A bit more manly!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony & Photo Session - Christ the King Chapel of Canisius

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Statler City

Buffalo DJ - Signature Entertainment

GIANT WEDDING PARTY!

A wedding party of 31! That is crazy. But that is how many people were in this wedding party, including the Bride and Groom. (imagine how many guests were at the reception)

What to do with a party of 31 people? We had our work cut out for us on this one. The funny thing is that the entire party are mostly family members. Can you imagine if all of the couples’ friends were in it too? Aahhhh!! 

When we found out how many people were involved, we needed to figure out locations for pictures. The couple wanted to go to the waterfront in Lewiston near Water Street Landing and the Silo Restaurants. A great place for pictures, but also a nice place for people to walk around and enjoy the scenery. Neal and I are very familiar with the area, we just needed to figure out where to put everyone. We knew there was a big wooden stairway that lead to the water and that could work.

It was pretty busy when we arrived. The wedding party was exiting the limo and the group just kept coming. People passing by had the look of shock at how many people got off the limo. They were wishing us good luck too. It was hysterical! We had to talk pretty loud to get everyone’s attention and tell them where we wanted to start. Neal and I walked down to the bottom first and told everyone to file in behind. As they were following, all I was thinking was, “I hope there are enough steps for everyone." And thank goodness there were!

Meanwhile down below, people were watching and waiting to get back up the stairs. We had to get moving and the only way to do it was to keep it simple. “Everybody smile and look at the camera”. Done! The wedding party could turn around and head back to the limo. We had gone to another location first and worked with the party as well, so the Bride and Groom only wanted one quick shot by the waterfront with them. We showed them the image in the camera quickly. They started laughing and couldn’t believe they all fit. They loved it!

We still laugh about this image with the couple. They have thanked us so many times for staying positive, keeping everyone under control, and having fun with the wedding party! 

This image is featured in “500 Poses for Photographing Group Portraits: A Visual Sourcebook for Digital Portrait Photographers”.  It was written by Michelle Perkins at Amherst Media Publishing in Buffalo.

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. Vincent de Paul of Niagara Falls, NY

Photo Session - The Silo on the lower Niagara River, Lewiston NY 

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Antonio's Banquet & Conference Center

FOUNTAIN OF LOVE

We love doing night photography. Nearing the end of receptions, we like to take the Bride and Groom away for one last photo shoot. 

This image was taken in the courtyard of Samuel’s Grande Manor in Williamsville, NY. The reception was almost coming to an end and we noticed the Bride and Groom going outside to get some air. Luckily, the courtyard was specifically for the wedding we were photographing so we didn’t need to intrude on another couple, which we would never do anyway. Neal and I decided to test out some lighting against the fountain. It looked amazing. All we needed was the couple for the finishing touch!

We placed lighting behind the fountain and had the Bride and Groom sit on the ledge in front. We also had some extra lighting directly on the couple to brighten up their faces. Neal took a series of shots with them looking at us, looking at each other, and then having a kiss. All of them looked beautiful. But the kiss really captured the couple in the moment. It seemed as though they were in their own world, not in a courtyard at Samuel’s. We got it! 

What a great way to end a beautiful wedding with an amazing Bride and Groom! 

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. Joseph's of Niagara Falls, NY

Photo Session - Niagara Square of Buffalo, NY

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Samuel's Grande Manor

EXCITEMENT IN BABEVILLE!

Wow! I know what you’re thinking, “A guy with a sword at a wedding”. How crazy is that?  Well, it did happen, among some other amazing things.

This reception was one for the books. It took place at Asbury Hall in Buffalo, also known as “Babeville”. The Bride and Groom had the guests sitting on the edge of their seats. The couple are very into the arts. The Bride is a belly dancer that travels all over performing. The Groom is a videographer that films many of these performances and helps bring them to life.

It all started before we even got out of the car at Babeville. In the parking lot, there were fire twirlers, also called POI. It was amazing to see in the middle of a downtown Buffalo parking lot. We could only imagine what the rest of the night would be like. During the announcement of the bridal party, there were belly dancers leading the way. Then during dinner, the lights dimmed and out came performers using neon light hoola hoops and swinging around neon light ropes. The reception hall was glowing. And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, a guy with a sword comes out. He was swinging them around and doing all sorts of crazy acrobatic moves. People were in awe. You can see the Bride and Groom in the background watching in amazement. I was a bit scared and stayed further back. Neal was all over the dance floor trying not to get sliced by the swords to get some great images. He was head on with the swordsman when he took this shot. What an awesome image! All that was going through my mind was, “Oh my God, don’t slice Neal in half”.

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Cermony location & Photo Session - Delaware Park

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Asbury Hall

Buffalo DJ - Premier Sound

Buffalo Videography - Candlelight Productions

LOOK OUT BELOW!

This is an angle you don’t see often for a wedding ceremony! But it’s pretty cool! Thank you to one of our awesome assistants, Leah, for capturing this image.

This wedding took place at the Barton Hill in Lewiston NY. The ceremony was on the balcony. There were three of us shooting this wedding, so we all needed to try to get different angles. The space was not very big either, so it was time to brain storm and figure out a way for all of our images to look different.

After a few minutes, Neal noticed there was another balcony above the ceremony spot. Neal thought it would be great to put one of us up there during the procession. He asked Leah if she was up for it. All she needed was to figure out how to get up there. The Barton is also a hotel, so Leah went upstairs and noticed there wasn't public access. Little did we know, the balcony above were private to the guests who booked those rooms. Leah traveled downstairs to the lobby to see if she could have room access but all rooms were booked. Leah came back up the the second floor to give us a status update. Not giving up, Leah went back up to the thrid floor anyway and knocked on one of the doors. She explained to the guest that she was photographing a wedding and would love to grab a quick shot from above. The guests were so nice and let her in. They even stayed out there to watch the ceremony! Leah got quite the work out going up and down the stairs but the shot was well worth it!

As you can see in the image, Neal is at the front of the aisle capturing the procession. I am getting a shot from behind the Bride in the doorway and Leah is above. You can even see the mother of the Bride and a guest behind the judge who wanted in on the action too with their iPhones/iPads! But the person who got the best shot was Leah. Great shot Leah!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography byNeal Urban Studio

Buffalo wedding Ceremony & Reception - Barton Hill Hotel & Spa, Lewiston NY

Buffalo Wedding DJ - Shy Guy Shawn of Kiss 98.5

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY...UNLESS YOU ARE NEAL URBAN!

One of the only parts of a wedding that cannot be controlled is the weather, especially in Buffalo. It could be 60 degrees one day and snowing the next. Just like the past few days.

It was gloomy and rainy on and off the entire day for this wedding at the Yodelers Lodge, in Ellicottville. The Bride and Groom knew there was nothing they could do about it and went with the flow. We assured them we would get something really cool and not to worry. The reception was coming to an end and the couple was having a great time with everyone on the dancefloor. So, Neal decided to take a walk outside and see if there were any awesome shot ideas. He grabs me and says he needs me to test out a shot before we get the couple. It starts pouring out and makes the idea even better. Neal wants the couple outside with an umbrella in the rain. It's sounds cliche, until the finished product!

We talk to the couple and tell them our idea. They are ready to tough it out and trust Neal's judgement. Neal and I get set up first. Neal has his camera and is ready to shoot, while holding an umbrella over himself covering the gear. I am ready with lighting and umbrella over myself. The newlyweds get into position and we get to work. Neal says it all looks great but, "Danielle we can see your umbrella. You need to lose it". Great... I knew the image was going to be awesome, so I couldn't argue. I threw it aside and got drenched. Let's just say the hour and a half ride home was not too comfortable. But the end result was amazing!

-Danielle

Ellicottville, NY Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Photo Session & Reception - Holiday Valley

Buffalo Wedding DJ - CJ Sound