Hilltop Wedding in Syracuse

We are taking you to Syracuse NY for Jess and Jeff's wedding in 2012. (can you see a pattern the past few days?)

Jess & Jeff had a beautiful fall day. Not too cold either! We went all over different areas just outside of the city as you can see here (we did end right in downtown). The sky and clouds looked amazing. You can see from the foliage, that it was a mild fall as well. Most of the trees were still pretty green. But, we were so happy that we did get some colors!

Jess was ready to do anything we asked. We had her stand at the end of the hill for this shot. It was considered a gently rolling hill, so not too high! We didn't want to miss out on the natural outdoor backdrop. Then we had her glance down toward her bouquet. Pretty easy!

When we have an amazing backdrop like this, we keep the pose fairly simple (sometimes). We do not want to take away from the beauty of the image as a whole.

-Danielle

Buffalo Destination Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Destination Ceremony: St. Matthew's Parish

Buffalo Destination Photo Locations: Syracuse NY

ST. JOSEPH UNIVERSITY PARISH

Here is another image from 2012!

Mark and Mary got married at St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo. Isn't it just beautiful! There is so much detail in the church. For this Neal decided to shoot the aisle of the church. Mark and Mary were kneeling at the altar, so it was perfect timing. St. Joseph University is a pretty bright church as well. We were lucky that we could pick up a little bit of reflection in the aisle.

And yes there is a giant blue ceiling! At first glance, it is pretty bold for a church. But, it is actually really beautiful and looks amazing with the rest of the church. I think it helped Mark and Mary stand out more in the image!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony: St. Joseph University Parish

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: University at Buffalo Campus, Village of Williamsville

Buffalo Wedding Reception: Salvatore's Italian Gardens

COME TO MY WINDOW!

We are going back through the archives of 2012 and welcoming back Vanessa!

She looks absolutely stunning in this image. Vanessa got ready at her parents house. They had giant windows in almost every room. We loved this room and the furniture in it. This was Vanessa's "sit" test in her dress. And her dress was giant and had tons of layers! I thought when she sat down the dress would puff out really big because she had a hoop skirt on. We didn't want to lose the detail in her dress. Luckily it worked out great and we were able to keep the dress flat and no detail was lost!

The light pouring in from the window was amazing! We had Vanessa glance over her shoulder and look out the window. Vanessa was always smiling. But for this image we wanted her to be a bit more serious. She did an awesome job and went right back to smiling after we got the shot!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony: Niagara University Alumni Chapel

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Niagara University Campus

Buffalo Wedding Reception: Salvatore's Italian Gardens

WELCOME HOME DAN!

We had the honor to document a military homecoming on Friday at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport!

This homecoming was also very special because while Dan was overseas, Nicole had their baby girl. This was the first time he got to meet her and hold her. It was beautiful. What a feeling that must have been for him. The family also had t-shirts made for the little boys that said "My Dad is my hero." They were so cute.

Now if you know anyone who has come home from the military, you know that arrival day and time is constantly changing. Dan's flights and arrival location changed a bunch of times during the week. Luckily I had great contact with his sister who was coordinating everything with me. I felt so bad for the family getting their hopes up and then receiving word Dan would be delayed another day. They told us that their jobs were notified and the schools were notified about Dan's arrival date. They were ready at a moments notice to pick up the kids and leave work to meet him at the airport. 

This was such a great feeling. I don't know how they do it. They have such a wonderful family. It was such an amazing experience to capture these moments.

Thank you Dan and to all of the military for serving our country. Welcome home!!

-Danielle

Buffalo Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Military Homecoming Photo Location: Buffalo Niagara International Airport

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY TAILGATE!

We thought this would be a great photo for game day! Kristine and Andy had their engagement shoot at Ralph Wilson Stadium. This shoot was done by Leah! 

They brought everything for a great tailgate party to include in their photos. Kristine and Andy brought beer, chips, dip, and even Anchor Bar wings! They had a folding table and a cooler as well. It felt like we were going to party!

As you can see, they incorporated their date on a football. During this part of the shoot, they started to play football as well. It was a blast. 

Wings + Beer + Football = Super Bowl Sunday (actually all Buffalo fans every game)!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Ralph Wilson Stadium, 

GETTING PUMPED FOR THE BIG GAME!

We definitely needed to find some football related photos for this weekend! This is from Jessica and Pete's wedding. They are really big sports fans and wanted to do something with football.

They had their reception at Byblos Niagara Resort and Spa. Pete wanted to be the quarterback and have Jessica be the center. Then have all his groomsmen be the rest of the offensive team. Pete started yelling out numbers and a bunch of random things as if he was Peyton Manning! Then they actually did follow through with a play. And yes Jessica did participate in her dress! Now, those are hard core fans!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony: St. Joseph's University Church 

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Herschell Carousell Factory Museum

Buffalo Wedding Reception: Byblos Niagara Resort and Spa

Buffalo Wedding Band: Something Else

ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS IN THE LOBBY

Another fun image that I took from Hayley and Wes's engagement shoot at the Barton Hill Hotel and Spa in Lewiston!

Hayley and Wes gave us a lot of laughs on their shoot. They were always joking and had giant smiles. They loved the piano in the lobby and asked if I could use it for photos. Sure!

I had them just sit and get really close. They had a wonderful moment together. I have no idea what Wes said but it sure brought a beautiful smile to Hayley. I also loved the row of lights on the ceiling. It showed nice depth in the image. Neal also assisted with lighting. It was a little dark, so we needed to brighten up their faces.

-Danielle 

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Barton Hill Hotel and Spa

BRIDAL PORTRAIT AT JW MARRIOTT

This is Cara at the JW Marriott Resort and Spa in Las Vegas!

We stayed on the Resort grounds for some photos after the ceremony. There were some really pretty areas. We loved this spot with these unique trees. We decided to do some solos with Cara for this. We had Cara stand in a simple pose with her flowers. Then glance over her shoulder. It all works very well together with the lines of the trees and where she is looking. Sometimes the simplest of poses can create a beautiful bridal portrait.

-Danielle 

We were given about 20 minutes for portraits before the reception started so that meant that we had to work FAST!! It was best that we stayed in one area to do the portraits. We had never been to this location before but once I saw this tree that's when I knew that this was "the spot". We did Cara solo, then all the girls, the girls solos with Cara and then we brought her husband in for a few shots. We got about 30 minutes worth of photos done within 5 minutes. That gave us time to work around the grounds a little bit more. We got Cara and Kevin back just in time for their introductions.

-Neal

Destination Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Destination Wedding Ceremony, Photo Location, Reception: JW Marriott Resort and Spa Las Vegas

MONUMENT BRIDE

I love this image of Amanda at Lafayette Square!

We only had about 25 minutes to shoot Amanda and Kevin's portraits. Their ceremony and reception were at Hotel at the Lafayette. So we decided to work right around that area. There are actually a lot of places to take advantage of right there. We took a quick walk across the street to Lafayette Square. 

We loved the train on Amanda's dress. It was super light and flowy. We had her walk up a few stairs and have her back to us. Her dress looked so pretty cascading down. Then we had her drop her feather bouquet to the side. With a quick glance over her shoulder, Amanda looked beautiful!

It was pretty dark out, but most of Lafayette Square was lit up nicely. However, we still did need to add a little more fill light on Amanda.

-Danielle

Neal here, like Danielle said this area was pretty well lit, the lights lit up the monument. Unfortunately the monument was brighter than Amanda, we can't let a statue take attention away from the bride! We added a little bit of light (speed light with a softbox). Whenever there are stairs it's a great opportunity to show off the train of the dress. This image looks great in color but the monument was a bright green that was too distracting. This location is a Buffalo landmark with a lot of history so a black and white timeless look fits this image much better.

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony and Reception: Hotel at the Lafayette

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Hotel at the Lafayette, Lafayette Square

Buffalo Wedding Band: The Boys of Summer

Kevin & Jeffrey are electric!!

I had to show another image from Kevin and Jeffrey's wedding! I can't get over how amazing these two studs photographed!

We did Kevin and Jeffrey's photos before the ceremony with just the two of them. This allowed us to do a "Tour of Buffalo" for their photos. We started at Niagara Square, then drove to other areas of downtown Buffalo and jumped out of the car for more! One of our stops was in front of the Electric Tower. There was actually a lot of construction going on in this area with bright orange cones and signs. We assured Kevin and Jeffrey, that it wouldn't be in the photo. 

And this was one of the shots! Don't you just love it? It looks like New York City. But, we were so happy that this amazing landmark building is in Buffalo. The architecture in Buffalo is amazing and we were so excited to take advantage of some of these locations with Kevin and Jeffrey! And to top it off, we had these two amazingly handsome guys to photograph there.

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony and Reception: Buffalo Historical Society

Buffalo Wedding Photo Locations: Niagara Square, Electric Tower, Hotel at the Lafayette, Buffalo Theatre District, Delaware Mansion, Buffalo Historical Society