WINDOW GAZING

Instead of a traditional veil, Jessica had this beautiful headpiece/bandana, with a hint of bling. It tied behind her head and flowed down her back. So unique!

We went to the Herschell Carrousell Factory Museum in North Tonawanda. This is a popular place for wedding photos. We did photos with the wedding party on the carousel. They actually turn it on for them to ride on. Wedding parties seem to really enjoy it. It brings the kid out in them and we always get some great images there.

We wanted to have some contrast in their photos. We didn't want all of them on the carousel. In this image, Jessica is in the main carousel room, but looking outside. There were windows around the entire part of that building. It almost looks like a barn. There was beautiful light coming in this particular window. I had Jessica lean up against the window and gaze out. The lights in the background were from the carousel and used as a bokeh (Soft out of focus background that creates a beautiful backdrop). She actually went up to fix her headpiece naturally, and it looked great. So I asked her to do it again. Jessica could pull off the serious look really well and still look beautiful. And that worked perfect for this image. 

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony: St. Joseph University Parish

North Tonawanda Wedding Location: Herschell Carrousell Factory Museum

Grand Island Wedding Reception: Byblos Niagara Resort and Spa

THE BRIDE'S ESCORT

Today we take you back to 2012! Lindsey and Josh got married on a beautiful fall day in September. Their ceremony was at the Alden Presbyterian Church. It was such a cute church as you can tell from the image.

When we pulled up to the church, we knew right away we wanted a photo with the outside of the church with the couple. It reminded me of a little cottage in the front. It was a very small and quaint church. We took some wonderful portraits and then Neal wanted more of an action shot. He had Lindsey and Josh start at the top of the stairs. Josh was to escort Lindsey down gracefully. Very simple. That's the only direction we had to give and they took it from there! Josh did a great job too. You can tell how gentle he is with his Bride as he's leading her down step by step. We really like that they are looking down toward the stairs and being cautious not to fall. It made it feel less posed than if they were looking at us. This image looks great in color but has already been featured in Neal's book "Dream Weddings". For the blog Neal wanted to give us an exclusive Black and White version, he added some soft warm tones that match the soft warm touch Josh has with Lindsey.

Lindsey and Josh had so many amazing images from their wedding. But this was one of my personal favorites!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Alden Wedding Ceremony - Alden Presbyterian Church

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location - Knox Farm

West Seneca Wedding Reception - Klocs Grove

Dance with me my loves

(I apologize for today's long post but today's image has been in the works since "The Singing Brothers" image we created last year and we knew we had to get this shot for Nina's wedding. Like all wedding images, it was either now or never!)...

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Daniels! Nina and Vinny were married Saturday, May 30th. What a beautiful wedding. Nina and Vinny are such an amazing couple and it was an honor to photograph their wedding.

This was the last shot of the night. It wasn't easy to get either. Possibly one of the most complicated. We don't like to steal the Bride and Groom away from their party for longer than 3-5 minutes (one song). This time we had more people to work with to help tell a story but we had a big rain storm coming in along with a lot of expensive camera equipment at stake. All of this had to be done in a dark parking lot. We chose the back corner of the lot because it was an older asphalt that had more sheen to it. Getting a reflection in the image was a nice little extra detail.

But, first things first, we had to wait for it to rain. Yes, we wait for rain on a wedding! But the big question is...."When will it start raining?" During the reception we kept an eye on our weather apps and it was supposed to rain at 9:00PM. "Why rain" you ask? We wanted this image to be dramatic and certain elements such as rain, snow, fog or mist adds drama to an image so we do what we can do add that extra magic. We try to do everything in the camera when we can but more on that later...

You will notice there are two other couples in the shot as well. These were two of Nina's Bridesmaids (Alicia and Vanessa) and best friends. We actually photographed both of their weddings as well! We mentioned in last weeks blog post that Nina was a huge Disney fan. Well, so are these two lovely ladies. All three of them had weddings with Disney themes incorporated into them. We wanted Alicia and Vanessa to be part of the magic we were creating for Nina and Vinny. How awesome is that?

After the success of last years "The Singing Brothers" image that was inspired by a popular painting called "The Singing Butler" (Jack Vettriano). The painter also painted "Dance Me To The End of Love" which inspired todays image. "Dance Me..." had more meaning because it was hanging in Nina's parents' house where she got ready.

We had no idea that they knew about the painting, so we got even more excited for this shot when we saw it hanging in the house. At that point we knew it was meant to be and we had to do whatever we could to get it. Later on during the reception we approached Alicia and Vanessa (and their husbands, Elliot and Anthony) told them our idea. They loved it and were all for it! As the reception went on, they were all excited for the picture. But, we had to wait for the rain. We kept giving everyone updates.

9:00PM hit and we were ready to go but mother nature wasn't. Still no rain. Neal kept checking outside, he could tell that a storm was coming as it got windy and the temperture dropped. The forecast changed to 10:00. 10PM hit and still nothing! The dance party was rocking so we didn't have a problem waiting for mother nature to perform. Then the radar showed a huge rain cloud that was coming in fast at 11:00. Every 15 minutes Neal kept checking outside. And then about 10:45 it started! Finally....RAIN!!! Neal ran into the reception fist pumping, he was ready to create magic. We knew it was go time. I asked Vanessa to round up the troops while we tested out the lighting. Of course I was the guinea pig standing in the rain for the light test. It was quite fun! We used four lights for this shot. That morning we packed clear plastic bags to cover the lights just in case. Good thing we did because our expensive gear stayed nice and dry.

When we had all of the lighting ready to go, we had all six of our beautiful models head outside. We had umbrellas waiting for them as they came out. Neal positioned Nina and Vinny first and then everyone else. After a few test shots, and me running back and forth making minor adjustments when needed, it was time for me to take their umbrellas away! And then, this magnificent image was created! We waited 2 hours for it to rain and it only took about 4 minutes to get "the shot". All images should tell a story and this one tells a story like no other. It was a real life fairy tale, it was magical and it was meant to be!

What an amazing way to end the night! We thank Nina & Vinny, Alicia & Elliot, and Vanessa & Anthony for being a part of this beautiful image. And for being such great sports in the rain. We know that Nina and Vinny will appreciate everything you did for them. And to Nina and Vinny, Congratulations again on your wedding! We were so excited to be able to create this image for you and many, many more to come from earlier in the day. This image looks amazing in high resolution, we can't wait to print it for our studio and we hope to see it hang in your home (maybe Nina's parents house too)!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Niagara Falls Wedding Ceremony - St. Mary's of the Cataract 

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location - Shea's Performing Arts Center

Niagara Falls Wedding Reception - Antonio's Banquet and Conference Center

Buffalo Wedding DJ, Photobooth and Uplighting by - CJ Sound

Buffalo Bridal Dress by - M.A. Carr

THE Vera Wang WEDDING DRESS!!!

This is one of my absolute favorite dress shots from Neal. I love everything about it.

Melissa wore a gown designed by Vera Wang. What more could a girl ask for. What about blue Manolo Blahniks she paired with it! Very Sex and the City! She got ready at a private residence in Lewiston, NY. It was a huge mansion. We scouted the grounds a few days before because the reception was to be held there as well. We fell in love with the bathroom. Yes, the bathroom. Look at that vintage tub and those french doors. And a balcony to top it off! The perfect place for a Bride to get ready. We told Melissa during the scout, that we would love for her to have her dress hung in the bathroom. She loved the idea! When we arrived it was all ready to go. We could get right to work!

Now, the only question left, was "Neal when can I get a bathroom like this?"

-Danielle

Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony: Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph Parish

Photo Session and Reception - Private residence

GQ STYLE AT THE OLD FORT!

Happy Wedding Day to Nina and Vinny! Here is one last shot from their engagement shoot at Old Fort Niagara that we did last year!

We told Nina and Vinny to dress really bold! Their shoot was in the fall and we knew it wouldn't be that bright inside the Fort. Nina chose very well wearing red! Her and Vinny looked stunning! Both of them were pretty nervous at first. Once we starting and got them laughing, they were naturals. You would think they were both models. They looked like they belonged on the red carpet!

I think we did photos in every building we were allowed to go in. We pretty much covered the entire Fort! This was one of the Fort tower walls that looks out onto the water. We wanted it to look like a magazine image. That is why they are not looking directly at the camera. We asked them not to smile for this one too. We all know how that goes! Nina starts laughing and can't keep a straight face. Vinny starts to laugh. A quick 5 minute break was in order! We finally all calmed down and Neal got exactly what he was going for. 

We are so excited to be a huge part of their day! Congratulations Nina and Vinny!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Session - Old Fort Niagara

ENGAGEMENT SHOOT AT THE RICHARDSON COMPLEX

We had a crazy weather engagement shoot Wednesday evening with Kristi and Adam. It rained on and off for most of the shoot. But the skies opened up to give us this amazing sky!

We began Kristi and Adam's shoot at Delaware Park in Buffalo. It was beautiful out and the park was packed. We were getting warmed up with some great portraits and the wind picked up. The skies started to darken and before you know it, it began to sprinkle. It wasn't that bad, so we kept shooting. Then the rain picked up a bit, so we took cover under a big tree and did more photos. We were going to call the shoot, and finish the rest another night, but Kristi and Adam were game to continue if we wanted. We looked at the sky and it was brighting up a bit, so we headed to the next location. The Richardson Complex in Buffalo.

Adam is really interested in old architecture, so this was the perfect location for him. Once we arrived, it stopped raining and the clouds opened up to a beautiful sky and sunset. We got Kristi and Adam in position. This was tricky because the Richardson Complex is under construction and we didn't want to get any of that in the photos so Neal shot from a low angle blocking most of the construction equipment. Since the Richardson Complex is so massive Neal wanted to fit it all in one shot so he chose to do a 7 shot panoramic image but centering Kristi & Adam so the focus stayed on them!

We were so happy that we did not end the shoot early and finish another time. We would have missed out on this amazing sky. We thank Kristi and Adam for toughing out the sketchy weather. They will not be sorry!

Kristi & Adam are currently building a new home. This image looks amazing in high resolution and will make a beautiful print for their brand new walls!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location - Richardson Complex and Delaware Park

NINA, VINNY, AND MICKEY AT FORT NIAGARA!

Nina and Vinny are getting married Saturday! Here is one of their engagement images done at Fort Niagara State Park in Youngstown NY.

Nina is a huge Disney fan! They actually got engaged in Disney World! We began their shoot inside the Old Fort (take a look Saturday to see an image from that part of the shoot). She brought a Mickey balloon and it really didn't work well inside the Fort with their outfits. We decided to keep it to use down by the water. We found a lonely picnic table facing Lake Ontario. This shot wasn't as easy as you would think. It was a little breezy and it kept moving around the Mickey balloon. Nina and Vinny couldn't really see what was going on because we needed them to look straight ahead. But, we really wanted to get a cute shot for Nina. It took about 10 minutes for Mickey to be visible haha! We knew she would love it! 

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Session - Fort Niagara State Park

DAVE & KRISTINE ENGAGEMENT SHOOT!

Dave and Kristine began their engagement shoot last week at Forest Lawn Cemetary. All Kristine wanted were some pretty flowers and pink trees. The shoot started out great! There were little goslings, deer, and bunnies everywhere. Kristine said she felt like she was Snow White! Time to find some pink trees! As we were making our way through the grounds, we found a great spot. We get Dave and Kristine in place and the grounds keeper comes around and says the gates close in 10 minutes. Oh no! We didn't panic. We continued to shoot and got some beautiful images!

Plan B! We went into Delaware Park and continued shooting. We found some great spots that Kristine and Dave loved! We found some more pink trees and some other beautiful landscapes. Now, Neal wanted to get a little more creative. He wanted a pink tree, but not for them to stand in front. He wanted the effect of just the leaves. Neal needed a tree he could climb to get a shot over the couple. We pretty much got everything we needed for the shoot, so this was just another idea. We began to walk the park and it started to sprinkle. Oh great! Neal was so bummed. But we didn't want to keep them in the rain. As we made our way back to the cars, Neal spots his tree and the rain stopped! Now we needed some of the leaves on the ground. We shook the branches a bit to get the effect Neal wanted. Kristine and I had a blast doing that! Then Neal climbed the tree and positioned them head to head directly below him. He shot through the branches. As Neal was taking the picture, I was making sure he didn't fall out of the tree. There sure were a lot of laughs during this shoot! Kristine and Dave were such good sports!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Session - Forest Lawn Cemetary and Delaware Park

Dave LaNasa - LaNasa Studio

A simple glance...

I love this image! Jennifer was such a stunning Bride. She had a wonderful personality that just stood out in all of their images.

This was taken at her parents house before the ceremony. We walked in and Neal loved this room. Luckily we didn't have to move that much furniture! We loved that everything in the room was white or off white in color, with just a few color accents.

The light was coming in from the huge windows at the front of the house. Jennifer had a beautiful glow to her skin. Paired with her darker skin and hair, it looked great. We do a lot of standing poses throughout the day. We try to mix it up as best we can when we have the opportunity. Jennifer brought such elegance and had great posture.

Neal shot it straight on with her looking at the camera and then looking away. We fell in love with her glancing out the window! Neal edited the image to give it more of a timeless piece of art.

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photgraphy - Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony - St. Louis R.C. Chruch 

Buffalo Wedding Photo Session - Knox Farm

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Fox Valley Country Club

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend! Little Matty came by Neal Urban Studio for some newborn photos and we thought this we perfect for today!

What a doll Matty was. He was so tiny. His father Chad is a football fan, so we wanted to incorporate something cool for him. I bought him a little knitted newborn football helmet. He was swimming in it haha. We already had this set up in mind before they arrived. Now it was time to execute. We had one of our photographers, Erin, helping us on this shoot. We set up the scene with the vintage American Flag and an old army trunk in the background. We needed baby Matty's head laying on the football. This was tough. Neal was directing Erin and I on where we needed to be to support Matty. This was all done in whispering and hand gestures. We didn't want to wake up the baby! We looked pretty funny to the parents. With Erin and I supporting baby Matty's head on eash side, we got the job done!

This shot did take a bit of post work, because Erin and I were slightly in it. But the extra work was 100% worth it. Neal turned it into a beautiful shot with a vintage feel. It was exactly our vision! And his parents Katie and Chad loved it. We can't wait to do more photos with this precious guy!

Thank you to all the veterans and those presently serving for protecting our country. Happy Memorial Day!

-Danielle

Buffalo Newborn baby Photography - Neal Urban Studio