WEDDING REFLECTIONS AT HAWKESDENE HOUSE

We love working with reflections. They can add such beauty to a photo. So, why not see it in double!

We traveled to the Hawkesdene House in Andrews, North Carlolina for this wedding. What an amazing private mountain estate, located near the Nantahala National Forest. They can accommodate small weddings and guests can stay right on the grounds in either the main building, or small cottages. 

This image was taken in one of the suites. There were huge doors that lead to a balcony off the room. We originally weren't paying attention to the giant mirror on the wall when we started. We wanted to take advantage of the doorway and drapery with the light coming through. Our first thought, was it could be a great silhouette shot. As Neal was taking those shots, I was looking for another angle and noticed the Bride and Groom in the mirror. I told Neal to stand where I was and see if we could do something with the reflection. He loved it. It is so great to find different shots within the same areas or poses. We could keep the couple exactly in the same pose as we did for the silhouette. We just needed for them to take a few steps over.

Now, the tricky part. We wanted them to stay naturally backlit from the doorway. However, this made the front of them a bit dark. It looked really nice though. We did try to add in some light on their faces, but it was super hard for me to not be in the mirror. We took a quick look in the camera to see the difference between the two. Neal and I both agreed on liking the first image without extra light better. We also loved that in the reflection, you can see light rays coming in behind the Bride! That definitely brought a more magical feel to the image!

When Neal first took this image he knew right away that the final result was going to be in black and white but the purple hue from the curtains gave this image a very unique tint so he thought it was best to leave it in color!

Stay tuned in the next few days for another image from the grounds at the Hawkesdene House! 

-Danielle

Destination North Carolina Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Andrews, NC  Wedding Ceremony & Reception - Hawkesdene House, Andrews, NC

Videography - Heart Stone Films

Buffalo Central Terminal Wedding

To get some great shots, we sometimes have to break the rules. I mean how much trouble can you get into when there is a Bride and Groom on site for their wedding day! 

This is what we needed to do for this wedding. The couple wanted to get some shots done at the Buffalo Central Terminal. However, we did not have access to get into the building. It was time to improvise! We did some beautiful images with the Terminal in the background, but we needed more. Off to the side, there was another building where the train tracks ran through. It was very abandoned and a bit creepy. You really weren't supposed to be in there, but everyone was up for it. The worst that could happen was we would need to leave.

We were basically done with photos so this would have been a nice added bonus. The entire wedding party was excited to be off the beaten path. Once we finished with the party, we sent them back to the limo and ventured to the opposite side of the building. That's where the magic happened. Windows were broken and the ceiling was missing. The light was pouring in. It was overgrown with trees and plants (well weeds, but they were so green and bushy, they passed for plants)! We made a safe path for the Bride and Groom to walk and placed them. Even though there were rusty beams in the background, it gave the location such character. With the light and greenery, it balanced out really nicely. We told the Groom to go in for a kiss. The Bride naturally picked up her dress slightly and it worked great for the image. 

Looking back on this image, I love the feeling of abandonment of the building with the Bride and Groom completely alone enjoying the moment!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Church - The Basillica, Our Lady of Victory Buffalo, NY

Photo Session - Buffalo Central Terminal 

Buffalo Wedding Reception -  Avanti Mansion

ELEGANCE AT THE OLD FORT!

Today we take you to Old Fort Niagara, in Youngstown NY. It is a piece of history to go see. And now a great place to take photos. Neal and I love shooting there! 

Normally when we shoot weddings at the Fort, we work with the wedding party in the main entanceway and take the Bride and Groom through the rest. It is a historic and public landmark, so we do need to take that into consideration. Most of the time, there are tours and reinactments going on as well. Sometimes, there are cannons going off in the background! We like to walk around the property with the couple and stop in all different areas.

This image was taken in the largest building on site. We walked from room to room and came upon this beautful spot. The light was pouring in from the window. There was on old wooden chair in the corner that we pulled forward for the Bride. I did a quick test to make sure it was safe to sit on first! If I fell, no big deal haha! But it was good to go! While Neal was positioning himself for the shot, I was making sure the Bride looked perfect. We wanted her to have an elegant and graceful feel. At first we did not have her bouquet in the photo. But we noticed, there wasn't much room for her to put her hands and it looked a bit awkward. The simple addition of the bouquet and a tilt of the head away from the window was the ticket! Since her head turned away from the light we used a bounce board for some fill light to light up her face. There was so much light pouring through the window, we didn't need any other light source. The Bride looked stunning and it turned out to be a beautiful image!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by - Neal Urban Studio

Church - First Presbyterian Church, Lewiston NY

Photo Session - Old Fort Niagara

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Classics V

Buffalo DJ - Premier Sound

romancing the beach!

Happy Monday! We hope everyone enjoyed this beautiful weekend and had a wonderful Mother's Day. You may have even made it out to a beach! If not, today's image can take you there.

This image is from a few years ago. It was taken at Beaver Island State Park in Grand Island. It has a great boardwalk for pictures! If you venture down the beach, away from the public, you can find tall grass and a more deserted beach feel. That is where we headed for this shot. We only took the Bride and Groom down this way because it is a little bit of a walk in the sand.

The Bride switched out her wedding shoes for some beachy flip flops so she could take them on and off quickly. As we were walking, Neal found an opening in the tall grass. He thought it would be perfect for the Bride. She asked if she could be barefoot and handed off her flip flops to her husband. Perfect! There was a light breeze and we hoped it would help with movement in her dress. The wind wasn't as strong as we had hoped. So, we had the Bride start to walk toward Neal, and pick up part of her dress. The dress created a pocket for the wind and helped it to begin to flow out naturally.

The Groom was cheering on his wife and making her feel like she was on a runway! It was great! It was pretty bright out that day, so we did need to add some fill light to the Bride's face. It worked out really nice how the tall grass was blowing. It is going right in the direction of the Bride. Exactly where the focus should be! There were some gray coulds in the sky too. They helped to make the scene feel more dramatic. Neal edited the image to make it look like a cover of a novel because the image does tell a story. You may wonder..."Where is the Bride running to or away from?" Well, she's running to her Groom of course! 

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Church - Mt. Carmel of Niagara Falls, NY

Photo Session - Beaver Island State Park

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Buffalo Launch Club, Grand Island, NY

Buffalo DJ - Premier Sound

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s and mom’s to be! This is one of my favorite images of a Bride and her son.

This wedding was one of the biggest tear jerkers for me. Even though weddings are mostly about the Bride and Groom, the Bride’s son seemed to be in the limelight! It all started when he saw his mom for the first time in her wedding dress. The tears began to flow instantly. He was so happy to see her. It was a heartfelt moment for everyone. Throughout the day, the Bride’s son was a huge part of the day. You could feel the deep love and bond between the Bride, Groom and little guy in every image.

The reception was at Banchetti by Rizzo's in Amherst. They had a great outdoor reception. Every single guest felt like family that day. Neal and I sure did. The Bride’s son continued to shake things up. During speeches he grabbed the microphone and said a few words. Bring on the waterworks one more time! I was shooting through happy tears! When the Bride and Groom were dancing together, about halfway through, they called in the little boy to join them. At one point, almost the whole family was called in. It was just beautiful! The party continued to get crazy and mom stuck by her son on the dance floor. A slow song came on and she picked him up and held him close. It was a perfect moment between Bride and son. I went up to them and asked for a quick look at the camera. I was so happy that I was right there to capture the moment. 

We had never met this Bride until the wedding, but felt like we had known her forever. She has such a strong passion for life and family. A bond that never can be broken and it was definitely present in every wedding photo.

To all the moms and clients we have photographed, Happy Mother’s Day! You are truly an inspiration to all!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Prep location - Lafayette Hotel, Buffalo NY

Make-up - The Makeup Parlour

Ceremony - Karpeles Manuscript Library, Buffalo NY

Photo Session - Buffalo Naval Park 

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Banchetti by Rizzo's

Videography - Shutter Dream Studio

ENGAGEMENT IN CENTRAL PARK

Did you know there is a castle in Central Park, in New York City? It's called Belvedere Castle. It is actually featured in a lot of movies. I never knew it was there until we did the shoot.

What an adventure. You never really know how big Central Park is, until you are looking for somewhere specific. We started out by trying to find a giant rock formation where the Groom proposed! We found it! Then of course we went to the fountain area featured in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. We couldn't skip that. (We really liked the staircase leading to the fountain better!) But then we needed to find Belveder Castle. On the map, it seemed pretty close.

The best part was, we still had another stop outside of the park before we had to catch our flight home. We were running around Central Park on a mission. Finally, the castle was in sight. Little did we know, to get onto the grounds, it was at the opposite end of where we were. The couple was amazing and didn't mind at all if it was just in the background. We had already been to the main places they wanted to stop at. This was a bonus stop. We already did a lot of standing poses, so it was time to change it up. And after the long journey to the castle, it was time for a break.

We had the couple sit down and just relax. Neal had them enjoy the scenery and every now and then look at eachother. We wanted the image to feel like they were enjoying a picnic (minus the basket, food, and wine haha). And it does. It's as though they are stealing a few hours to themselves, without the hustle and bustle of the city.  A beautful and simple image. 

-Danielle

Photography by Neal Urban Studio 

Hotel accomodations - Waldorf Astoria

BEAUTY AT FOREST LAWN CEMETERY!

Today’s image is a beautiful and dramatic image. If you can believe it, it was taken at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo. Sure, you think of a cemetery and would never tie a wedding into it. But Forest Lawn has some amazing and beautiful grounds. There are actually tours you can take.

This was always a location that Neal wanted to shoot wedding images at. We were so excited when this couple said that’s where they wanted to go. And we promised them it would not feel like they were in a cemetery. Neal and I took a ride through and scouted out exactly where we wanted to go for pictures, so day of, it would be easy for the wedding party. Because Forest Lawn is so big we had to map out our course. It can get a bit confusing if you are not sure where you are going.

We worked in all different areas, and knew we wanted to end in one of the main entrance ways. The entrances are so amazing! It had been raining on and off for most of the day, so we knew the clouds would start to look amazing when they started to break up. And that’s about exactly the time we got to the final location. There was a light breeze, but strong enough to get some movement in the Bride’s veil.

We did some solos of the Bride and then brought in her Groom for the final touch. We had her stand in a similar pose she did in a solo and asked her man to come in and embrace her with a little kiss on the neck. For a more dramatic effect, we had the Bride close her eyes. The pose, the location, and the clouds all worked out amazing! It was an awesome shot to end on before heading to the reception! And before it started to pour out! 

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. Gregory the Great 

Photo Session - Forest Lawn Cemetery

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Aqua

POSING THE MEN!

The focus today is the men and posing! It is always a challenge to continue to come up with different ways to photograph the Groom and Groomsmen. Most of the time, they are not really into the photos. We like to keep it simple and make them look cool and manly. We also want them to have a good time. 

This image was taken at Niagara Square in Buffalo. This set up is not always the easiest, but Neal loves to try it when he can. The focus needs to be on the Groom, but we want all the guys partially in it. The best way is to place the Groom first and then scatter the Groomsmen around him. This can take a few minutes to get them exactly where they need to be. Once everyone is placed, Neal had them glance in all different directions. The reactions of the guys are funny, because they always ask, "What am I supposed to be looking at?" The answer is, "Nothing!" The Groom is the only person we want looking at the camera.

As you can see in this image, the Groom has a great smile. He was partially laughing because all the guys were making hysterical comments. It was a posed shot, but turned into being slightly candid too. After it was done, all the Groomsmen were curious what the image would look like. Neal gave them a quick look they all said "OOHHHH, we get it now. That's really cool!"

Some images are hard for people to understand at first because they are in them and can't see what we are looking at. But we say, "Trust us. You will love it!"

Stay tuned for tomorrow image of the girls almost in a similar pose that really wasn't planned!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - The basillica Our Lady of Victory of Buffalo, NY

Photo Session - City Hall of Buffalo NY & Niagara Square

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Statler City

Buffalo Wedding Planner - After 5 Events

Buffalo DJ & Photobooth - Toy Bros.

Wedding Dress - Pnina Tornai purchased at Kleinfeld Bridal

Wedding Shoes - Christian Louboutin

CRUISIN' TO COZUMEL Mexico!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!  We hope you are out enjoying the weather and a yummy margarita!! Sorry there aren't any margaritas in this image, but it was taken on a post bridal shoot to Cozumel, Mexico! Close enough!

This shot was done for a photo shoot we did on a Carnival Cruise! What an amazing adventure. It was a post bridal shoot with a wonderful couple. The Bride packed up her wedding dress in a suitcase and we were on our way! 

This was done around sunset one of the nights on the ship. Since it was on a cruise ship, we didn't really have hair and make-up on board, so it was compliments of me! I must say, I didn't do too bad of a job! But I won't quit my day job. Of course it was windy, so hair didn't last too long. But we all know how much Neal loves to work with wind and long veils, so it didn't matter.

We wanted the signature Carnival Cruise smokestack for the shot. Because it was a bit windy, there really wasn't anyone else up there, so we had free range. All we needed was for the Bride to strut her stuff and interact with her veil. She was so much fun. She had such a wonderful personality that we really didn't need to direct much.

We used as much available light as we could, but the sun was sinking fast. We did need to add in some artificial light on her face to brighten it up a bit. But all in all, Neal captured an amazing image! One of our favorites from the trip!

-Danielle

Destination Mexico Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Cruise line - Carnival

Destination - Cozumel, Mexico

The MOMENTS BEFORE...

Taking us back to Miromar Lakes in Florida for today’s image. We photographed this wedding two years ago at Miromar Lakes Golf and Beach Club. 

For most weddings, if Neal and I are working together, I stay with the Bride right before the ceremony, while Neal is up front with the Groom. I love this time with the Bride, her Bridesmaids, her Father, or whomever is walking her down the aisle. There is always laughing, crying, and nervous jitters behind the scenes. If the Bride is super nervous, I try to throw out some jokes to help calm her down. I can’t say they are good, but it seems to do the job!

This shot was taken on my walk over to the ceremony with the Bride and her father. There were no nerves from this Bride. She and her father were cracking jokes and laughing the whole time. I couldn’t help but laugh too. It made for great photos.

We were standing in main entrance to the Club waiting for the wedding planner to ok us to continue walking over. The sun was starting to set and I was in luck that it was happening right behind them. The light was coming right through the top of the doors creating a beautiful glow around them. I always do simple basic portraits right before the Bride walks down the aisle. With this lighting and cool looking doors, I knew I could do something really beautiful. I asked the Bride and her father to have a final moment between each other before “Go time!” They were already standing where I needed them, so they didn’t really need to do much.

My favorite part of this image is the Bride is still laughing at something her father said to her. It was great they were still having a conversation and being themselves. This is surely a moment they will always remember!

 -Danielle

Desination Fort Myers, FL Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony, Photo Session & Reception - Miromar Lakes

Destination Wedding Planner - Jet Set Wed