JAMAICA SANDALS WHITEHOUSE WEDDING

This is an image from Rick and Leanne's wedding at Sandals White House European Village and Spa in Jamaica!

They had a very small and intimate wedding, with just a few family members and friends. They did not have your typical wedding reception with a giant dance floor and DJ. They saved that for a giant reception back home in Niagara Falls! However, they still did a first dance and all teary eyes were on them! 

This is a little different kind of image. At first glance, you may think it is dark and possibly gloomy feeling. But look closer! It shows so much emotion on Leanne's face as she dances with her husband Rick for the first time. We positioned a light behind them to cast a little glow around them. Then Neal just turned it black and white. It definitely made it more dramatic!

-Danielle

Destination Jamaica Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Destination Jamaica Ceremony/Photo Session/Reception: Sandals White House European Village and Spa

THE LADIES OF BILTMORE ESTATE!

Now it's only fair to show an image with Cheryl and her girls at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC, since yesterday was about her husband Rob.

On site at the Biltmore Estate, we got some great images of Cheryl and her ladies. This was great because it was all in action. Neal wanted to take photos away from the main house and work around the grounds. This was pretty natural. Neal just told Cheryl and her ladies where to walk and left the rest to them. They had some great laughs along the way. There were some really great moments between them. Neal positioned himself, so he could also get part of the main house in the shot. 

I love it! A beautiful and natural image of these pretty ladies!

-Danielle

Asheville, NC Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Asheville, NC Wedding Photo Location: Biltmore Estate

Asheville, NC Wedding Ceremony and Reception: Biltmore Estate

Asheville, NC Wedding Wedding Planner: Mary Bell Events

PRE WEDDING TOAST WITH THE GUYS IN ASHEVILLE NC!

Let's go back to Cheryl and Rob's wedding at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.

Before going into the Estate, I had the pleasure to photograph Rob and his guys at the Grand Bohemian Hotel. They had a great bar in the lobby called the Red Stag Grill that was perfect for the guys. It was very manly with antler chandeliers and a lot of dark leathers. I had the guys sit and the end of the bar, so I could incorporate the red lighting in the ceiling. They got some drinks and were enjoying themselves. With a little help from the bartender letting me behind the bar, I got this great shot!

See guys, photos aren't so bad! We can find you a bar with some drinks and have a great time!

-Danielle

Asheville, NC Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Asheville, NC Wedding Photo Location: Grand Bohemian Hotel,  Biltmore Estate

Asheville, NC Wedding Ceremony and Reception: Biltmore Estate

Asheville, NC Wedding Planner: Mary Bell Events

MAN CRUSH MONDAY!

Oh yes ladies, that is Josh Duhamel! We had the pleasure of meeting him in the Bahamas back in 2009! (We were actually there shooting a wedding at the Riu). He was playing in the Michael Jordan Golf Invitational at the Ocean Club Golf Course. A nice couple on the resort gave us some extra tickets they had. So we got to go before we had to fly home.

We walked around the course and saw a few different celebrities. We saw Chris Tucker on the course and also Samuel L. Jackson! We did meet him as well! But I was on the hunt for Josh Duhamel. Then, there he was! I was shying away, so Neal went up to him and said I would love to meet him. He gave me a big hug and we all started talking. Neal mentioned he was a photographer back in Buffalo and would he mind posing for a couple photos! This was when Neal photographed a lot of models, before Josh (and yes we are on a first name basis!) was an actor, he used to model. You can tell how natural he is in front of the camera. Josh said no problem at all. Neal got these two great headshots of him. Then one with me of course haha!

It was such a wonderful experience! And thank you to the nice couple for the tickets! We really enjoyed ourselves.

-Danielle

Bahamas Destination Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Celebrity Photo Session: Ocean Club Golf Course Nassau

RINGS IN THE JAMAICAN SAND

Guess what? It's "Still life Sunday" on the blog! Jaclyn & Jamin got married in Jamaica in November 2014! The wedding was held at the Royalton White Sands in Montego Bay. It was a beautiful resort.

I guess it was only natural to do some details using the beach! And I love details. I took their rings and brought them down by the beach. I went a little closer to the water because I wanted that in the background plus the sand was a little wet for the rings to stay upright. I know what you are thinking... What if the waves take the rings away? Dave LaNasa from LaNasa Studio was there filming. We took turns guarding the rings, while the other got their shots.

You can see that there is still seaweed washed up on the beach in the background. I did not get rid of it because I liked the natural state of the beach at the time. It brought some nice color with the ocean in the back!

-Danielle

Jamaica Destination Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Jamaica Wedding Ceremony, Photo Session, Reception: Royalton White Sands Montego Bay Jamaica

Destination Videography: LaNasa Studio

MATERNITY SHOOT IN JAMAICA

While shooting a wedding at Sandals White House, Jamaica, the Grooms sister in law was pregnant and asked us if we could do some quick maternity photos for her. We said no problem as long as the Bride and Groom did not care. The couple was all for it and said have fun!

While everyone was hanging at the pool, we took Crystal away to the beach for her shoot. We could not have asked for a better location. The water was a beautiful blue color, white sand, and the skies had some puffy clouds in the distance. Crystal had the perfect beach dress right over her bathing suit and a great beach hat. We took a walk away from guests and Neal got this shot. It felt like Crystal had the beach to herself! She is a fitness trainer and has competed in many competitions. She knew exactly how to pose! (Her husband is one of the owners of Primerano Fitness in Niagara Falls, NY)

This was one of many amazing and beautiful shots we got for Crystal!

-Danielle

Destination Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Destination Wedding Photo Session: Sandals White House Jamaica

BRIDE AT THE BILTMORE ESTATE

Welcome back to the Biltmore Estate . It is the America's largest private residence owned by George Vanderbilt. It covers 8,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

Thousands of people visit the Estate everyday. They do not close it to the public for weddings either. This shot was taken by Neal before the ceremony. It is a beautiful shot with the Estate in the background. Cheryl had an amazing dress and we wanted to show off her train. We asked her to look out toward the Estate. Now, you think that would be a very easy shot just by looking at it. What you do not see were the thousands of people, limos, and buses that were on the front lawn. There were people everywhere. Neal wanted it to be Cheryl completely alone, so a major amount of editing needed to be done.

A few hours later, (that is how long it took to get rid of everyone on the lawn), this was the finished product. We could not be happier with the turn out! It won us a Silver Distinction Award at this years WPPI (Wedding Portrait and Photographers International) competition in Las Vegas. Silver Distinction is one of the highest awards in the competition just a couple points away from receiving Gold!

-Danielle

Biltmore Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Asheville, NC Wedding Ceremony, Photo Session, and Reception: The Biltmore Estate

Asheville, NC Coordinator: Mary Bell Events 

Raleigh NC, Videography: Heart Stone Films

THE PAINTED LADIES IN SAN FRANCISCO

This is one of my favorite landscape images by Neal. Yes! These are the famous "Painted Ladies" in San Francisco, CA. They are featured in the beginning of the show "Full House". Can you pick out which house was theirs?

It was pouring out that day. We drove around San Francisco for a long time looking for these. We had already been to Lombard Street (the famous curvy street in California). Having to stand in the rain for an hour was not fun. So, once we got to the Ladies, I was not getting out of the car and climbing up that hill. Boy, do I regret that now. I missed this amazing site. I had no idea that downtown San Francisco was that visible behind the houses.

I was waiting and waiting in the car wondering what was taking Neal so long. When he got back to the car, I asked if he got what he wanted. He said, "Wait until you see it." He edited the image right when we got back to our hotel and showed me. My response was, "It's amazing! Can we go back, so I can see it in person?" That did not happen. I made sure from then on, to always get out of the car when Neal has an idea!

We have a huge canvas of this in our studio if anyone wants to see it in person!

-Danielle

San Francisco Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Destination Travel Photography: San Francisco, CA

ENGAGEMENT RING AND CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN!

I do love these shoes! They are gorgeous Christian Louboutin's. Our Bride Lexi had some fantastic taste! 

Lexi loved her shoes as well and we wanted to do something fun with them. We got her engagement ring and wedged it in between both shoes. Before we did this, we made sure we put the glass table in a spot that had no vents near it for precaution. The shoes actually held the ring really nicecly. There was a little lip on the backs of the shoes that caught the ring!

Neal used a light to get a nice reflection on the shiny wooden table. There is a nice mirror image of the shoes and the ring. I love how the red bottoms pop in the reflection. A beautiful diamond and Christian Louboutin's! What more could a girl ask for?!?

-Danielle

Puttsburgh Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Pittburgh Wedding Ceremony:High Street Community Church, Conneaut Lake PA.

Pittsburgh Wedding Photo Location and Reception: Avalon Golf and Country Club

SURPRISED RING BEARER!

I mentioned earlier in the week, I would take us back to The Hawkesdene House in Andrews, North Carolina. Here is why!

We loved this ring bearer. This little guy was such a character during the entire day. But the ceremony was the best. Before the ceremony, the Bride Alissa, gave the ring bearer a little pep talk. She said all you need to do, is take this box with the rings and bring it down the aisle. Sounds simple! He did a great job! Both of the ring bearers did a great job!

During the ceremony, the little guys started to get a bit restless. They were standing up the whole time (it was a quick ceremony though) and it was chilly out. I was focused on Alissa and Kyle (Bride and Groom) and Neal was documenting the guests. I took a quick look to see where he was, and noticed his camera focused on the little ring bearer. He was starting to open the ring box. His look is priceless in this sequence. Of course the real rings, were not in it. The Best Man had those. But there were 2 rings in the box for him. You can see him peaking in, almost like he knew he wasn't supposed to open the box. It was so cute. It was during the vows, so Alissa and Kyle didn't see what was going on. But all of the guests noticed and started to laugh. This caught the attention of the Bride and Groom and they joined in the laughter. You can also see in the image, his brother had the job of holding Alissa's bouquet. He was swinging it around like it was a toy!

This is another case where having two photographers is a bonus. One of us focusing on the action and the other the reaction. 

-Danielle

North Carolina Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Hawkesdene House Ceremony/Photo Session/Reception - The Hawkesdene House, Andrews, North Carolina

Raleigh NC, Videography - Heartstone Films