SHUTTING DOWN MAIN STREET IN PUERTO VALLARTA!

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta Mexico! The destination where Joe and Silvia got married!

This had to be the hardest shot we have ever tried to get. Joe and Silvia got married at Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe church. It was right in the middle of downtown Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta is crazy busy with people, buses, taxis, and a lot of traffic. The driving is pretty dangerous. Everyone drives fast and cuts each other off down the narrow, cobblestone roads. And yes, Neal wanted Joe and Silvia in the busiest street! Main street at 4:45pm on a busy Saturday afternoon. Not only did he want the Bride and Groom in middle of the street but he wanted the vintage taxi cab that they had rented to park diagonally and block traffic! 

Why this location? The day before the wedding while we were on our way to shoot the rehearsal Neal saw this street. It was the only street in the city where there was a canopy of tree's and beautiful light came in from the side street. The tree canopy helps frame the image as well as adding texture. Knowing that we were going to shoot at this location it helped Neal come up with an idea of what exactly he wanted to do so he was prepared to communicate with everyone on the day of.

Immediately after the ceremony we walked "one block down and two blocks over" - that's how we remembered where this street was. We showed Joe and Silvia the pose on the side of the road, so they knew exactly what to do when they got to the street. During this time, a bus cut the corner and almost hit Joe and Silvia! Thank God one of the groomsmen saw it in advance and pushed them out of the way. Wow! Silvia didn't seem surprised or shaken up, she said that drivers don't care! At this point we almost aborted the mission but instead we kept on task and it made everyone a little more aware and careful.

Neal also had to get the taxi to park a certain way across the road too. The driver didn't really understand English either, and we didn't speak much spanish, so Neal had a very difficult time getting his point across to the driver. The driver kept making fun of Neal for speaking "Spanglish" but he tried his best! After a few attempts the driver got the cars position perfect.

Now, looking at the photo, you wonder where all those crazy drivers are? Well, we would never put the couple in harms way. But we sure do it to ourselves! Neal was shooting from down the road, not being able to see cars turning the corner. And I was holding lights in the intersection. With the help of some groomsmen standing in the road to try and slow traffic, this amazing image was captured! It was a true team effort by everyone involved and they all should be proud of their effort to make this image possible.

Neal created a pose for Joe and Silvia and it's stunning. It looks like Joe is trying to lead Silvia in a Spanish dance and it matched the area perfectly. It makes complete sense here as if he's leading her away from the taxi in a romantic kind of way. The way they are looking at each other is just beautiful too! The arch of trees over them is so pretty. I love how some of the locals on the right side are in the background peaking outside of the stores. This image looks so peaceful that you wouldn't think everything around this scene was crazy and chaotic! Everything is just so perfect!

Thank you Silvia and Joe for having us be there to capture your beautiful wedding event in Peurto Vallarta! And another thank you to the wedding party for all of the help!

This is just one great image that Neal got to edit while we were delayed at the airport. Many more to come!

-Danielle

Destination Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Destination Wedding Ceremony Location: Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe

Destination Wedding Photo Location: downtown Puerto Vallarta

Destination Wedding Reception: NOW Amber Resort

HORSE PHOTO BOMB!

So one more from Caitlyn and Adam's wedding at Vernon Downs and Casino. This was taken by Leah!

She got an awesome shot. The horse is totally photo bombing! The horse looks so funny popping over the fence. Caitlyn and Adam had no idea the horse was coming up behind them like that either. I had them posing where I needed them to be. I really wasn't sure what angle Leah was at, but she definitely got a fun image. I love this!

All Leah and I wanted was a shot with the horses. It was not as easy as you would think with all the rules. But I am so happy we got what we needed. And then got to have some fun images like this!

-Danielle

Destination Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Destination Wedding Ceremony, Photo Session, Reception: Vernon Downs and Casino

HARNESS RACING!

Back to Vernon Downs and Casino in Syracuse for Caitlyn and Adam's wedding! We did need to get a few shots with the race track in the back ground.

There were actual harness races going on during the wedding. We had a lot of rules when it came to this. There were only certain areas we could be in and no flash photography. Luckily this shot was taken while the horses and jockeys were warming up. Our goal was to get at least a few shots with the horses!

I think we did good here. We were finishing up our photo session and heading in for the ceremony, when the horses were turning the track and heading closer to us. I had Caitlyn and Adam pretty much run to get the horses in the shot. You can see they really aren't posed. There was no time! Adam didn't even have enough time to put his suit coat down! It sure was fun with us all running to get this. Good thing we didn't scare the horses on the way!

During the reception, Caitlyn and Adam placed multiple bets on Race 9 and passed out the tickets to all of their guests. Who ever had the winning ticket, won the money that was placed for the bet. It was such a fun idea! Leah and I did not win :(

-Danielle

Destination Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Destination Ceremony, Photo Session, Reception Location: Vernon Downs and Casino

Happy Reflections

Happy Monday! I hope everyone has had their morning coffee and are ready for the day! This is from Caitlyn and Adam's wedding! I traveled to Vernon Downs and Casino in Syracuse to shoot this wedding. Leah made the trip with me to assist!

Caitlyn and Adam were so much fun! They had amazing personalities and were up for anything. When most people go to Vernon Downs, they are concentrating on the harness racing. There is a beautiful race track. We didn't want that to be the main focus of all the photos. We definitely wanted to give them a variety.

While walking the grounds the day before, Leah and I found this cool glass walkway that connected the hotel to the grand stands. Perfect for some reflections! This was taken at the end of the night. I had Caitlyn and Adam stand side by side and hold hands. The walkway was lit up enough on it's own that I could catch their reflections on both sides. It was a fun way to end the night before our drive back to Buffalo!

-Danielle

Destination Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Destination Wedding Ceremony, Photo Location, Reception: Vernon Downs and Casino

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

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

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

VINTAGE BRIDE IN NEW JERSEY!

Happy Anniversary Kelly and Dean! We shot their wedding in 2013 in New Jersey! It was such an amazing wedding!

We actually did not meet the couple in person until their wedding. But that does not stop us from trying to create a bond with the couple before their wedding. We do this through skype, facetime, email, and phone conversations.

I love the getting ready part of the day. It's crazy, hectic, and tons of fun. I really enjoy capturing all the details and getting really creative with them. While doing that, Neal figures out the best place for the Bride to get in her dress and for portraits. Kelly got ready at a private brownstone in Hoboken, NJ. If have you ever been there, you know the parking is insane. Parts of the streets are color coded and we had no idea what they meant. We definitely thought we were getting a ticket or a boot! But the show must go on!

When we walked in, the greeting was amazing! Hair and makeup was being done everywhere. And of course the main spot Neal wanted Kelly's portrait was in that room! Surprise surprise! Once all the ladies were ready, everything was cleaned up and ready for Neal. Kelly had a beautiful flowing dress and we wanted to take advantage of the train. There were huge shuttered windows that were letting a ton of light in. We had her pose facing outside and gently opening the shutters to reveal the light. We asked her to look to the side and down a bit, so you could see the profile of her face. A beautiful pose. Neal shot this image with a little silhouette in mind. Not too dark. You can see the details in her dress and her face. When everything ties in together, a vintage and timeless pose was created!

-Danielle

NYC Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Hoboken Wedding Ceremony - Our Lady of Grace 

Photo Session in NYC - Pier a

NYC Wedding Reception - Waterside Restaurant

Sorry for the long blog post today, but this is also a very special day to us. We also celebrate our anniversary today! To my husband, Neal.... You are a wonderful man. You are the most creative and thoughtful person I know. You have taught me many things as I have to you. You have inspired so many people to follow their dreams as you did. You are very determined and never give up. I have watched you grow into the wonderful man you are today. You have made me a stronger person and I thank you so much for that. Never change who you are. I am so happy to be your wife and I love you more than words can say! Happy Anniversary Neal!

-Danielle