A Winter Wonderland: Lindsey & Brandon’s Wedding Slideshow from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

Brandon and Lindsey were married at the Montelucia Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona on the first weekend in December. Everything about this wedding was beautiful. Thanks to the the hard work of The Montelucia Staff, Embellish Design for Entertaining, Julia Baker and Amy’s Floral Design.

Brandon and Lindsey’s rehearsal dinner was quite a production on its own.  Everything was white, with a little hint of green.  Everyone wore black and white.  That is, everyone…

…everyone except for the bride!  Lindsey strolled in with Brandon in a red dress that was absolutely stunning.  The band began to play “Lady in Red” and they danced.  It was perfect.

The Montelucia’s Castillo Lucena is an impressive room.  I have shot wedding ceremonies, wedding dinners and receptions in this room and each time, the room is perfect.  The rehearsal dinner was no exception.

Brandon’s tux for the rehearsal dinner reminded me of James Bond.  It was a good looking tux.

And the bride’s wedding dress was as beautiful as the rehearsal dinner dress.  We actually hung the two dresses side by side to decide which was better.  Couldn’t choose.

I love a good portrait with activity in the background.

Like I said, the wedding dress did not play second fiddle to the rehearsal dinner dress.  It was very beautiful.

Now comes the bath tub.  Lindsey was getting ready in the bathroom and I saw this tub…  How could I leave without putting her in the bath tub for a photograph?  That is one beautiful bath tub.  Only at the Montelucia!

And I have to take my hat off to Amy’s Floral Designs and Embellish Design for Entertaining.  Their work was nothing short of spectacular.  And they were so great to work with.  Everything worked together to create a beautiful winter wonderland.

The flower girl ran out of flowers a little short of half way down the isle.  I think we should give flower girls a lot more flower petals.

Of course you can see where all the flower petals went.  I love the designs on the grass out of flower petals.  That was a perfect touch.  I actually want to know who thought that one up?  Brilliant.  It adds so much to the photo.

This is a new spin on the Unity Candle.  It is called a Unity Cross.  Although it is a bit too complicated to actually put together during the ceremony.  I think it would take too long, like building a lego set during the wedding.  So they had it mostly put together so that all they had t o do was put in the pins to secure it.  I’m not sure if anyone would sit through a Unity Cross ceremony if they started from scratch.  But the end result is quite nice, don’t you think?

The winter wonderland was even more impressive with little gems hanging off of everything.

And yes, the cake had glowing balls made of little gems.  No one can match Julia Baker’s cakes.  And now she has a little shop at the Montelucia Resort.

And of course a few portraits of the wedding couple around the grounds of the Montelucia.

After our portrait session, we made our way back to the wedding dinner and reception.  Of course there is always the pre-reception fussing to get the bride ready for her grande entrance  I always love the shots of bustling the dress and looking in the mirror, etc.  You get the same interesting activities that you get at the beginning of the day, but now the bride is nearly perfect anyway, all made up, hair done, but not perfect.  It is beauty with the added allure of a few hours of life.  I like it better once there is less perfection.  I am always telling other photographers, there is no life in perfection, it is in imperfection that we find life and passion, etc.

The wedding couple had a great first dance.  It was well choreographed.

I have shown this image before as a teaser to this wedding.  I love it so very much and the most important thing about this wedding is that it is a truly real moment.  It was caught before the bride was aware of me and my camera.  The subsequent photographs when she is aware, are not quite so perfect.  I told the story of capturing the image in my teaser post in which I postulate on her thoughts as the photograph was being made.  I have since learned from Lindsey that I was right about her thoughts.  I am so proud of capturing this moment.  It is my favorite image from the wedding day.

I love the movement.

Like I said, it was a winter wonderland.  The frosty flecks of snow on the branches along with the clear gems made every centerpiece sparkle.

Wedding Details:
Photography: Platt Photography
Wedding Location: The Montelucia Resort
Event Design: Embellish, Design for Entertaining
Flowers: Amy’s Floral Design
Wedding Cake: Julia Baker
Makeup and Hair: Holli Christensen
Officiant: Pastor Brian Hommel
Videography: Beautiful Day Films

Andrew and Monica: A Wedding at the Phoenician in Scottsdale Arizona from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

Andrew and Monica were married at the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was quite an event with a great band, a Rolls Royce, a rowdy bunch of groomsmen and bridesmaids and some fantastic parents.

Congratulations Andrew and Monica!

We spent a few days with Andrew and Monica and their guests photographing the golf game, the afternoon tea, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  I especialy enjoyed the golf game, and I think the guys were having a great time as well.  Andrew is in the background sinking his 20 yard chip…

The bride’s waiting room at St Joan of Ark’s Catholic Church is quite large and is a perfect spot for a portrait. Getting the flower girl to stay in one spot for more than a fraction of a second was a challenge.  No, this was not a naturally occurring shot.  The idea was not manufactured, the bride was looking in the mirror and the flower girl did look at her.  But, as is the case with much documentary work, we see something that really happened and then make the best version of that event for the camera.

It was an extremely bright day!  So why fight it?  Go for the gold and use the sun…

If you have to travel from place to place on your wedding day, there’s nothing like a Rolls Royce to take you there.

I absolutely love this photograph of Monica in the back of the Limo.   The light is perfect and she has such an elegance about her.

The Phoenician is a fantastic place to photograph the wedding couple.  And of course their service is second to none.

Sweet moments like these are so perfect.

And of course, the event was to well designed.  The tables were beautiful.  The band was great.  And everyone had a great time.

Wedding Info:

Photography: Platt Photography
Wedding Location: St Joan of Ark Catholic Church
Reception Location: The Phoenician Resort

God Made You Just for Me: Wedding Photography by Jared Platt from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

“God Made You Just for Me,” is one of Kevin Burdick’s latest songs on his new album, The Ivory Coast, which is now available at www.kevinburdick.com and on iTunes. Kevin has really outdone himself on this latest album, every song will be your favorite new song.

Enjoy a taste of The Ivory Coast with Jared Platt’s wedding and engagement photography from Platt Photography.

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I must admit, the idea of a little child peaking out of a dresser drawer is a funny thing to me.  I have tried the concept with little babies as they sleep, but this little guy was pretty big, so I had to test the drawer first and make sure it would bare his weight.  It was a sturdy situation, so we went for the shot.  I think it was perfect.

And of course, I love photographing the toys in a nursery.  They say as much about the parent as they do about the baby.  Of course, the baby would play with boxes and wrapping paper and be just as happy as with toys, so what we buy our children is more for us and our decorating tastes than it is for the baby’s.  So when I see a ring stacking toy like this one, I am going to have to photograph it.  That is one cool ring stacking toy… full of crazy style.  I think my friend Emily McPhie (quite a talented painter) would love it, as would Heather Bailey (another friend and talented fabric designer).

And by the way, that is one very large giraffe.

“Oh bother,” said Pooh, “must I stay in the crib?  There’s not a drop of honey in here anywhere.”

Whoever invented the board book is an absolute genius.

I am always surprised at how little a baby needs to find and express this complete explosion of joy.

I enjoy looking around a child’s room and seeing what rests on the shelves.  In this case, I was drawn to this little praying boy, sandwiched between the Willow Tree sculpture and the reference to Noah’s dove experiment from the arch.  I thought it was a well put together shelf with a lot of meaningful items on the shelf.  My wife claims I am not an observant person, and that may be true on a day to day basis, but when I have a camera in my hands, I seem to pay attention to things.  I suppose the camera is a trigger for a certain portion of my brain to kick into gear.

Child Life Portraits in Gilbert Arizona: A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

A trip to the pumpkin patch with the kids is a perfect way to spend the afternoon and it yields some great opportunities for children’s lifestyle portraits.

Photography by Platt Photography
Music by Roy Ashen “What Can I Say” Courtesy of Triple Scoop Music.

MY FAVORITE SHOTS FROM THE AFTERNOON

This was a trip that we took with our good friends, the Seelys, to the Pumpkin Patch at Mother Nature’s Farm in Gilbert, Arizona.  It is a great place for photos in the fall and yet right in the city.  We started off grabbing a few portraits of the kids and then played the rest of the evening.

This is a cool bunch of kids.  I have never met a better bunch of kids.

Let me just say a quick word about the last photo here.  It is increasingly clear to me that the only photography that really matters is that which expresses the deepest meanings which can not be expressed completely in words, because they are simply feelings.  While they can also be found in landscapes, or in images heavily steeped in pictorialism or surrealism, etc, Generally, I find these kinds of images in “moments” between two people.  But this is why, while I do take portraits, I shy away from posed photographs in favor of the “moments.”  It isn’t because I want to be a reporter, a photojournalist, as many wedding photographers pretend to aspire, but it is because I recognize that it is in moments, that I have a greater chance at discovering an expression of real worth.  One that can conjure up the emotions that I feel, or that my subjects felt for each other, and that in the end, that I feel for my subjects.

I don’t think I need to say much about the images below for you to understand its meaning.  But I will say this: that the photograph, while saying so much about these two sweet little brothers, says even more about my hopes and fears for them as they set out on their path through life.  I hope that when I photograph them in 10, 15 and 20 years from now, the same will be true of them then.