Monika was referred to my by Lara, whose wedding I just photographed in September of 2012. We met and talked about their wedding and what their places were, and this was not a traditional wedding in the sense that I would be there from the preparation through the reception. We would just be doing the creative pictures and reception. Wedding ceremonies are often times the most stressful part of a wedding day, is everyone present? Did we remember the rings? How is the weather? Questions like this fill the mind and put a lot of pressure on the couple. However with Monika and Ryan’s day, none of this pressure was really there, and you could definitely feel a relaxed atmosphere, and I was a huge fan. The weather was rather nasty out; rain and fog with a winter weather advisory for freezing rain and ice forming. The thought of how I was going to get home was definitely on my mind this night, especially with a bridal expo taking place in the morning. However, like most weddings, the day ends up working for everyone and no matter what the weather, or what happens everything seems to work out just fine. The drive home ended up being rather easy with no ice.
Starting at The Top of the Met in St. Louis we began with family pictures and then made our way to the Renaissance Hotel where we were allowed access to some beautiful locations for more pictures. Monika and Ryan are big fans of the St. Louis City Museum so we made our way there for short session as well and everything, like I mentioned above, worked out wonderfully. Guests of the museum were so amazing allowing us to snap a few shots as they waited for us, of course I think they liked admiring Monika’s dress so it was no problem to them. Everything worked out great and Monika and Ryan were so awesome to work with. I absolutely enjoyed working with them and can’t wait for them to see the rest of their pictures. Congratulations you two!!
Out of all the weddings I have done, this had to be the largest group dance I’ve ever seen. Nearly every single person present was partaking in the dance! One person led and the rest joined hands and mimicked the dance the leader was doing. So cool!!
This was the burning of the handkerchief – another Albanian tradition. I absolutely loved all the traditions incorporated into the wedding. 🙂
