Travels Archives | Wedding Photographers in Atlanta

Iceland Engagement | An American Girl and Her Viking

February 16, 2017 0 Destination, Engagements, International, Portraits, Travels

Kaelene met H (Helgi) in 2011 while studying abroad in Australia. Meeting someone special was not part of the plan at that time. Her focus was centered on two things, her internship and traveling as much as possible. Nonetheless she found herself falling hard for the guy from Iceland. Their journey to this very moment in time is quite interesting. So if you want to learn more about their love story, visit Kaeleen’s blog Unlocking Kiki.

We met up with Kaelene and H at Heiðmork. It’s the largest and most popular recreational park near Reykjavík. A location where millions of visitors enjoy nature and Iceland’s national pastime, hiking. It’s one of the only areas where you might be able to say there’s a forest. Well, maybe. You see Iceland is more about volcanic formations and hot springs than about tall trees. In jest some Icelanders will say “if you ever get lost in an Icelandic forest, just stand up”. However this country is spectacular in so many unexpected ways and a constant feast for the eyes.

Their chemistry is undeniable. This Viking loves his American girl.

Adorable Icelandic horses greet our couple as they make their way back down from the mountain. They are the only breed of horse in Iceland and are typically used for traditional sheepherding, showing and riding. Incredibly friendly and approachable at all times. They will take all the attention you can give them.

They even serve as great models. Next up, the beautiful black sand beach of Þorlákshöfn where a long shoreline meets volcanic rock clusters of basalt.

The one thing you can always count on in Iceland; the unpredictable weather. Constant wind gusts, intermittent sun and rolling clouds which seem to change intensity from one minute to the next. However unlike anywhere else, it feels perfect.

While shooting by rocks we stumbled across Minke Whales swimming just a few yards away. Normally one has to spend a good chunk of change to purchase excursions to see these amazing animals but we were blessed by their presence for a few brief minutes.

Authentic Icelandic sweaters made by H’s mother are perfect for the cool wind gusts coming from the ocean.

It was a blast to hang out with this beautiful couple for a few hours. We sincerely want to thank Kaelene for providing suggestions on where to go, what to eat and what to see. A great portion of our stay in Iceland was practically mapped out on her recommendations. Be sure to check out Kaelene’s blog Unlocking Kiki for further details on how to get the most of your time in Iceland.

This was undoubtedly a memorable trip. We enjoyed it so much that we’re already planning our next trip back so we can check out the west side of this magnificent island. If you’re interested in planning a destination wedding in Iceland or simply looking to elope; we’d love to speak with you about your photography needs. With special elopement packages and wedding collections, we can provide comprehensive coverage anywhere your love takes you.

A trip through Italy | A few days on the Lake

November 1, 2016 0 Gardens, Personal, Photography, Travels

Lake Como, that is…

So this post is so behind it’s not even funny, right? Come on now, 2015 and we’re now closing out 2016. This goes to show how one can get sidetracked with amazing weddings we’ve had the pleasure photographing during the last few months. But now I would like to get back to revisiting the beautiful setting that is Italy. In this case one of my all time favorite areas, if not the favorite area in the world, Lake Como, Italy.

Yes, the first thing that comes to mind for most people when mentioning Lake Como is George Clooney. In fact, I remember the first time visiting Lake Como back in 2006. The locals would ask where we are from and I would reply, “America”. Their first comment was for the most part, “George Clooney”. They would always point out where his villa is and give us directions on how to get there from where we were. But to be honest with you, I was never interested in seeing George’s villa. I’m sure it’s nice and all, but it couldn’t be as amazing as what was surrounding us, all you can see and feel while traveling these beautiful, lazy lakeside towns and enjoying its natural beauty is all I wanted to experience. No offense George.

Where is Lake Como?

Lake Como is in Northern Italy’s Lombardy region. It’s an upscale area known for its dramatic scenery. And let me tell you, it IS dramatic. It’s set against the foothills of the Alps if that gives you a better visual. The lake is shaped like an upside-down Y. The three slender branches meet at the well-known and popular resort town of Bellagio.

Below are but a few of the photographs we captured during our few days on the lake.

How to get around the lake

Ferries are the main mode of transportation between the towns, especially if you need to get to the other side of the lake. We would get up early, enjoy the crisp morning air, grab a cappuccino and head out on an adventure. Don’t you just love the view? The Italian Alps right behind Orlando.

Below is me getting a little frisky after a wonderful lunch. This area of Italy makes you do weird things in public. It’s so romantic. It helps when you have crazy friends encouraging you too.

Off to our next stop. The idyllic town of Tremezzo.

Even on a break from shooting, we find moments to photograph couples. This majestic place…it inspires us.

Back on the ferry again. Off to the pearl of the lake, Bellagio.

Amazing view on the lake, right?

Below is the view from our friend’s house where we stayed in Varenna, a small fishing village with picturesque streets and alleyways. We met the Gala family 10 years ago while visiting this part of the country and still keep in touch. What a spectacular view.

…and amazing sunsets. This was our view while enjoying some wine and spirits out on the terrace.

The next morning, and we’re off again.

This time to the town of Como.

The view from the ferry as we approach Villa Balbianero in the village of Lenno. The location where many, many well known films have been shot as well as an amazing venue for weddings. We would absolutely be in heaven if we have an opportunity to photograph a wedding at this property, wink, wink. We got inspired and wanted to capture some photographs of us. I still would like to be behind the camera.

Next and final leg on our tour of Italy is Venice and its surroundings.

A trip through Italy | From Tuscan Hills and San Gimignano to Pisa and Florence

July 15, 2016 1 Personal, Photography, Travels

Next stop on our amazing Italian holiday/work trip we see ourselves visiting a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls form “an unforgettable skyline”. Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture. But, before we arrived within their walls, we decided to enjoy the beautiful Spring-time weather and take a Vespa tour along the outskirts of the town. The best decision ever. The picturesque landscape goes on for days. Since we have friends in the area, we took the self-guided tour and had our friends show us around the most scenic and less traveled roads and stop whenever we wanted to to take it all in. So far, the highlight of our trip.

No trip to the Tuscan countryside is complete without taking in a wine tasting or two. Here we are preparing to enter our private cellar prepared with a light lunch with cheese and meats and our wine stems. We learned a lot while visiting Tenuta Torciano Winery in San Gimignano and meeting the farmer/winemaker Pierluigi. What a treat! P.S. we took home several cases of wine to enjoy and reminisce the amazing time with la famiglia.

We can just move here, right?

Above you see us approaching San Gimignano and below within the walls. Amazing stone town. Oh and the best gelato thus far on this trip at the world famous Gelateria Dondoli winner of multiple awards. They did not disappoint.

The following day, we woke up to a beautiful final day in Castillioncello and amazing breakfast had our photoshoot along the beach then headed towards Florence. But before, we decided to take a quick little detour and our private driver obliged us with our request. Off to Pisa we went. Because of the city regulations, parking nearby was a challenge so our driver dropped us off for us to view the tower and surrounding property for a few minutes.

Onward to Florence. We’ve been to Florence before and it’s still a magnificent town full of art and history and all around amazingness. So after dropping off our bags at the hotel, we quickly started walking around town viewing the different nooks and crannies. We only had one day here so we made the most of it. Would have been nice to have a little more time to explore outside the city center but we had dinner plans with our local friends and they were on their way to pick us up at the hotel and take us to their home for a home cooked meal (the best, if you ask me). For our surprise another couple we know from another town about 3-4 hours away, came to see us in Florence. We had an amazing evening visiting and laughing!

A trip through Italy | Livorno and the Ligurian Sea

July 14, 2016 0 Personal, Photography, Travels

Ah, Italy, what’s not to love? It’s a country so vast in diversity that no two trips will be identical. Or in our case, third or fourth… but who’s counting. Looking forward to going back again and again. Our first stop after landing in Venice was to take the train down to Livorno to meet up with some friends. I definitely wanted to see different towns for this trip along some of our true favorites and show the couples we were here to photograph an awe-inspiring country that is Italia.

So, while doing some research of unique areas along the way, we stopped at Livorno, sight of the famous Terrazza Mascagni at which no trip to this area is complete without taking a stroll along its dazzling stone balustrades and dramatic black and white checkerboard stone floor that sweeps gracefully along the seafront. In order to take in the complete view of the Ligurian Sea, we went up to the roof garden bar of the Grand Hotel Palazzo to take in some aperitivo and celebrate our first evening in Italy. Below are but a few images from our first evening.

Here we are just giddy with excitement for arriving and enjoying the few of the Tuscan coastline at Terrazza Mascagni.

This is the view off our balcony at Hotel Atlantico as the sun sets over the Ligurian Sea in Castiglioncello.

Our First Couples Photo Session

Below are a few of the images from our couple’s session with Miguel and Eli celebrating their anniversary while strolling along the beach in Castiglioncello, a quaint beach town in the province of Livorno.

REET + JULIE’s CHANDIGARH, INDIA WEDDING – PART 3 (Wedding, Portraits + Reception)

March 11, 2015 0 Destination, International, Portraits, Travels, Weddings

The third and final portion of our special destination series takes us through the wedding and the reception. Click to see Part 1 and Part 2. A warm sunny morning greets the bride and groom as they start their getting ready process. For Reet that meant getting his Batna ceremony out on the porch before dressing up in an elegant brocaded sherwani with a traditional turban wrap. As with any bride, Julie had extensive hair and makeup before changing into her beautiful, bright red lehenga. Lots of jewelry is part of the mix, including a nath or nose ring. A common tradition for brides. Once ready, the groom is given a sehra headdress, a sword and a horse to ride into the ceremony. All along the streets, music is played and everyone dances as the groom is escorted to the temple. The wedding is a very detailed affair. Ceremonies within ceremonies take place as friends and family surround the couple. In India it is customary to sit on the floor during the entire event. Finally once the actual wedding concludes, everyone enjoys a special lunch before heading back to prepare for the evening’s big event. With the Himalayan Mountains as a backdrop, the gorgeous Pinjore Gardens served as the setting for a lavish reception. Tall columns and colorful silk fabrics in multiple colors surrounded a huge stage. Exotic flowers were strung together behind the couples chase and back-lit to glow in a tasteful pattern. As Reet and Julie arrive in a horse and carriage, they are showered with magenta-red flower petals that fall as profusely as confetti at a Super Bowl. After the toast, fireworks begin to shoot up in the night’s sky as the couple cuts the cake. From here on, it’s just one big party!

Once again, congratulations to Reet + Julie on a fantastic wedding and thanks for taking us along for the ride!

REET + JULIE’s CHANDIGARH, INDIA WEDDING – PART 2 (Pre-wedding Ceremonies + Sangeet)

March 4, 2015 1 Parties, Travels, Weddings

So, after several days of traveling across the country enjoying a mini-vacation of sorts and taking several photographs of the sights, we arrive in Chandigarh to begin all the festivities and pre-wedding ceremonies that surround a traditional Sikh union.

It all started with a warm welcome for the bride and groom as our bus pulled up. However, with so many mini events to fit in before Saturday’s wedding, things quickly moved along. A brief prayer ceremony is followed by a well-known South-Asian tradition; the Mehndi party. Here the bride receives intricate, henna-based designs on her hands and feet. This is closely followed by the Choora where red and ivory bangles are gifted to the bride along with other items from the family. Interwoven into all of this is the Batna, where yellow turmeric paste is placed on the face, hands and feet as a way to prepare the person for married life. This is done for both the bride and groom. For two days prior to the actual wedding all these activities are occurring in concert with family visits, expansive lunches and dinner spreads, and a house party in the basement that practically never ended. Perhaps the true highlight of this time frame comes in the form of the Sangeet. In the past a Sangeet was more of a ladies tradition, similar to a bridal shower but more elaborate. Nowadays it has blossomed into a full blown reception-like party that is usually conducted in a very large venue for all to enjoy. In this case an entire neighborhood park was reserved and tented for Reet + Julie’s Sangeet. Hundreds of guests were invited to eat, sing and dance. Finally the party takes to the streets…literally! Also known as the Jaggo, at the end of the night the family takes the couple, along with all their guests, to dance and sing in the streets. A maternal aunt carries a copper vessel on her head and leads the way through the neighborhood to visit friends that have decorated their homes in honor of the couple. The bride and groom are welcomed with sweets and drinks. They dance there for a while and then move on to the next home for the same process. All along, music is played for all to hear.

Actually, there’s so much more occurring. It’s almost impossible to list or show everything. Nonetheless here’s a large sampling of all the fun we’ve just described. Stay tuned for Part 3…the wedding and the reception!

REET + JULIE’s CHANDIGARH, INDIA WEDDING – PART 1 (Pre-wedding Travels)

March 2, 2015 2 Personal, Travels, Weddings

Through the past few years we’ve had the opportunity to cover multiple weddings across various locations. Traveling has always been a passion for us. This past Spring we enjoyed covering a beautiful island wedding in Jamaica and we always had our sights on going to Europe at some point to photograph a couple there. However, little did we ever expect to be commissioned for a wedding in India. Nonetheless that’s exactly what happened. Many of you may remember Reet+Julie from last Spring’s engagement session. A truly wonderful couple, with a great love for the outdoors. It just so happens we were extended the privilege of covering their wedding in Chandigarh, India. Words are hard to come by when describing how incredible this experience was for us. Talk about seeing life in a whole new light!

Therefore before we move any further, we want to send our sincere thanks to the Singh and Knoll families for placing their confidence and trust in us and bringing us halfway across the world to cover their special occasion. We will always be grateful for this opportunity!

In total we spent 8 days in India. The first 4 days gave us the opportunity to ride along with the bride and groom as they led a group of friends and family across the country for a tour of some of the main sights. The last 4 days were set aside for all the wedding ceremonies and festivities. As I’m sure everyone can imagine, a trip of this length and magnitude generates so many images. In order to illustrate this week-long event properly we’re going to break up this wedding into 3 separate blog posts.

Today’s post will focus on all the pre-wedding travel. This includes a safari in the National Chambal Valley Sanctuary, home to the highly endangered freshwater Gharial Dolphin and Marsh Crocodiles. Then a visit to the city of Agra and the Taj Mahal; along with a stop at the Old Agra Fort. Afterwards we make our way up through New Delhi in route to Chandigarh. In between we get to see the beauty of everyday life in India. From the humble street markets where children handle full grown cobras for extra change to the magenta-orange sunsets over temples to water buffaloes and cows running freely in highway traffic. It’s never a dull moment, it’s authentic and it’s precious in its own way. Hopefully you’ll get a feel for life in India with some of these images.

Please stay tuned for more blog posts featuring all the pre-wedding ceremonies and the wedding itself!