Two Sticks Studios – Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Poconos Wedding Photographers » Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Poconos Wedding Photography, Senior Photography and Portrait Photography

This could be a long post. There’s so much ground to cover and it’s only about first dances. Wait, how can it be a long post if it’s just about first dances?

Well let’s start with our stars, Mandy and Brian.  Do you ever watch couples dance, I mean the couples that just come together and fit together like they were made for each other. It’s really remarkable to watch. They move together and just wrap themselves in each other on the dance floor like they were born that way. Well, meet Mandy and Brian. They are that couple – and two of the nicest people you could ever hope to spend time with. So when their music started, they locked eyes, it was game over. All Bob and I had to do was push the button on the camera and voila. Check out the photos and you’ll see what I mean.

But the story doesn’t stop there.  Maybe my favorite part of any wedding is the parent dances, especially dads and their little girls. As a dad with a little girl, they will choke me up every time. So when DJ Thomas Nat pushed the button to start the song “Butterfly Kisses” and I heard Mandy’s pre-recorded voice over the speakers telling her dad that he will always be the most important man in her life, all bets were off. The emotion almost blew the roof off the place. And then they danced, her dad, Joe – a remarkable man who I had the pleasure of talking to for awhile earlier in the day – holding his daughter tight for one more dance. Are you kidding me?! Their families are just so close and so loving. You could see it in Brian and his mom’s face when they danced. You saw it with Mandy and her dad, and, of course, you saw it with Brian and Mandy.  I don’t see first dances like that  very often in my years of doing this but I hope I do again.

A little healthy fear is a good thing right? I’ve heard that before. When it comes to wedding dresses, I have a healthy fear  – a very healthy fear.  But as a photographer, one of the parts of the job is to get photos of the wedding dress. Usually that means taking it out of the wrapping and handling it and sometimes hanging it in unusual places. This is the part where I really wish I had a picture of Bob’s face when I told him I had an idea. We were at Lauren and Mike’s beautiful country wedding. Now normally, Bob gives me that “Oh, good Lord ” face when I say I have an idea. To his credit he ALWAYS listens. Sometimes he tells me I’m an idiot. Well, usually he tells me that but he’ll usually go along with my idea and find a way to make it way better. When I told him I wanted to take Lauren’s dress out of the house and hang it in a barn that had horses and chickens roaming around in it, he just kinda stared at me. I swear his instinct was to say,  “No, friggin’ way. Do you have any idea how many things can can wrong doing that stupid idea.”

He never said that.

Oh my God, were we nervous. The No. 1 rule is don’t mess up the dress before the bride even puts it on! This was taking a chance, but we really thought it would be worth it to get Lauren some really cool shots of the dress that matched the day. So we did it. On the way out of the house, with both of us carrying the dress, we ran into Lauren’s dad. Why not add a little pressure? So we asked him if could help in opening the gate and maybe keeping the horses away from the dress. Plus you can watch idiot photographers climb around a barn with your daughter’s wedding dress. What a guy. “No problem. Let’s do it.”

So there we were in the barn stepping over chickens and figuring out the best way to fasten the dress to a barn beam. Bob handled being on the ladder to hang it up. Anyone who knows me knows that was the prudent play. If I was up there, it would have ended with me in a face full of manure with a lot of explaining to do to Lauren. But it worked. We got the photos we wanted. I only fell through a stack of haybales once (a victory) and the dress was fine. Wow was it a relief to hang it back up safely in the house! Anyway here are a few of the shots we got.

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  • September 25, 2014 - 10:03 am

    Eileen Kurinskas - I was very skeptical when you said that you were taking Lauren’s dress out to the barn. But, she trusted you and the results are just beautifulReplyCancel

  • October 2, 2014 - 1:01 pm

    chadsebring - Thank you so much Eileen. It was a beautiful day!ReplyCancel

OK, so you already know that planning a wedding can be a giant pain in ass, right? There were probably things you never even thought about. Am I right? Well maybe I’m partly right because weddings these days are absolutely DIY affairs that bring more of the couple’s personality to the table.

But jeez, there’s a lot to consider. How much do you know about chair covers? Now, I know a stupid amount, but not too long ago, I didn’t know a whole lot.
But there’s good news, too. It doesn’t have to be the daunting task so many people make it. And here’s why. You have help available to you. If you are planning a wedding and starting to meet with venues and photographers, use them. Use the hell out of them. This is not their first rodeo. They know some tricks. They’ve  seen the successes. At times they have seen the failures. Don’t think because you are just meeting about a venue that you can’t ask about photographers. Don’t think because you are meeting with photographers you can’t ask about flowers or music or lighting. Any good professional who has been in the business for a while will be able to give you solid advice and get you off to the right start. This is your first wedding. Why not get a little advice from people who have been to hundreds? We always tell our clients that whether they hire us or not they should feel free to ask us questions. Of course we want your business but more than that, we want you to have your dream wedding. So please ask. We know things. Remember – I’m a chair cover expert!
Denise and Chris Hillside Farms Wedding near Wilkes-Barre PADIY wedding details from Dan and SusannaEllie and Sean wedding in LancasterEllie and Sean wedding in LancasterJessica and Mark wedding at Spring Hill Farm_MG_3246_M3_5882

If you’re a Penn Stater, where else do you go for photos after you get married but Penn State? Well, we couldn’t get out to main campus again like we did for Jessyca and Sam’s engagement photos, so we did them at the next best place, the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus. Jess and Sam are such a fun couple. We had a blast with them at Penn State over the winter. And I think the residual effects of frostbite for Jess and Sam were worth it. I mean the pictures really came out nice.  😉

We had a much nicer day for their wedding and a great time at Wilkes-Barre getting to know their wedding party a little and having a bunch of laughs. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say it’s no coincidence that Jess and Sam scheduled their wedding for a couple weeks before the Nittany Lions football season started. Maybe there were other reasons, but I’m guessing maybe, just maybe it was a factor. WE ARE …
Jess and Sam wedding portraits at Penn State, Wilkes-Barre

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Jess and Sam wedding portraits at Penn State, Wilkes-Barre_M3_9771_M3_9725

 

 

  • September 14, 2014 - 12:48 am

    martha - Great and creative photos, good job!ReplyCancel

The Martin guitar wasn’t the first thing I noticed on our last senior shoot. The first thing I noticed was the charming young girl with the killer smile standing in the middle of a field leaning on a guitar. She was surrounded by hip high plants and flowers.  I thought, “This is going to be incredible.” We had a beautiful day in a perfect spot with Maggie, a super cool senior. Throw in the fact that she’s a musician, and it was a perfect mix. And yeah I had a little guitar jealousy too when I found out it was a Martin.

But the Martin took a backseat to the shoot that took us from a field in Archbald to a small building with a cool brick interior to some railroad tracks.  We love the photos that came from this one. Maggie was so natural in how she moved and got set up for photos. It made taking her photos a real joy and exciting for us. We love her photos and are grateful for being able to work with such a talented girl. Thanks, Maggie.

 

I feel like Bob and I are not too surprised by things anymore. Then we find a place like Buehler’s Idewild Inn out near Lake Wallenpaupack. First, kudos to Google Maps for finding this place. And huge kudos to the owners for offering a really unique wedding experience. Over the weekend, we shot Lauren and Michael’s absolutely stunning wedding there. We just love them. Loyal readers will remember we did their engagement photos in NYC. Talk about opposites! The rustic and homey feel of Buehlers was an amazing contrast to NYC, with big open spaces and no TV. Such a wonderful setting for a wedding that placed the highest premium on friends and family.

It as also an amazing place to do their first look. It was a great private moment for Lauren and Michael in a stunning location so we wanted to share the photos. We love how they turned out and the whole day kept the same feel. There was a closeness in this wedding that was hard to match and how much Lauren and Michael love each other just seemed to spread to the whole event. You can’t ask for anything more than that. Congrats to the new bride and groom. We love you guys.