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Calling All Brides Who Would Like to Model

On Sunday October 15 next week, Adriennes Bridal Salon will be hosting a bridal fashion show featuring the exquisite bridal designs of Gina Pedone (the store owner and head designer at Adriennes). We have 3 models so far for the show but need about 2-3 more models to model the the beautiful gowns that day. The sample gowns are for women size 6 to size 10 with height of 5' 6" to 5' 11". I've had so many gorgeous bride clients (you know who you are) who can definately model for this. If you're interested (or know someone who would be interested), please give me a call asap. You will be paid for your modeling time.

Gina also asked me to photograph the show but unfortunately, I'm booked for a wedding job on that day. However, the show will be photographed by my super talented associate photographer Julie Skya. Julie's work is fantastic and of course we'll let you get the shots she takes.

Dara & Erik Wedding - September 2, 2006

A few weeks back I shot a great wedding at the Yale Club in Manhattan, NYC. Check out a bunch of my favorite wedding pics along with a link to more at the bottom.

Dara Getting into her beautiful gown.

Checking herself out.

Dara's grandmother checking Dara checking herself out.

The finished look on the beautiful bride.

Dara seeing Erik for the first time on the wedding day.

It was raining on the way to the Riverside Church.

Dara walking down the aisle accompanied by her father.

Dara's dad giving her away to Erik.

The exchange of rings.

I love Dara's expression here.

The kiss.

On the way to the Yale Club.

The beautiful ballroom at the Terrace Room.

The grand entrance.

The first dance.

Everybody joins in.

Toasts.

Hugs from friends and family.

The party getting down.

I love these kid dancing shots.

Feeding each other cake.

The guests photographing it.

Parent dances.

We took one big group shot of the entire wedding at the end of the night. By this time everybody had a blast.

To check out a bunch more photos from the wedding click below:
more photos

Dining Out at Crema Restaurant

About two weeks after Julieta and Jafe's amazing Tribeca Rooftop wedding, I went to visit their fabulous Mexican restaurant, Crema, in Chelsea, NYC.

Ania, one my very talented associate photographers was my second shooter at their fabulous wedding so I brought her along. Here we're enjoying some delicious cocktails before we get our food.

"Tostadas en Callo de Hacha" (mini corn tostadas layered with sauteed scallops and fresh avocado, garnished with chipotle aioli and mango salsa) was one of our appetizers. It was amazing. The food here is a fusion of traditional Mexican food with French culinary techniques and presentation.

My main course dish was "Flautas de Chileano Estilo en Salsa de Aguacate y Tomatillo" (Rolled, crispy corn tortillas filled chilean sea bass and shirmp cooked with red chiles, corn amd caramelized onions served in a mirror of salsa verde de aguacate). It was absolutely fantastic.

We tried over 8 different cuisine dishes (appetizers, main courses and deserts) that night and all of them were amazing and top notch. Here I'm pictured with the owner, head chef, and my bride, Julieta. Julieta has been the #1 and #2 rated Mexican chef in NYC by Zagat Survey for the last 6 years and her restaurant Crema was rated by City Search Magazine as the best Mexican cuisine restaurant in NYC for 2006. If you like Mexican cuisine than you'll love Crema. I highly reccomend it.

Suzanne & Ben Wedding - August 26, 2006

Last month, I shot a fun and exciting Italian wedding at the Palace at Somerset in NJ. Check out a bunch of my favorite wedding pics along with a link to more at the bottom.

Suzanne getting her make up and hair done.

The flower girl looking grumpy as they put flowers in her hair.

Putting on her gown.

Some help from her mom and sister.

The finished look for the gorgeous bride.

Even the family dog got dressed up.

Walking into the church.

Walking down the aisle with her dad.

Ben's expression.

Suzanne's dad and Ben embrace before her dad gives her away.

Exchanging glances.

Exchange of rings.

Ben's mom's expression.

The kiss.

The guests are all excited, especially Suzanne's mom.

The newly married couple is greeted by the first guest on the receiving line. Isn't he so cute.

Once we get to the reception venue, Suzanne touches up her make up before we take portraits.

Suzanne happens to be one of my most beautiful brides and can easily be a model. Her look reminds me of a young Terri Hatcher (from "Desparate Housewives" and the "Superman" TV show).

We took portraits in the Palace. The beautiful Victorian architecture and decor made for some pretty portraits.

The bridal party.

The magnificient Palace ballroom

The Palace at twilight.

Making their grand entrance.

First dance.

Toasts.

Italian weddings are very festive and this one definately rocked.

Cake cutting.

Parent dances.

One of the few moments when the guests weren't partying.

And the party continues.

Ben getting down.

Ben getting up.

The last dance.

To check out a bunch more photos from the wedding click below:
more photos

Natasha & Tom Wedding - August 19, 2006

A few weeks back, I got to shoot an exciting wedding at the Pegasus Room (part of Cipriani's Rainbow Room) at Rockefeller Center in NYC. Remember I shot Natasha and Tom's engagement portraits a few months back. Check out a bunch of my favorite wedding pics along with a link to more at the bottom.

Here's some detail shots of Natasha's dress, wedding bands, and shoes.

Natasha getting her make up done.

Natasha being helped into her wedding gown by the fabulous Lindsay Landman, one of nyc's premier wedding planners.

Her maid of honor helping with the earrings.

Getting the veil on.

The beautiful bride with the finished look.

Tom getting ready for the big day.

In the gorgeous St. Ignatius Church, Natasha being escorted down the aisle by her dad.

The handsome groom looks on.

The guests looking on.

The clergy performed a beautiful ceremony service.

Family and guests absorbed in the ceremony service.

Exchange of rings.

The kiss.

Walking to Rockefeller Center.

Inside the Pegasus Room.

The landmark art deco ballroom.

First dance.

Toasts by the best man and maid of honor.

One of the reasons why the Rainbow Room happens to be one of NYC most prestigious wedding venues is because of the amazing and unreal view from their windows (located on the 64 & 65 floors of Rockefeller Center). Here the amazing view during twilight. You can see my office building, The Empire State Building way in the distance.

The party gets live.

The delicious wedding cake by Sylvia Weinstock.

Natasha & Tom gave a final toast to their guests and family.

Parent dances.

Tom happens to be a talented musician who plays professionally for the Disney's Broadway production of the "Lion King". Here he's playing a tune with one of his groomsmen.

They had the wedding rockin'.

The last dance.

To check out a bunch more photos from the wedding click below:
more photos

Ereka & Randy Wedding - July 28, 2006

Last month, I shot Ereka & Randy's fantastic wedding at the Brookly Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn, NY. Remember I shot some engagement portraits of this gorgeous couple a few weeks back. Check out a bunch of my favorite wedding pics along with a link to more at the bottom.

Ereka getting ready for the big day.

Ereka the bride is Ereka Ventrini, ex co-host of the Tony Danza talk show and one of the original apprentices on Donald Trump's first season Apprentice show. She's currently working on a new upcoming TV show.

Ereka's mom helping her get into her wedding gown.

The beautiful bride putting on her earings.

Randy getting ready with some help from his groomsmen.

Randy's brother, the best man, ironing out some wrinkles in his tie.

Ereka with her dad by her side walking down the aisle.

A reading by the two moms.

Ereka and Randy exchanged sincere and heartfelt readings about one another.

I love Randy's expression in this shot.

Exchange of rings.

The kiss.

After the ceremony, we went to take portraits in the beautiful Japanese Pond Garden.

Cocktail Hour.

The beautiful dining room.

The first dance.

Here's a nice shot of the gorgeous Palm House at twilight.

Toasts.

Now the party kicks in.

The guests lifting Ereka's dad.

Wedding Cake.

Parent dances.

The last dance.

The evening ending with the guests mingling outside the Palm House.

To check out a bunch more photos from the wedding click below:
more photos

Julieta & Jafe Wedding - July 21, 2006

A few weeks back I got to shoot a fantastic wedding at Tribeca Rooftop in Manhattan, NYC. Here's some of my favorite shots. Of course there's more through the link at the bottom of the post.

Julieta getting her make up and hair prepared at a suite in the beautiful Tribeca Grand Hotel in Tribeca.

Putting on her veil.

Getting into her gown. Julieta had a custom designed couture gown. The lace from the gown was over 44 years since it was taken from her mom's wedding gown and sewn into her gown.

Her mom helping out.

I took some portraits of the beautiful bride in the gorgeous hotel lobby.

Jafe getting ready with the help of his best man.

Julieta entering the beautiful St. Francis Xavier Church in Chelsea

Entering with her dad beside her.

Taking their vows.

The ring bearer.

Julieta's parents.

Jafe's parents.

The exchange of rings.

The Kiss.

Inside Tribeca rooftop.

The beautiful reception room.

The wedding guests awaiting Julieta & Jafe's grand entrance.

The first dance.

The guests then lifting the couple onto chairs.

The guests having a rockin' time.

Toasts.

Jafe's best man gave a hilarious toast. One funny story was about their first trip to Jones Beach.

Julieta's brother gave a sincere toast about Julieta's determination to succeed at becoming a chef and opening up a restaurant in NYC.

Cake cutting.

Jafe's grandmother gave a speech.

The awesome entertainment was provided by The Bud Maltin Orchestra. I've worked with Bud and his band on so many wedding jobs and it's still always exciting to hear them play. Here Bud is singing a Rolling Stones tune.

The last dance.

After the last dance we took some final portraits on the rooftop terrace.

To check out a bunch more photos from the wedding click below:
more photos

Check Out WWW.TANNAVALENTINE.COM

One of my best friends, Tanna, a beautiful bellydancer has finally launched her much anticipated website. I've known Tanna for over 10 years. She was the first dancer to dance for me at my very first solo art exhibition. I've photographed her countless times. Tanna has helped me so much with my fine art and wedding business and I owe her so much for all the good advice and help she's given me over the years. Her new website features lots of photos by me. You can also check out her website to see video clips of her performances. She also happens to be one of the most athletic and fit bellydancers around and has produced two bellydance fitness videos. They're absolutely great for workouts and you can purchase them off her website.

Here's the link:
www.tannavalentine.com

Dalia Carella New Theatre Show

Dalia Carella is known in the dance community as an innovative and cutting edge choreographer. Last year I went to see her Broadway dance show, "In Search of Goddesses" and it was absolutely fantastic. I was delighted when she contacted me back in February this year to photograph some promo material for her new theatre show. The new show entitled, "Cabaret Macabre - Theatre du Bizarre et Surreliste" will premiere in October and I know it'll be awesome so please check it out. Here's the link to her site as well as ticket and theatre info:

www.cabaretmacabre.com

I promised Dalia that I wouldn't showcase any of the photos from the promo shoot until after she announced and advertised the new show. Since she's recently done that, I'd like to share just a few of the shots from the shoot with everyone.

Dalia wanted a gothic and errie ambiance for her new show. I wanted to capture that feel and add a journalistic edge so I took these shots during a rehersal in April.

This style of photography isn't as foreign to me as some might think. When I was in art high school and began to build a fine art photography portfolio, I was very influenced (almost obsessively) by the genius film and theatre work of Ingmar Bergman. I tried very hard to emulate the look and ambiance of his work with my photography back then. In high school and to a certain degree, my early college years, I was a B&W film and darkroom junkie shooting modern and avant-garde dancers. All I shot was grainy B&W T-Max film and I would spend countless hours per week dodging, burning, using contrast filters in the darkroom to make my photography look like gothic theatre and movie stills. Sometime in the next month or so, I'll have to get around to scanning a bunch of my high school/early college portfolio prints (over 12 years old) to show everyone where my work evolved from. Until then, why not rent out "The Seventh Seal" or "Persona" from Blockbuster's classic film section. These were two of my favorite Bergman movies that had a profound impact on me and my art.

Feature in Fall/Winter 06' TheKnot Magazine

In case any of you happen to pick up the new issue of the New York TheKnot Magazine, they featured one of my 05' weddings in it.

Congratulations to Laura & Tom. These pictures were only a small sample (cropped samples even) of the many I took at their fabulous wedding. TheKnot is also featuring the wedding on their website with more of my images. Here's the link:

TheKnot Feature

This is just the start of this year's press and media news. In the coming months, I'll have some of my weddings featured in Manhattan Bride, New York Weddings and also featured on cable tv's Style Network on the show " Who's Wedding Is It Anyway". I'll let you all know when each one happens.