Katie & Chris | Hyatt Buffalo (& Albright-Knox Art Gallery) Wedding

The Hyatt Buffalo - Buffalo, NY

Albright-Knox Art Gallery - Buffalo, NY

Kayla & Frank | Columns Wedding

Allison & Paul | Pearl At The Webb (& Delaware Park) Wedding

Pearl At The Webb - Buffalo, NY Wedding

Allison & Paul's wedding at Pearl At The Webb in downtown Buffalo was finally a first day of spring we were all longing to have in Western New York.  Can you say 70-degree temps, blooming pale pink cherry blossoms, and GREEN grass?? Hallelujah.

These two have quite the love story, where it even goes as far as to Allison moving half way around the world just to be together with Paul stationed in China. That’s far, guys. Paul makes up for it, as he treats Allison like the delicate, beautiful flower that she is. And Allison’s adorning stare towards Paul says it all.  They define a couple who embodies the word commitment.  

When we were planning our picture locations together, Allison was sure to let me know the importance of cherry blossoms not only to the theme of their wedding, but the accessory they had been to their whole relationship. If you know anything about spring blooms in Western New York, you know they’re highly unpredictable in when they decide to come out to play. I couldn’t promise the two of them their backdrop with the dicey way Buffalo likes to act in spring. But low and behold, on the day of their wedding, there was the most beautiful fully bloomed cherry blossom tree right smack dab in the middle of Delaware Park, where we were already taking portraits. The only one in the park in all it’s glory. And it gave Allison & Paul the fairytale pictures they deserved.

5 Reasons Why You Want A Spring E-Sess (And Claritin)

E-Session means engagement session, for all of you non-Wedding Wire’ers out there. Aka most guys don’t know what the hell we just said. That’s ok, grooms. We got you.

Here’s the top 5 reasons why even you want a spring engagement session with us:

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Nerves. We all have them with getting our picture taken. Even us as photographers sometimes get awkward on the other side of the camera when it’s our own turn. (P.S. Take our word - a shot of tequila before totally helps.) We get it! So let’s get rid of them like Marie Kondo in a hoarder’s house.

Taking engagement photos gives you UBER amounts of practice before the real deal on the no do-over wedding day.

Think you have a funny smile on camera? Let’s laugh it out and it will be YOUR smile. Think you don’t know what to ever do with your hands? We’ll show ya. Think you don’t like the way your double chin looks in photos? We’ll give you the confidence through angles to erase the insecurities.

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Maybe the more obvious of reasons, but hey this is Buffalo. And we celebrate hard when vibrant colors start showing back up on the 716-region of Earth again. Just like your neighbor who wears flip flops and shorts on the first 40-degree day.

THIS is the time of year to capture soft, beautiful color. Summer would be greens. Fall would be bold colors. And we all know what Winterfell Winter is like…

So let’s ditch the North Face that you can’t bear to wear another day, and book for the very-near future date you get to wear short sleeves again.

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To get the shot above, we placed the couple in a very specific spot in Lewiston…while we ducked behind a water fountain…to only straddle a bed of tulips while trying not to squish them…and then had to change positions 3 times to get it just right.

We were fully expecting our couple to start second guessing who the lunatics were they hired. Until click, and we showed them the back of the camera that glared the above photo. Boom. Instant trust is formed.

Because of an e-sess, you’re not wondering on the wedding day why we’re hiding inside of a bush. Or contemplating your photography decision as you see us dangle a leaf in front of the lens. You’ll trust it’s just your photographers up to their creative antics again, getting you unique shots similar to the ones you loved from your engagement already.

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Imagine what it would be like on an already stressful wedding day, and in walk new faces that are going to be with you for the next 12 hours with a camera in your face. You’re totally going to be aiming whispers under your breath to us, Please be cool. Please be cool.

Now imagine what it would be like on your wedding day, giving high fives and hugs to your new pals as we walk in the door. You know we’re easy to talk to and made you laugh at your engagement session, and now we get to take your epic wedding photos while blending right in with your crew.

BIG difference, right? We aim to be BFF’s whether it’s the end of the engagement session, or the end of the wedding day. Clients = Friends to us!

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Last, the obvious photos. The impeccable art. The proof of you as an adorable couple on paper. Your emotions frozen from a day that felt like just the two of you existed. The fun prints you can make for your home. The digitals you can use for Save The Dates. The photographs you can use for wedding day ideas.

The photos always have, and always will speak for themselves. So we’ll sign off here.

Now that we’re on the same wavelength, head on over to the Become A Client page to get your flower power on!

Elisabeth & Anthony | Kotecki's (& Knox Farm) Wedding

Knox Farm - East Aurora, NY

Kotecki’s Grandview Grove - West Seneca, NY

Nicole & Mike | EBC Wedding

Holiday Valley - Ellicottville, NY

Ellicottville Brewing Company - Ellicottville, NY

 

Nicole & Mike's wedding at EBC in Ellicottville was a treat in the heart of winter.  The charming village covered with fresh-fallen snow.  The trees with that amazing white powder glaze that balance upon bare branches.  The fluffy lake effect flakes dropping on their January afternoon.  We were literally in the prettiest snow globe possible.  (Cue the fairytale music that snow globes make.)

Our couple embodied two people who just wanted to surround themselves with the things they love for their nuptials.  To surround themselves with their family, including their giddy son the ring bearer.  To surround themselves with nature, having as much as possible planned in the fresh outdoor air.  

To surround themselves with skiing, to where they followed up their Holiday Valley Champagne Sundeck ceremony, with a ski run.  In her princess wedding dress.  In his fine suit.  Yes folks, a ski run.  Strapped on the boots moments after their first kiss as husband and wife, and off they went poles in hand.  As crazy as it sounded while planning this with us the months before, it makes total sense after getting to know Nicole and Mike as a couple.  And we're grateful they'll have that unique memory that might have been a first there, granted how many bystanders had their cell phones out to get it!

It even makes total sense now as to when we walked in to start the wedding day at the salon where the ladies were in bride tribe prep mode, Nicole asked us from her hair chair "So have you ever photographed a pop-up wedding?".  "I'm sorry, a what?", we asked with confused faces.  "A pop-up wedding.  Where we're just all going to walk out onto the ski slope and create a space for us to get married.  And then just do it.", the bride answers.  

While we had no idea how that was going to fly when it was proposed, and sort of wanted to crap our pants thinking about everything that could go wrong, it now makes complete sense why a pop-up wedding was conjured up.  And why, you ask?  Because it was perfect.  A perfect moment.  A perfect desire to get married in the muffled falling snow.  A perfect peacefull easy feeling.  And it happened just like that.

To Nicole and Mike, we commend you.  We commend you for being true to yourselves.  True to what you wanted your wedding day to be, and just going for it.  We are so thankful you chose us to document such spectacular sights and moments.  And we wish you guys a lifetime of just going for it as a great couple.  Cheers to you!

 

CEREMONY: Holiday Valley

RECEPTION: EBC, Ellicottville Brewing Company

PHOTOGRAPHY: Vita Bella Photography

CAKE: Kareli Cakes

DJ: Toy Brothers

HAIR & MAKEUP: The Edge Hair Salon

Ashley & JJ | Statler City (& City Hall) Wedding

Statler City - Buffalo, NY

 

Ashley & JJ's wedding at Statler City in downtown Buffalo was a glitz and glam day we will not forget.  So much of it was filled with what we geek out over to shoot -- rich architecture set amongst the historical City Hall and Statler Tower, elegant fur shawls set on top of glimmering beading, and a speakeasy reception full of fun details.

JJ treats Ashley with the utmost respect and admiration as the strong woman by his side.  Ashley we can tell is so proud to call JJ her other half.  They define a couple who embodies the word team.  Totally the pair where one just has to give a look, and the other without effort knows exactly what they're trying to say without words.  That takes love skills people!  

These two longtime lovebirds were having their dreams come true with each step of our chilly fall day in Western New York.  We could picture Ashley as a little girl, envisioning the special moment she had with her mom and sister as they adorned her with the delicate wedding dress as it slipped over her head and onto the body it was literally made for.  The trinity of wedding rings belonging to her grandmother, mother, and her own being proudly displayed in the house she grew up in.  Across town, JJ and his guys appropriately cheering on the Crimson Tide football team with beers in hand in the early afternoon, to start the wedding day off right with a win.

The momentous walk down the aisle where we don't think there was a dry eye in the church.  That warm beaming light coming through the stain glass steeples of St. Stephen's, completely disguising the brisk November temps just beyond the walls.

The epic dramatic moments we had on the Buffalo City Hall steps to showcase columns hovering over your friends laughing about how their fingers might fall of from the cold.  The warmth we then experienced set amongst the interior of Statler CIty, which seems to be just be built out of everything gold.  In fact, that's what we would describe your day as guys -- pure gold.

Ashley & JJ, your dreams came true.  The epic day you planned for what must have seemed like a lifetime went off without a hitch.  All of the loving details and fun you two had jump out of your photos like we're back in the room again.  We hope the beginning of yet another chapter for you brings nothing but adventures, joy, and even further growth as two people who are truly made for each other.  Cheers to many more years of a beautiful life together!

 

CEREMONY: St. Steven Roman Catholic Church, Grand Island

RECEPTION: Statler City

PHOTOGRAPHY: Vita Bella Photography

VIDEOGRAPHY: Lanasa Studio

FLORIST: Evergreen Floral

CAKE: Chrusciki Bakery

DJ: Toy Brothers

HAIR: Northern Attitude Southern Charm Salon

 

 

Kristen & Josh | Holiday Valley Wedding

Holiday Valley - Ellicottville, NY 

 

Kristen & Josh's wedding at Holiday Valley's Yoddler Lodge in Ellicottville was a fall mountainside day at it's best.  The rustic peak lodge.  The crimson red trees.  The aisle made of crisp burnt orange leaves.  It was fall y'all.

Our couple defined an outdoorsy duo in love, with the most adorable little ring bearer played by the part of their son.  Kristen's sense of being in the moment and Josh's ease to just enjoying the day really let us capture the environment that was surrounding them through it all.

When we get an all-in-one location to play with, we like to have fun with a first look.  Josh's anxious emotions were so sweet to watch as he would see his eeeeek'ed excited bride with a tap on the shoulder and a swift turn.  Viola.  There she is.  The Woman In The White Dress Moment you've been dreaming of for years and years.  (But not really because it was a gorgeous shade of champagne!)  His smile said it all. And hers answered right back.

We then hiked a bit up the slopes sans snow to document the rich palette of autumn.  We love it when you can literally smell fall in the photos.  Take a deep breath.  See??  We took our time with the day.  Had a bunch of laughs along the way, especially at Kristen rocking her Croks underneath the wedding dress to not spoil those fabulous blue shoes.  The sun was absolutely beaming full force for two thankful souls who deserved every second of its glory.

Kristen & Josh's outdoor ceremony underneath the picturesque Champagne Sundeck was everything they wanted it to be.  With the fireplace roaring behind them giving off just the right amount of heat as the air chilled with sunset, their friends and family witnessed a ceremony full of confessions of love and warmth too.

To the newlyweds, thank you for inviting us into your close circle of family and friends this day.  We know you have to spend a lot of time with us from early coffee starts to late toasting finishes, but love the feeling like we're just another guest that's been to a great party by the end of the night.  Your trust in us was evident in your images, and we cannot thank you enough for that.  We wish nothing but the best to you and your little family, made up of truly good people in the world.  Cheers to many more decades of love and happiness!!

 

RECEPTION/CEREMONY VENUE: Holiday Valley

PHOTOGRAPHER: Vita Bella Photography

FLORIST: Swan Street Florist

CAKE: Dessert Deli

DJ: Toy Brothers

 

Natalie & Andrew | Kotecki's (& Albright Knox) Wedding

Kotecki's Grandview Grove - West Seneca, NY

Nicole & Angelo | Statler City (& Niagara Square) Wedding

Statler City - Buffalo, NY