Joycie and Kevin's Two Weddings in Six Months

Plenty of people get married twice; fewer people get married twice to the same person (usually after a divorce). Very few people have two weddings to get married, but Joycie Navarro and Kevin Scilla are not your average people. They tied the knot twice, about 6 months apart, once surrounded by beautiful fall colors in November, and a second time during the scorching summer—though in air-conditioned venues. The first wedding, on November 16, 2013, started off in Mindowaskin Park in Westfield, NJ, and proceeded to the Galloping Hill Caterers in Union, and the second, this past June 21, started at St. Aloysius Church in Caldwell and continued at the Essex Grand Buffet (Chinese buffet) at Essex Green shopping center in West Orange. The second was a smaller event, but no less joyous, and photos from both will go into their album. Joycie led an energetic zumba dance performance at both of them. I was amazed at how coordinated the dancing was, with her bridesmaids and even a relative or two participating—they couldn't have rehearsed that much!
I was honored to be their photographer at both events. By the second one, I felt as though I was part of the family—the bridesmaids, groomsmen and family members were all the same!

Here are some of the best images from both weddings. First the one in November:

At Galloping Hill Caterers:

And here are a few from the June wedding at St. Aloysius in Caldwell, NJ.

And at Essex Grand Buffet in West Orange.

Engagement Sessions with the Changing Season

I used to think of engagement sessions as belonging in spring, summer or fall, but two couples really expanded my thinking this winter with sessions featuring snow and ice. Then I did a third couple this past Sunday, March 23. The snow was gone, but the trees were still bare—and very dramatic. Here are the best results of all three.

Michelle & Felipe, January 4, 2014, South Mountain Reservation:

Sandra & Francisco, February 23, 2014, South Mountain Reservoir, with their dogs:

Samantha & John Carl, March 23, 2014, Liberty Park, Jersey City:

Suzanne and Tim's Wedding in Brockport, New York (near Rochester) December 27, 2013

So why would I drive five hours from Union, New Jersey, to Rochester, New York, on December 26 to photograph a wedding? It was because the people I did it for were very special to me, namely the bride's mom and her boyfriend. They were good friends before the wedding; they became dear friends through the wedding. They are my friend Judy and Craig, and Judy's daughter Suzanne was the bride marrying a wonderful young man named Tim. Plus, I loved the family—a very spirited bunch in a tight-knit community. And they treated me royally.

The other reason was that I love to travel and hadn't seen Rochester as an adult—it's a fascinating place. More on that below.

Suzanne's dad is the fire chief of Brockport, about 40 minutes west of Rochester (where I stayed with Craig), so the rehearsal dinner was in the fire station, naturally enough. It was a family-style meal on long benches with lots of good fellowship. It was then that I started to feel like part of the family.

I was fortunate with the weather. Although I had encountered snow on the way up, it did not snow the whole time I was there, so I had no trouble getting around.

The following day, I visited High Falls, which is in the center of Rochester, which sports three more waterfalls within the city limits, all on the Genesee River.

That afternoon, Suzanne's preparations at her mom Judy's house felt like a party. Both her parents were there, and her father led the toast among the bridesmaids with shots.

I was also very touched by what can only be described as a shrine to Judy's dad, who fought in the Second World War. His military photo as a smiling sailor beamed out at me, surrounded by squadron photos, a toy jeep, a model ship, and the triangular folded flag that draped his coffin when he died about a year ago. The house was filled with family photos and mementos.

The ceremony and reception were at the Hickory Ridge Golf Resort in Holley, NY, a huge room decorated in rustic fashion. The place cards were displayed on individual pine cones. The ceremony itself was short and sweet, and the partying started almost immediately thereafter.

I had been hired by Suzanne's mom Judy, my personal friend, as a gift to her daughter. I took this as a great honor and very flattering. Suzanne & Tim were a wonderful wedding couple, obviously very much in love with each other, and their love spread over the whole company like a glow.

The spirited DJ, Tommy B, kept things moving, and so did the bar, so after the buffet meal there was lots of dancing. The DJ had a great light show, and at some point inflated instruments appeared, and Suzanne's mom Judy revealed her latent talent.

Towards the end Suzanne and Tim did a dollar dance, where guests lined up to pay a dollar to dance with each of them.

The following day I played tourist in Rochester visiting the Strong Play Museum and the George Eastman House. The first is a wonderful children's museum offering room after room of environments from children's literature, such as the Berenstain Bears, Star Wars, Sesame Street and Batman (no Disney), and the amazing Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden.

Then I visited one of the "holy" places for photography, the George Eastman House. Eastman (1854–1932) emerged from a hardscrabble childhood raised by a courageous mother who supported them with a boarding house after her husband died, to invent roll film and make photography available to non-specialists, that is, everyone. He grew very rich. He was on friendly terms with other great inventors, such as Thomas Edison and the Lumière Brothers, and a supporter of civil rights and historic black universities. His parents had been involved in the Underground Railroad during slavery times. He was a great philanthropist, contributing to the University of Rochester. He never married, and when his health declined precipitously at age 78 he took his own life. His magnificent house is kept the way he left it.

It's also  a museum of his inventions

and his life, with a small theater where a life sized cardboard cutout of Eastman almost makes it feel as if he's there.

Adjoining the house is a museum of photography, that features a permanent exhibition of still and movie cameras,

and a several galleries with rotating exhibitions. When I was there I saw an impressive collection of astronomical photographs.

I returned home the following day, passing through Watkins Glen, at the south end of Seneca Lake, where the park was closed due to unsafe conditions, which was a pity, since the cascade was doubtless stunning under ice.

That whole Finger Lake area of New York State is magnificent.

Joycie and Kevin's Wedding, Galloping Hill Caterers, Union, NJ, November 16, 2013

Joycie and Kevin's wedding this past November was a rich event with some very special delights. Joycie is a person who knows what she wants, and I was very touched that she chose my services to preserve her beautiful wedding.

The day started with a photo session with the wedding party at Mindowaskin Park in Westfield, NJ. The park had all the trappings of late fall, and the setting sun provided perfect lighting against the lake.

Also, the shoreline and trees and their reflections gave me the opportunity to frame a very romantic image of just the couple with the low sun illuminating the trees in the background. The magnificent flowers were by Clark Florists in Clark, NJ.

She attended lovingly to the details of the decor, producing an exceptional event at Galloping Hill Caterers here in Union, NJ. Every table had a framed 8x10 photograph of her and Kevin from their engagement session on the Jersey shore, in addition to a beautiful flower arrangement.

There was exceptional warmth and humor during the ceremony.

And their First Dance was, as it should have been, the height of romance.

 The highlight of the evening for the guests, however, was undoubtedly when Joycie changed out of her wedding gown and into her Zumba outfit to lead a 30-minute Zumba show, that featured her Zumba instructor and three of her bridesmaids. Her energy even outdid that of her Zumba instructor!

It was a full moon that night, so I brought her and Kevin outside and lined them up to silhouette an intimate moment against the full moon. I was on my belly in the parking lot with my telephoto lens, but we got the shot.