08 Feb The Harris Wedding – Montgomery Alabama Wedding Photography
Montgomery Alabama Wedding Photography
Name | Alicia & Ricky
Date | 07.08.2017
Ceremony & Reception Venue | The Warehouse at the Alley in Montgomery, Al.
Event Design & Planning | Dana’s Floral Design and Weddings in Prattville, Al.
Floral | Dana’s Floral Design and Weddings in Prattville, Al.
Caterer | Court’s Table in Birmingham AL
Wedding Cake | Olexa’s Catering, Cafe & Cakes in Birmingham AL
Bridal Gown | Designed by Eve of Milady & purchased at Bridals by Lori in Atlanta, Ga.
Bridesmaids Dresses | Designed by Bari Jay & purchased at Bridals by Lori in Atlanta, Ga.
Hair & Makeup | Hair by CKIM Salon in Montgomery, Al. & makeup by Jessica Lynch
Groom & Groomsmen Attire | Men’s Wearhouse
Invitations & Stationary | Elegant Wedding Invites & Charlie’s Trophies in Montgomery, Al.
Music/Entertainment | DJ Squirrel
Linens & Event Rentals | BBJ Linens, I Do Linens in Atlanta, Ga. & Brendle Rentals in Montgomery, Al.
Photography | Nick Frontiero Photography
During all of my time as a wedding photographer, I don’t think I’ve ran across many people that rival my pursuit of perfection quite like Alicia, the bride did. Meeting and photographing Alicia and Ricky’s engagement session, Alicia was pretty quiet for much of the session. There was an almost telepathic vibe I got from her and the way she just watched the session unfold. Let’s be honest here: as a photographer, not many clients come to me and say “I just want something different.” I could tell that Alicia was one of those brides, because of how she looked at things and just through general discussion, though she never said that verbally to me. She was a different kind of bride, a different kind of woman. One that certainly gave me a run for my money in the pursuit of wanting the best.
Working with these two was simple, and I knew I had their full trust in me as their photographer, which is what you want to have. You always hope that your clients have researched and followed your body of work enough to trust you to photograph instinctively. Not only was my couple extremely hot for each other, but it was also extremely hot outside. Summertime weddings in Alabama can often be challenging, when you’re chasing portraits during a wedding day with sweat pouring off of them. These folks certainly did not dress up and hire a hair & makeup artist to stand out in a hundred degree weather sweating, so keeping indoors as much as we could, with small intervals outside during the evening hours was very important. That was the approach I took heading into the day.
We started with the details first and foremost as we always do, asked our floral friends for some greenery, and my assistant Jenna did an amazing job creating a gorgeous invitation scene to photograph, while my other assistant, Shannon and I set up the dress and shoes. A lot of the reception decor was already in place, and we used what was available to get some rad shots of the rings and other jewelry. While this venue is super popular, it’s actually quite convenient to photograph at, especially if you can manage to get ready, have your ceremony, and your reception there. In fact, every venue is quite convenient when you can be at one place for the entire day. This particular venue features two really unique spaces. One space is a ballroom and the other is a venue known as the Warehouse. Fortunately, the ballroom was available as well on this particular day, which simplified things even more for portraits throughout the day. It has a really cool sofa set up, and a ton of natural light to work with. You also have access to the rooftop, with a piece of Montgomery’s skyline in the background and the actual Alley down below.
Alicia really wanted that intimate and romantic feel for her ceremony, and my wife and her team of professionals certainly did a great job creating that vibe. In doing so, you also have to ensure it is lit up for the images to look right. I’ve never used flash or any type of strobe lighting during a ceremony, but I can imagine how distracting that would be for the couple and their guests. If you’re looking for that sort of vibe during your ceremony, having it lit up and hiring the right vendors to correctly do that for you is critical, trust me! After the ceremony, we ventured to the rooftop for a few portrait images to provide a little change of scenery, which was nice to have. By this time it was much later in the day so we had great light to work with, and all of the other portraits had been photographed.
The reception space was mesmerizing, well lit, set up beautifully for guests and had an open dance floor. I rarely ever use my flash or external lighting while photographing the reception decor. Clients have paid crazy amounts of $$$$ to create this atmosphere for themselves and their guests, and capturing that space like it truly is, to me, is so very important. Why blow out a beautifully designed cake or centerpiece using flash when it’s already well lit? Not only do you lose detail, but you also start to mix different white balances into images, and as the old saying goes “get it right in camera.” Don’t kill that ambient vibe that clients are going for!!!
It was such a pleasure capturing Alicia and Ricky’s wedding day, and working with all of their awesome friends and family. Not much can top an indoor, moody romantic, and intimate wedding day, and I enjoyed every minute capturing it. Hope this post really helps bride’s to be and fellow photographers keeping wedding days indoors, while working with little light availability!!
