friends in love. engaged. getting married. married. lots of love to come.

right then and there i knew the day was going to be special.

i’ve always been intrigued by small intimate weddings and photographing a courthouse wedding. you know…it’s the people you truly love that would surround you on that day. and brooke and clayton’s wedding celebration proved that notion. they had family and brooke’s best friend join them on this beautiful friday afternoon at the dc court house.  later on, they had a brief dinner reception at maggiano’s in bethesda, md, where more family and friends came to celebrate with them.

it was an honor to witness their love for each other, family and friends. and thanks brooke and clayton for making me feel like part of the family…with a fancy camera.

here are a few pictures.

if you’re looking for a photographer to capture your courthouse wedding affair (or any small intimate wedding), please be sure to contact me.

i got some love from the ladies over at hitched, a couture wedding boutique in dc. thanks to yewande’s exquisite taste. and a BIG thanks to the ladies of hitched in georgetown for the shout out on their blog. please show them some love as well- i really love their blog.

and here’s one pic…

elizabeth looked stunning at her wedding last month. more to come…

nap time.

here’s the continuation of yewande and niyi’s wedding in cayman island. you can view the first part here.  the wedding ceremony took place on the beautiful great lawn at the ritz carlton. followed by cocktails on the terrace and dinner in the ballroom. then the guests danced away in a lounge in the second ballroom, after having a piece of that amazing cake, and more sweet stuff from the dessert bar :-)

and the wonderful team that made it all happen:
wedding and reception: ritz carlton cayman islands
make up: stephanie ford
bride’s wedding dress. purchased from hitched.
groom’s tuxedo: hugo boss
flowers and decor: ritz carlton & celebrations
violinist (ceremony): Kate Allenger
music: dj zimo
event coordinator: ruthie of Sonal J. Shah Event Consultants
Invitations, programs, menus, coasters, place cards – saima says design
Save the date: spark stationery
assistant photographer: jide alakija

simply put.

no words or photos in the world can describe the 3 plus days we spent in cayman islands for yewande and niyi’s wedding. ever since yewande mentioned where her wedding was going to take place, i’ve been super giddy about it. when she later asked me to take photographs at the wedding…i nearly pissed my pants with super-giddy-excitement. see…yewande and niyi are awesome people that truly care about their family and friends. not only that, yewande is a born-planner . jide flew down from london to assist me in shooting the wedding (well he was only meant to attend as a guest…but i convinced him he needed to be my assistant. lol.). jide, in my opinion, is a wonderful photographer. so having him there meant a lot to me. add the amazing ruthie, the wedding coordinator from Sonal J. Shah Event Consultants, and i knew nothing was going to be left overlooked. everyone was going to enjoy the celebration and have the time of their lives.

boy was i right.

below are pictures from the first two days. a sunset sail for a couple of hours on the first day. the next day was golfing with the guys (while the ladies were at the spa), followed by a dinner party at Luca in the evening.

check back on monday for this destination wedding that took place at the ritz carlton, grand cayman, cayman islands. you don’t want to miss it.

more to come….

edit: here’ are some more pictures from the wedding day.

more to come…

here’s part 2 of busayo and sola’s wedding in nigeria (part 1, the nigerian traditional ceremony, was in a previous post).  this wonderful wedding checked off number 7 on my 101 in 1001 list. and i couldn’t have been blessed with a lovlier couple.

they are both down to earth. their love for each other, their friends and their family was very apparent. and everyone had a good time. i think we should do it again!

here are just a few of my favorites:

just thought i’d put together some tips on how you can help me, or any photographer for that matter, get the best photographs on your wedding day. here are some tips…i’ll add to it in later posts, so here’s just part 1. feel free to comment on suggestions, questions, etc.:

tips for getting the best wedding pictures, part 1

1. timing is the number one stress factor. Before booking your ceremony and reception locations, consider how much time you need for just about ANYTHING. It really impacts the quality of your photographs in regards to lighting and having relaxed, non-rushed photographs.  i feel like i should have a whole seperate blog post for this one. consider where to get ready. consider how long it’ll take you to do make up and hair, consider how long it’ll take you to get into your dress (and add 20 minutes), consider hang out time before the ceremony, consider the distance of the ceremony to the hotel, and the ceremony to the reception hall. consider traffic. consider me, your photographer, needing a decent amount of time to get relaxed photographs. consider if it makes sense to see each other before the ceremony. hiring a solid wedding planner almost gurantees you’ll never have timing problem. more to come…
2. communicate the must-have photographs. photographs that are important to you. particularly for shots that are outside the normal ones like “couple with parents of the groom” or “couple with bride’s siblings,” so and so forth. my clients get a questionnaire, which includes listing out the photographs of people that they want (e.g., Couple with Uncle Jimmy and family, Bride with Zee Bank employees).  i don’t care if it’s 70 different groups of people, let us talk about it before the wedding day. that being said…i encourage couples to not get carried away with the list.  i constantly shoot…so I’m more than likely going to get most of your guests in a relaxed, less formal setting. and i guarantee you’ll like those shots more than the ones outside the church.
3. you should trust me/your photographer. that’s my final tip. it might be hard to do.  but we’ll be in touch frequently leading to the wedding day, and beyond, so you’ll have everything covered.  i’ve been photographing weddings long enough to know what to expect.

the key to enjoying your wedding day is having a great plan ahead of time.  so the only thing you need to focus on is being a bride/groom…and enjoying every single moment of your first big celebration has husband and wife.

and just so i end with a photograph. here’s an awesome couple that stopped by the studio a couple of weeks ago.  can’t wait for their wedding in june.