Pang and Cheng’s wedding, by Photographer Sean

This past year has been so crazy-busy that I’ve recently had to add more people to the team at Images of Distinction.  So if you’ve attended a wedding in the last couple months, you may have seen Sean, Kelly, Jen, or Liz… I’ll write more about that later, and you may even see future blog posts from a few of them.

But anyway, Sean is a hugely talented photographer and photo editor in Madison that has come onboard to help out with some of the weddings this year and next.  Up till now, he’d only done some photo editing for me, but just over a week ago, he shot his first wedding for Images of Distinction.  

Pang and Cheng were married at Allen Centennial Gardens in Madison, and took pictures downtown at the Capitol and Terrace.  Even though Sean was the primary shooter there, I can tell it was beautiful!  He’s still editing the majority of the pictures, but I did convince him to send enough for a preview for the happy couple, who have been anxiously waiting!  Pang told me today that she’s a faithful reader of this blog, so I can’t disappoint her!  Here is my favorite shot of the day:

 

 

My  next favorite shot of the day is this one… it just seems so happy and relaxed!  

 

 

And last but not least, Pang and Cheng, here is your slideshow preview… Enjoy!

Danielle’s Day at the Lake

This post is a bit overdue, since I was actually on vacation in the middle of August.  It’s just been SO busy!  With a wedding in Madison last weekend, and two weddings the weekend before, I barely have time to think these days!

My darling sister has been patiently waiting for me to post some pictures from our trip.  Since it was an unofficial girl’s week, we had a blast swimming, going up to Madeline Island and Bayfield, and traipsing around Hayward.  We got some really fun pictures.

 

Here is the first set.  Danielle is the daughter of a friend of my Mom’s.  She and her dad visited us at the cabin for an afternoon.  Isn’t she gorgeous?  WIth that great smile and curly hair, she’s definitely going to be a handful for her daddy in a few years!

 

Coming soon: vacation pictures!

Megan and Keith, downtown Madison

For almost a year now, I’ve really been looking forward to Megan and Keith’s wedding.  Since I just got married in Madison last year, and Megan was planning their wedding this year, we had a lot in common.  In fact, she saw some of my wedding photos and contacted me.  That’s when she found out I was a photographer, too!  We probably sent more emails between us than I have with any other bride so far!  So it was nice to feel like they were friends when I showed up to shoot their wedding.

They wanted pictures at a few locations, and rented a party bus to take us around town.  That was a lot of fun!  We did pictures at the Capitol and Allen Centennial Gardens.  Their ceremony was actually IN the Capitol, in the Assembly Chambers.  Talk about a gorgeous room!  I walked in and decided I was in Photographer’s Heaven, if there is such a place!  One of my new favorite pictures is this one, taken just after the ceremony:

 

At the entrance to the Assembly Chambers

I mean, just look at this photo of their ceremony!  It doesn’t get much more awesome than that!

Ceremony

And then, to top it all off, they had my favorite cake in the whole world for dessert.  Did I mention I absolutely LOVE Carl’s Cakes?  That’s who made my wedding cake, and who I requested for my birthday cake this year.  Love it.  Apparently the groom loved it too.  He licked the plate, proof is below.  :)

 

Carl's Cakes has this effect on me, too.

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of other fun things.  The wedding party stopped by the Essen Haus for a “boot” of beer.  There was a certain mishap involving me and the “boot” that shall remain unspecified.  There were the German guys who serenaded both Megan and Keith, and his mom.  Only they serenaded them in German with a hardy drinking song.  Anyway…

Megan and Keith, thank you for a great day!  Your preview is below.  Congratulations!

2nd Annual Wedding Photography Giveaway

I’m excited to announce the 2nd Annual Images of Distinction Wedding Photography Giveaway!

This year Ainsley and Travis were the lucky recipients of the free package… I can’t wait to see who will win for next year! We had about 20 entries last time.  Let’s have over 40 this time!  Tell your friends!  The grand prize includes a free Silver Wedding Package, as described on my website, www.iodphotography.com.

To enter, please email your entry to rebecca@iodphotography.com. Please send the following in your email: your full names and wedding date, wedding and reception location, an interesting story about the two of you as a couple, what makes your wedding unique and personalized, and a photo of the two of you together.

The contest begins September 1, 2008 and ends September 30, 2008 at midnight. Winning couple(s) will be announced no later than October 5, 2008. 

 

Here are the rules:
1) The wedding must take place during 2009.
2) The winners are not required to purchase anything. However, if they desire, they can upgrade the package or add additional products use the grand prize as an $800 credit towards the balance.
3) The location can be nearly anywhere in the world (we love to travel!), but modest travel fees will apply to locations over 60 miles from my home in southwestern Wisconsin.
4) One entry per couple
5) Entries missing information or photo will be disqualified
6) Photo submitted will be posted on the blog when winners are announced.
7) If selected as the winner, your photos may be used for promotional purposes by Images of Distinction
8 ) Grand prize has no cash value and may not be transferred
9) Additional prizes be awarded at the discretion of Images of Distinction
10) Judging panel will include previous clients, photographers and assistants of IOD Photography, as well as a few family members and friends of IOD.

11) Sorry, current customers of Images of Distinction are not eligible for the giveaway.

Sarah and Matt’s Casual Wedding in Caledonia

Saturday I headed up to the small town of Caledonia, Minnesota.  Sarah and Matt were getting married, and their reception was at The Back 40, a restaurant a mile or so out of town.  I have to say that Sarah has probably been the most relaxed bride I’ve had yet.  When we did our phone consult and I asked if she had any special requests, she said no.  :)  She basically said it was up to me how I did things, and that she trusted me.  Yikes!  :)  Sarah and Matt were a lot of fun, and very casual.  Their ceremony was immediate family only, with friends and extended family invited just to the reception.  They had the cutest 9 month old twin boys!  You’ll see them in a few of the pictures.

Between the ceremony and reception, we headed out to Matt’s family’s farm for a photo session.  The sun was pretty bright, but we got some fun pictures with the tractor, old hog barn, and more.  What do you all think?

 

Emily and Nick’s Riverfront Wedding

Friday afternoon I headed up to La Crosse for Emily and Nick’s wedding at the Friendship Gardens, located in Riverside Park.  It was a gorgeous day, and the sun was definitely bright!  Their ceremony was really sweet.  Emily has a seven year old daughter, and Nick said vows to both of them.  He even had a little tiny ring for his new daughter, and he vowed to be the best father he could for her.  

 

Their reception was at Stoney Creek Inn in Onalaska, and it was a beautiful event.  What a great venue!  Congratulations to you both, and to your new family!

 

Heather and Ryan’s fun PhotoBooth

Saturday’s couple, Heather and Ryan, decided to take advantage of one of the add-on options that I offer… The PhotoBooth.  They even went a step further than most and bought some fun props to use, which was a complete hoot!  And instead of a guest book, they asked all their guests to visit The PhotoBooth, so they’d have a fun memory of everyone that shared the day with them.

 

Here are a few of their images:

A Bride With A Red Dress?

Oh, Heather and Ryan… how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways:

 

1) You allowed a couple hours for photography between the ceremony and reception.

2) You have awesome friends/wedding party.  Everyone just rocked!

3) In spite of an unconfirmed hair appointment, forgotten party bus reservation, rain during your outdoor ceremony, and a caterer that went MIA in the middle of your reception, you remained happy and fun.

4) The red dress you wore (Heather!) looked amazing in pictures, and I’m now a believer.  Okay, I’ll admit it.  When you told me that you’d be wearing a red dress for the wedding on Saturday, I was a bit apprehensive. But it looked fantastic, and my doubts have vanished.

5) You had fun props for the photo booth.

6) You guys cut the biggest slice of cake I’d ever seen, and we captured it all on camera!

7) Your wedding was at Olbrich Botanical Gardens which I’ve always wanted to do a wedding at.  Sweet!

8 ) Any time I said “Just one more photo” or “I have an idea”, you guys were totally up for it, and even had ideas of your own for us to try!  

9) Um, there’s more, but for the sake of this post, I’ll stop now.  But seriously, thanks for a great day!  Tomorrow I’ll post a slideshow of a couple photo booth pictures.

 

Many thanks to Jen who assisted me for the first time Saturday.  She captured some great shots, including the runaway flower girl, the shot of the bridesmaids looking over the balcony, and a few others.  You’ll be seeing more from her in the future!

Ali and Tom’s Lakeside Wedding in Hayward

Just over a week ago, I had the pleasure of traveling WAY up north to Hayward, Wisconsin.  Ali and Tom were getting married there and asked me to photograph their wedding at a cabin on the lake.  Since it was such a far hike for me, I ended up renting my own cabin, and brought my mom, sister, and best friend along with me for a week-long vacation.  It was great!

Anyway, the wedding was fantastic- the people were fun and the whole wedding was a nice, casual affair.  It was catered by Famous Dave’s… yum!

Funny story: after the ceremony, Ali, Tom, and I headed down to the waterfront to do a private couple’s session.  We took about 15 minutes, and were just about done when Ali decided we’d better head up to the reception tent.  The weather was a bit overcast, and while it had held out up to that point, it was starting to look questionable.  The moment we stepped foot in the tent, the skies opened up and it was a bit of a torrential downpour.  Um, yeah.  Good times!  So in the slideshow below, you’ll notice a picture of the rain, and also the remnants of the luminaries that had been placed all along the walkways and docks.  They  weren’t exactly candle-ready after the rain!

 

And without further ado, here are Ali and Tom’s slideshow pictures!

A Celtic Wedding on the Bluffs

Last Friday was 08/08/08, and from what I hear, it was a really popular day for weddings.  It was no exception for me, and I headed over to Winona to shoot the wedding of Tanya and Matt.  It was a gorgeous day, and the location was amazing.  It was high on a bluff overlooking Winona, Minnesota.  Their Celtic theme was really neat, too.  Tanya and Matt had a bagpiper, kilts, and some other really neat details!

Here is their preview, and the rest will be on the website soon.  Congrats Tanya and Matt!