With torrential rains the day prior to the big day, it was not looking good.  But the skies finally turned blue, and the rain held off the whole day for a whirlwind tour of the Atlantic City area, before heading to the Water Club at Borgata for Rachel and Marc’s incredible pool-top wedding reception.  Rachel was stunning in her dress designed by Jim Hjelm, and of course, a girl can’t go wrong with a pair of Dolce and Gabbana shoes on her feet.  Rachel and Marc first met each other by chance (thanks to her brother) right next door to Lucy the Elephant in Margate.  Having never seen Lucy myself, I was in shock as I turned the corner and saw the largest elephant in the world!  You have to see Lucy if you are ever in the Atlantic City area.  Rachel & Marc have fond memories of Lucy, and it was important to them to have their First Look there–less than 100 feet from where they first met each other all those years ago.  And so, their first look happened right under a 60′ trunk of an elephant! Still cracks me up!  Thanks to the kind folks at Lucy, we were even able go to the top of Lucy for a photo op before heading out to the beach.  With the beach all but deserted, we snapped some cool images of the soon-to-be newlyweds.  After that, we hooked up with the wedding party at Casino Pier in Atlantic City.  Of course with nowhere to park and not much time, we just left the vehicles parked in the Caesars Fed Ex delivery spot!   I figured I would add to the pile of Jersey Shore parking tickets I have been accumulating this year  The wedding party  hit the boardwalk and it seemed as though we were swarmed by half of South Philly wearing their Chase Utley jerseys! There were a few Victorino jerseys running around also. Making our way out onto the Casino Pier, we were able to grab a few shots of the AC boardwalk and casinos with the wedding party in the foreground.  On our way back we found the side of the building that was totally covered in diamond plate.  I thought this would make a really cool backdrop for a groomsmen pic! My favorite part about the shot? If you look closely on the right side of the frame, you can see the reflection of all the girls huddling around, doing whatever girls do when they huddle After the boardwalk we headed over to the Water Club at the Borgata where the Ceremony and reception were held.  The Water Club is an absolutely unique wedding venue!  The ceremony was held outdoors on the pool deck with a great view of the Atlantic City skyline as the clouds started rolling in.  The real treat of having your wedding at the Water Club is that the reception is held atop the indoor pool.  Literally on top of the pool, like above the water!  Think, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but you can see through the floor. And of course no Jimmy Stewart splashing around.  The staff of the Water Club turned the indoor pool into a tropical oasis.  I know what you’re thinking…indoor pools are quite warm and have a distinctive scent.  Without standing above the water and looking down, you would have no idea a pool was there!  The temperature was perfect and the strongest scent was coming from the beautiful, fragrant floral arrangements provided by Betina’s at Parkview The room was amazing!  The Eddie Bruce band was the perfect compliment for this elegant event.

It was wonderful working with both of you and your families… Congratulations!

We shoot in Philadelphia A LOT!  Looking for something a little different, Klair suggested Historic Rittenhouse Town.  Having only heard of Rittenhouse Square,  a quick search on this historic little village turned up some interesting facts.  It was the first paper mill in British North America, eight generations of the Rittenhouse family continued to live and work along the Monoshone creeks… but most interesting of all was that Klair grew up in one of the four remaining houses in the village.  Only 10 min outside of the city, it seems worlds away.  Klair & Charles willl be married next July in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul with reception to follow at the Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia.

Wonderful wedding this past weekend at the Borgata Water club in Atlantic City, NJ.  Here is just a peek of Rachel & Marc.  Enjoy, full post will be up shortly.

Update  Check out the full blog post of Rachel & Marc’s wedding at the Water Club at Borgata here!

On the drive over to shoot Mike and Kim’s beach engagement session the weather looked as if it had other plans for us.  Dark and stormy almost all the way to the bridge, but as we pulled into Lavallette NJ, the skies cleared a little, leaving just enough cloud to add some dramatic effect. Thanks clouds!  Meeting at their charming weekend getaway, I noticed two bikes parked next to the house.  Cool couple + Cool beach bikes =  awesome beach engagement photos.  Simple math So, Mike & Kim set off on their beach bikes, and we followed them over a few blocks, so we could have some dunes and a small jetty to work with.  The location was perfect. With the weather just slightly on the cool side, the beach was empty, leaving us plenty of room to work. With the sun setting quickly, Mike & Kim again speed off on their bikes with us in tow for the bayside of Lavallette.  The sunset could not have been more perfect…lots of clouds and color…This coupled with Mike and Kim’s fun & energetic personalities was the perfect ending to an awesome (there ya’ go, Mike!) beach engagement session.

Mike and Kim are getting married this coming December at St Mary’s church in Pompton Lakes with the reception to follow at Florentine Gardens in Rivervale, NJ.

What better way to end Erin & Pat’s Philadelphia engagement shoot than with a couple of ice cold craft beers and some Oxtail.  Yes, I said oxtail!  After traipsing around the city for a couple of hours and looking for a place to get a drink, we stumbled upon the Happy Rooster on 16th.  There on the appetizer menu was brazed oxtail.  Thinking it couldn’t possibly actual oxtail, Lola grabbed her iPhone.  The image google returned was not pretty, but it did verify that said “Oxtail” was actually the tail of an ox!  So, with the nasty image of oxtails still in our head, and our waiter asking for our selections, we decided to try the oxtail.  The brazed oxtail arrived served over gnocchi.  We each put a bit on our forks, looked at each other as if to say “You better not back out…”  The old adage “Try it, you might like it” usually has a fairly low success rate…  But for a change, brazed oxtail is actually very delicious (well at least it is at the Happy Roster).  While all the food was quite good, the oxtail was my favorite.  Not so sure what the others thought

Well… that’s enough about oxtail.  Erin & Pat will be married next October in Philly.  We had a blast making our way around the city & getting to know them.  These two are so much fun, I cannot wait to see them  in full party mode at the reception next October!

At the Kimmel Center we found lots of cool little spots before we headed up to the rooftop garden

One of my fav’s.  Rooftop of the Kimmel Center but who cares.. it’s all about them having fun

Erin has some crazy blue eyes; going to make for some awesome wedding images!

Go ahead Pat, you know you want to laugh

Hangin in the twigs at Love Park

Joey was letting us hear all of his Camaro’s 482 horses as he sat at the light.