It pays to be friends with a wedding photographer.  Or in the case of Nicole & Jim, it pays to be the friend of a friend of two wedding photographers.  Jim plays in Caren’s band, who in addition to being a kick-ass friend of mine is also a kick-ass drummer.  We got a call on a Thursday night asking if we would shoot Jim & Nicole’s wedding taking place the next day.  Just a warning to the brides out there, this is what happens when you leave the groom in charge of securing the photographer!  Nicole had checked our work out months ago and told Jim to book us…..and I guess technically he did…..just 24 hours before! Hehe.

Nicole getting ready – I absolutely love this picture.  I took it, but Andy did an awesome job with the processing.

I am going to let you all in on a secret:  Jim and Nicole have been married for awhile, but they never got a chance to do it up right the first time, so they decided to take the opportunity to celebrate properly.  This didn’t affect the enthusiasm of the guests though – it was downright crowded around the altar, with many friends and family members clustered around the couple to take pictures and video.

After the ceremony we did some formal portraits outside.  There wasn’t time to travel to a secondary location, so we had to wing it.  Andy rocked out the groomsmen portraits while I concentrated on the ladies.

This adorable flower girl is the daughter of the bride and groom.

Before ducking inside for the reception, we had to do some “band” photos of Jim, Caren, her boyfriend Eric, and their bassist, Rob:

There is a whole slideshow of these photos here, if you are interested.

Back inside, it was time for the toasts:

How awesome are Nicole’s eyelashes in that picture?!?!

Dad toasting the bride & groom:

We decided to set up off-camera lighting on the dancefloor and got some beautifully backlit shots:

I loved their daughter’s reaction as she sat on the sidelines during the first dances:

This event was all about the party, so I have to include some dance shots.

The lady in the foreground of this picture just totally does it for me.  I crack up everytime I see it.

Finally, if you know me, you know I have a thing for the ring shots.  These are some of my favorite to date.

Both of these we actually taken at the deserted head table while the party was in full swing.  I think some of the guests were wondering what the heck I was doing.  I actually had the rings placed on the stems of their champagne flutes, but it’s so close up you can’t really tell.

Finally, I love this last one because it’s just so elegant and classic:

Jim & Nicole – thanks so much for letting us spend the day with you, we had a great time!  And thanks to Caren for referring us.

Want to see more?  Check out the slideshow from this weddding.

Related posts:

1. Sneak Peek: Jim & Nicole