Larry Huffman Weddings Blog: Megan & Dave's Wedding 5/23/09

Saturday May 23rd was Megan and Dave's wedding. It took place in Annapolis Maryland. The ceremony was at St Mary's Church and the reception and at The Marriott Waterfront. Above is a small sampling of the images.

The day started at 10:30 am. The weather was warm and sunny. I met Jodi my assistant at the church and we then walked to the hotel (a couple blocks) to meet up with Megan. She arrived from hair and makeup already done (elsewhere). We got a few things in the room with Megan getting ready. Then walked back to the church to meet my second shooter Mike and to get ready for the ceremony. I didn't really get a whole lot of things done before the ceremony but I knew that there was a nice time gap between the ceremony and reception where I could catch up.

The church has some strict rules for photographers and I was given the orders of what not to do as soon as I arrived. Of course, I know all the rules as I have worked there many times. But, they tell you anyway.

It is a beautiful church and the ceremony was lovely. It lasted about 55 minutes and that left maybe 10 minutes for pictures in the church. You are not allowed to use light stands, umbrellas or tripods in the church (except for the balcony). I bring my Quantum Light in and have Mike hold it so the stand doesn't touch the floor. This way i still get some height on my light.

After the inside formal pictures we went into the gardens outside to do additional pictures. The gardens are pretty. The light was challenging because of the time of day and the sun being bright and high in the sky. So I use the trees to shield the bright sun light and try to find open sky as my main light. I also took them into the sun for some as well.

When we finished in the gardens we walked (the entire wedding party) the couple blocks to the Marriott. There we took a break from the heat to refresh. Megan, Dave and the wedding party then went out on the docks for more pictures. Outside by the dock was a large sail boat (the same sail boat used in the movie The Wedding Crashers). So we asked if we could board for some pictures and they said no problem. It was fun.

After outside dock pictures we went back inside and soon the cocktail hour was to begin. The cocktail hour was held on the concrete deck overlooking the Annapolis harbor.

I was pleased to see that I was working with Sue and Don from DanceMasters. They were the DJ's. They do a great job. Don is very excited about his music and is great at playing the right music and keeping the dance floor busy. And Sue orchestrated many things on the dance though out the night.

Over all it was a fantastic wedding. It ended at either 10:30 or 11:30 (I can't remember now) and afterwords I went down to join Dave and Megan for a couple beers in the bar before going home. So, it was a great day, wonderful people, lots fun.

Equipment: Canon 5D Mark II, 1D Mark III, 1D Mark II, 5D, 20D. 10/20, 17/40, 24/70 and a 70/200 lens. 580 and 580II flashes.