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As do most triple-digit days, 11/11/11 gave couples around the country a reason to celebrate – their wedding that is!  Rob and I were excited to be involved in one such wedding, that of our clients Victoria and Michael.111111_0271-blog

Leaving our newest little photographer (our newborn 9 week old daughter!), for the first time, we traveled up to Key Largo for their wedding, arriving mid-afternoon to a beautiful private residence with a fun “Miami Vice” kind of flair.

111111_0126-blog1 The property was amazing, featuring a lush hidden driveway leading back to a grand home on its own private peninsula jutting out into the ocean.

The bride wore a fun feathery skirted A-line strapless dress with a fun black sash.  The guys were handsome yet casual in their tan suits, and the girls looked amazing in their shimmery tropical green knee-length bridesmaids dresses.

Despite some unexpected delays, we managed to make the most of the long walk to the ceremony site by stopping en route several times to capture shots of the bride and her bridesmaids, integrating the beautiful furniture and architecture of the home.

Since the ceremony was taking place right at sunset, it was dark immediately after, so Rob and I did some fancy footwork capturing timed-exposure images of the bridal party with the water in the background, using a remote flash to fill in each person in the frame.

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The reception was a lot of fun and gave us great opportunities to get some photography of the girls making a grand entrance dance, the bride doing her famous backbends, and the newly wed couple schmoozing in the glow of a flood light.

Finally, the night ended with sending up “wish balloons”.  This miniature hot-air balloons are completely biodegradable and environmentally safe, are made of a thin paper-like material over a thin frame to provide support, and when the base is lit, it fills the space up with warmed air….and….LIFTOFF!  Sure there were some duds that ended up skidding to a stop in the top of the mangroves, but those that went airborne made a beautiful site floating away over the Atlantic ocean, carrying the dreams and hopes for this new couple on the wind!