2nd Photographer:
Brooklyn & Max had an absolutely gorgeous wedding! I had more private home weddings this year than the rest of my career combined and many were not well executed. This wedding was an example of how to do a home wedding. It didn’t hurt that both of the properties right on the shore of the lake were owned by one family either. The main reason it went off so well though was that they hired a professional tent (more on that later), caterer, photographer, officiant, etc. When you don’t use a proper wedding venue, it’s even more of a reason to hire professionals in the rest of the vendor roles.
I got to hang out with Max and his groomsmen in the basement of another family member’s house on the lake, while the ladies were getting ready at the house the wedding was held at. There was a lot of trying to figure out how to tie a bow tie and a bottle of tequila that went down quickly. Max and the groomsmen decided to follow through on a joke he had with Brooklyn and wear flip-flops for their wedding.
The wedding property was gorgeous on this hot summer day. The tent set up was the best I’ve ever seen. Most tents have white plastic sides and they photograph horribly. They look like the white plastic they are, especially when hit with a flash. This tent had about 9 feet tall open sides all the way around. It was even tested when it down poured during the reception and nothing and nobody got wet. Highly recommend this “circus-type” tent instead of the walled ones if you are planning an at-home wedding.
The ceremony was filled with tears and genuine heartfelt words. It was an amazing start to the rest of the night, which was phenomenal. Sometimes I’m just glad to be at a wedding and this was one of those. A groomsman split his pants in a dance move revealing his underwear, and then felt the need to make sure I got a photo of it (I did). The dancing was lit… and so were the cigars. It was just an amazing night by the lake on a perfect summer evening and a wedding I was thrilled to photograph.
