Here are a few of my favorite images from William and Erica’s wedding.  It was a large wedding, but it felt small.  The people were all so nice that it just felt like I was amongst family.  That is a good indication that things are going to be wonderful.

I enjoyed working on these images, as much as I enjoyed shooting them…

Now, I don’t care who you are, this next one has to make you smile.

Erica is such an adorable person and beautiful women.  She was working on some very important curls, so while she was using this plastic, portable hair drier, I had to get a picture.

These curls are apparently well over 24 hours of work, so when you see Erica’s hair in her dress, don’t think that kind of coolness comes without some skill and planning.  And she pulled it off wonderfully.  I find myself getting a little giddy when I see something as cool as her hair was on the wedding day.  Not because I love hair, but because I love to see something unique and beautiful and super cool come into place.

So as erica was brushing out her hair, her maid of honor said. “you look like a black and white photograph.”  So I immediately took a black and white.  This photograph and many others are in black and white because of that statement.  It changed the course of the photos of the wedding.  I like that interactive nature of weddings.  Letting the circumstances sway the images means that the images become something much more real and meaningful.  Thanks to a cute little statement on the wedding day, I saw the entire wedding day through a deferent lens.

First off, I think William’s last name is awesome.  Secondly, I can’t begin to say how grateful I am to those who are and have been a part of our armed forces.  Thirdly, I love the composition of this image.  So, I love this image.  There is a companion image that shows the groom and the best man in this same pose and it is a very casual and supportive gesture, but I much prefer this image because it is so metaphorical.

This is the Bride’s parents back yard (and music studio).  I never wanted to leave…

I spent a long time looking at the getting ready photos after selecting them considering what they should become.  I am generally very good at choosing a style and direction for a photograph and just making it happen, but this set made me stop and think for a long time.  The bride’s love of books (a theme that would show up in the reception hall) was on full display here.  The warmth of the wood, the room, the light in the window, her hair and the presence of her grandmother (who I wanted to take home with me), all pushed me to this warm treatment with a push back into the past.  I will be playing with these same images on my workshop on creativeLIVE.com in a week (March 24-26, 2014) and if you join me there, you can see the original shots.  I can’t imagine them with any other treatment.

So soft and beautiful.

The portrait session became a total of five or ten minutes tops.  There were a few delays on getting the dress right because a sewing kit had already left for the church.  And we had to leave soon, so it was a quick run out into the snow for a few photos.  And while I love the color in the image here and it makes a nice portrait, I fell in love with the black and white for my favorite shot in the series.

This black and white got my attention for a long time.  I really had a lot of fun with it.  Including turning on that light and creating a little extra glow from the light onto her hair, etc.  I am so pleased with this one.  William (the groom) should be printing this one for his office for sure.

Who doesn’t love candles?

The candles were all over the place.  Like a gift from the bride and her family to me.  This one is another one of my favorite images.  But it required a little extra editing because there was a little something in the background, a groom, that was crowding up the image.  So, sometimes, I do use photoshop… but not often.  And I will show you the original on creativeLIVE.com in a week, then it will be in the archives forever, never to be seen again.

When you have a car like this, you have to use it well.  Man it was cold out though…  SO COLD!!!!

Erica was a trooper though.  She was brave enough to take off her warm furry cape.  And here I was with coats and hats and scarves (no gloves) and I was still freezing!  I think it was about 10 degrees outside when we took this photo…  I will say it was fun, because taking photos is fun, but the cold was not as fun.

Thank you William and Erica for trusting me with your wedding day.  It was such a pleasure.  God bless you both and your marriage.

Photography by Jared Platt, Platt Photography

Slideshow music courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

Location: Independence Missouri

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Post-Production with Shoot Dot Edit