Salt Lake Temple Wedding- Kelsey & Brandon

Kelsey and Brandon were fabulous clients!  They were excited and willing to do whatever it took to get great wedding photography.  They are the kind of people who take the time to tell you, on their own wedding day, how fabulous you look all dressed up.  

Kelsey and Brandon met up in Idaho- Kelsey was working as a nanny for a family and Brandon worked washing windows.  One day Kelsey looked out the kitchen window and saw Brandon and that, as they say, was that.  They rapidly found out how awesome the other person was, and we fast forward to today!

Just look how happy they are strolling out the doors of the temple!

The Temple grounds looked unreal with this light sprinkling of snow- it was absolutely gorgeous!!

Love this next one- just a quiet moment with their happiness.

The best thing in the world is when your bride and groom are just beaming at each other.

Want to see more or order a print?  Be sure and take a look at all of Kelsey and Brandon's different galleries here.

50% Off One Day Special!! Mini Portrait Sessions, Wednesday April 13th

It's SPRING!!! (I'm ignoring the fact it snowed on Sunday.  Didn't happen.  Nope. )  It's warmer, there's green showing up around on the ground and on the trees, and flowers are starting to make an appearance.  However, I fortunately have a break from weddings this month to catch up on all my editing from the last three months.  It was a busy winter!
Since I have a little more spare time, I've decided to have a special, one-day event!  On Wednesday, April 13th, I'll be doing 6 portrait mini shoots from 2-8pm at the Riverwoods Mall in Orem.

What does it mean?

Mini shoots include the following:

• 45 minutes per session
• Up to 4 people
• A disc of 25-30 edited high-resolution images

The mini-shoot can be any kind of outdoor shoot you'd like- kid, family, engagements, bridals, headshots.... you name it!  This is a great opportunity to save more than 50% off what I normally charge for a stand alone portrait session.
To reserve a slot, email me at whitneylewisphotography@gmail.com

Saffron Valley

Hey, here's a few photos from the Grand Opening of Saffron Valley, a new Indian street food restaurant in South Jordan.

The restaurant is described as more "Indian street food", but it's more fusion with a few American elements as well (ala "naan-wich" etc).

Overall, I liked the aesthetics of the location, and the chicken was amazing!

Annie and Bryce

Just a short post today- a few highlights from Annie and Bryce's engagement shoot at Wheeler Farm.

Brides & Baseball

Brittany and Jordan got married in the LDS Timpanogos Temple January 29th.  We lucked out a got a beautifully sunny and warm day for mid-winter. It makes it a little easier to have those natural smiles when you are not worried about your extremities freezing and falling off!

We actually got through the entire wedding day without realizing the entire baseball significance for Brittany's family.  Brittany's brother, Bryce Harper, was the 2010 first round draft pick and plays for the Washington Nationals, and her other brother Brian is a pitcher for the South Carolina Gamecocks.  We just kept seeing this bat floating around!

I loved this wedding because the people in it were so expressive.  It makes it a lot more like just hanging out with friends and recording what they happen to be doing as opposed to "I'm-here-to-shoot-the-wedding-so-stand-straight-everyone-hands-in-pockets-now-SMIIIIILE!"

Brittany and Jordan were great to work with, and we got a great variety of emotions in the few minutes we had for newlywed photos before the reception.

Check out the entire wedding and all the full galleries here.

Traditions & Tunes

I LOVE when there's an awesome surprise on a wedding day.  I especially love it when really talented people can share their gift. As part of the program for their reception at Noah's in Lindon, Jordan serenaded his new bride.  He played "Marry Me" by Train on the guitar and sang. It was beautiful, and he did an amazing job!

These are some of the happiest cake photos I've taken.... I love all the smiles!!!

Later on, Jordan got his father-in-law and all the guys to back him up with another surprise song- this time an acapella version of You've Got That Lovin' Feeling by the Righteous Brothers.

The photo above is so sweet.... I love the tenderness her dad shows as he dances with her.

Details, Dancing & Departures

Brittany had the cutest shoes!  Both she and Jordan were wearing vans for their wedding day, and a close friend of Brittany's hand-glued all of these sequins onto her shoes.

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Brittany and Jordan hired Goodwood Barbeque to cater the reception.  As a Texan, where bbq is a recognized religion, I definitely though it was a great choice!

With dancing at receptions, it can be hit or miss.  Sometimes you don't get very much, sometimes you only get the obligatory tradition dances, and sometimes the wedding party get down with their bad selves.

Take a look at all of Brittany and Jordan's complete wedding galleries here.

Viva las Vegas!

A few weeks ago Thomas and I had a road trip down to Vegas for Alexandra and Tyrel's engagements.  We were pretty excited to take a break from the cold weather, and Las Vegas is such an interesting place to shoot that I was looking forward to all the variety we could get from place to place.  We started the engagement shoot at the Venetian Hotel on the strip, then drove out to Lake Las Vegas in Henderson.
We almost got kicked out of the resort at Lake Las Vegas, but I was able to sweet talk the security guard and got us 15 minutes. He even waved at us when he drove away!  (Said he didn't want to disappoint me with my big brown eyes.  I didn't know they were such an asset!)  After we were done, we discussed the matter among ourselves and decided that, after aaaall, one couldn't be quite SURE where the private property was and which resort was which, so we casually meandered over to the other side of the Lake for the remainder of the daylight. We did keep an eye out for our new friend, though.
We got some great sunsets, and even though the light was gone, we decided we were having so much fun that we'd see what night-time Vegas had to offer!  We went up to a spot Alexandra's mom knew about to get an angle on the skyline, and then we headed back downtown.  I'm a huge fan of Ocean's 11, and so I suggested we try the fountains around the Bellagio.

This bridge is where they had their first kiss. Awwwwww... how romantic.  They really really wanted this photo, so despite the fact that there was a no trespassing sign to our right... and despite the fact that a wedding was about to start on the other side of a group of trees 15 yards away... AND despite the fact that we weren't dressed well enough to pretend we were just more guests arriving (the food did look good!),  we snuck down, took our minute and a half, and walked away with everything they needed.  Photos are all about preserving memories, right? So now they have an extra one by the bridge.

The Bellagio is GORGEOUS.  By far, one of the prettiest hotels on the strip.  We did try and get to the exact spot in front of the fountains as the movie, but of course the place was packed and so there were just too many people.  We did end up getting some incredible views with the fountains though.

Take a look at Alexandra and Tyrel's complete engagement gallery here.

Miriam

Hindsight is always 20-20.  The more weddings I do, the more opinions I have about what I would have done differently for my own wedding.  If I could do it again, I would totally have a birdcage veil.  I love them!
I thought Miriam looked fabulous, and we had fun shooting in downtown SLC at the library and the city & county building.  It was the best of both worlds- gorgeous modern architecture and nice warm conditions inside the library, then beautiful newly-fallen snow and classic buildings across the street.