Amber & Araya | Wedding

Amber and Araya were an unexpected addition to the calendar this year - booking just a month or so before their wedding when their original photographer moved. What was unexpected turned out to be one of the most intriguing couples I had the opportunity to meet this year. Amber is from Madison and Araya is from Ethiopia. To further twist their tale, Araya's family moved to Atlanta when he was a boy, Amber did missionary work in Ethiopia and found a deep love for the country, and then on a visit to see her best friend in Atlanta, said friend set her up with Araya on a blind date. Success between the two was instant and that is how a girl from Madison fell in love with a boy from Ethiopia. Pretty fascinating.

I owe a big thanks to the staff at the Madison Club for recommending me for this job - thanks ladies! This is my second wedding there, and they are top-notch, all the way.

Ceremony: Press House
Reception: Madison Club
Dress: Premiere Couture


Both the guys and the girls got ready at the hotel - in adjoining rooms. I have to be honest, for me, that was a dream set up. I was able to pop back and forth between the two groups quickly and not miss any of the anticipation, without scheduling anyone or rushing anyone along. Loved it!



Araya's dad has one of those faces where you just want to put him next to a good window and let him talk while you snap away. He did share some wonderful stories about what it was like to marry Araya's mother in Ethiopia.

I usually try to keep myself out of the pictures, but it was hard to avoid for this one:









A very touching moment back with the guys:


The girls got dressed at the church ( I guess I went a little overboard with getting ready pictures for the blog this time. I just loved the classic nature of Amber's dress and veil, I couldn't help myself):









The Ceremony. Something happened at this wedding that I have never seen before. I'm going to chalk it up to a cultural difference, and it had most of the guests laughing. If you watch the slideshow, you'll see shots of these events. There were five of Araya's relatives at the front of the church, standing in front of the groomsmen and even at one point, next to the minister, taking pictures and video. There were also about ten or more in the seats standing and snapping away. It was the most amusing family paparazzi I had ever seen. It was amazing what they would do for a shot. It continued all day too, right thru the reception. These people were serious about their pictures. But it made for some amusing moments to say the least. If you look at the second picture following here, you'll see one of them behind the groomsmen (he was usually in front). I did my best to herd them away from the front as they were pretty distracting, but they were ambitious.





Afterwards, it was crazy cold outside and dark, but Amber and Araya were super good sports about it:




The Reception:






The Details:


Thanks to Amber and Araya and to their families for letting me in with open arms and sharing their day.
They didn't know it, but I had a very different sort of assistant along on their day. Monica from The White Box of Wedding Design was masquerading as an assistant so that she could shadow me for a day and get a sense of what a wedding day is like from a photographer's perspective. I agreed to this because one, it was wicked fun to have her along, and two because I knew she would be a great assistant even on the first try. I wasn't wrong. Though I still say that Amber and Araya's day was a bit out of the normal Wisconsin wedding for me, I think she got a good idea of how a day flows for me and the obstacles I encounter. She is going to be shadowing several other wedding vendor categories in the coming months. You can see Monica's perspective on this wedding day (as well as some very amusing shots of me shooting I'm sure) over on her blog. Check it out!

Enjoy the slideshow!