Aisle Style: The Altura Studio Blog » Inspiration for Pacific Northwest brides by Altura Studio

2007 seemed to be the year of the best friend/minister. What could be cooler? A few clicks on the Internet and someone who knows you uniquely and personally can perform your ceremony. And it’s perfectly legal. An excellent trend, with only one caveat.

Here’s the catch. Your newly ordained best friend, despite his or her exceptional charm, has probably not performed a zillion weddings. There’s a trick or two that the old pros know that you can pass along in advance of the big day.

Tip #1. It matters where you stand.
The best ceremony photos show both the bride and groom’s faces. To do this, the couple needs to stand somewhat closer than typical body language dictates and facing slightly towards the guests. Make sure you’re standing close enough to easily hold one another’s hand. That way you won’t have to straight-arm across a giant divide when it’s time to say vows or exchange rings. We photographed one wedding where the uninitiated minister positioned the bride and groom off to the side and took the center spot for almost the entire ceremony. (uh-oh.)

This is a good distance, they can easily reach each other. The bend in the arm makes a nice line.

Look how far this couple has to reach to touch each other. I think it’s too far apart.

Tip #2. It matters where you stand, part 2
Make sure that the two of you are positioned far enough away from the front row so that the photographer can get a good angle across the aisle. If you’re positioned too close to the front row, your heads will make a little eclipse: we’ll see the back of your beloved’s head and only a tiny sliver of yours. Given a little distance, we can get wonderful photographs of each of you looking at each other.

This is a great angle for the ceremony. There was about 8 feet between the couple and the first row. The attendants are standing in a slight arc, which is good however, be careful that they don’t move too far forward and obscure the view of the wedding couple.

Tip #3. Practice makes perfect.
Many modern couples are less formal about their weddings and are willing to let their friends take creative license with the ceremony. Keep in mind that what’s cute and funny to you and your friends may not go over so well with your 72-year-old Aunt Ruthie. Resist the urge to overly personalize your vows. You’ll never regret keeping it simple and classic.

Tip #4. Step aside for the kiss.
The best ministers know to do a little sidestep just as they pronounce the couple married. (We LOVE those guys!) It’s easy to get absorbed into the emotion and excitement of the moment, but remind your guy or gal, that stepping aside gets us a fantastic photo of your first married kiss without his or her head popping out the top.

Now’s the quiet time of year when we update our portfolios and remake our sample albums. It’s also a great time for John and me to reflect back on our favorite photos from the last season. More and more, we’ve noticed that our favorite images are often black and white. True, color does play into our opinions, but for different reasons. Black and white images seem more emotional, as though you can reach into the frame and sense the feeling taking place. Color is like candy–sweet and fun and necessary–but too much of it and you lose your sense of the sweetness.

This time of year also gives us the chance to look back and consider what way of working led to making the photos that have become our favorites. Funny thing is–none of the photos (except the dress image) was one that we had planned. Each one was a result of just being present and patient and observing what our clients do naturally. It makes me laugh, because planning is such a pivotal part of what we do. We plan like crazy, prepping and anticipating, but the best things seem to happen when we’re ready for a “zig” and instead, the couple “zags”.

I typically roll my eyes when photographers plaster their sites with glowing words of praise from clients. But we had so much fun with these two that I’m putting a moratorium on my personal persnickity-ness about it. I’m pleased to share part of a note that I got in the mail today from Sara and Erik. In her sweet card (which they made on Shutterfly with one of our images) Sara says, “Not only are we thrilled with our photos, but working with you has been an absolute pleasure from start to finish. The manner in which you worked was fluid and natural, with a calming presence that allowed us to be ourselves. And your photography conveys just that. Even the most subtle moments were captured from a sweet yet refreshing perspective…”

The thing that makes me happiest is that the photos really are a great reflection of them, the day, their families, –the whole thing. We love when it flows like that.

6 or 7 years ago, my friend Terri and I used to commiserate about our horrible jobs. While we both toiled in the bicycle industry, we dreamed of lives and jobs where we could truly invest ourselves and put our creativity to good use. She and I both took the “i quit” leap about the same time, and since then, she has proven to herself and everyone that she made the PERFECT move. Now Terri has two growing businesses, Embellish, for handsewn wedding gowns, and the web-enabled Olivia Luca, where you can customize a perfect dress just as you envision it.

Terri’s dresses looked so amazing on the inagural day of Portland’s Fashion Week. She was nice enough to get John and I passes so that he could shoot her portion of the runway action. And that’s her, in the orange sweater in frame 8. If you’re a bride looking for something unique and individual to wear, check out both of Terri’s websites.

I’ve seen few things as lovely as Jolene’s slender neck complimented by this simple birdcage style veil. In person, she was just stunning, and these photos catch a bit of her great look. Here’s the interesting part: I don’t think it was much more than a simple shape of bronzey colored net from a fabric store. Perhaps she stiffened it a bit with some hairspray–however, I watched her simply gather and hairpin the net into a convenient place in her updo–to a fantastic effect. She also wore a chocolate colored lace bolero over her strapless gown, which was a great accessory for her late autumn wedding. Two great examples that great wedding looks don’t always come from a bridal salon.

All day long, I’m telling myself, “It won’t rain. It won’t rain. It just says CHANCE of showers, that doesn’t mean it will ACTUALLY rain, right?” Regardless of my mental efforts–it did rain. But only enough to remind us that it’s not how things happen, but only that they happen that makes a wedding important.

 Jolene is one of those terribly creative people who can easily whip things up that look like they belong in Martha Stewart “Weddings”. Her day was full of creative touches, including a Morroccan lounge that the couple’s guests enjoyed. Jolene had a clear vision of how the whole event would come together–the tent and all the details made for a memorable evening.

 We’re excited about meeting a new vendor that we can happily recommend. Viola Catering made a delicious Morroccan themed meal to honor Jolene and Chad’s first date. The caterer was nice enough to make John and I each a heaping plate, so we tasted the entire menu and declare it YUMMY.

Congratulations, Jolene and Chad.

This just might have been the most stylish wedding we’ve photographed this year. Urbane, sophisticated, and vivid–that’s how I would describe Brian and Rachel’s wedding at the Portland Art Museum on Sept 15th. During the planning session, we learned that we’d be working with many of our favorite vendors. Here’s a few highlights: Geranium Lake Flowers did the gorgeous flowers in hot shades of red, orange, tangerine and crimson. Besides the beautiful bridal bouquet, the table flowers were especially suitable for the setting in the sculpture garden. Joseph’s Dessert Co. (commander-in-chief of cakes) baked that masterpiece, for which I always happily break my diet. The Prop Shop remade the space between the buildings into an exotic outdoor nightclub. And the orchestrator of all this fabulousness was Emee Pumarego of EJP events, which meant that everything went according to plan.

 Congrats Brian and Rachel!

Glamour, glamour, glamour! Taryn’s channels pure lusciousness in every photo. She and Jimmy just sizzle together! We were especially happy to be photographing Taryn, since my best girlfriend, Terri Spaeth-Merrick (who has Embellish and Oliva Luca) made Taryn’s incredible gown, and we were certain that she would be a beautiful bride to photograph. Other cool things: Kim from Geranium Lake flowers lighted the columns of the sunken ballroom with blue uplights and the incorporated peacock feathers and shimmery blue water into the room decor. It was slinky, sexy and groovy. Cheers to you both, I better get back to working on your proofs. See you in a few weeks.

In my dreams, I wake up in the morning, go to the door in my fuzzy slippers and spy a little pink bakery box secretly left on my doorstep. And inside is a magical Joseph’s cake–magical because no matter how many slices you eat, there is always a full cake left to slice into. Oh, and double frosting.

This cake from Joseph’s had some definite magic to it:

We first saw Jordan Gladow’s work at the November Bravo Bridal Affair. She and her team (I assume there was a team, since it was a freakin’ incredible installation) had transformed one of the big ol bland ballrooms into a forest wonderland. I can’t remember all the details, but I remember moss, sticks, twigs, bark, orchids(?). She whipped all those rustic ingredients into an unforgettably elegant setting.

We were excited to photograph Blum’s flowers at Dave and Jenny’s wedding a few weeks ago. The flowers were so beautiful that I thought we give props where props are due. Hat’s off to you, Jordan.