Alaska | Part 2 - The Wedding (Preview)

After the wedding morning rituals of hair, makeup, and dressing, the guests arrived in shifts to the Knik River Lodge to await the helicopter transportation to the glacier. Because I spent the morning with the bride, I was in one of the last waves; the anticipation grew as I waited for my cue to approach the helicopter.

Ever since I was first asked to shoot this wedding, I did what I do for every shoot and tried to envision the location. This helps me be prepared and keep focused in what can be an otherwise hectic environment. I go through what different lighting I might be challenged with and how to deal with it, what my limitations for poses are, how much time I have, and anything else that will have me shoot efficiently and beautifully. Since I had only been to a few wimpy glaciers in my life, I mostly pictured a rocky terrain with a little bit of dirty ice sliding down a mountain. I knew it would be beautiful, but I wasn't expecting breathtaking.

I think it's safe to say B + D (from this post) got married at one of the most amazing locations I've ever been to. It was otherworldly. I had to snap myself out of awestruck and back into focused more than a few times during my time on the glacier. I just got back home a couple of hours ago, so I haven't had time to go through and edit pictures, but I thought I'd give you a little h'orderve.

After the ceremony and pictures, we helicoptered back to reality and drove to the reception held at a lodge on a lake about a half an hour away. The reception was such a great contrast from the monochromatic and chilly nature of the ceremony's location with it's rustic and home-like theme. The food was chili, cornbread, and cobbler (a welcome treat after a few cold hours on a glacier) and was accented with wildflowers in jars tied with burlap and ribbon. The night went off without a hitch AND I learned a secret to making delicious chili... a melted chocolate bar!

MUCH more to come!