“I got a jump photo and a dip photo… I’m happy John. I’m not worried about anything else now.” -Amanda, right after this photo on her wedding day. Ha!

Last weekend I had the privilege of shooting  the wedding of Tim and Amanda Lordan. I first met both Tim and Amanda nearly two years ago at another Lordan wedding – Amy and Michael Lordan, one of Tim’s older brothers. And then last winter I received an email from Amanda titled simply “Game for another Lordan wedding?”. Shortly after Tim proposed and she started her wedding planning she reached out to me to check on availability, details, etc on me as their potential photographer. Long story short, we worked out the details and I was scheduled to shoot for them this January.

Amanda was a bride that was certainly on top of planning everything, too. She quickly worked out all the details with me as she gathered them. As soon as something was added, changed, or whatever else I was pretty quickly updated with an email on the plans. I could definitely understand that part of the reason was that their wedding was right after New Years, which is also right after Christmas – times that everyone is busy with their families and other things.

As the wedding weekend approached I could tell by Amanda’s emails that her excitement was growing. I myself was looking forward to seeing the Lordan family again and getting to know the Gayle family a little bit as well. I attended the rehearsal, as I always try to do, to get an idea of the venue and some of the rules. It was a new church to me and their are always new rules. This one was definitely going to be a bit tricky. I’m used to a no-flash rule (just crank that ISO up to a thousand or two and you’re all set!). But their church had a “line” that I was not allowed to cross. For those of you that don’t do many weddings, it’s typical to not be allowed on the marble, or steps, etc. But in this situation I had to remain a minimum of 30 feet away from the front of the church. VERY different than I’m used to. My photojournalism background means I prefer to be closer to my subjects. I stay low and out of the way, but I like photos that are a bit more intimate you could say. So, this would definitely bit a challenge – but never let this be a hurdle for you photographers out there. This is why we have telephoto lenses and image stabilization at weddings, too. haha!

The morning of the wedding started VERY early for me. I was up at 4am to double check my gear and give myself plenty of time to get on the road to meet the bridal party at 6am. A typical hair-and-makeup morning hanging out with Amanda and her girls and they prepared for their morning wedding. It’s always fun hanging out with the bridal party before weddings because you get to hear stories about how they met, or the engagement, or random girl-talk stories. LOL!
I broke off briefly to go meet up with the guys at the hotel as they finished getting ready and then it was on to the church! There ceremony went off without any problems, and we even finished our portraits ahead of schedule.

We arrived to the reception early as well; we got there right in the middle of cocktail hour. I had the chance to meet several family friends of the Gayle family since I was seated at what we later joked was “the creative table” since the florist, cake maker, and me the photographer were all seated together.

I’ll leave much more details about the day in the captions of the photos after the break. But I will say I had a wonderful time shooting for Tim and Amanda. The Gayle family and friends were a riot to joke with and get to know. And, as always, the Lordans were so welcoming with me being part of everything throughout the day.

So Thank You to the Gayles and the Lordans! I hope you enjoy this brief preview of what I shot throughout the day. I had so much fun!

Shooting around during the rehearsal gave me a bit of time to practice with location limitations and no-flash policy

Amanda was joking that this was the part of the ceremony where they make a break for it since they’re done!

Early morning prep time with the ladies

Getting a few quick shots of the dress before Amanda put it on. It worked out with timing that I was able to get a few additional images before heading out to meet the guys.

A little help from Mom with her necklace for the ceremony.

Tim and the boys finishing up their prep right as I arrived.

A quick celebration toast before heading the church

I was definitely laughing  as Amanda tried her best to get out of the car with as little trouble as possible. Clearly it was no problem at all… none…

Amanda opted to shorten her dress a dress I guess, haha! A little last minute modification in the car maybe?

Mrs. Lordan making sure her youngest son is looking sharp for his wedding. All of us guys know this moment when Mom comes over to adjust something that we’re wearing!

All the Lordan men waiting for things to get started. Tim, Michael, Mr. Lordan, and Joe.

Anddd, then there’s Amanda making faces at her sister Becky (middle left) who doesn’t seem too amused.

Mr. Gayle, ready to walk his little girl down the aisle!

Tim’s first look at his bride

A quick hug from Mom before Amanda is given away.

Family friend Derek gave on of the readings

One of Tim’s good friends Sarice gave the other

And of course Father Michael was leading the prayers and ceremony

He had a lot of very sweet things to say to Amanda and Tim.

Exchanging of vows

Best man Andrew holding the rings for the blessing

It’s funny this little guy was watching me most of the time that I was walking back and forth during the ceremony.

One final prayer… anddddd…

Man and Wife!

Hugs from Mom!

And her new mother in law!

Congrats from Dad as well

Mrs. Lordan looked so happy as she leaned in for a hug from her oldest son, Joe.

Amanda and her dad

Tim being congratulated by his oldest brother.

During photos we shot a whole bunch of family shots, and even a couple posed images that I wasn’t allowed to be up close for.

The reception was at The Grand Newport Plaza. Really beautiful place, and was completely new to me. We arrived earlier than planned and had plenty of time to take a bunch of photos.

This was actually Amanda and Tim laughing at something one of the bridesmaids was joking about. Turned out to be a cute little moment though.

And of course a dip shot as well. Amanda said the two things she wanted was this and the jump shot at the top of this blog, haha!

Amanda was just leaning against this pillar chillin while everyone was hanging out.

…which of course meant it was a great time for a silly photo of all of us!

A quick little moment with Tim and Amanda being silly and he pulled her in a quick kiss. Really sweet moments happen away from all the guests and family members.

We had plenty of time to goof off and do photos in the courtyard after the guests went inside, as well.

Everyone pile into the elevator!

The wedding cake they ordered was from a bakery owned by a family friend – “Not Just Cheesecakes” in the Bay Area.
It was amazing. I would highly recommend them to any of you.

Awe man! I always remember to photograph the guestbook, but I also always forget to sign it! Bummer!

Figuring out the bustle

I thought this was pretty funny… Amanda and Tim were practicing their moves for when they entered as everyone else was standing pretty calmly

Everyone danced their way across the floor and to their seat!

Mr. Gayle said a few words and thanked everyone for being part of the day. Shortly after Mrs. Gayle led everyone in a prayer before dinner.

Maid of Honor Briana gives her speech

I just wanted to share this because I thought it was funny with Amanda ducking down out of the way

Best Man Andrew had Tim laughing while sharing some stories from school together.

First dance as husband and wife

Tim dipped Amanda right at the end of their dance. I wasn’t expecting it so I had to slide over reallllly quickly to try and get a shot. I ended up with this image from a combination of motion blur on my part and a rear-curtain shutter-sync.

The Daddy-Daughter dance is always my favorite dance to watch. The expressions are always the best part. Mr. Gayle looked so happy.

Tim and his Mom dancing for the Mother-Son dance.

Mrs. Lordan’s three sons are now all married!

Seeing older couples dancing and having a great time at weddings is always so sweet.

Both Amy and Jessie’s husbands were groomsman, so they simply danced with each other! haha!

Amanda pulled this girl onto the dance floor at one point and made her break it down, too!

This cake was delicious… like I said. And Tim and Amanda didn’t seem to have much trouble with the cutting as most do

They were nice about it and didn’t smash it in each other’s faces

The girls definitely had a tug-of-war over the bouquet

Followed by a stare-down…

Tim and Amanda rockin out to AC/DC with a little air guitar!!

DON’T STOP! BELIEVIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!!!

Tim’s oldest brother Joe and his wife Jesse. I’ve known them for nearly 15 years. And as of recently have started to amass a collection of photos of them at weddings I’ve shot. hahaha!

Me and the newly married Lordans! Amanda and Tim

Me and the Lordans, too! Michael and Amy, whose wedding I photographed almost two years ago

Anddd, Me and the Lordans! Joe and Jessie I’ve known since Jr. High when we all ran track & field together.

And pose!

Last dance of the night…

And one last kiss before their wedding reception was officially over.

And Me and the Lordans… Mom and Dad Lordan, haha. They’re awesome to watch during the reception because they spend most of it dancing the time away with each other!

Me, after a long day with the Lordan and Gayle families, hanging out with some of the guests after when they went out for one last drink. I think Amy took this of me when I handed her my camera and said “Your turn to be photographer. I’m done.”

It was an early day with the Gayles and Lordans, and when things wrapped up in the in evening I was ready to just go to bed and call it a night…. at 6pm. Haha! But a great experience just as expected. It was so much fun getting to know Amanda better and meet her family. The Lordans have always been welcoming to me and it was fun to see them once more. Mrs. Lordan joked “Well, I’m out of kids” when I thanked them for having me back to photograph for them again.

I hope you all enjoyed this preview of the shots as much as I enjoyed making them last week. I still have quite a few to get through, but Tim and Amanda are still on their honeymoon and I have plenty of time.

Check back in a week and I’ll have some more images for everyone in a completely different field that I shoot… Supercross! I’ll be at Dodger Stadium shooting the Monster Energy AMA Supercross event for Falken Tire/Falken Racing… should be a blast!