That Wedding: Me and My Maids (+ Manmaid)

Finally we had arrived at the photo shoot I was most looking forward to that day! My bridesmaids were looking hot in their non-matching dresses and mini veils, with their cocktail rings and black and gold shoes. The weather was cooperating and we only had to walk one block down to find a nice deserted street with all kinds of nooks and crannies with wonderful lighting.

You would think that my Roman bridal shoot would have prepared me for photos with a crowd of people gathered around, but I did feel oddly self conscious. I love how the slightly pink tone of this wall really helps my dress pop.

One of my favorite photography "tricks" is when the photog asks the subjects to all look in different directions. When repeated two or three times in a row it can lead to some great shots (plus it really helps people loosen up instead of staring straight into the camera and smiling). Click to enlarge the photo below to see what I mean.

I wanted to get a photo with just my bridesmaids (no juniors or bridesman) and so my sister and I sat down on the big trunk together in front. I thought it seemed natural for us to hold hands like this...

but holding hands isn't something we ever actually do together so she felt really silly. I love her!

Want to see another one of my photo tips? Whenever I'm "posing", I move my head, eyes, and mouth around to different positions for each shot to help me relax and capture different angles. I tend to scrunch my eyes up and let my mouth get tight when I stare straight into the camera and smile for a long time. You will feel silly, and people will make fun of you, but I guarantee you'll start getting better shots because of it.

While in Rome, my mom and I attended an antique fair and I fell in love with these gigantic and over the top cocktail rings. It was a fun surprise for them, and I did my best to try to match each girls personality with the ring she received.

Mine now sits on the ring holder in my kitchen. It's so big I still haven't found an event fantastic enough for me to justify wearing it.

Photo by me

We packed up our suitcases and walked down the street a little farther to see if we could spot another good location. I promise I didn't ask Bridesman Trevy to tag along just so he could schlep the bags for us, but it does look like that in this photo doesn't it?

I wish you all could meet my bridesman. He is definitely the coolest person I have ever met and I'm so glad I asked him to fly all the way out and be in my bridal party (my traditional family got such a kick out of asking a guy to be in the bridal party instead of asking him to be a groomsmen).

We settled on a set of stairs, arranged ourselves, and scattered the suitcases for this awesomely vogue shot. Unfortunately we didn't take into account that people would be walking up and down to get to and from Pikes Place market. It just meant we had to move over every once in awhile to let streams of families through. I had budgeted a lot of time for these photos so we were able to get all the pictures we wanted even with the extra accomodations we had to make.

The three girls on the left in this photo are my double cousins! My parents got married, and then my mom's sister and my dad's brother decided to get married as well! Luckily all of their kids are our favorite cousins because we see them at every single family activity we attend, no matter which side of the family it is.

These are my college roommates for the last 4 years. Three of us met our freshman year of college, the 4th joined a year later, and we haven't split up since (well until the marriage thing took two of us out of the game).

The purse my grandma knit for me worked great for keeping my hands off of my hips in every single pose. Don't you love BM Meggie's super long sash?

I was taking individual shots with each of the bridal party members, when I ran into a particular problem with Bridesman Trevy that I hand't encountered with the others. No matter what kind of pose we put ourselves in, he looked like a groom! We tried back to back...

arm in arm...

and a pose I definitely did with That Groom earlier that day...

and so we finally decided that standing on the opposite side of the stairs like we don't even like each other was the key. :)

I love this shot (hey, I'm not afraid to be the center of attention, okay?) but I'm not sure I love the ad for Don Equis XX Imported Beer in the background, LOL. Ignoring that, it has really nice symmetry, and I like that it helps everyone look like they are about the same height.

I'd been keeping a watchful eye on the time, and all of the sudden it was time for me to get out of there. I'd promised That Groom I would be back at least 30 minutes before the ring ceremony so we could get some last minute things squared away.

As I was rushing up the stairs all Cinderella-like, I called over my shoulder "Make sure and get a shot of all the bridesmaids together without me!"

Kelli Nicole follows orders really well.

Previously:

That Wedding: Bridesmaid Party!
That Wedding: Whole Foods (Rehearsal-ish) Luncheon
That Wedding: Harbor Sailing
That Wedding: Putting My Face On
That Wedding: The Gift Exchange
That Wedding: Dressing That Bride
That Wedding: Bridal Details
That Wedding: The First Look
That Wedding: Into The Woods
That Wedding: Woodsy Family Portraits
That Wedding: To Wed! To Wed!
That Wedding: Showered With Love, Coins, and Hugs
That Wedding: Group Shots With a Little Spice
That Wedding: Those Groomsmen
That Wedding: The Whole Party