courtney dellafiora blog :: international wedding photographer »

Someone pinch me. Please. Is this reality? Or a dream? I feel like I’m floating on cloud 9 as I think about my life and my incredible clients I am so blessed with. I love taking pictures… I absolutely LOVE what I do for a living. But what makes me love it even more are how amazing my clients are. Seriously… I love every single one of them. I’m getting teary eyed just thinking about how much they all mean to me. I feel like a goddess with each and every one because I am constantly treated like one. Angel and Brian are yet another example of two incredible people who exist on this planet and who give me another reason to love my job SO very much. When Angel first called me last year to talk about booking her wedding, I was all secretly to myself, “yes pick me, pick me!” — I am so not even kidding. There was just something about Angel that I knew I INSTANTLY loved. I knew right away we would get along great. I could not have been more right! She is truly an amazing person in every way, and if I had to pick two words to describe Angel they would be FABULOUS and ANGELIC. To be honest, before I met Brian I wondered if he would measure up to deserve such a lovely person. But after getting to know him at their engagement shoot, it wasn’t hard to see why Angel loved him so much and how absolutely perfect he was for her in every single way. He takes care of her and treats her like a queen and any guy who does that is A-OK in my book. ; )  Their engagement shoot is still one of my favorites to this day. (Be sure to check them out if you haven’t already!)

The big day finally arrived and it was perfect in every way. I am so incredibly honored I was able to be a part of these beautiful moments shared between such wonderful people. Thank you Angel and Brian SO VERY MUCH for allowing me to be a part of your story. I will never forget it as long as I live and I am truly humbled by your trust in me as your photographer. Thank you a million times over.

Please enjoy a few of my favorites from their beautiful love story:

Her dress is seriously to DIE for! It was bought at my favorite local bridal shop, Bustle. I absolutely love everything about it.

Angel wore two different sashes with the gown. The cream one for the ceremony and the grey/brown one for the reception… these accessories are definitely my favorite part about the gown.

Angel is seriously my kind of girl:

While I hung out with Angel as she got ready…

Michael hung out with the guys. He always fits right in with them and has a great way of making them feel like they aren’t just getting their picture taken. I love that. : )

Angel and Brian opted to see each other before the ceremony (also known as a First Look), and you already know what I’m going to say… BEST DECISION for the wedding day! (Besides saying “I do”, duh!) I love that Angel included her stepdad in the moment by asking him to walk her to the awaiting groom.

I just LOVE this moment of anticipation! Michael got this picture…

..and this one.

I mean seriously… look at these expressions! You can’t get this excited about seeing each other for the first time when you are in the front of everyone during the ceremony. It’s just such a beautiful moment that I love capturing.

Another reason the First Look is so great, is we get lots more time to walk around and take pictures of the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. without the added pressure of hurrying off to the reception.

What a beautiful couple!

Brian was so helpful with helping Angel with her dress while we walked around. I love it!

Angel, you really are an angel. Truly.

Love this:

Angel decided to include her brother when getting escorted down the aisle to her beau and I thought it was quite fitting.

I always leave it up to Michael to get the cool full shots of the ceremony and he always does such a great job!

I love bridal parties… they are always so much fun and this one was no exception of that.

Fierce.

Dashing.

Being introduced as husband and wife:

Michael got this shot of their first dance and I love it in so many ways.

Here Brian is thinking, “Wow, I am so lucky!” Did I get it right Brian? ; )

I loved all of the peacock styled details — so unique!!

One of the things I love about Angel and Brian is their height difference. Because Brian is so tall, Angel always has to look up to him which only allows her to express her adoration for him that much more in a photo.

Brian LOVES to dance and is quite good!! He is so much fun to watch. If you’re my facebook friend, you might remember seeing him in my bridal show recap video that I posted last summer. You can watch it here… fast forward to about 2.33 to watch him in action dancing for his bride to be! It’s totally worth watching!

Like I said… FABULOUS:

The two lovebirds — you can’t help but fall in love with love more when you’re around them!

It turned out to be a rainy day in New Orleans, but that wasn’t about to stop these two from entering wedded bliss. Jarret and Meghan have been nothing but a dream to work with since day one. They are both incredibly laid back and all around genuinely good people. They both reach high for their dreams, strive to be the best they can be and are determined to accomplish everything they set their hearts after. There’s no question in anyone’s mind though, that their greatest accomplishment is one another. From the beginning of getting to know them both, they have treated Michael and I like king and queen… buying us fancy dinners, inviting us to document their rehearsal dinner, and even giving me a hot pink clutch! (omg yes!) I adore them both in every way, and not because they made us feel like part of their family, but because they are fine examples of true love for each other and everyone else they cross paths with.

Thank you Meghan and Jarret for making us feel like royalty and inviting us into your incredible lives. We heart you both in big ways and look forward to seeing you again!! xoxo

You already know what I am going to say… LOVE the hot pink Manolo Blahniks!

I adored this of the gorgeous bride sharing an emotional moment with her mother.

Meghan surprised her hubby to be with this awesome gift — a Colt 45! I am pretty sure she scored some major wife points with that. Michael got this shot of the pistol.

Love the next two that Michael captured of Meghan and her father. I just love this moment leading up to the big “I dos”.

M also got this from above.

We only had a short window to snap a few photos because of the rain, but I love what we got.

Jarret is always making Meghan laugh and I love it! You can see many more examples of this when looking at their engagement photos.

First dance:

I don’t usually post many photos from the reception but I just HAD to from theirs because everyone literally partied ALL. NIGHT. LONG. It was just awesome. The following pictures are truly just a glimpse of the very fun filled night.

Seriously, how SWEET is this!?!

Meghan and Jarret spent so much time enjoying each other at their reception. I broke a record with how many photos I’ve ever taken at a reception because they were constantly together. Oh and I LOVE LOVE LOVED Meghan’s hairpiece she added for the reception. It’s so lovely!

Their band, MoJeaux (Mojo) is the best wedding band I have seen yet. They also performed at this wedding that I shot last year which was another reception that partied non stop. They are incredibly talented musicians and can play any genre of music. They completely know how to keep everyone on the dance floor and I highly recommend them!

Jarret’s dad apparently is quite the rockstar and serenaded us all!

Congrats to the new Mr and Mrs!!

Nina is truly one of the sweetest and happiest people I have ever surrounded myself with. She is always smiling and full of fun loving energy — the kind you want soak up as much as possible. She was so excited while planning her wedding that every time we communicated, it made me want to hurry up and have my own wedding! She is just incredibly positive and happy spirited and you can’t help but absolutely adore her in every way. After spending time with her while shooting her bridal pictures, I just knew her wedding would be overflowing with bliss and happiness. That statement could not have been more true. My favorite thing about Nina and Rocky’s wedding is not only how obviously in love they were, but how they never stopped smiling. They are truly happy and I can’t help but be completely thrilled for them both that they have found their soulmate in each other.

Nina and Rocky: thank you so much for having me as a part of your wedding! I am completely ecstatic I got to be a part of it and have only one small request to ask: Never stop smiling and laughing with each other… never, ever. xoxo

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Below are a few of my favorites from their big day that took place in New Orleans.

I loved her bouquet. Simple hot pink roses. You can NEVER go wrong with that.

If you’ve been a long time blog reader you may have heard me talk about Lo Boheme’s hair pieces. Nina wore one of Lauren’s hair pieces and I was so thrilled! I love it when my brides wear her work because her hand made creations are to die for.  Check out more of her work here.

Hot pink. Nuff said.

Rocky surprised Nina with a beautiful necklace that she was sooo thrilled about.

Nina’s gift to Rocky was of course my favorite though because she gave him a boudoir album! He was completely overwhelmed with excitement and I just know that got him a little more excited about the honeymoon. ; ) Brides, doing a boudoir shoot for your future hubs is one of the best gifts you can give him! They ALWAYS love it!

Completely gorgeous inside and out.

With a name like Rocky you’re definitely cool in my book.  ; )

Happiest couple on planet earth at that very moment.

Michael got this awesome shot from above.

So sweet!

Like I said, happiest couple. I loved how they never stopped being so excited to be married.

… and they lived happily ever after.