It was a  chilly January wedding day in Salem, but Erica and Mike didn’t flinch. We made our way from the Capitol building to Downtown and then off to Waterfront Park snapping great shots all along the way. Erica and the bridesmaids would bundle up between clicks and during posing but when it came time to get the shot, they shed the extra layers and looked like seasoned models.

The reception was held at the Grand Ballroom downtown, and was as gorgeous as I’ve seen it. They have one of my most favorite dance floors of any venue I’ve worked and it didn’t dissapoint. The paper laterns and twinkle lights created incredible lighting scheme and a great ambiance – I even brought one of my big studio strobes along for some extra dramatic lighting during the dancing. I love taking dance pictures with the strobe, it really gives a ’spot-light’ type of feel to the pictures and it offers some extra creative flexibility.

Another one of my favorite parts of the night was when I got the chance to take Erica and Mike outside the Ballroom to get some low light stuff under Salem’s cool downtown street lighting. There’s something about shooting in the dark without a flash that makes for an extra romantic, movie-like quality to a picture. Ever since the low-light workshop with Art, I can’t get enough of it.

It was a great day and a blast of a wedding.  A couple months back I was a little worried about how my pregnant body was going to hold up during all my winter weddings but so far, apart from some extra sore feet, I think I’ve handled it like a champ!  :)   Thanks Erica and Mike, for trusting me with your big day – your pictures turned out amazingly and I can’t wait for you to see the rest.