Adrienne and Michael
Our Lady of the Lake and Southern Hotel Wedding

It’s hard to imagine a more photogenic couple than this bride and groom from California. Unsurprisingly, Adrienne and Michael both work are on-air news reporters, so they were completely comfortable in front of the camera! We started out the wedding day at the elegant Southern Hotel in downtown Covington, where the bride and groom and both sides of the wedding party were getting ready in suites on either side of the hotel. Flawless Bride did the girls’ makeup and did a fantastic job as usual, with the gorgeous flowers being provided by Villere’s Florist. I loved the gifts each gave to the other… Michael’s gift to Adrienne was a DSLR camera kit, which she was thrilled to receive, while Adrienne presented Michael with a beautiful book she had created of old letters Michael’s late grandfather had written over the years.

We then headed to Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Mandeville for the ceremony, where we were joined by the Dyle Films crew, who are always a pleasure to work with. The couple did not want to have a first look before the ceremony, but did want to share a private moment of prayer together, which we accommodated by finding a doorway where they could hold hands, but positioned so that they could not see each other.

This was a daytime ceremony, so ample amounts of natural light streamed in through the windows. Though I am fully capable of shooting in dark churches as well, beautiful light like this has a distinctly different look that many find particularly attractive.

After the mass, and some formal group shots, we were on our way back to the Southern Hotel for the wedding reception, where Party-Tyme Productions was on hand for the DJ duties. The bride handled most of the decorating of the venue, while Zoe’s Bakery crafted the beautiful wedding cake, as well as the New Orleans Saints groom’s cake (Michael is from this area). I loved how the couple made some time for a few informal fun shots out in the courtyard of the girls and the guys (with their custom sports-themed socks!), as well as some portraits of just the two of them around the hotel.

The day was wrapped up with some very nice speeches from the maid of honor and best man, as well as from the bride and groom, which were particularly eloquent given both of them being in the business of communication!

 

Our Lady of the Lake – A Church with a Rich History

The parish of Our Lady of the Lake has existed for over 150 years, with the present church structure having been built in the 1950s. It is located in old Mandeville just a few blocks from the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. There was an effort in recent years to greatly expand by building a new, larger church on a site situated across the street, but the community was concerned that this would overwhelm the small and historic neighborhood, so these plans were shelved.

 

Candid-Style Wedding Day Portraits

The wedding took place on a pleasantly mild January afternoon, and I was happy that the couple specifically devoted some time for portraits of just the two of them. And even better, both being in the news media industry, they had a good grasp on what time of day would be best in terms of light.

These portraits were captured in what is my favorite way of shooting portraits of the couple when time and the location allow. Rather than precisely directing them as to exactly how they should position themselves, I instead place them in a situation with good light and a pleasing background, and loosely instruct them to simply be themselves, providing additional guidance as needed. In this case, I had them stroll down a gently winding brick-paved walkway in the hotel’s courtyard and pool area, with the main direction given being to not look at the camera but instead just pretend that I was not there. More often than not, magic happens, as it most certainly did in this case!

I love the overall look of these shots. The use of a large-aperture telephoto lens creates that attractive background blur that isolates the couple and draws the viewer’s attention to them. And we had great light to work with, thanks to the pre-wedding discussions the three of us had about the ideal timing of these portraits.

Obviously there’s no mistaking that it’s a wedding photograph, but the way the couple is strolling along in such a relaxed manner while holding hands and looking happily and lovingly at each other, makes for a much more natural image that connects with the viewer more than an intricately posed shot would. And it serves as a great example of what I love most about photographing weddings, knowing that whenever the couple looks at this picture, it will instantly take them back to this joyous day and remind them of how happy of an occasion it was.

Good Planning is Key

Though there are exceptions, these kinds of wonderful portrait images generally don’t just happen by accident. Sometimes an unplanned impromptu portrait outing during the reception will yield similarly memorable photographs, but it’s best to give some thought and consideration to this during the planning stages if these kinds of pictures are important to you. I usually like to plan on doing portraits as early into the reception as possible, before the party really kicks into high gear. But because this couple’s wedding took place in the early afternoon, I suggested that we instead plan to wait until a bit later to do these pictures, when the light in the courtyard would be better, and with both of them being in the television news industry, they understood this perfectly!

 

About Southern Hotel

This jewel originally opened in 1907 and operated as a hotel until the 1960s, at which time the building was converted for other purposes, such as a drug store, parish government offices, and a courthouse, and then was subsequently left vacant after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. New owners purchased the building in 2011, and after extensive renovations, reopened it as a beautiful hotel in 2014.

 

Other Reception Venues in the Area

Though this couple’s wedding reception took place at the Southern Hotel. there are several venues located very close to the church, such as The Lake House, Maison Lafitte, the Lang House, and just a little further away, the Fleur de Lis Event Center.