Nicki & Garfield's Wedding

Nicki & Garfield LOVE being in front of the camera! I've never seen a couple ham it up as much as they do!! They're awesome. They were married on the luckiest of all days, but when the hairdresser decided not to show up, it started to feel more like it was really bad luck! Fortunately, Nicki & Garfield were surrounded by people who were willing to step up to the plate and help out no matter what disasters came their way.... and having friends like that, means you're really lucky. ;)

This is Nicki's "don't panic, pretend it's all OK" smile..


I find that the more weddings I photograph, the more avant-garde my tastes become in what I find funny, interesting, and beautiful...



I think I'm missing out on some cultural icon, because I have no idea what that mask was about- it just cracked me up (and I admit, it scared me a little too!)!


Garfield was my assistant photographer on the wedding day... he surprised everyone just after the kiss, when he pulled his camera out of his tux and took a picture of all the guests before walking down the aisle! Such a ham!!



Apparently the GUYS were in charge of setting up the bridal suite at the Radisson City Center for the happy couple to retire to at the end of the night... and wow did they make it "special"! I'm still not sure what the golf club was for, but I'm sure you can guess why they decided to place the red chair right in front of the bedroom door!!


Garfield loves to "strike a pose" - so I wanted to make sure he had plennnnty of pictures for his myspace page!! HA!



It was so nice to get the portraits done before the ceremony in such beautiful lighting and scenery around the Lilly House. If you're at all on the fence about doing portraits before or after the ceremony- there are tons of great reasons to get them done first, and only one or two reasons to do them after.



Nicki loves silly/cheesy poses as much as I loathe them!!! BUT- I'm never above doing something that will make my couples happy. ;) Fun note about the shot below- several of the guys were actually CHEERLEADERS!!! Nice spits... (well, for a bunch of guys wearing tuxes)!



I love it when I can catch a cool reflection...



I'm amazed how Nicki was able to use pink in so many different ways! Look at all these details!!


Their ceremony was held at the Covenant Community Church in Indianapolis, IN. I love the little bird flying above outside the church...


Sooo... just before I started writing this post, I asked Nicki if it was OK to show this next picture and she texted back, "YES!" She DID leave the door open in the first place... and an open door is an open invitation! It's a fact of life people, even in a wedding dress! Actually, this is a tip for brides with long trains on their dresses... it's easier if you go backwards!! You just never know what you're going to learn or see next on this blog!!!!



I love these next two for so many reasons...



The ceremony was really touching. There was one part that I had never seen done before - where Nicki and Garfield were asked to look at each others hands and then think about each other's hands as a source of strength and comfort for one another. There's so much more to it, but it had a lot of people in tears!



After the ceremony, the wedding party stopped traffic in Broad Ripple to grab a round of shots before the reception!


The reception was held downtown at the Rathskeller... and yes, I waited until I got a picture with the flag in the perfect position because Garfield fights for that flag.


After dinner, they did a slideshow of images of them growing up- it was so cute and everyone gathered around or sat on the floor to watch the show..


Look at these dancing skills!!

In this next image, Garfield took Nicki by surprise when he twirled himself into HER arms instead of twirling her up into his! Clever trickery!!



A great group hug to top it all off!!!


Nicki & Garfield - I adore you to pieces. I don't care where you live.. I WILL take pictures of your future babies! Thank you so much for inviting me to your crazy, fun, and very touching wedding. I think you ended up with the greatest luck you could ever have- finding someone who loves you as much as you love them. Of course I mean me!! HA! J/K! ;-)