I used to visit Philadelphia before I even moved up north. Even though I was based in Florida at the time, I was hired a few times per year to photograph weddings around Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York. Being based in a smallish town, and photographing weddings primarily on the beach, photographing city weddings was an all new thing!
The first time I walked into the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia I remember stopping right in the doorway and simply staring. I knew that the Philly Ritz had started out life as a bank building, and was modeled on the Pantheon. I didn't know it would be quite so grand, and quite so warmly elegant. Floors swept upwards, Georgian marble was everywhere, and underneath the chatter of the lobby bar on a Friday night was a quiet calm.
In short, I loved it.
Where else can history collide so perfectly with modern architecture? Where else can you have an amazing meal under arches of marble, the past hand in hand with the present? And on top of that you can get married there? Sign. Me. Up.
The first time I went to the Ritz in Philly was as a guest, a tourist. I walked the lobby, ate in the restaurant, had prosecco at the bar. I walked around City Hall, trekked to eat at Reading Terminal (and then immediately had dessert...then second dessert), and started to get to know the city I would fall in love in later.
I had no idea at the time. I had no clue that this city would one day lead to me falling in love with my husband, and the City Hall that I so cluelessly wandered through on day one would be the site of our wedding pictures years in the future. Isn't it funny how life works like that?
Photography is important for so many reasons. One thing that a picture can do is take you back. It takes you back to what it feels like to be somewhere and experience something. Photographs of me as a child at Christmas put me right back in that living room, brushing my tangled hair out of my eyes with one hand while my parents make us wait one more second while they put another tape in the camcorder.
Your wedding pictures should also take you back. A quick glimpse at a framed image on your wall and you should be right there - the smell of cake in the background, your aunt's crazy laugh rising above the music, your best girlfriend running barefoot on the dance floor, and the sweat sticking your hair to your face.
Wedding days are crazy, wild, and unpredictable. They go by in a flash, and your memories later will be a hodgepodge of bits and pieces - I know mine sure was. That's where I come in. I'm there to bear witness for you, to document your day through my eyes, and help bring you back with every frame. When you look at a picture of yourself getting into your car to head to your ceremony, you should be right back in that car. You'll feel that anticipation, the sweet butterflies, and the sun on your back.
Think back to the moments you want to remember in your life right now. Think about having a tangible touchstone for those moments. That is what I will create for you as your wedding photographer. Want to talk more about the important parts of your day, those things you really want to make sure are captured? Get in touch - I can't wait to hear more.
Location: 10 Avenue Of The Arts, Philadelphia, PA 19102..
Keywords: philadelphia (157), Ritz Carlton Philadelphia. Filename: SS2_1220.jpg. 1/250; f/3.5; ISO 200; 24.0 mm.