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Kim and Alain - Engagement

Friday, March 12, 2010 Posted in Engagement

So I missed my big break and couldn’t shoot Kim and Alain’s first engagement session (a few years ago) in the jungles of Vietnam. That’s right, Kim and Alain have been engaged for a while now and the engagement ceremony for her Vietnamese family is almost as important if not more important than the wedding itself. Now Kim and Alain are preparing to get married for real in Miami, Florida. For this engagement they wanted something more natural and contemporary than the stiff posing and smiling they did previously. We decided to go to South Beach for our shoot.

Kim, a nurse, and Alain, a firefighter, lead busy lives serving our community but they still know how to relax with each other and have a good time. We spent the whole time laughing and hanging out. It really felt like fun as opposed to doing a “photography shoot” and I think that’s the way it should be.

We decided to take some not typical pictures inside the parking garage. I love shooting in places no one else shoots in.

This next shot is my favorite! I love how she is holding him. By the way this shot has not been photoshopped at all. Its all in the lighting and the emotion of course.

Kim and Alain, I am really looking forward to your wedding coming up soon!

by Alex Fagundo

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March 12, 2010 - 9:16 am Kim - Alex- I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about shooting in the garage (bedsides looking over our shoulder ;). However, you are so creative and amazing at what you do, that those are my favorite shots! We are so lucky we found you and can't wait until our wedding!

March 12, 2010 - 4:39 pm Jessica - you two look AMAZING!!!! great pics! you guys picked an amazing photographer!!! i'm so excited for your wedding!!!! xoxoxox

March 12, 2010 - 6:29 pm Humberto - The pics are amazing!!.. Great job!!.. They look so awesome!!.. I'm so happy for the both of you.. Can't wait to see you in April...

WPJA- Wedding Photojournalist Association

Saturday, March 6, 2010 Posted in Business

The WPJA one of the best known photography associations with a strict standard of quality has just awarded us two prizes in the most recent contest. For those of you that are not familiar with the WPJA, it is an association of Wedding Photojournalists who accept only a limited number of photographers into its guild. They run quarterly contests in which images world wide are judged based on composition, emotion, lighting, timing, spontaneity and other criteria.

I am so UNBELIEVABLY proud to be a part of this association and to be recognized in this way by their judges. For this quarter, I am ranked #1 in the State of Florida. So exciting!

This is what the Wedding Photojournalist Association had do say about our winning images:

“The Wedding Photojournalist Association proudly recognizes the accomplishments and creative excellence of Alex Fagundo. The following awards have been earned by Alex from the WPJA. These achievements come with great merit considering the high level of competition that a member faces in the contests. Stringent standards are upheld throughout the contests, standards equivalent to those of professional working photojournalists.”

Here are our two winning images.

This portrait of Melissa Chamberlain won 6th place in the Trash the Dress category.

6th place winner in wedding photojournalist association

The judges had this to say about this image, “The light, composition and darkroom toning are beautifully done in this photograph. The photographer also found an interesting setting for the portrait.”

This engagement image of Roxana and Mauricio won 13th place in the engagement category.

13th place winner in Wedding Photojournalist Association 4th quarter 2009.

by Alex Fagundo

3 comments

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March 6, 2010 - 9:43 am Alicja Colon - Congrats Alex! Just being in the assoc is an honor - but to have award winning photos in it is even greater! Great job!!

March 7, 2010 - 3:54 pm robin cornett - Congratulations, Alex--great work! You deserve the recognition--kudos!

March 8, 2010 - 11:08 am Rochelle & Mike - Congratulations Alex, you deserve it.

Jen and Robin - Wedding

Thursday, March 4, 2010 Posted in Weddings

As you can tell by our blog, we have been working non-stop and not only do I love doing what I do, but I love being able to share it with the world.

Jen and Robin are just an awesome couple. They are so different but yet so perfect for each other. During the course of the day, I was just drawn to their personality and spark.

I love how the bridesmaids will just cloud around a bride to help her with her dress. There is something beautiful and mesmerizing about all of the arms needed to button one dress!

bride getting ready

Jen and Robin decided to do a first look to get the portraits out of the way prior to the ceremony. You have to love Jen in this shot. She’s like, “You like what you see?” and he’s like, “Oh, yeah!”.

bride and groom first look

Most of my brides and grooms hire me because they want ninja-like candids, but I do like to rock out with some high fashion portraits as well. This worked out quite nicely with this couple because Jen loves the camera, but Robin really didn’t want too many portraits at all since he is still recovering from his Bar-Mitzvah 2 hour portrait session while all his friends played. I like to get portraits done fast, but still have some edge to the shots and that’s what Jen and Robin needed.

bride portraits at Boca Grove in Boca Raton Florida

bride and groom portraits at Boca Grove in Boca Raton Florida

During the Ketubah signing, the Rabbi was explaining the history behind the un-veiling of the bride. In the book of Genesis there is a story of Jacob wanting to marry Rachel the daughter of Laban, but Laban pulls a switch-a-roo on poor Jacob and gives her the ugly daughter, Leah, to marry instead. Ever since then, the tradition has developed to un-veil the bride prior to the signing of the marriage contract so the groom can make sure the father is giving the right daughter into the deal. After the Rabbi finished explaining, Robin un-veils Jen and then makes a face like he’s freaking out. It was the funniest thing, everyone cracked up.

ketubah signing at Boca Grove in Boca Raton Florida

wedding ceremony at Boca Grove in Boca Raton Florida

The wedding and all decor was coordinated and organized by the talented Linzi Etzion from Linzi Events. Check out some of the details.

wedding details at Boca Grove in Boca Raton Florida

My favorite time of any Jewish wedding of course is the Hora, and this one was spectacular. What a good party and a great wedding night!

Jewish hora dance at Boca Grove in Boca Raton Florida

Jen and Robin, enjoy your ski honeymoon. Make a snow angel for me.

by Alex Fagundo

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Stacey and Scott - Wedding

Sunday, February 28, 2010 Posted in Weddings

Stacey and Scott have to be one of the most mellowest, humble, easy going couples I’ve seen. I can’t imagine seeing either one of them upset, yet they laugh all the time. I need to be a little more like them from time to time and it was refreshing to be with them on this special day. It was no surprise that they wanted a wedding by the water in Coconut Grove’s Grove Island, since its a beautiful outdoor venue for a daytime wedding.

The interior of the venue is rich with beautiful hardwood floors and accents that make you feel like you are in a tropical getaway. Here are some portraits of the girls doing the “Reservoir Dogs” walk.

bride walking with bridesmaids

The bride looking beautiful without smiling! I actually had to tell her not to smile for this portrait.

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Here are the boys in Rat Pack style. Scott is a huge Frank Sinatra fan and so the hat was only appropriate for a day like today.

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It was a gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding. All the decor was coordinated beautifully by the talented Lauren Buck.

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Everyone had a great time in the dance floor. There was no division of old and young, everyone danced all night. I love this shot of Stacey donning the Frank Sinatra hat.

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Okay this was seriously one of the funniest times I’ve ever had at a wedding and I almost got set on fire!!! For plan “A” of their departure, we had set up Chinese lanterns that fly like balloons. The plan was that all the guests would light their lantern and then release them into the sky in the presence of the bride and groom. That plan went horribly wrong when the lanterns started catching on fire and then floating aimlessly at moving targets, AKA me!

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Here is the father and brother of the bride releasing one of the lanterns into the photographer… I mean, the beautiful Miami night sky.

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Here is the lantern hitting my lens! You gotta be ready for those money shots.

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For Plan “B”, the guests and family blew bubbles around the bride and groom as they exited the Grove Island venue.

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Stacey and Scott, you guys are just a beautiful couple. God bless you both.

by Alex Fagundo

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Dalie & Mike - Wedding

Thursday, February 18, 2010 Posted in Weddings

Dalie and Mike scheduled things a little different for their wedding than the typical routine. Dalie is a huge photo enthusiast so getting some cool pictures of them (bride and groom) and bridal party was high in the priority list. They decided to do a “first look”, where the bride and groom see each other prior to the ceremony in order to take advantage of time and do all of the portraits before the actual event. This alternate way of scheduling the day can be both fun and add peace to the time line after the ceremony since you already took care of the picture part.

It is very important to have a coordinator who is on-board with your vision to help accomplish the timeline and make it a reality. Karla Blanco from Stylish Events made sure that every little thing was taken care of so that Dalie and Mike could have the wedding of their dreams.

Lets start with Dalie getting ready…

bride getting ready

This is when Mike first sees Dalie. Nerves, anticipation, excitement.

bride and groom see each other at Hyatt hotel in Coral Gables, Miami

Dalie and Mike who appreciate cars, coordinated for a 1957 Buick, totally restored, to be their getaway car, but you know we had to take some cool shots of that before the exit.

bride and groom portrait with buick in Coral Gables, Miami

bridal party

The reception took place in the beautiful Westin Colonnade hotel in Coral Gables, Miami. The Colonnade has this gorgeous marble tile floor and circular atrium that is just perfect for a high class wedding reception.

wedding reception at Westin Colonnade in Coral Gables, Miami

For their grand exit, Dalie and Mike arranged for sparklers to be given to each guest. This is a fun exit which has to be coordinated and timed correctly because the sparklers only last for about 30-45 seconds before giving out. Thanks to Karla and her staff, the exit went great and they ran through the beautiful glow of their friends and loved ones holding sparklers.

bride and groom sparkler exit

Dalie and Mike, it was my pleasure working with you and I can’t wait to show you the rest of the images. Enjoy!

by Alex Fagundo

8 comments

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February 18, 2010 - 2:52 pm Leeann Marie - Great job telling the "wedding day story" in just a few images! And that car.... *sigh* to die for!

February 18, 2010 - 3:27 pm Dalie - Alex these are fantastic! You were a trooper for all 10+ hours you were with us, shooting the whole time. This preview went up so much faster than I had expected, THANK YOU! You know how much a photo-addict like me needs to see pictures of the one event where I didn't get to hold a camera! It was a pleasure working with you and we cannot wait to see the rest. Thanks again!

February 18, 2010 - 4:33 pm Farah Ivelise - I am in looove with these photos!!! Love how you captured this beautiful couple. Congrats Dalie and Mike!!

February 18, 2010 - 7:07 pm Mike - Alex thanks so much for taking all these wonderful pictures. We are very happy to have found such an amazing photographer to capture our special day! The pictures really do look stunning and we'll look back on them and always remember the magic of the moment thanks to you!

February 18, 2010 - 9:46 pm Karla StylishEvents - Alex, you did an amazing job. All the pictures are beautiful. Thank you for providing some for my Blog so quickly. Pleasure working with you.

February 19, 2010 - 2:15 am Cara Williams - Hey Alex! Great work! Keep it up! I get to follow your blog now that I found it, and it's all very inspiring! Cara & David from the TN DWF convention :)

February 24, 2010 - 2:52 pm Dasha - Beautiful photos!

February 25, 2010 - 11:27 am Derly - Love the photos! You look BEAUTIFUL!! WOW

Aurélia and Marcus - Wedding

Thursday, February 11, 2010 Posted in Weddings

This past Sunday something wonderful happened in South Florida that will never happen again. No, not the Super Bowl, Aurélia and Marcus’ wedding. It was amazing. It was spectacular. I laughed, I cried; it was an absolute emotional rollercoaster. The brief background…Marcus an amazingly talented artist, check out his work here, fell in love with a French girl, Aurélia, who is madly in love with him as the images can attest. I don’t think there is a person that meets them that doesn’t fall in love with them.

bride and groom portrait at the Addison restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida

This wedding took place at the Addison in Boca Raton, FL. The flowers were crafted by Flowers by Tony. Video by Blue Shore Productions. Cake by Paris Gourmet.

Just a few moments I want to share. Marcus made Aurélia an art piece (rose) for their first date, then when he proposed and now he made her another one for their wedding date. Marcus and Aurélia were both getting ready in different parts of the same building and did not want to see each other. He had Aurélia’s mom hand deliver it to her while Aurélia was getting her make-up done. During the slideshow, I want you to notice how much that meant to Aurélia. Notice her face before that moment and then notice it afterwards, she radiates!

bride receives gift from groom

In another moment, Marcus who has never known how to play the guitar surprised her with a love song. You see, Marcus taught himself over the past 6 months how to play just one song so that he could play it for her (damn it I’m already crying just writing this) on her wedding day. I don’t know any French, but I do know that Aurélia kept saying, “Mon Amour, Mon Amour!” while he played, and I think that doesn’t need translation.

I made a slideshow of the wedding and I would like for that to be the medium to tell the story of their day through images. I know it sounds weird, but I hope it makes you all cry, because there is a lot of passion here, not only on my part as the photographer but specially to them, Marcus and Aurélia and to the family.

Aurélia and Marcus, it was really special. Thank you.

by Alex Fagundo

2 comments

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February 17, 2010 - 1:46 pm Dalie - Gorgeous pictures Alex, and a gorgeous couple!

March 5, 2010 - 6:58 pm jennean - wow. i don't know if it was the effort you put into selecting the shots for the slide show or the quantity of pictures you chose to reveal but that was by far my favorite wedding shoot of yours. congratulations. and you're right, this couple exudes passionate love - good job capturing it

Melissa & Michael - Wedding

Friday, February 5, 2010 Posted in Weddings

This was just a beautiful wedding from the beginning. The mix of emotions and friendship in the room was really refreshing. I just love the make-up process, it just builds the anticipation of great things to come.

bride getting ready

The wedding ceremony took place at Brickell’s St. Jude Church a beautiful cathedral style church in the heart of Downtown Miami. I love this look between father and daughter moments before walking down the aisle as if saying, “this is it!”.

bride walking down the wedding aisle at st. jude catholic church in brickell

Some portraits of the bride and groom.

bride and groom portraits at j.w. marriott in downtown miami

The reception took place at the J.W. Marriott and the event was coordinated perfectly by Carmen Becerra and her staff. www.carmenmbecerra.com.

wedding reception at j.w. marriott in downtown miami

Michael and Melissa sharing their first dance.

bride and groom dance at j.w. marriott in downtown miami

Father and daughter dance.

father and daughter dance at j.w. marriott

This party was just crazy fun! Masks were quickly passed around while the band played traditional Colombian music and stilt walkers cheered the crowd on. There are so many emotions at this point that it is easy to be overwhelmed by the crowd’s energy.

wedding reception at j.w. marriott

Here are some more pictures throughout the day. Click on the image to enlarge.

Melissa and Michael, I had a blast at your wedding. Enjoy the honeymoon and I can’t wait to show you the rest of the pictures!

by Alex Fagundo

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Aurélia & Marcus - Engagement

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 Posted in Engagement

Marcus proposed to Aurélia via one of his paintings. The one shown here on the left. Don’t cry.

engagement portrait

This message was on the back. “Belle”, a nickname for his now fiance’, soon to be wife.

engagement portrait

This was were they had their first date.

engagement portrait

You see where I’m going with this? I didn’t just want to take some cool pictures. I wanted to take some cool pictures that meant something to Aurélia and Marcus. Something that would capture who they are. We started in Las Olas because that’s where they had their first date and that’s also where Marcus proposed to Aurélia. Its so easy to get sucked in to their love bubble since they are contagiously in love.

engagement portrait

engagement portrait in las olas, fort lauderdale

engagement portrait

When speaking to couples, I often get asked, “where should we do our engagement pictures?” My answer is always, is there a place that is special to you? There are about a thousand photographers in Miami who will take your picture wearing white guayaberas and white linen pants. That is NOT me. Sorry. Unless you normally wear a white linen outfit to the beach, which that’s cool if you do, I don’t think you should do that for your engagement pictures. A place that is meaningful to the you, a place that has memories is ten times a better location than the beach or other overly photographed background. I challenged myself (and Aurélia and Marcus) to shoot in their house.

engagement portrait

When I found out that these two are artists and that Marcus displays large format abstract paintings in galleries, I knew we had to get some pictures of that process. I want to show everyone how the background in pictures is totally secondary to emotion and lighting. This is the garage we were shooting in. Not typically the location you would first think of right?

garage

Aurélia and Marcus started painting over one of his priceless works of art, yikes! I was really telling him not to do that, but he insisted on painting over an already in progress work of art.

engagement portrait

Aurélia and Marcus you guys are amazing and I can’t wait for your wedding. I know its going to be so special.

by Alex Fagundo

7 comments

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January 27, 2010 - 6:54 pm Aurélia - Alex, I cannot tell you how special the day of shooting was for us. We got to be ourselves! It was playful, romantic, fun and exciting all at the same time! You are such an amazing artist and we can't wait to see you at our wedding! Thanks for challenging us with shooting in our home! The greatest pictures came out of that :) See you soon!

January 28, 2010 - 7:12 am Stephanie Polin - The photos are lovely, fun and very touching-- beautiful. Thanks for sharing with me!

January 28, 2010 - 7:35 am Marcus - Alex, You really soothed my nerves... I'm not sure what I expected... but, you put me at ease and I had such a great time working with you! Aurélia and I love your work, these pictures are great! I can't wait to see what you come up with at our wedding! Thanks so much!

January 28, 2010 - 12:13 pm Dalie - Absolutely gorgeous photos Alex! And it's so special that they're in locations that mean something!

January 28, 2010 - 6:24 pm Veronica Carrillo - great job, alex. I love the pictures!!!

January 29, 2010 - 12:38 pm Jackie Jean - These are great!

March 6, 2010 - 11:24 am Abby Todd - Love these - especially that last one ;)

Kristen and Eric - Wedding

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Posted in Weddings

This beautiful wedding started out at the bride’s parents house with mimosas and lots of activity. The house provided lots of natural light and charm that hotel rooms don’t always have.

Kristen’s sister assisting with the mirror.

bride getting ready for wedding

wedding dress

Kristen and all the girls were ready with plenty of time before the limo came. It felt so weird for everyone to be so calm and ready to go with plenty of time. Everyone was relaxed and having a good time. Maybe it was the mimosas?

The groom and groomsmen hanging out before game time.

groomsmen

The ceremony took place at the beautiful St. Hugh’s Catholic church in Coconut Grove, Miami. I love the gorgeous stained glass window and light inside St. Hugh’s sanctuary.

st. hugh's catholic church in coconut grove

father walking bride for wedding at st. hugh's catholic church in coconut grove

st. hugh's catholic church in coconut grove

bride and groom during wedding ceremony at st. hugh's catholic church in coconut grove

Here is my competition. The paparazzi.

st. hugh's catholic church in coconut grove

The reception took place at Fairchild Tropical Gardens, one of Miami’s beautiful outdoor locations for wedding celebrations. Fairchild Tropical Gardens were decorated impeccably by the talented Mayrelis Febles from A Joy Wallace Catering.

decorations

bride and groom portrait

Kristen and Eric, enjoy the honeymoon and I can’t wait to hear from you when you get back.

by Alex Fagundo

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Nadege & Smith - Engagement

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Posted in Engagement

Okay a lot to write on this one. This was a double engagement session, not sure if that is a real term, but what I mean is that we did two engagement sessions on two separate days. I first met Nadege and Smith about a year ago during a family portrait session I was doing at Matheson Hammocks park. As soon as I saw them I was blown away by their color coordination. I get asked all the time, “what should we wear for our engagement?” People from now on, I am going to tell you to call Nadege; She knows!

These are a few of the pictures at Matheson from April of last year. Check out how gorgeous her dress is!

engagement portrait at matheson

I remember right away how comfortable they were in front of the camera.

engagement portrait at matheson

I love this next shot.

engagement portrait at matheson

For our most recent engagement shoot, we thought all odds were against us. We canceled one time due to rain and here we were on our second attempt and as soon as we get to the location it started to rain again, in December!!! Whacky weather. I was determined not to let the weather get the best of us and asked God for some help. After an hour of sitting in the car waiting the rain finally passed away, but now we only had 45 minutes left of sunlight. I knew we had to rock and roll fast if we were to get some good shots in before dark. Luckily I had two awesome models to work with.

For this session Nadege wanted something totally different from the beach shots. We decided to shoot in a more urban environment with train tracks, beat up cars and all kinds of industrial goodness. I love shooting in places that are out of the norm.

urban engagement portrait at train tracks