Justin & Celeste - West Palm Beach Florida Marriott Wedding

Here is an Animoto slideshow with highlight wedding photos.

Vilonna Wedding, West Palm Beach Marriott, Florida - Copeland Photography from Curtis Copeland on Vimeo.

 •  Justin and Celeste  •

• Wedding Photography  •

•  West Palm Beach Marriott  •

To view all of Justin and Celeste's fabulous wedding photos click HERE.
Justin and Celeste are such a fun and smiling couple.  Their wedding celebration was a festive affair at the fabulous West Palm Beach Marriott.  We began by having a "sneak peek" with the Bride and Groom.  This is where the couple sees each other before the ceremony.  It is much more relaxing for the couple.  It takes the stress off of the wedding planning and allows the couple to spend a little quiet time alone. Everyone who tries it says they love it. We also will photograph the bride and groom portraits at this time.   However, if you are the more traditional type, it is probably not your choice for portraits.  The benefit of the "sneak peek" is to have the portraits and family group photos (often call "formal" photographs) completed before the reception. It does make for a nicer flow of the day.  This way, immediately after the ceremony everyone goes directly to the reception.  No one need wait for the group and family photos to happen  (this process takes about 30-40 minutes in total).

The reception was an extravagant gala with some great dancing and fantastic food.   The staff at the West Palm Beach Marriott are always professional, helpful and friendly.  We recommend them for your wedding reception needs.   Justin and Celeste's ceremony was quaint and simple.  One of their good friends officiated.  Monica and I had such a fantastic time.  Justin and Celeste love to laugh.  Their mood was continually jovial and positive throughout the day (as it should be!).  Their family was also so kind and considerate.  They were talking with us as if we were old friends.

On the technical side (for our photographer friends).  It was quite a challenge photographically.  It was an outdoor ceremony at night and the bridesmaids dresses and the groomsmen's tuxedoes were black. So, black backgrounds with black dresses and no ceilings to bounce a flash off of.  A nice challenge for Monica and I!  So, we kept it simple - off camera flash and reflected it towards the bridal party to create a nice, edgy, modern look to the images.  We metered the flash instead of relying on the infrared transceivers (the infrared usually fails outdoors).  The group photos were done before the sun went down, but because we were behind the Marriott building, the light was fading fast.  So, we added a slight flash to fill in a little to the ambient.  Usually, we will place 2 speedlites on stands off camera behind umbrellas, but we didn't have time.  Makes for good catch lights in the eyes and good background separation.  In the reception, we always gel the flash for tungsten, crank up the ISO, open the aperture wide, shoot around 125th shutter and then white balance from a bounce off the ceiling.  We use a total of 3 flashes during the reception.  One on camrea bouncing backwards at 45 degrees and 2 others bouncing directly up into the ceiling for ambient background.  During the dancing, we will take the 50MM 1.4 and open it up.  Makes for great images.  Be very careful with depth of field and choosing your focus point! The depth of field with the subject at a distance of about 10 feet on a 50MM @ 1.4 is less than 12 inches.  No room for slopping focusing!

Well, that is the recap for the latest of Copeland Photography's adventures.  Hope you enjoyed seeing Justin and Celeste's wedding day through our eyes.  Their wedding album pre-design should be out soon. We really appreciate you stopping by.  Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

Thank you, Justin and Celeste for letting us be a part of your wedding day!

Be blessed,

Curtis and Monica

Contact us  

• 954-881-5025 •