Gloria + Hunter | Wedding

In all honesty I have no idea where to start this blog post.   There is so much to tell it is hard to know where to start, so I guess I will just dive in.

Bottom line is Gloria and Hunter are two of the most fantastic people with the most fantastic family, friends and love I have witnessed.  They make you want to be a better, happier person every time you are around them.

There are so so many things about them that support that statement but the one that really sticks out in my mind happened right after their amazing wedding in Jan. at Starlight.  When it was all said and done and I was following them on their way out to the shuttle it took them forever to finally walk out the door.  You might think because of all the people they had to say goodbye to or they were just having so much fun they could not leave.  You would be wrong.  On their way out they made a point to personally thank all the people involved in making their day so great.  All the way down to the person that was cleaning up empty glasses off the tables.   That spoke volumes to me about them and their character  and I felt honored to be able to witness them, their day, and their love for 10 straight hours.

One of the people they made sure to thank was their close family friend Ellyn Bold.  Ellyn is a very talented wedding designer and producer here in town that I have had the pleasure working with for many years.  She really raises the bar when it comes to wedding events and this one was no exception.  She has known Hunter since he was a child and was able to take all of those years of experience and knowledge combined with the help of Gloria and Hunter to design a wedding like none other I have ever seen.  Not only was the decor above and beyond but they designed a revolutionary way to “flip” the ceremony and reception room within seconds.  It was unreal.  See photo below to really grasp the entire thing.

Being able to witness Gloria and Hunter  with all of their close family and friends was such a wonderful way to start the 2011 wedding season.  I told everyone involved how great it was to be able to document them in all that they normally are and show the minuscule moments that make up who Gloria and Hunter are.  It was fun. Those moments although plentiful are sometimes hard for a still photograph to do justice.  Because of that it was great that we were able to bring along Brandon and Nicole of Wirken Films with us.  What they brought to the final product is nothing short of amazing.  We produced one of our first Wirken Photography/Wirken Films integrated shows and I could not be happier with the final product.  So sit back and grab a drink as this post has a lot to look at.  In addition to my photos of the event you get the pleasure of watching the first official Wirken integrated film.  All 20 minutes of it to be exact!   It is worth it….trust me.

The info- Event design and production- Ellyn Bold Event Designer

Ceremony and reception- Starlight theatre

Floral- Studio Dan Meiners

Film- Wirken Films

So get warmed up with the photos and then sit back and watch the film.

The photos:

Gloria is excited.

Hunter putting on the finishing touches.

The kids were a hoot to watch all day.

Gloria’s dressing room.

The t-shirt that had to be cut off of Gloria because of her hair.

Ready to go.

This was great.  Since it was a Jewish wedding Gloria and Hunter had a first meeting prior to signing the Ketuba.  Hunter’s reaction to seeing her for the first time was priceless.  I will let you see and hear the entire thing in the film below.  Great moment.

A few seconds for a quick portrait.

The room prior to the ceremony.  I like this image because the room actually never looked liked this to the guests as it was different for the ceremony and quickly switched for the reception.  I like it because it shows the best of both rooms in one photograph.

The Rabbi getting ready for the ceremony.

Flower girls making their way down the aisle.

Gloria and her parents have a great moment down the aisle.

My assistant Kate’s photo of the ceremony.

So this was the peak moment of the wedding and a first for me.  At Starlight and many other venues for that matter the ceremony and reception have to be in one room thus the need to “flip” the room from the ceremony layout to the reception.  Ellyn, Gloria and Hunter wanted to do something different so they had all the guests for the wedding sit at their tables for the reception during the ceremony.  Ellyn then put up a background behind the Chuppah where the band was staged during the ceremony.  As soon as Hunter stomped on the glass to signal the end of the ceremony and he and Gloria kissed the background immediately fell and the band started right into the first dance thus eliminating the recessional.  It was fantastic.  Within seconds the background fell, the band started up, the Chuppah raised, and the chandeliers came down completing the transformation.  Here is a photo from a remote camera I mounted in the rafters to capture the entire thing as the cloth background was mid fall.  The tone for the rest of the night was set.

Married and dancing among family after the first dance.

Time for a private toast together backstage.

Love this shot of one of the flower girls dancing in the light.

Wonderful toast by Gloria’s mom.

The Horrah.

The band gets things rocking.

Hunter’s toast to Gloria was incredible and apparently a bit embarrassing as well.

Father/Daughter dance complete with falling snow.  Little did we all know it was actually snowing outside.

The cake surrounded by Ellyn’s vision of a laser light show.

Gloria’s dress makes tracks in the snow on their way to the shuttle at the end of the night.

Sit back and enjoy the entire show!  Make sure to give it a second to load fully.

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