Last weekend Suzanne and I had the extreme pleasure of capturing the wedding of Andrea and Larry at The Santa Lucia River Club. What made this wedding so special is that we have known Andrea for more than 10 years as she works part time as the floor captain at Santa Lucia. Andrea and I have worked hundreds of wedding together over the years and seen it all! Andrea promised me from the very beginning that she was not going to be a bridezilla like many of the brides we have seen in the past. I was honored that of all of the photographers that she has seen over the years, she choose us to capture her special day. In fact, more wedding professionals, wedding vendors, DJ's, caterers, and other people in the wedding industry have chosen Memories by Mark over all others as their photographer because they know us, our photos, and our work ethic.
The day started with an 80% chance of rain and everyone had their fingers crossed at The Holiday Inn where Andrea had almost an entire floor reserved for her wedding party and guests. After I came into the room, I noticed how calm Andrea was and remained that way the entire day. I only wish she could give some of her poise and calmness to my other brides this year. "Shoes, Mark make sure you get a photo of my shoes", Andrea said and boy were her shoes cool with the secret "I Do" on the bottoms. Her mermaid styled wedding dress looked as if it was handmade for her as it fit perfectly and looked gorgeous on her. Of course the kids were running around during this whole process except for the littlest one who found a comfy spot and decided right then and there it was nap time! Soon it was off to the church in a custom stretch Hummer Limousine with all of the girls and I even decided to ride along with them to capture the fun of the ride.
During this time, Suzanne was at The Soarin Faith Ministry Church in Rio, capturing all of the decorations and of course Larry and the rest of his guys. Larry is one of the classiest guys you will ever meet and you can sense is goodness after being around him for just a little while. Suzanne and the guys went through a photo session outside before the limo arrived and they were rushed off into the church, which was packed with all of their friends and family. The ceremony began with a dash of humor as the littlest one carried a sign that said it was Larry's last chance to run!
Then Andrea came into the church and the crowd took a collective deep breath as they saw Andrea for the first time in her dress. Andrea and her father made it up the aisle (a little nervously) to meet her future husband. The ceremony went off without a hitch and after the bride and groom made it down the aisle it was time for photos while the guests made their way to The Santa Lucia River Club (Ballantrae CC) for the reception.
Andrea's colors were silver and black and the venue looked great. There was a wishing tree as guests came in so they could leave comments to the newlyweds and of course a candy bar to satisfy any sweet tooth. After just a few more photos (we always have just a few more photos to take) the bride and groom entered the reception and the party began. After a fantastic dinner by the staff at Santa Lucia, the order of the night was dancing and partying. Soon it was time to cut the cake and both the bride and groom decided to feed each other sweetly instead of smashing cake in each other's faces (never recommended). After cake it was the garter and bouquet toss, the Conga, and more dancing. Although the threat of rain was 80% today, it never did rain, that is until the end of the reception when it began to pour from the heavens and never stopped. Lucky it held off for their special goodbye sparkler photos! It was a joy to shoot this event and hope all of Andrea and Larry's friends and family enjoy our work.
Since 1985
Memories by Mark has been providing award winning photography,
videography, photo booth rentals, and event up lighting. We have a
package to fit every budget and every circumstance. Don't trust your
memories on an unknown, unlicensed, uninsured photographer that had a
cheap price on Craig's List! You do not have a second chance to get
your wedding memories captured correctly nor is a family friend or
relative that has a camera qualified to shoot your wedding. It really
makes no sense to spend thousands of dollars on a wedding and then not
photograph and/or videotape the event correctly. You cannot compare the
price of photography to a cake or limo as those are just a one time, one
use portion of your wedding. Your photos and videos will last a
lifetime so call us today at (772) 466-5747 to find out how affordable
our rates are to have a lifetime of....Memories......by Mark! 
