Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Wedding of Stephanie & Christian


This week we had the honor of providing the photo services and DJ services for the wedding of Stephanie & Christian. As most of my many followers already know, Memories by Mark provides DJ services for weddings and parties as a natural extension of the services we have provided for over 25 years.  Believe me, I have heard every DJ in the area and I have leaned a great deal to understand what music and actions work and which flop.  That's the beauty of being a photographer turned DJ.  Other DJ's only hear themselves and don't see how other DJ's work.  Additionally, working as a DJ four nights a week performing trivia gives you a great insight on how to entertain people.
The day began at Stephanie's house in White City as Suzanne arrived at the house to take the pre-ceremony photos while I was at The Truth Church in Ft. Pierce setting up the sound and lighting systems. Dark and threatening skies began to roll in just before the ceremony and Stephanie was able to get inside the church before the heavy rains began. It was a moving ceremony that concluded with unity sand before it was sealed with a kiss.  Then after the photos inside the church with friends and family it was off to the reception held at the church social hall next door.

The reception venue was decorated beautifully with chair covers and unique driftwood centerpieces on each table and the buffet station looked yummy.  Next, DJ Mark introduced the bridal party before ramping it up for the entrance of the bride and groom followed by parents dances, the toast and blessing of the meal, and the opening of the buffet line.  After a quick dinner, the partying began  with a host of classic rock and roll music followed by more crowd favorites.  The dance floor was packed almost all night, except for the cake cutting, and bouquet and garter toss.  The party continued until past 10:00 pm as the bride and groom had their last dance before the night ended.  After all, it was a "school night" and everyone had to get the kids (or themselves) home to bed for school or work in the morning. It was a great wedding and we had a lot of fun providing the photos, music and lighting for this event.  God bless you both!
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!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

The Bar Mitzvah of Adam Steinfeld


This weekend we were proud to be a part of the Bar Mitzvah team for Adam Steinfeld.  As many of my long time followers already know, Memories by Mark has photographed more Bar/Bat Mitzvahs that any other studio on the Treasure Coast, starting with my first Mitzvah in 1990 in Sunrise, FL.  I have always lived in heavily populated Jewish areas all along the East Coast and am proud of the reputation I have with the many of the Temples in our area.  It takes years of skill and understanding to correctly photograph a Mitzvah and it is not something that a novice of a relative can successfully do.

This week I was at Temple Beth Shalom in Vero Beach for the Bar Mitzvah of Adam Steinfeld. I have photographed more than a dozen Mitzvah's  from this Temple and recognized many of my previous families during today's service. The morning starting at 8:30 am at the Temple for photos with the family and of course the most important photograph, Adam hold the Torah in front of the Ark!  
After photos it was time to get down to business as Adam led the congregation in their traditional Saturday worship service.  Rabbi Michael Birnholz and Cantor Dannah Rubinstein perform a wonderful service and today was no exception.  It takes years of practice to learn Hebrew and be able to speak it and even more courage to speak a new language in front of all of the friends and family, not the mention the entire congregation.  Well, Adam pulled it off without any problems as he spoke fluently and carried himself with poise and confidence.  After the religious ceremony, it was off to the Temple's social hall for a quick after ceremony lunch and then home for a much deserved break and rest for the afternoon.
Later that night, the festivities started all over again with the celebration party.  Adam's father Richard decided that instead of a big party at a country club that he would host a pool party at him beautiful home in Vero Beach.  The party kicked off about 6:00 pm with adults enjoying food and drink inside while the kids had a DJ and snow cone machine out poolside.  Everyone had a great time as the kids were in the pool most of the night horsing around including a limbo line straight into the pool while the adults enjoyed a quieter evening socializing with friends, eating, drinking, and smoking cigars out on the patio overlooking the lake.  Rich's house had great sound proofing as once that door closed to the pool area, you couldn't hear the DJ and screaming kids. That's a beautiful thing!  The evening ended around 10:30 pm as the kids were worn out (as well as their parents) and started to head back home.  It was really a nice night, all about the kids as everyone could be casual and the kids had plenty to keep them busy. It was a pleasure working this Mitzvah and I know I'll see many of the parents again for their child's Mitzvah in the future.

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 Mitzvah 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 Mitzvah 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 event.  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!

Friday, August 10, 2012

The Florida Catholic Newspaper


As many of my long time readers know already,  in my spare time (?)  I am also reporter/photographer for the Florida Catholic newspaper.  This is a state-wide newspaper that reports on the various activities at local Catholic parishes.  I have a four county area that includes Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties. I am able to utilize my God given talents to serve the Catholic community and I am always happy to assist.  
This week's assignment took me to St. Lucie  

Catholic Church where a weekend long conference was being held.  The Life in the Spirit seminar was held at the parish hall and the conference included lively praise worship, prayer, talks, group discussions, healing service and the adoration of the Eucharist all in the Charismatic style.  The conference was organized by three different Port St. Lucie Catholic churches, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Lucie, and St. Bernadette.  Also in attendance was a popular Christian music group from Broward Country known as Luvation, who entertained the crowd with upbeat dynamic music. The conference ended on Sunday and was a big success and my photos from the event made up the back page of this week's Florida Catholic Newspaper.
  
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!




Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Charlotte & Joe at Tradition


This week we had a Friday night wedding with a really cute couple, Charlotte & Joe.  The day started out when we went to Charlotte's house for pre-wedding, getting ready photos.  When we pulled up to the house, we were greeted by a pure white, vintage 1959 Rolls Royce automobile!  That's something we don't see very often in our area.  This beautiful car set the tone of an elegant ceremony at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church with their reception at Tradition Town Hall.

Charlotte put her dress on at the church while we got photos of Joe and his guys outside the church before the ceremony. When Charlotte was ready, we entered the brides room and were moved to see Charlotte standing under a spotlight facing a statue of the Blessed Mother Mary.  As a Catholic, I understand Mary's importance to the Faith and was moved to take several photos of Charlotte with the statue. Then the ceremony began with Fr. Ed leading the Mass.  Charlotte looked stunning coming down the aisle with her father.  A full Mass continued after the vows and then after our formal photos inside the church with the families, it was off to Tradition for a photo session out at the gazebo.

The Rolls Royce made it way to Tradition amidst lots of cheering and horn honking to the delight of the newlyweds. Once we got to Tradition it was time for bridal party fun out by the gazebo followed by romantics with the bride & groom.  Threatening skies rolled in quickly (as is the case during the summer) and we made it into Tradition Town Hall before it began to rain.

Inside Town Hall looked fantastic thanks to Lisa Leblanc from Magnolias Wedding
She added the pipe and drape to the head table, the linens, and the floral centerpieces to make the room look elegant and sophisticated.  She is really a class act and I highly recommend her services!   After intros, dances and toasts, the crowd was treated to a great dinner by Silver Platter caterers.  Then it was time to party with the sounds from the musical team of Melissa & Rich before it was interrupted by a spectacular cake display at the cutting of the cake. Wow, a lot of work and effort went into this cake and it showed!  After the cake it was party, party, party until the end as the dance floor heated up with hot tunes from the DJ's.  Of course we love working at Tradition and this wedding was no exception as the couple were great and easy to work with.  We wish them a lifetime of health and happiness.


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!