One of my favorite couples from 2009 was featured on the blog of Utah Bride and Groom Magazine, today!

To see more of their engagement session in downtown Salt Lake City, click HERE.

The Saga of the Big, Orange Balloon

Madison and Chris did their bridal session together before their modern, stylish wedding at the Salt Lake LDS Temple and reception at Pierpont Place in downtown Salt Lake City. Madison wanted a big, orange balloon in her bridal portraits.  Madison’s mom brought one big, orange balloon, and one big, white balloon along.  As Madison and I began shooting her bridal portraits at the historical white barn in Park City, Madison’s mom was getting something from the car.  We looked into the distance and we saw a lovely balloon floating away, against the bright blue sky.  Madison was crushed and so was her mom, but we still had the white balloon.

As we tromped through the grassy field for photos with the white balloon, and before we could get any photos, we heard a terrible sound–POP!  Balloon number two was a gone-er. The balloon had met its match in the tall, sharp grasses.  Now, Madison and her mom were really sad.  Madison was determined to have an orange balloon in her bridal portraits.  She called her sister, who traveled all the way from Salt Lake City to Park City with yet another orange balloon.  As the sun dropped behind the mountains, she arrived with that balloon.  Madison sat in the grass with the balloon for a few photos, and then, we were going to take a few with Chris, too.  You can guess what happened next.

I guess it wasn’t meant to be.  We had a great time, though, and got some really great photos.  Who needs a big balloon when there are random bathtubs just lying around?

Michelle and Michael live in New York City, but came back to their home state of Utah to be married in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple.  They had a simple, elegant reception at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and I really enjoyed photographing this photogenic couple.  It was just an easy, breezy affair that was a lovely celebration of the two of them.  They weren’t wrapped up in a million wedding details, and that was really nice to see.

I’m a big believer in good product packaging.  Pretty packages make me want to buy things, but the product inside has got to back it up beneath the glossy exterior.  Studio Enizio totally does that.

When you walk into Studio Enizio in Lehi, Utah, you are warmly greeted by the studio manager, Alex.  The decor is chic and luxurious, with soft blue walls, big white moldings, dark , shiny floors, contemporary furniture, sparkly light fixtures, and sleek stainless steel.  You want to be there and you know you’re going to get a great hair service or makeup application.

Cynthia is the owner of Studio Enizio and she’s a doll–warm and friendly.  She insists on the very best, and educates her clients about the best products to use and why they are so good.  She’s passionate about what she does and does it beautifully.  I learned a lot while I was there.  Grocery store hair care is bad!  To get some of this education, visit the Studio Enizio blog, where Cynthia gives tips and tricks on hair and makeup.

Studio Enizio is Utah County’s exclusive carrier of Kerastase hair products (shampoos, conditioners, and all kinds of other hair goodies), which are the best of the best.  Not just anyone can carry this line.  Kerastase puts salons through a rigorous application process, testing, and salon visits before allowing them to carry it.

A big component of Studio Enizio is the Onsite Hair and Makeup division.  I have had the pleasure of having five of my brides use Studio Enizio for their bridal and wedding day hair and makeup, and am always referring brides there.  What a difference it makes for photographs.  It’s “you, only enhanced”, as Cynthia puts it.  The fantastic thing about Cynthia and her on-site team, is that they can do classic, natural, elegant, and chic wedding hair and makeup, but can execute the most current fashion looks when needed.  They are truly talented.

Enizio Onsite Hair and Makeup Artistry has been in business for 5 years, and won Best Makeup Artist in Utah County for Salt Lake Magazine’s Best of the Beehive, 2009.

They also offer permanent cosmetics by Stephanie, who I’m told is very precise and does amazing work, as well as natural, beautiful hair extensions, eyebrow waxing, eyelash extensions, and a specialized hair cutting technique called a Thermal Cut, which seals the end of the hair.  To find out more, visit their website, www.studioenizio.com.

With special treatment like this, who wouldn’t want to visit Studio Enizio?

Cynthia didn’t want me to take her picture while she was putting on lip gloss before I did her head shot, but I think it’s too cute not to post.

Cynthia’s little brother, Samuel happened to be visiting the studio when I was there.

I like to think of him as the studio mascot.  What a cutie.  Then, there’s Alex pulling a Samuel move.

And finally, the beautiful Cynthia, and Alex looking all professional.

Melanie and Ryan chose to do their “bridal” session after their wedding.  Melanie and I talked about doing a “trash the dress” session.  Trashing the dress is also known as “free to flaunt“, “rock the frock”, and “fearless bridal”.  Sessions like these are not about trashing a wedding dress for the sake of doing it.  It’s about creation, taking a sometimes-crazy idea, and executing it.  The exciting thing about it is that you start with an idea and new things you never thought of, start to develop during the shoot. In fact, we weren’t planning on Ryan being in a tux, but he remembered he had one from a wedding he was in, and sort of forgot to return.  Oops! The tux just completed the picture perfectly (no pun intended).

These sessions can range from fairly tame to totally wrecking the dress (as a side effect of the brilliant concept, of course).  It could simply mean sitting on rocks, on the ground, getting the dress wet (all of which can be cleaned) to something like we did for Melanie where we painted and burned the dress.  We definitely trashed the dress.  Oh my!

These two have kind of a rock and roll style, so I wanted to customize their session in a way that was a little edgy.  I can’t quite remember how it all came about, but I think Melanie mentioned the Great Salt Lake.  That made me think of the graffiti building by Saltair, which made me think of spray paint, and the fire thing–I don’t remember where that came from, but I envisioned them sitting on the ground enjoying the fire, ironically, in their wedding attire.

Before we destroyed Melanie’s dress, we thought we’d do some pretty bridals.  Melanie’s daughter came along, wearing her matching gown.  The snow was perfect, soft and floaty, blowing gently around them, and there was a touch of sun filtering through the clouds, which really enhanced the falling snow.

We had an awesome time doing this.  I mean, how often do you get to trash a wedding dress and tux?

Davey, of Pointe Digital, came along to film the whole thing.  That’s me in the video, photographing the couple!

Melanie + Ryan // Spray Paint and Fire from Davey Orgill on Vimeo.

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Want to find about more about “trash the dress”?

Click here:  http://trashthedress.com

And here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trash_the_dress

Tom and Kristin were married at the Salt Lake City LDS Temple.  They are a creative couple and played that up in their wedding attire.  A dear friend of Kristin’s made her vintage-inspired wedding dress and as you can see, Tom went for a Gatsby look with white pinstripe suit and hat.  As we walked around the Temple grounds making their wedding photographs, they received compliment after compliment by people who loved their look.  Random strangers were even taking Tom and Kristin’s photo with point and shoot cameras and camera phones!