i keep a diary

September 08, 2013

Gurjeet & Jared's Wedding

We headed out to Jared's hometown of Reading, PA to celebrate Gurj & Jared's nuptials

Friday, September 6th

the ktb
I rented a car and drove out with Kim on Friday.
the ktb
We walked over to the nearby shopping outlet...
hallway ˆ mall
...so that Kim could find a cheapo bathing suit!
shopping
the ktb
And the winner!
shopping ˆ the ktb
After the rehearsal dinner was over, we went over to the restaurant to say hi and have an after-dinner drink.
krystyna, quinn, sarah
Krystyna, Sarah, Quinn...
krystyna ˆ quinn ˆ sarah
...Kim, Fran and Karen!
nate, sarah
We got to watch Nate and Sarah practice their upcoming reception dance moves.
nate ˆ sarah
fran, karen, quinn, sarah, the ktb
Back at the hotel, we all changed into our swimwear...
best ˆ elevator ˆ fran ˆ karen ˆ quinn ˆ sarah ˆ the ktb
fran, jeet
...and tried to rope the soon-to-be-bride into a swim before the pool closed.
elevator ˆ laugh ˆ fran ˆ jeet
We were excited to learn...
pool
josh adcock, juliette
...that Josh and Jenny brought baby Juliette down to come for a swim!
baby ˆ josh adcock ˆ juliette
karen, me
Look at the camera!
point ˆ pool ˆ karen ˆ me
fran, jenny penny, josh adcock, juliette, karen, me, quinn, the ktb
Swimming baby group shot!
baby ˆ fran ˆ jenny penny ˆ josh adcock ˆ juliette ˆ karen ˆ me ˆ quinn ˆ the ktb
fran, karen, sarah, the ktb
Strong.
best ˆ smoke ˆ fran ˆ karen ˆ sarah ˆ the ktb
karen
Amazin' Mom
best ˆ smoke ˆ karen
juliette, quinn
Saying goodnight to Juliette.
baby ˆ juliette ˆ quinn
jenny penny
Nail party.
nails ˆ jenny penny
We also played a few rounds of...
cards against humanity
...cards against humanity.
cards against humanity
Gurj's hennaed hands!
hand ˆ henna

Saturday, September 7th

the ktb
The next morning, Kim and I grabbed breakfast in downtown Reading.
sign ˆ the ktb
Later that afternoon, I went up to the bridal suite with my camera...
...to shoot behind the scenes pics of all the ladies getting ready.
jenny penny, juliette
Jenny and sleep baby Juliette dressed up in her wedding outfit...awwww.
baby ˆ jenny penny ˆ juliette
After everyone arrived, Gurj's aunt and uncle...
..helped her prepare for her wedding with some ritualists.
I don't remember exactly what they were doing, but I think first they "washed" her hands together with something...
...and then they put her earrings in for her. (I think usually this is the part where they'd pierce her ears)
Ta-da!
jeet
Almost ready to be married!
laugh ˆ wedding ˆ jeet
Lastly, they feed her little morsels of food! Ready to be wed!
Wedding party!
A little after 2pm, everyone cleared out and the "getting ready" began in earnest.
I love being...
...a fly on the wall when lots of ladies are all together getting ready for something.
jeet
Bun check!
mirror ˆ jeet
Jared's sister...
...and Kim styled everyone's hair.
Ready for make up!
jeet
They had an entire fishing tackle box of gear! Did you know that when a lady look really pretty, there was probably some of...
make up ˆ jeet
jeet
...this going on before you saw her?
make up ˆ jeet
jeet
Hahahaha. So good.
best ˆ make up ˆ wedding ˆ jeet
Finishing touches.
jenny penny, juliette, sarah
Juliette watching Jenny watching Sarah posing. A+
jenny penny ˆ juliette ˆ sarah
Funny to have all the same shenanigans and conversations going on...
jenny penny, juliette
...except that Jenny now has a baby!
baby ˆ jenny penny ˆ juliette
Meredith, Ellen...
...and Josh arrived a little after 4pm to see how everyone's look was coming.
Followed by Matt a few minutes later.
karen, meredith, sarah, the ktb
Meredith took a seat...
karen ˆ meredith ˆ sarah ˆ the ktb
meredith, the ktb
...on Kim's styling couch!
meredith ˆ the ktb
jenny penny, me
Someone took my camera away and used it to snap this pic of me and Jenny!
jenny penny ˆ me
ellen, josh adcock, sarah
Sarah's dance moves made a halo appear.
dance ˆ halo ˆ ellen ˆ josh adcock ˆ sarah
fran, jenny penny, karen, quinn, sarah
Bridesmaid's ready!
bridesmaids ˆ wedding ˆ fran ˆ jenny penny ˆ karen ˆ quinn ˆ sarah
We went downstairs and had a drink while we waited...
...for the bride to come down!
It was really sweet to watch Gurj's mom watch Gurj arrive!
TO THE VAN!
Load them ladies up!
Everyone aboard!
Wedding time!
A short ride later...
...we arrived at the Adler Planetarium!
The families walked out back to grounds behind the planetarium...
...where they'd set everything up for the ceremony.
Jared's parents!
Gurj's mother & brother.
Jared at the altar!
Usually, I take a lot of photos at weddings - but this time I was the "official" photographer so I have soooo many pics.
Adorable little ringbearer nephew!
baby
Had trouble making it down the aisle on his own....
baby
...so he eventually got a little help!
Here comes the bride!
jared, jeet
Congrats, Mr & Mrs Piccone!
wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
Congrats, Gurjeet & Jared! I love you both so much!
best ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
ellen, matt, meredith
I got shots of everyone coming back...
ellen ˆ matt ˆ meredith
josh adcock, peter g, shruti, the ktb
...over to the reception area...
josh adcock ˆ peter g ˆ shruti ˆ the ktb
jeet, karen
...and lining up to congratulate the new married couple!
hug ˆ jeet ˆ karen
jared, jeet
Then we spent the next thirty minutes....
wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
....getting our wedding party photos on...
best ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
...in all sorts of arrangements....
jeet
...permutations...
bridesmaids ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
...and configurations!
wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
Serious pose...
groomsmen
...versus casual bros.
groomsmen
jared, jeet
One last pics with Jared's family...
wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
...and then we shot some pics in Jared's dad's motorcycle!
motorcycle ˆ sidecar ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
JUST MARRIED!
motorcycle ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
The wedding reception was held...
wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
...inside the planetarium! So there was a giant model of the moon next to the wedding party's table!
wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
High-fived down the line.
After everyone got settled in...
jared, jeet, penta
...Steve, gave an excellent toast!
speech ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet ˆ penta
After the speeches, Jared's mom...
...and sister brought out the wedding meal!
Apparently, since he was a young child Jared had always insisted that if he ever got married he was going to eat a Big Mac & fries at his wedding.
jared, jeet
Hahahah.
best ˆ mcdonalds ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
I'm lovin it.
mcdonalds ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
As the reception got going, I started making my rounds as wedding photographer.
Snapped some pics of the DJ setting up in the planetarium room getting ready for some dancing!
Friend table!
They had a SERIOUS dessert table.
Caught Jeet and her sister chatting by the moon.
chris black
Working the tables
chris black
jared, jeet, juliette
Juliette got to hang with the wedding party. VIP baby!
baby ˆ jared ˆ jeet ˆ juliette
It was nice to be reunited with all of Jared's friends from home that I'd gotten to hang out with a few weeks prior at Jared's Bachelor Weekend
After everyone had a few drinks in them, we rounded everyone up outside for more photos!
jared, jeet
Party version.
wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
ellen, meredith, shruti, the ktb
Back inside I got back to the task of documenting all the pretty ladies...
ellen ˆ meredith ˆ shruti ˆ the ktb
chris black, sean f
...and handsome fellas...
thumbs up ˆ chris black ˆ sean f
...enjoying the party.
Having a camera in your hand gives you the magical ability to walk up to ANY group of humans, interrupt whatever they're doing, and herd them into posing.
krystyna, penta
Moon shot!
krystyna ˆ penta
jared, jeet
Time to cut the cake!
cake ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
If was really funny to watch Jared & Gurj have a "Don't you dare smash cake in my face or I'll smash cake in your face" stand-off!
cake ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
It only devolved into a little bit of mutual cake-face smashing...
cake ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
...but they kept it from getting to out-of-hand!
cake ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
Check out...
cake ˆ wedding
...the spread! Mmmmm.
cake ˆ wedding
jared, jeet
After the cake was cut, everyone went into the planetarium room and we watched a video about how Gurj & Jared got together projected onto the ceiling!
movie ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
jared, jeet
It was really great.
movie ˆ wedding ˆ jared ˆ jeet
Synched to music and lights!
jeet
Immediately following the conclusion of the movie...
laugh ˆ jeet
jared
...the dance floor got going.
shots ˆ jared
jared
Jared is searching the crowd looking for family members so that they could all get together and recreate...
jared
...THIS PHOTO!
meta ˆ photo
jared
TA-DA!
best ˆ cry ˆ meta ˆ photo ˆ photo shoot ˆ wedding ˆ jared
ellen, karen, matt, meredith, peter g
Oh, Table 7!
ellen ˆ karen ˆ matt ˆ meredith ˆ peter g
The kids' section of this party totally had it going on.
dance
Usually kids need to be cajoled into dancing, but this group was already ripping things up. Everybody jump on the count of 3.
dance
THREE!
dance ˆ jump
AGAIN!
dance ˆ jump
Awww, intergenerational dancing.
dance
krystyna, penta
Dance
krystyna ˆ penta
sean f
Sean & Nate were the wedding dance floor MVPs!
dance ˆ sean f
nate, sean f
They knew all of the wedding songs that have...
dance ˆ nate ˆ sean f
nate
...group choreography moves!
dance ˆ nate
josh adcock, matt
Admiring...
josh adcock ˆ matt
...young thugs starting early with heckling the DJ. Yo, can you play hip hop?
dj
the ktb
Nie to have a group of friends...
dance ˆ the ktb
jeet, meredith, peter g, quinn
...that's not shy about dancing at weddings.
jeet ˆ meredith ˆ peter g ˆ quinn
josh adcock, sarah
Josh N Sarah got Kid N Play.
dance ˆ dance off ˆ josh adcock ˆ sarah
This guy showed off his floor work.
dance
nate
Nate wasn't about...
dance ˆ nate
nate
...the be upstaged by a ten year old! Yes!
dance ˆ nate
Took a dance floor break...
ellen, matt, meredith, sarah
...to cool off outside.
ellen ˆ matt ˆ meredith ˆ sarah
me, sarah
Me and Sar.
me ˆ sarah
quinn, shruti
When we got back inside, Shruti was helping get Gurj's mom...
dance ˆ quinn ˆ shruti
shruti
...out onto the dance floor!
dance ˆ shruti
shruti
So good.
dance ˆ laugh ˆ shruti
shruti
After warming her up she turned her over...
dance ˆ shruti
jeet
...to Gurj.
dance ˆ jeet
jeet
It was really fun getting to see Gurj dance with her mom.
best ˆ dance ˆ jeet
jeet
Congrats!
dance ˆ jeet
The entire time all this dancing was going on...
...there was video like this being projected onto the planetarium ceiling!
jared
Jared and his mom dancing right next to...
jared
jeet
...Gurj and her mom!
jeet
jared
Jared & Gurj's brother! Always fun to see families partying together for the first time!
jared
Hey, Jason...
...how high can you kick? Is that it?
kick
Lil bit higher!
kick
jared, nate
Dance floor party instigating.
jared ˆ nate
jared, jeet, nate
Haha.
dance off ˆ jared ˆ jeet ˆ nate
Kids' section: still killing it.
dance
me, the ktb
At some point in the evening, someone else usually takes my camera away from me so that I end up showing up in some of the pics! Kim and me.
me ˆ the ktb
At some point in the evening, Quinn adopted a giant bottle of vodka...
matt, meredith, peter g, quinn, shruti
...and carried it around like a baby. Haha.
matt ˆ meredith ˆ peter g ˆ quinn ˆ shruti
penta
Haha.
penta
I spotted this gorgeous praying mantis on the railing. Sometimes another creature's sentience can be shocking. I was slowly moving up next to this guy to take his picture...
bugs ˆ praying mantis
...and then he TURNED HIS HEAD and looked at me! We spent a few minutes just checking each other, feeling out each other's vibe, and then we said farewell.
bugs ˆ praying mantis
nate, sean f
Fan photo!
nate ˆ sean f
meredith, the ktb
Babes.
meredith ˆ the ktb
jared
A little before midnight, we loaded up the groom into a van and sent him onto the after party!
jared
ellen, matt, meredith, the ktb
Our group made a slight detour along the way to climb all over a giant ant.
art ˆ drunk ˆ statue ˆ ellen ˆ matt ˆ meredith ˆ the ktb
matt, me, meredith, the ktb
I'll post this version instead of the one where I'm "keeping my balance" by holding onto Kim's dreamy leg.
art ˆ drunk ˆ statue ˆ matt ˆ me ˆ meredith ˆ the ktb
ellen, matt
Ellen was our sober driver! Thanks, Ellen for carting us around while we were drunken lunatics.
ellen ˆ matt
meredith
Slow dancing with public art!
dance ˆ drunk ˆ meredith
karen, matt, quinn, the ktb
The after-party place had giant scorpion bowl drinks...
karen ˆ matt ˆ quinn ˆ the ktb
...with light-up LEDs inside!
ellen, fran, meredith, quinn, shruti, the ktb
Here we go!
girly drinks ˆ shots ˆ ellen ˆ fran ˆ meredith ˆ quinn ˆ shruti ˆ the ktb
After the after-party, we back to the hotel...
...and ran into the other wedding party's after party in the lobby!
We spotted the OTHER BRIDE and went over to congratulate her!
matt, meredith
Rubano is a hotel professional and went right to the frozen French bread pizza. Awww, yeah.
drunk ˆ matt ˆ meredith
That thing where you go to climb over the gate...
...and your friend opens it. Haha.
This is a crowd of people outside a hotel at 2am waiting to greet...
crowd ˆ hotel
...the pizza delivery man!
Pizza party convention!
Our 2am Hotel Lobby Pizza Party...
hotel ˆ pizza
...came with a show!
karen, quinn, the ktb
Worn out from partying, pizza and long admiration for Karen's dress...
karen ˆ quinn ˆ the ktb
karen, the ktb
...everyone was feeling sleepy.
boobs ˆ pillow ˆ karen ˆ the ktb
matt, nate, sean f
Touching tips so hard.
matt ˆ nate ˆ sean f
karen
Goodnight, everyone!
kiss ˆ karen

Sunday, September 8th

matt
Met these guys...
coffee ˆ matt
karen
...in the lobby the next morning. We got coffee and waited for...
karen
jared, jeet, jenny penny, josh adcock, the ktb
...the bride and groom to make an appearance!
jared ˆ jeet ˆ jenny penny ˆ josh adcock ˆ the ktb
ellen, josh adcock, matt
Went out for a big post-wedding recovery brunch together.
breakfast ˆ ellen ˆ josh adcock ˆ matt
josh adcock, juliette, me, meredith
Said farewell to Josh, Jenny & baby Juliette.
baby ˆ josh adcock ˆ juliette ˆ me ˆ meredith
karen, sarah
Headed back to the hotel to go our separate ways. Congrats Gurjeet & Jared! We love you guys so much!
hotel ˆ karen ˆ sarah