The Courtyard of the Four Seasons was lush with color, just in time for Ruven to lay eyes on Haley for the first time on their wedding day.  When a woman’s beauty moves a man to tears, I am reminded of why I love what I do!!!  Another incredible part of fall days is that the sun sets earlier and warmer.

I rarely talk about the food at an event, but after witnessing the menu methodically arranged by Jackie – Catering Manager at the Four Seasons – I felt I must. The dishes were delicate, delicious, and playful.  You name it, they had it! From sliders to mini Oreos the food and the party didn’t stop, while the guests rocked to the sounds of the Melanie Rice Orchestra.

Thanks Haley & Ruven, it was a great honor to be your Photographer, and share in your special day!!!

“Wait a minute…you guys were taking pictures the whole time?!?…So you took pictures of me crying??…aww mannn”  Ruven’s astonishment was so pure as we tried not to intrude on this perfect moment that only happens once in a lifetime…

Walking up the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art appears sublime.

Capturing the crowning ceremony… A tradition in a Jewish Weddig held to honor the parents that have married off their last child!  A family gathering around to honor their parents with music and flowers…could there be a better photo-op?

Hope you’re not hungry because you will be when you are done looking at these…

Save room for desert…

TRUST is located in the Old City section of Philadelphia, and the building might be more familiar to many as the location of the filming of the MTV’s reality show, The Real World when it was in Philadelphia. Since then, it quickly become one of Philadelphia’s unique wedding destination hot-spots. The team from Feastivities Catering along with Christopher  Weidenhammer worked together to make their experience one of a kind and memorable to say the least. Well done to all, the day was AMAZING!

The prep time prior to the wedding ceremony – or sometimes before the wedding couple even see one another – is one of my favorite parts of every wedding I photograph. I love to see all of the planning and details come together. For some, it’s the first time they might see your dress, your shoes, your jewelry… but for all, it’s the first time your hair, veil, make-up, jewelry, shoes and dress are put together to create a gorgeous bride (or as my daughter says, “look at the pretty princess daddy!!!”). I always feel honored to be invited into my clients lives, to be chosen to document such intimate moments for them. Photographing the prep not only gives me great photographic opportunities, but it also allows me to connect with my client, their closest friends, and their families. The most important element in capturing an image in photograph  is achieving the right chemistry with the subject I am photographing. Being able to relate to each other, relax, and be yourself is what makes the images I create a success. The only reason we are able to capture the images we do is because our couples feel comfortable with us… they give us their trust.

Unlike my typical posts that include images from the entire day. We really enjoyed the prep time with Rachel and Eric and the moments we captured, so I wanted this to reflect that part of my job as a wedding photographer.  Of course, I couldn’t resist including a few of my favorite portraits from the day…

Rachel and Eric… Thank you for allowing us to be part of your day! It’s been a pleasure getting to know you and your families, and I wish you nothing but the best in your years to come.

{Media,PA} – January 24, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Philip Gabriel Photographyhas been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Photography!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization,Philip Gabriel Photography was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Philip Gabriel Photography is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Philip Gabriel Photography for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Philip Gabriel Photography is one of the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/philip-gabriel-photography-media/f72c046d65ab3a3e.html.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

Kyle & Olin’s chemistry was very photogenic, allowing the true feelings of their day to shine through each image.  The anticipation is certainly felt as they see eachother before their ceremony.  There was a definite quiet nervouseness I’m not sure I noticed until viewing these images back at the studio.  Hopping around the city was a blast while Kyle & Olin held on to eachother, bracing themselves for what would happen in the next couple of hours!

The entire day was a beautiful harmony of the old and the new.  The high gothic inspired architecture of St. Marks in center city, with its high arch ways and flying buttresses came alive with the music of bag pipes.  Standing on the 164 year old beautifully crafted altar, a young priest filled the pews with laughter of marriage and life after wedding day.  Likewise, the regal dance floor of the Union League was graced with Olin’s personal touch, his shiny black nike’s!  The reception was embellished with these intricate details placed perfectly by the couple.  Customized stationary gave the reception a classy understated theme.  From menus to “do not disturb” signs for guests to hang on their door knobs in the wee hours of the morning, these graphic designs by Lisa Kervick of Proud to Plan were one of a kind.  Kyle designed each and every flower arrangement with florist Carl Alan, while Olin planned a secret song he performed for her with the band.  The two were a picture of perfection (no pun intended) and their energy was felt in every detail of the day.  A reception on broad street adds one of my favorite aspects to a center city wedding, killer night shots!  As City Hall celebrated PIFA (Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts) purple facades on buildings of the Avenue of the Arts are left for us to enojy.  The purple and blue hues gave Kyle & Olin a dramatic effect to add to their splendor.  It seemed as if the city lit up just for their special occasion!  With their amazingly sincere families beside them, this couple threw one awesome party…with the help of Jellyroll! Great band & Union League = Fun!

One of the highlights of my day was getting to work with the Urban Guerilla Orchestra for the fist time. To say this party was ROCKIN’ is an understatement. This group really really ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!! Nicely done UGO.

Angela and Will also commissioned us to document their wonderful rehearsal dinner the night before. The dinner took place at the private Wilmington Club located in downtown Wilmington. This was my first visit to the Wilmington Club, what a GEM! For me, the rehearsal dinner is always a choice event with so many great moments to document. This dinner is the first large wedding gathering with all of your closest family and friends. It seems to be the time that most couples share a wonderful slideshow of images reminiscing about all the fun times they had growing up. The moments that are shared during this evening are priceless from the first greetings all the way to the toasts made by your loved ones. It’s these moments that you will want to remember for ever.

Angela & Will… Thank you for asking us to document these events for you. I have had a great time getting to know you both and look forward to creating your album with you.

Wilmington Club… The Rehearsal Dinner…

The party was ROCKIN”!!! LA Starz from EBE Entertainment was amazing! The dance floor was packed ALL night. The Ballroom, well I think the pictures will speak better then my words… I will just add this once again, Donna from Beautiful Blooms really helped to make it over the top. Well done Donna, the room was a work of art.

Leeron & Matt… Thank You Thank You Thank You! It’s been so much fun working with all of you. I look forward to finishing your books with you.

I hope you don’t mind something different on the blog… it’s been awhile since I have shared photographs of my family and I thought now would be an appropriate time. with how busy life has been these past few years its rare that I find time to share photographically much of what is going on in my personal life. here are a few images I made during these past few weeks.

a small glimpse into my life lately…

I owe a BIG thanks to the nurse who helped to deliver mason for taking this next photograph. thank you, thank you, thank you! you have no idea how rare it is for me to make it into a photograph.

riley girl opened a toyz r us catalog and pointed to this and asked for it for her birthday.

my princess is THREE already. this is a bitter sweet time for me… I wish I could keep her at this age forever.

The Elkins Estate, located in Elkins Park, Pa, just outside of Philadelphia is a one of a kind space that offers a very unique setting for a wedding to take place. For a couple like Elena & David, who had a very romantic way about them, the elegant estate was perfect.

Elena & David had a beautiful ceremony sharing traditional elements from each of their backgrounds. Elena is Greek, and David, Jewish and the Rabbi did a wonderful job incorporating elements from both religions. It was moving to witness the two come together as one and see the love their families share for them. Their day was filled with their closest family and friends. Documenting this day was one of the most emotional experiences I have ever been part of. It was an honor to be with Elena & David, capturing these moments that only happen once, and being able to preserve these memories for them to enjoy for many years to come.

Ever since I had my daughter and soon to welcome son into our lives, I have become much more in tune with documenting moments that happen in my life and others lives so that our children have memories forever. Giving our children the gift of remembering who we were, is the best gift in the world.

Speaking of capturing moments and preserving life… It was nice to document Elena & David’s wedding alongside my good friend, Nick of Video One Productions. It’s always a great day working with you guys. I can’t wait to see the film you put together.

Elena and David selected an awesome team to help create and ensure their day was perfect. Festivities Catering was fabulous as usual… Dawn & Meredith really did an unbelievable job with making sure everything was happening when it needed to happen, and keeping everyone where they needed to be. Well done team FEAST!!! Do I really need to mention how GORGEOUS the flowers and decor were… just take a look! OffShoots always seem to blow me away with their delicate and unique touch. The floral decor is never overpowering but is always the perfect balance to compliment the bride, groom, bridal party, space, and the environment they are designing within. Valerie and Paola… you are AMAZING! Love Love Love what you do.

Last but not least… This party wouldn’t have been a fun night without some kickin’ tunes! High five to Brian from Cutting Edge Entertainment for getting the dance floor packed and keeping everyone partying. Great to work with you Brian, looking forward to doing it again!

Elena & David… Thank you! It was an amazing day and a day I couldn’t imagine missing. I wish you both all the best in your years to come.

As you will see from the images below, there were moments happening all around. I could make an album just from the images we made from the time we arrived until Jill was dressed and jeweled up. One of my most memorable moments from the day was when Joy, Jill’s mother, gave to Jill a piece of jewelry that her grandmother had left to her. Jill’s grandmother  had wanted her to wear this on her wedding day. These moments between Jill and her mother were moving to document and the images we created are priceless. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing what my good friend Tim Sudall of Video One Productions captured at the same moment. In my photographs I can feel the love these two women have for each other, and the love they share for Jill’s grandmother. But being able to hear their laughs, and see their cries that Tim recorded, brings another whole level to reliving the moments they shared.

Being part of a day like this reminds me why I love what I do. Thank you Jill and Josh. Thank you for asking us to be part of this wonderful day. It was an honor to be with you and share in the love you both have for each other. I hope you will enjoy these photographs for all of your years to come.

WOW! I feel very honored to have our work published in this beautiful national publication. Out of all the amazing photographers in the world, they chose to publish our work… I’m touched!

If you haven’t had a chance to see the article on the news stands, please take a moment to check it out. To view more photographs from Sarah & David’s gorgeous wedding that was held at the Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard, click here: http://philipgabriel.com/blog/2010/10/21/cruise-terminal-at-the-philadelphia-naval-ship-yard-wedding-sarah-david/