Friday Night Lights (Wedding Rehearsal pre-gameday Practice)

Mr. Barthel having a great time.


Jeness, Todd's Sister. The Best "Man." Easily the best dressed out of the Groom's side ;-)


Todders stealing a kiss from the bride to be, Kati.


20 Years. That's how long a certain Todd B. and I have been friends. From 3rd Grade Mrs. Zacek's class to now, we've done nothing if not mature together. So this past weekend on Sept 23rd, he got married to a wonderful girl, whose family I might have known almost as long. Kati and her older brothers Danny and Jason have lived not more than a 200 yard stretch of land away from my parents first house in Homer (now Homer Glen) Illinois. Danny and Jason were always on the same bus as I was, and Danny and my cousin Chris were friends. I was deeply honored to stand as one of Todd's Groomsman.

I brought my camera gear at his request "just in case" and it turned out to be a most excellent idea. Alot of times couples choose not to have a photographer onhand for the intimate rehearsal dinner, at the expense of not documenting a night just as emotional as their wedding ceremony. It's such a great way to recognize the important people in your life and how they're able to complete all your plans for the wedding and reception ahead.

Barring some weather concerns, there really wasn't a single thing out of place for the evening. It made for a really great night for photos. Critique wise I think I could have paid just a bit more attention to the settings of my flash and diffuser, along with moving to a lower ISO for higher fidelity while still retaining most of the background. Indoors at f4 gives just the right depth of field with the 24mm-70mm L Lens, but at 1/60th shutter with the autoflash (420EX, diffused and bounced) the subject stands out from the background by 2 stop or so. I really need to invest in a remote flash setup, so as to provide a background light. Time to start saving up those pennies again ;-).

Without further comment... the Martin-Barthel Rehearsal Dinner, held at the lush Pheasant Run Resort.

Martin-Barthel Rehearsal Dinner

Sep 22, 2006 - 157 Photos