August 1, 2018 by Stan Cheslock

Central Florida Bella Collina Wedding

Esther and Kenso’s Bella Collina Wedding

Esther and Kenso fell in love with , and chose , the stunning Tuscany themed backdrop of Central Florida’s Bella Collina Wedding Venue for their Central Florida April wedding and what a wedding it was! How can you possibly go wrong with a gorgeous bride, a handsome groom, and a beautiful venue?? This beautiful Haitian couple chose a classic contemporary and elegant theme for their Central Florida wedding. We have such a history with Esther’s family ( We have already photographed 3 of her siblings weddings with 2 to go!) that Stan and I were really excited as well as nervous about capturing Esther and Kenso’s Bella Collina Wedding just perfectly. Everything went smoothly with the talented team of Lynn Stuckas of Your Events by L & L who was in charge of coordinating Esther and Kenso’s stunning Central Florida Bella Collina wedding. Esther’s flowers were just beautifully done by Weddings by Carly Anes, and complimented her stunning mermaid dress from Demetrios Bridal. Her off white mermaid dress was heavily beaded, with lots of sparkle to compliment the dress, while the form fitting skirt enhanced and complimented Esther’s perfect curves. The finishing touches were hair and makeup and beautifully done by LeJeune Artistry . The reception ballroom at Bella Collina was beautifully decorated with linens by Eli of Linen Creations, and D.J Geordany Jean Baptiste made sure that the music was a crowd pleaser, playing a well rounded selection of music from soca to hip hop to R & B. Of course we must include that Esther and Kenso’s stunning Bella Collina Wedding was captured by S & S Photography and their beautiful video captured by Kelvin Aultman .
A little history….Esther and Kenso’s families have known each other for over 14 years. “My siblings are best friends with Kenso’s only 2 sisters, not to mention our fathers who are both ministers and are also friends. My siblings and Kenso’s sisters arranged a meet for me and Kenso, planned a big party and everything. And of course, I was resistant …lol, they failed to recall that I dislike parties/crowds and believe it or not, I , most of the time, just like to keep to myself. But, after several tries, I agreed to meet with him, only to find out what a great human being this guy was. All I can say is that our love story has only just started, and I hope it NEVER ends.”

Memories of a Central Florida Bella Collina Wedding

Esther’s favorite memory of the day was when Kenso was saying his vows to her, and she says Kenso’s favorite wedding day moment was when Esther was walking down the aisle towards him. Her advice to new brides, “Start planning early and avoid the stress if you can!” I asked Esther if she would do her stunning Central Florida Bella Collina Wedding all again and she said ,” DEFINITELY!!”

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May 16, 2017 by Stan Cheslock

Mission Inn: Paige and Michael’s Wedding

Mission Inn Resort and Club Wedding

Paige and Mike are a very special couple that are so lucky to have found each other. They are both perfectly suited to each other and S & S Photography is so happy to have been chosen to photograph their beautiful Mission Inn Resort wedding this past February. Here is their story…

According to sweet Paige…,”Mike and I met on Match.com. I was at my cousin’s wedding in October 2012. I learned that my cousin met her husband on Match. I happened to have an account but was letting it run out because it had weirded me out. My mom said “let’s just look when we get back to the room.” We went online, searched around, and my mom pointed and said “what about him?” It was Mike. I messaged him, we spoke for about 2 weeks until we met up in person. The rest is history! We dated from November 2012 until he proposed in December 2015 (about 3 years). Mike proposed December 13, 2015 in Blue Ridge, Georgia. I graduated with my Master’s Degree on December 12, 2015 at the University of South Alabama. We had a plan after the graduation to drive to Georgia to visit my grandparents for a few days and spend time there with my parents as well. The day after my graduation, we all drove to my grandparents’ house from Alabama to Georgia. Once we arrived, we went out to lunch with my grandparents and then went back to their house to hang out (I thought after this that we would be going to a hotel to change and relax). My entire family was sitting on the couch and talking when my grandpa started talking about a road trip he took as a child. Mike then said to me, “speaking of road trips, we still have an hour drive to go.” I was so confused. He said he was taking me to the mountains as a graduation gift. I was actually sort of upset because I never get to see my grandparents and didn’t understand why he would take me away from them (LOL). We said our goodbyes and got in the car and drove north! About an hour later we arrived to a cabin in the mountains of Blue Ridge, GA. It was the cutest cabin! We walked inside, there was romantic music playing and a dozen roses and a box of chocolate on the kitchen counter. I went upstairs and there were rose petals all over the bedroom. I looked down from the second story and saw Mike on the balcony. I figured I should go out there to thank him. I went outside on the balcony. We hugged, I said thank you, and then he said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He got down on one knee and proposed! I had no idea! While I was looking around the cabin before the proposal, he had secretly set up a Go Pro on a bench of the balcony to capture it all. It was the best day! The next day we went back to my grandparents’ house and celebrated with them and my parents, we then went back to the cabin for a few days and enjoyed our engagement weekend!”

Now Mike had a plan all along and in the manner of a traditional , chivalrous gentleman, plotted to ask Paige’s father for her hand in marriage .He said , “I knew quite early on that I wanted to marry Paige. I finally decided on the timing of the proposal because Paige would be graduating from her master’s program and it just felt like the perfect moment. I am a fairly conservative and traditional person so asking for her father’s hand in marriage was something I felt I needed to do, out of respect for her family.On the day I decided to make the drive to her parents house everything lined up perfectly. Paige was working an extra shift at the hospital. I was scheduled to work my normal overnight shift starting at 5PM. My supervisor did not have any issues when I told him I was going to be coming in a little late that night. Once I knew Paige was at her job I hit the road. I had already coordinated with Paige’s brother, Matt, to make sure that her parents would be home that night. Matt did an awesome job of making sure they would be there without giving any hints of what was going on. In 3 shorts hours I was already at their house in the early evening. I rang the door bell and Paige’s mother answered and was surprised to see me but thought I might have been in the area since my father lived near there too. Paige’s father saw me and I knew that he knew exactly why I was there. I spoke quickly probably because I was nervous and just asked them right there in the entrance of the house. Of course they said yes and welcomed me to the family. I felt a huge relief and my nerves were quickly eased. I had a deadline to make it back to work in time. I was only able to stay for a few minutes so Paige’s mother packed me some food for the road and I was on my way. I was back to Orlando in 3 hours and Paige had no idea what had just happened. ”

Would you believe that Mike & Paige’s parents and brother kept this proposed proposal secret for 3 WEEKS!! How her Mom kept that from her is beyond me, I would have burst from excitement! Paige and Mike eventually chose the beautiful Mission Inn Resort for their Orlando wedding. The day was rainy but nothing could dampen Paige and Mike’s excitement! All the planning , all the details, all came together ( with considerable help from their talented planner Katie Jimenez, owner of Big Day Celebrations, [email protected]) and their Mission Inn Resort wedding was a true celebration of the joining of 2 lives and 2 families. Here we are 2 months later and these 2 wonderful people are now busy helping others. Paige is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Mike works in Law Enforcement protecting and serving the citizens of Orlando.

Stan and I wish Paige and Mike a long, happy and healthy life together. These are 2 people that are thoughtful, kind, smart, gorgeous, and just plain NICE…good people as they say, with wonderful families supporting them. Lots of love to them!!

Vendors:

DJ/Lighting: White Rose Entertainment

Hair/Makeup: About Face

Ceremony Music: Catherine Way-Harpist

Wedding Cake: Party Flavors

Videographer: Lucid Productions

Florist: Flowers by Lesley

Favors: Sweets by Holly

Wedding Planner: Katie Jimenez

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April 6, 2017April 6, 2017 by Stan Cheslock

Mystic Dunes: Brittany and Tyler’s Wedding

Mystic Dunes Resort Wedding

Brittany and Tyler met while studying to be Chiropractors at the College of Chiropractic in Port Orange and it wasn’t long before they started dating, albeit accidentally, due to the scheming of their best friend Taylor. Taylor brought Brittany and Tyler to the beach to ” hang out” only to run away, leaving Tyler and Brittany alone to get to know one another. How cute is that! That same beach is where Tyler decided to propose just over a year later, on August 9th 2015. At sunrise they , ” watched dolphins in the water, seagulls flying above, jumping fish and little crabs in the sand, which was really neat and beautiful to see. No one else was on the beach, just he and I and all of the animals-it could not have been planned better. He got on one knee, spoke so eloquently and asked me to be his wife. It was the best moment and is ours forever”
Well, perfect is what they are together and perfect was what their Central Florida Mystic Dunes wedding was. I personally cannot tell you enough nice things about the involvement of Brittany’s parents in the wedding plans…everything was done for Brittany with so much love , and with only HER wants and desires in mind. Nancy and Louie you are an amazing team and together you pulled off two things…creating a sensitive, considerate, smart and kind daughter, and a wonderfully perfect wedding for her! Mom did the flowers, yes ALL of the bouquets were made by Brittany’s Mom and were beautifully done with no prior experience, wow!! Mrs Anastasio also did all of the decorations and all night long kept flitting around their Mystic Dunes reception to make sure that everything was just perfect for her beautiful daughter. Some tasks did have to be handled by others….Hair was done by Lloyd Scott who works at Hair Mania. Melody Griffin, the owner of Hair Mania, also assisted with the bridesmaids hair and eyelashes. Makeover Station worked with a few of the girls and also assisted with hair and makeup. The delicious cake was made by Chelsea Sexton with Sweetpea’s Sucre Sweets and the dance floor kept popping all night to the tunes of DJ Chris Casella

I asked Brittany what the most memorable part of her Mystic Dunes Resort Wedding was and she said that it “was walking down the aisle to Tyler. Literally, everything outside of my focus on him blurred away and all I could see was Tyler standing at the alter. I was walking towards my future in Christ, with my dad who has always been by my side, to my soon to be husband, best friend and love of my life.” And Ty’s? ” My favorite moment was when Britt and I were able to hold each other’s hands behind the archway right before we got married. It was the start of when my life would change in an amazing way. That moment made the day, our wedding day, feel real. I am glad we didn’t see each other before she walked down the aisle, holding her hand was an incredible moment I’ll never forget.” Feeling brave I asked Brittany and Ty what working with S& S was like? She replied… ”You both are absolutely amazing. We enjoyed every minute of working with you. From the time my parents met with you and knew for sure you were going to photograph the wedding, to the first time we met and talked and shared at Dunkin Donuts, we knew that you were amazing people who would not only be a joy to work with but the perfect pair to capture the moments of the day. It was a ton of fun taking the photos and you both were beyond organized. We had many compliments from our wedding party on working with you as well, which is always so nice to hear! Now that we have seen the proofs, so many friends and family members have expressed how great and talented you are and they love the photos! Thank you so much for capturing such an important start to our journey, we love you and will cherish these memories forever.”
We love you too Brittany and Ty and thank you for allowing us the honor of capturing your beautiful wedding!! I asked where they go to from here and they responded,” We want to serve. We want to volunteer as much as we can. The way we feel we have been chosen to serve is through opening our chiropractic office and bringing hope to people for their health. We also want to start a family of our own and grow with the Central Florida communities. Dance and soccer are also very important to us, so we will see how we can fuel those passions in our family as well. We love being here in central Florida, enjoying all the area has to offer, and we will continue to give back as much as we can and in every capacity that we can.” These two are special, in every way, and a testament to how amazing BOTH sets of parents are because they sure did raise two excellent human beings!!

Venue Coordinator: Rick Martin

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October 18, 2016October 20, 2016 by stan_cheslock1

Alyssa and Bud’s beautiful Venice wedding!

Bud and Alyssa first met at a Chilies restaurant in 2013 after initially meeting on line via “Chemistry.com”. Clarence, AKA Bud, worked the night shift as an Orlando Police Officer and Alyssa, as she says,”being surrounded by engineers limited our dating scene so we both turned to online dating and it all turned out for the best!” Bud said that,” they talked for hours, about everything from work to zip lining, and unbeknownst to them, began laying the foundation of what would become a wonderful and lasting relationship.” Bud’s proposal began with an invitation to dinner and a movie, after which they headed for their favorite local spot, Cranes Roost. ” It’s where we first became officially boyfriend and girlfriend, and had our first kiss.” Bud even had a photographer there who, under the false pretense of “practicing” on them, proceeded to take their picture. Alyssa went along and agreed to ” have some stranger take our photo” Bud, after the first photo, got down on his knee and proposed! She said YES and now here they are, happily married newlyweds in 2016.
August 6 th was the big day and Bud and Alyssa agreed that they wanted an outdoor themed wedding, without the outdoors…” Too hot for a Florida August outdoor wedding” said Alyssa. They chose the beautiful Plantation in Venice, a spot on the East coast close to where Alyssa grew up. One thing Alyssa knew for certain was that she wanted a cookie table at the reception. ” I was raised by my Mom and always grew up close to her, she was the one there through thick or thin. My Dad lived in NY so when I visited him he would make sure we had our time together by waking me up in the middle of the night and we would have Oreos and milk” How super sweet..pun intended!
Everything came together beautifully on their wedding day in large part due to Alyssa being a very hands on and involved bride. “Everything was set up and made by myself or one of my amazing bridesmaids- from the homemade jams and the signs to the center pieces and the kids table!” Apart from a tiny thunderstorm that blew through as the ceremony was about to start the wedding was a success…lively & full of dancing and laughter, which ended with an exciting ecofetti departure. Alyssa and Bud Stan and I wish you two lovebirds a long, safe and prosperous life together and want to thank you for inviting S & S to be a part of such a momentous occasion in your lives!

Florist, Garden of Eden Snapshot Photobooth
Makeup By Corinne Gown

DJ Photography

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March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 by stan_cheslock1

Pensacola Wedding Photography

Adam and Tiffany chose their old college stomping grounds for their wedding this weekend in Pensacola and we are so honored to have been brought in to cover the event. We shoot primarily Central Florida weddings but have now covered all corners of the state, from Jacksonville down to the Keys, Sarasota over to Cocoa , and now beautiful Pensacola. Although it was quite a drive we have travelled further…Tucson AZ, North Carolina, Trinidad and even South Africa! This weekend Stan and I travelled almost 1000 miles and enjoyed every minute of it…did I mention that we left 3 kids behind…perhaps part of the reason we had such a good time, seems breaks from parenting are quite refreshing! We had a fun group to work with, a beautiful couple, lovely location and soft afternoon light. We even enjoyed a side trip on our way home to see Florida’s only caves at the Caverns State Pk in Marianna. Thanks for choosing Stan and I to be your Pensacola wedding photographers Tiffany and Adam, congratulations and many long years of happiness to you both!

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August 16, 2015August 16, 2015 by stan_cheslock1

Destination Wedding Photography with Daniel and Ashlee

Daniel and Ashlee Cueto’s love story began in 2007 when they worked together at a wine bar…our love story with this family began when we photographed Daniel’s twin sisters wedding several years ago in Cocoa Beach. Laura married Matt Pepin and has sent us so many beautiful brides that this blog wouldn’t be fair without a huge shout out and THANK YOU to her and her amazing family, which has grown with the addition of their beautiful baby girl Julianna!

Danny fell in love with the beautiful Ashlee and decided to propose one casual Saturday afternoon in Denver, where the couple lives. During a game of Battleship Danny suggested that his next move would be “be mine” and he held up the ring over the board game! They picked the ring setting together and settled on a halo with a plain band and small diamonds around the cushion cut center stone, all of which were dipped in black rhodium.

Next came a dress shopping trip to Florida where Ashlee’s entourage included her Mom, Dad, Step Mom, step sister and her future Mother and Father in law! The 2nd dress tried on was the winner, a leaf shaped light lace dress with a pink sash. Her stunning 8 ft veil with crystals scattered at the bottom was loans to her by her best friend Mallory…the perfect touch of drama to her simply elegant dress.

Ashlee chose a pink and grey theme because she loves pink, and Daniel being color blind can only see the color grey. Since both families lived in Florida they chose Out of the Blue Celebrations in Jupiter for their ceremony and reception, on the only available date left for spring, April 18th. As Ashlee said “We aren’t super serious people so we wanted the ceremony to be fun,” which it was!

Ashlee’s God Mother Aunt Jeanne performed the personal, light-hearted ceremony, at the end of which she took out an aluminum made wand and blessed the happy couple. Everyone was laughing and smiling! Ashlee and Daniel’s evening was “amazing and we had a great time. We laughed, cried a little, and danced!”

The perfect day for the perfect couple….congratulations Ashlee and Daniel and THANK YOU for having Stan and I be the ones to capture your special day!!

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September 28, 2012September 29, 2012 by stan_cheslock1

Tammy and Will’s North Carolina wedding!

Many couples travel to Florida for their destination weddings, but we are often asked to travel out of Florida. Just a few weeks ago we traveled to a gorgeous spot in North Carolina for Tammy and Will F.’s wedding. The Mill Pond, at Bear Lake Reserve, was the setting for their outdoor wedding.

The guests were seated around the pond, nestled in the mountains of North Carolina. It was a quiet, peaceful, refreshingly cool, and an amazingly serene location. I loved the sign that greeted their guests, it said: ‘As two families are becoming one, we ask that you choose a seat, and not a side!’ So sweet! And the word “sweet” describes Tammy perfectly; a sweet, soulful, country girl in her cowboy boots!

Tammy got dressed in a log cabin, and their ceremony took place on a wooden bridge, over a bubbling creek. The ceremony was quite touching; a Christian ceremony was very meaningful to the couple. It was emotional and lovely to witness. After a short drive in their convertible, they arrived at the reception site, Sundrops, also at the Bear Lake Reserve . We witnessed some entertaining reception games ––hysterical to watch––and new to us. There was an Elvis impersonator who made an appearance (again, something we’d never seen) and he was surprisingly VERY good! As the reception heated up, so did the afternoon, and the Groom was promptly tossed into the pool by his groomsmen, who could not resist the temptation to cool down, and ended up in the pool themselves. We had a GREAT time, and if anyone ever needs a cabin in the Smokey Mountains, near Cherokee and Bryson City, in North Carolina, check out this site: http://www.vrbo.com/44019. Make a reservation, and tell Jillian that Charlene and Stan sent you, you won’t regret it, it’s a gorgeous luxury cabin!

As for Tammy and Will, congratulations! Have a wonderful life together, come visit us in Florida, and hopefully we’ll see y’all again REAL soon 🙂

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