orlando weddings

 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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 by stan_cheslock1

Karla and Steven’s Championsgate Wedding

Karla & Steven Bayes chose one of Orlando’s premier wedding locations for their beautiful March wedding…yes we are late posting this but better late than never! Orlando’s ChampionsGate Resort is a gorgeous Central Florida location perfectly suited to hosting Central Florida weddings. This venue is beautifully decorated, especially the courtyard and ballrooms. The accommodations are luxurious , the cuisine exceptional and the service superb. S & S Photography enjoyed working with a talented , organized and detail oriented co-ordinator and her team, Xiomarra Sanchez, owner of A Nite To Remember Events. ( Niteevents.com) Xiomarra and her team ensured that every detail, every desire, every element and every aspect of the wedding day was meticulously addressed , handled and taken care of immediately,for the bride and groom. When I asked Xiomarra why Steven and Karla chose S & S Photography for their Central Florida wedding photography needs she answered…”S & S was a no brainer when picking a wedding photographer for Karla and Steven. Charlene and Stan were the photographers for Karla’s Mothers wedding a few years back and they LOVED them! Working with S & S is EASY and a PLEASURE. I LOVE Charlene’s energy. The pictures speak for themselves. EXCELLENT photography and an EXCELLENT company”. We always look forward to working with A Nite To Remember Events and we look forward to the change in photography needs of Karla and Steven…from being their wedding photographers to, one day, becoming their FAMILY photographers!

Pro One Video

Jillian Caro 

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 by stan_cheslock1

Lange Farm Wedding

Lange Farm has acres of sweeping views that embraces a rustic country charm making it a wonderful setting for Central Florida weddings. Megan and Nick chose the seclusion of Lange Farm, just 30 minutes outside of Tampa, for their Central Florida wedding ceremony and reception. With over 80 acres Lange Farm embraces nature and pushes the hustle and bustle of daily life aside and allows its guests to relax and enjoy the surrounding scenery. As photographers Stan and I welcome the opportunity to travel to beautiful locations like Lange Farm…every direction we turn is another beautiful backdrop of scenery for beautiful wedding photographs. Congratulations Megan and Nick, thanks for choosing S & S!

 

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 by stan_cheslock1

Barbara and Tim’s Orlando Wedding Photography, and Rain!

The pressure was on photographing Barbara (Alexander) and Tim Lightfoot’s wedding this past September at First Baptist Church of Orlando with a reception at the Orlando Country Club. Barbara, the bride, is the Director of a major global event planning company and knows her stuff — her honeymoon was postponed to handle a meeting with Ex-President Bill Clinton!

So… Of course we wanted everything to run smoothly right?!? But did it? Of course not! The major interfering factor in all Florida weddings reared its ugly head…rain, rain and more rain! I normally talk about my couples in my blogs, but not this time. I’m going to talk about my amazing husband. I cannot praise Stan enough for what he manages to pull off when it seems all the odds are stacked against us. I cannot shoot a wedding without him. He is far more talented than I am. He sees the light that is so key to great pictures. He sees the background, the foreground, the possibilities that I do not.

He pulls off amazing shots in ridiculously cramped impossible spaces. And when I start to panic because I’m focusing on what we can’t do, he calms me down and shows me what we can do. He saves the day each and every time we are up against bad weather, delays, ugly locations, darkness, technical problems…you name it, the man can shoot incredible pictures in it! I would never ever shoot a wedding without him! He can shoot without me (I might send him with 10 pages of notes, LOL!) but I cannot, would not, shoot anything without him by my side.

So, Barbara and Tim, your wedding images are a direct result of my husband’s talent, and we both wish you a long and happy life together!

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 by stan_cheslock1

Orlando wedding photographers: Rosen Shingle Creek

After dating for 2 years with a 15 month engagement, Christine Barnette and Todd Robbins chose Rosen Shingle Creek for their February 21st wedding. A beautiful location for a gorgeous couple! Todd was so handsome and Christine was just gorgeous in her Paloma Blanca dress from The Collection.

The color was cream, the fabric lace and silk, with a striking beaded sash across the waist. M3 Makeup Services did a great job with Christine’s hair and makeup, completing the image of the beautiful bride! Todd and Christine’s color scheme was cobalt blue and white with pops of silver, beautifully accomplished in her bouquet done by Lee Forest Design. Their friends and family were a fun group and the celebrations continued for hours with music provided by Junction 88 Productions.

“Our favorite memory of our wedding day was sitting down at our sweet heart table after our first dance. With everything that goes on during a wedding day this was a time when we could just sit relax and take in everything, really be in the moment and our favorite experience working with S&S would be the way you captured us smiling. We are generally smiling happy people, but for some reason as soon as that camera comes out our smiles run and hide. S & S did a wonderful job of capturing what most cameras cannot.”

Congratulations Todd and Christine and thank you for allowing S & S to be a part of such a momentous occasion in your lives!

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 by stan_cheslock1

Katya and Eric’s love story | Orlando Wedding Photography

In 2010, there were two individuals working in remote locations. They were road warriors, living out of suitcases and sustained by bad hotel room service food. They were isolated, far away from their families and friends. However, every night while relaxing in their empty hotel rooms they each found friendship and fun inside a virtual world called Second Life.

This is where I come in! My name is Katya and I was a hermit of sorts. I hid away in a virtual world, having given up on relationships and seeking an escape from reality. It was in this place that the most unexpected thing happened: love found me! I was minding my own business role playing as the realm wizard when this new guy showed up in funny frilly clothes saying he wanted to be my apprentice. My character’s name was Awryn and his was Atticus, his real name is Eric. He and I spent three to five hours every night talking. We began talking about how to play the game, but soon we were exchanging tips on how to survive on the road, trading stories about airport adventures and discussing our jobs.

Before we knew it, our conversations became more personal and we’d become the best of friends. We started talking on the phone, out of the game, and soon were on Skype watching each other laugh at the crazy things we had dealt with during our travels. Finally almost a year later we decided to meet in person. I’d convinced myself that it was just friendship, but he moment we were face to face he kissed me and the sparks exploded! The rest is history, as they say.

Sadly, life decided to make it challenging. When we met, Eric was feeling sick and his legs were very swollen, but he thought it was just a passing thing. Unfortunately, the sickness got worse. He started slurring his speech, getting dizzy and falling asleep mid sentence. Suddenly he developed pneumonia and had to be rushed to the hospital. He ended up in ICU for three weeks while they gave him intravenous antibiotics. These life saving meds cured his pneumonia, but he reacted badly to them and ended up in full renal failure, almost dying from the treatment. It was then that they started him on dialysis three times a week.  He lost his job while in the hospital, so I would fly in once a month to make sure he had food and medicine, while he recovered and looked for a new job. He found new employment right away, since he is one of the top minds in his field and thankfully they allowed him to work remotely.

A few months later he ended up in the hospital again after collapsing at the clinic due to chronic anemia. They couldn’t figure out what was causing it, but I noticed a bad bruise under his right foot. No matter how many time I asked the staff to check it they ignored it and released him. Two days after he was sent home the bruise opened up into a large wound that at this point has taken over 18 months to heal. Fast forward a few months to Valentine’s Day 2013. My amazing man, Eric, set up a hunt with paper hints all over the apartment leading to a final question…”Will you marry me?” I was thrilled! We love each other very much and I can’t imagine my life without him. Two months later in April, I lost my job and days after that Eric went back into the hospital again. Over the next year he would spend several weeks in and out of the hospital. I moved in and became his full time caretaker, while planning our wedding remotely.

Finally, on February 1, 2014 we were married in Saint Augustine, Florida, surrounded by family and friends. It was a long rocky road to the altar, and will continue for the rest of our lives. However, we were committed to each other through sickness and health, and we do it with all of our hearts. Every obstacle, stumble and breakdown along the way just make our bond stronger. We don’t know what our future holds. What we do know is that we will face it together.

When we bought our wedding bands we each had a word engraved, but we didn’t tell each other what it was, as it was a surprise. After the ceremony we revealed the engraving to each other, only to realize we both chose the same word. ALWAYS. And that is what we will do… love each other always.

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 by stan_cheslock1

Michael and Lindsey’s Orlando Highland Manor Wedding Photography

Michael and Lindsey chose Highland Manor for their wedding on Dec 22. Highland Manor is one of Central Florida’s premier wedding venues as it has the space for both ceremonies, be it outside or in their chapel, as well as receptions. It makes it convenient and reduces quite a bit of the chaos that ensues on the typical wedding day. It’s a beautiful old estate house that is now being managed by Dubsdread. Congratulations Lindsey and Michael, we wish you both many years of happiness and we hope you love your wedding photography! Keep safe Michael, and thank you for dedicating your life to serving and protecting all Americans.

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