I’m very excited to share Eliza’s gorgeous bridal and pre-wedding shoot. These two are a great couple, and so good together. It makes me excited to photograph their upcoming wedding.

This portrait session started off on a cold and rainy spring day here in Utah. While waiting for an opening in the rain, we started photographing inside my Davis County studio where it’s both warm, and where we have full control of lighting for a variety of looks and styles. And because the groom had not seen Eliza’s dress yet, we started with a “first sight” series.

Look at how he glows with excitement, seeing his bride for the first time in her beautiful dress, spinning her around to see her all the way around, and hugging her tight.

Feeding off these two’s glowing faces and excitement, we moved into some color couple portraits on a fashion gray background with some soft studio lighting.

And then some of just Eliza alone in her dress, doing a high-key bridal set, white on white. The simplicity, color harmony, and dramatic lighting really make this image. She look absolutely gorgeous in it, and I love the details in the back of this dress and all the lovely lines.

I love shooting a variety of lighting styles and looks, so we then moved to a set of snappy, high-contrast black-and-whites on a dark background for a modern yet classic feel. We made up this framed wall collage to tell a story between the images, and to showcase their personalities in a finished portrait display at their wedding reception. This will look beautiful displayed on the wall in their new home together too.

Here are some of those images up close so you can see how happy and great these two look to be together.

After finishing the studio part of the shoot, I checked the weather and saw a clear spot in the clouds and rain. We took advantage of that opening in the storm and quickly drove to an outdoor open area near my studio. We worked quickly in order to beat the cold, while using the wind and stormy sky to our artistic advantage. Using some powerful auxiliary lighting on site to sculpt the couple and bring depth into the terrain and sky, we got some breathtaking panoramas.

In this series of three images, notice the storyline as the groom pulls his bride closer for a kiss as she dances towards him.

Of course the bride alone looks fantastic and stunning throughout the shoot. It was hard choosing the best images from this shoot because everything looked spectacular.

As the outdoor wind got frigid, we decided to end the shoot with one more dramatic portrait utilizing the rocks, storm clouds, and wind. In this final portrait, these two look like they’re straight out of a national magazine fashion shoot. Their expressions, body language, all perfect, the wind blowing her veil softly, and custom, dramatic lighting to make the sky and clouds pop.

I loved seeing these two interact on this shoot, and how much the groom helped and protected his bride from this outdoor environment. He carried her over boulders, hugged her, warmed her arms, and continually made sure she was taken care of. I know that these two will have a wonderful life together. And I have loved working on this order and framing and delivering these beautiful portraits. They are seriously breathtaking in person.

If you’re getting married, I’d love to create some amazingly gorgeous images for you too. Everything is custom and there are a lot of things we can do, but here are a few links for some early info…

• My main portfolio website: BryCox.com
• My mini site for wedding info
• Lots of real wedding samples (no fake brides) here on my blog
• And of course because of the custom nature of what I create, it’s best to give me a call at 801-728-3317 so we can talk more about what you’d like.

And until next time, America.