Phy Photography

My neighbors have a new baby girl named Lola (…L-o-l-a Lola…) My girl is enamored, enthralled.
Where does time go? How can next week be Thanksgiving? I’ve done 3 of 4 weddings this month, and I look forward to a sunset Family Session next week.
Plenty of photographs to look forward to!
Stay tuned…

Wedding venue in St. Augustine, Florida by wedding photographer Kathy Phy

I do believe I have found my new favorite city here in the US–St. Augustine, Florida. I would LOVE to book more weddings, engagements, events, or family sessions in this beautiful and historic city. And how lucky am I (and also any potential St. Augustine clients!) that I live so close–so no travel fees incurred for any work (weddings, portraits, etc) I am booked for there! So, calling all residents of St. Augustine–since your’s is my new favorite city, I want to be your new favorite photographer!
I am currently processing photos from my wedding this past Saturday, and I’ll include a few quick iPhone snaps here of the amazing ceremony venue. This St. Augustine wedding began at The Oldest House, and the reception was held at the gorgeous and quite fancy Casa Monica Hotel. These few snapshots included here are only of the wedding ceremony venue, and thus only a teaser of the real photographs still to come, which will include of course the reception photos from Casa Monica, a frenzied photo-walk through the rain between the two locations (which will thus provide a few views of several historic blocks in between), and best of all, a special treat! Nicole and Mike had the excellent foresight to plan waaaaaaaay ahead, so as to confirm facilities on one of St. Augustine’s most special (and crowded!) events–The Night of Lights.
If the city is drop-dead gorgeous on any old day of the year, then there are simply no words to describe the vision of the historic quarter draped in thousands of beautiful white lights. Since a photograph is worth a thousand words, I’m afraid you’ll simply have to be patient a few days more to see for yourself!
Also, check back soon to see Julie and Nik’s Orlando wedding reception, Marie and Randy’s St. Mary’s, GA wedding, and Kristine and Charlie’s South Jacksonville Renewal of Vows wedding ceremony. Lots of good stuff coming soon! Not to mention a huge backlog of events that are finally about ready to share!

My First Florida Wedding! Actually, that’s not quite the truth, as the ceremony had already taken place at an earlier date at a beach location. I was hired to cover the party and reception given by the bride and groom for all their friends and family who were unable to attend the wedding.
The event took place at Paradise Cove, a gorgeous venue in Orlando. Although as it was situated right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle surrounding the entrances to the Disney parks, it was quite the challenge to find. But the well-hidden location served the venue well; once you were there, there was no way to imagine that all of the people, traffic, and overload of businesses, hotels, restaurants, etc that latched themselves onto the proximity of Disneyworld were anywhere near.
Although the venue itself was already beautifully situated and landscaped, Nik and Julie added their own special touches to the decor that personalized it for their own unique style. They are huge fans of the television show Lost, and so all throughout the area, there were secret little hidden clues incorporated into the decorations that were reminiscent of the show. Also, they met each other and still worked at Sea World, and so among the wedding favors for guests were very cool tote bags that would make great re-usable and eco-friendly shopping bags.
Since the ceremony had already taken place, this was an especially enjoyable event for me. No rushed timelines to worry about, no rounding up of wandering relatives for group photos, no rushing around to different locations. Nik and Julie simply wanted candid coverage of themselves, their family, and friends enjoying a fun celebration of their love and marriage. I love shooting candidly and telling the story of an event, so this was a great and relaxing experience to begin my new life in Florida.
Enjoy perusing through the shots of the beautiful decorations and venue, and also all the fun Nik, Julie, and all their loved ones had on this beautiful evening. Congratulations to both families, and many thanks for allowing me to capture your event for posterity!

Mom gave me a call from the beach Monday morning and said there was something I should bring my camera and take a look at. She was right, it was definitely worth it. The photo needs no words, but I will add that I’m proud that I’ve barely lived here in New Smyrna Beach a month and already got a by-line in the Daytona News-Journal, as well as one expected this Thursday in the weekly New Smyrna Beach paper. iPhone snaps of my by-line included

I was so excited about the launch of a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, which is easily seen from the beach right outside our house, here in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The launch was delayed by 3 days, but at last I got a good photo of the cloud trail left by the rocket entering the clouds and then exiting the atmosphere.

There are 2 more launches in November, and I plan on being more prepared for these and be able to scout out the best spots for photography. I am saddened, however, that there are no more launches planned from Canaveral until next June. I’m really hoping the calendar fills in between now and then! There’s a great NASA app that I’ve been using for the information; it also has a neat feature which lets you know when certain satellites, such as the International Space Station, are visible to the naked eye from your position anywhere on earth.

I am here and soon will be ready to add some blog posts!