This was a tough category for us to pick the “Best of”! Every wedding that we shoot has at least one special, unique, creative detail that the bride & groom went out of their way to incorporate into their day. To narrow down our favorites for this category, we selected 5 weddings from 2009 that not only put personality and thought into each aspect of their day, but these couples also went above and beyond with those special details. These weddings did not only succeed in providing us with absolute eye candy (which happens to be a blast to shoot), but I think their efforts also contributed to a wedding their guests will definitely remember! In case you didn’t know…we (wedding photographers) live for this stuff!

We have been busy, but we have not forgotten about the “Best of Weddings 2009″ posts in our queue. The Ceremony & First Look category may not be the most glamorous, but for obvious reasons it is one of the most important on a wedding day. Photographing the ceremony is where we get to blend into the background and capture those special moments as they happen. This portion of a wedding day is also the time that I tend to get emotional, wiping my tears away quickly from behind the camera.

In our experience, a First Look is one of the best ways to guarantee plenty of picture time, avoid missing your cocktail hour (I would never miss a cocktail hour, especially not my own), and is also the best way to use the down time before your ceremony. Some people prefer that the groom sees the bride for the first time as she comes down the aisle, but I would argue that the First Look is a much more intimate moment. The images from a First Look are uninhibited, romantic and very emotional when couples see each other for the first time (without the pressure of all the guests watching). Here’s a few of our favorites:

Nothing is better than a special moment between a bride and her father before the ceremony.

Grooms, take note…these guys had the right reaction to seeing their bride coming down the aisle:

And oh yeah, this one is pretty important…kiss like you mean it! By far, Benjamin and Yasmin had the best first kiss of 2009!

Meet our friends, Matt, Megan & Stella. Enjoy the cuteness!