I am in Jamaica - Finally ! Some of my Friends might say ! And getting married to Yanique next week-end ! We have dropped suitcases and just Relaxing & enjoying well deserved vacations now.
Just thought I 'd mention it - Very exited and looking forward to my Own wedding - Wish everyone was here.
LOVE 
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Posted by Olivier Lalin - 
From ancient times to the present, weddings have always been important religious ceremonies and social occasions. While some wedding traditions, customs, and fashions have withstood the test of time, our modern conceptions of weddings, particularly the white wedding, are primarily a 19th century creation.
The white wedding first became fashionable during the Victorian era, roughly 1840 to 1900, with the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert. Before that time, it was quite common for a woman to wear the best dress that she owned, whatever color it may have been. At other times, a particular color was fashionable for wedding attire. Roman brides often chose to wear yellow, while women in the 16th and 17th centuries preferred pale green. It was not until the early 19th century that white became a fashionable color to wear at formal occasions. And it was not until white became fashionable as the color for a woman's wedding gown in the mid-19th century that it became associated with the purity and innocence we associate it with today. Even so, our modern concepts of white are quite different from the Victorians'. Thus, today we would consider "white" from this time period as more of a cream color.
After the inception of the white wedding in the mid-19th century, wedding fashions continued to change. While the continuity of the "white" wedding is apparent, each dress is unique and indicative of the fashion of its particular time. Each dress is also significant because of the women who wore it. Many of the dresses were shared among sisters or passed down from mother to daughter. So, while each is representative of a particular time period, they all reflect the continuity of marriage and the strong ties of family...
taken from Sumter County Museum
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Posted by Olivier Lalin - 
Five miles from Forfar, in the fertile valley of Strathmore, is the quaint village of Glamis.
Glamis is set in the rolling hills of Angus, approximately 20km from the North Sea, in an area of considerable ancient history. Whilst the village is home to a curious old stone, said to be a monument to King Malcolm II, and some attractive eighteenth-century cottages, its most notable attribute is the grandeur of Glamis Castle. The castle was the childhood home of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother.
The modern visitor approaching the Highland Castle for the first time cannot but draw breath in admiration as he journeys down the mile-long avenue rich in colour, flanked in spring by swathes of yellow and cream daffodils, or the colours in the rows of autumn trees.
Trying to keep warm in Jamaica right now and thinking about warmer days in Scotland to come.
Meanwhile here is a group Portrait with Bridesmaids of King George the 5th and Queen Mary's Wedding.
and a few Years later, a Mug shot of Prince Charles and Diana's Wedding -
What went wrong - Do love the british though!
Posted by Olivier Lalin -
A few Pictures of Sandi and Rick’s who just got married at Cipriani, New York, on the 10th of March 2007. We’ve had snow those past couple of days and Hawai sounds so appealing right now !
In terms of iconic Manhattan backdrops, this place is hard to beat. Cipriani took over the lease of the old 200 Fifth Club in April 2004. Much has remained the same, including the ornate 22-foot ceilings, the ballroom (accommodates 300 with dancing), and the Oak Room (400 for cocktails)-not to mention the Art Deco style.
photographe © Olivier Lalin © photographer
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Posted by Olivier Lalin -
I have just had an album made of the wedding of Carey and Arthuro’s which i photographed at the University Club in New York City.
Ann David and Nicky Reinhard were the wedding planners. http://www.davidreinhard.com
The Album is a 700 serie style. The cover is a beautiful black lizard leather with a 4x6 Black and White photo insert. The size of this particular album is 10/12 in. This is a new product, priced at $ 90.00 a page. The inside pages are matted black. The pages come in black, charcoal, brown, white, cream with a gold, silver, ebony, white Liner Colors. In this particular sample the liner is silver. It might sound tricky but is indeed very simple. I would always guide you in your choice of albums and specifics once you have chosen your images.
I usually start giving you advices once i have had a look at your photo selection. I could even get involved further and surprise you with an Album where i have done my own editing for an extra fee. In this case, you just give me your “ Must include favorite ” picts... 
Here you can see a closer look at a page with one photo inserted on the window frame which is custom sized. All of the images are professionally dry mounted by my book binder. And Again, those products are all Custom made from the bounding to the photo inserts and covers.
And a reminder, you can download the Prices on PDF file on the F&Q section of my website.
weddinglight.com
Learn More about my Wedding Album line
photographe © Olivier Lalin © photographer
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Posted By Olivier Lalin -
Who would believe that Wedding & Event planning is a growing industry in France as well - I met up with Anne Mulvihill this morning. Anne is born and raised on the east coast, fall in Love while she was working at L'oreal, U.S. Started Fête ( with an accent ) in Paris three years ago, catering for foreigners getting married in France. What a great idea - Did you know that In France, you must be married by a civil authority first before you can be married in a place of worship. To be married in France by the civil authorities at least one member of the couple must reside in France for 40 days prior to the civil marriage. What we suggest is to be married in a civil ceremony in your home country first and bring those documents with you when you come to France. 
So you might want to contact Anne Mulvihill directly if you are seriously considering getting married in this beautiful country of mine.
There is always a great bottle of wine laying around somewhere ! One of the many reasons why we love this Country so much.
Meanwhile here are Anne's info
99, rue de Sèvres - 75006 Paris
From the US & Canada dial: 011 33 6 72 15 22 69
feteinfrance.com
annemulvihill@feteinfrance.com
And a little definition of "The Gaule Country"in Wikipedia
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Posted by Olivier Lalin -
And a few words around Jewish Dances: Keitzad Merakdim (Hebrew for "How do we dance?"
It is traditional to dance around the bride and groom while they are seated, and to clown around while we dance to make them laugh. If you let the band know this, they will help get it going. Let your wedding party also know what you want. Any old freilach (Yiddish style) or hora (Israeli style) music will do for any of these dances.
Chair Dance -
This is to make you a king and queen by enthroning you on flying thrones. You will need a cloth napkin or scarf to hold hands (if you try to hold hands, you will pull the light one off the chair!). Also women can hold up the bride's chair as men do the groom's chair. Make sure your best person and/or the biggest, tallest, strongest person is in the front of the chair, keeping it tipped back. Then you won't fall out!!
Krenzl Dance -
If either of you is the last one in your family to be married your parents merit a krenzl (crownlet) dance! The bride and groom put floral wreaths on their heads and seat them in the middle of the room and lead everyone in a dance around them just as everyone danced around you. That makes them a king and queen. If both sets of parents merit this, do them together.
Voila !
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Posted by Olivier Lalin -
This is the blog of a French wedding photographer who loves being pampered. You might think that i am getting carried away.
But NOT really, shooting a wedding is very demanding physically and mentally. I give myself 150% and the next day is a day off. What i would call quality time, basically spent away from my computer uploading files and retouching images. I would make sure I take a day off after returning from a wedding and would usually spend the afternoon at a Hamam and might even go to Spa. 
So if you happen to be shooting within a 1,000 miles from Paris- I would try to get to " La Grande Mosquee de Paris " the next day. This is the BEST. As to NYC, i've just found this Listing on NYC Spa's from Allure Magazine. Hum, I might want to try something new next week!
And by the way, There is a Spa for Men Only - IT is a French Company -
( under cathegory : Tip for MEN Photographers and everyone else + no need to borrow the pooddle from the girl next door
- Nickel Spa -
77 Eighth Ave.
at 14th St.
212-242-3203
www.nickelspanyc.com
Owned by the eponymous upscale French cosmetics company, this chic two-floor behemoth is the only spa in the New York city that caters exclusively to men. Get pretty much anything you want here, from massages ($55 and up) to a love-handle wrap ($95) and the standard facial ($55), manicure ($20), and pedicure ($25) hat trick.
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Posted by Olivier Lalin -
I received an e-mail from my friend Stacey Lyn a few days ago - Sometimes difficult to keep in touch because everyone's life is ever so busy - And I try ! Regardless, Stacey is a very talented hairstylist. A few years back, Stacey asked me for some wedding images for her new website when she launched Once Upon a Bride in New York. Of Course, the company grew and she has just opened a new Salon named Violet on Elizabeth street. And i am very glad to give stacey a few more of my wedding images for her promotional usage...
Very much looking forward to come and visit and work on our next wedding together
Hug and All the Best...
And Everyone should go and say Hi - I Love The Village - And I love Stacey, She is Great.
Once Upon a Bride
296 Elizabeth St.,
New York, NY 10012
nr. Bleecker St.
212-353-2350
Posted by Olivier Lalin - 
Little note on Park avenue - as I have photographed quite a few weddings at location like the Waldork Astoria, The W Hotel or The Council on Foreign Relations. I love Park Avenue weddings. When Comes the time of formals,the wedding party gets together, I have the best of New York at our doorsteps. As i said in other posts, there are many ways to photograph formals. The style is often discussed beforehand with wedding planners. IT could be done any style though, it si all about your vision. The location is important, sure - but it is about YOU and the way the photographer interact with a group. As a matter of fact, any streets of New York is just a great backdrop for photos. Here are a few of Sarah and Marcy's wedding at The Council on Foreign Relations at 58 E. 68th St., on Park Ave - "bien sure" - Simply great Fun... The street is almost "empty" on weekend, left to wedding photographers to use and abuse of ...
And even MUCH later, as i was looking for images, I realized that there was a group of girls standing outside, drinking wine and smoking the Cigarette. That was too good to be true and i had to indulge in more fun before the party was over ! 
photographe © Olivier Lalin © photographer
All Photographs taken by Olivier Lalin
view site at weddinglight.com
