Amela and Alfredo

In the midst of St. Louis's large and famous Forest Park is a glass-and-steel structure called the Jewel Box -- essentially a large greenhouse gracefully decorated inside with all sorts of exotic and colorful plants and trees.  

It's also one of the most booked venues in St. Louis for weddings.  And small wonder -- the Jewel Box makes a perfect backdrop for wedding photographs as it is nestled in the middle of the spacious park (the same one that hosted the famous 1904 World's Fair) and surrounded with cultivated gardens and glass-smooth ponds.

I suspect its popularity is one reason that Amela and Alfredo scheduled their wedding on a Friday which is, when you think about it, pretty smart.  A lot of the premium wedding locations and services are likely more available on a weekday than on a weekend when they would be booked up for months or even years.

Unfortunately, THIS Friday dawned grey and very rainy with the threat of a nasty thunderstorm.  Amela and I talked on the phone early to ensure we had alternate arrangements for their introduction ceremony should the nasty-looking skies make good on their threat by late afternoon.  I think we were all pleasantly surprised to see the clouds part and the sun break out early enough to dry much of the grass around the Jewel box by mid-afternoon, allowing our ceremony could go ahead as originally planned.

So, what is an introduction ceremony, you ask?   

Traditionally, couples wait for the actual ceremony before the groom first sees the bride resplendent in her wedding gown as she walks down the aisle.  Some couples want to take the pressure off the schedule by seeing each other beforehand -- but without losing the magic of that first moment.

The answer is the introduction ceremony, in which the groom has his back to the approaching bride and is only allowed to turn to see her when she touches his shoulder.  Photographs of the entire proceedings typically show the approach of the bride and the look on the groom's face when he sees his beautiful bride for the first time.

Photographing the ceremony in the Jewel Box was certainly a jewel -- the light through the massive glass panes allowed us to do a great deal that you normally couldn’t in a darkened church.

Later at the reception, the second photographer and I took a break while guests ate (Wedding 101: never photograph people eating -- often it's not pretty... ) and we pondered the average age and the quiet disposition of the crowd and concluded the reception might wind up relatively early.

To understand our hasty conclusion, let me explain that between parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, the average age was a little older than many weddings we've photographed. In addition, everyone was relatively quiet, which is not usual at this point in the proceedings.  So we might be forgiven for our flip assessment.

But what we didn't know, as we watched Amela and Alfredo get up for the first dance, is that our couple do the salsa as easily as I do the one-step-shuffle.  (Ask my daughter Renee who tried to show me swing dancing and my wedding a couple of years ago and she'll tell you how rudimentary my dancing skills are... ).  They danced and everyone came alive! 

Soon the majority of the guests were up dancing to the latin beat and it continued almost non-stop till about 12:30 am!   All I can say is, don't take any stock tips from me... 

Later, Alfredo told me about a local dance club that gives free salsa lessons for an hour on Thursday nights.   Watching Alfredo and Amela dance gave me the bug; I'll definitely try this out. I'm sure Renee will be staying WELL away from this one... 

In any event, it was an extreme pleasure to share Amela and Alfredo's day.  Congratulations guys and thanks for allowing us to be a part of it.