Judd Sather Photography Blog

It was 6am Monday morning and I heard a knock on our hotel room door. We had planned to meet Grant and Michelle for Trash the Dress part 2 on the beach, but I didn’t fully expect to see a bride with makeup and a dress on at my door at 6am! Michelle says, “At least the guacamole washed off in the pool last night!” I love how the sunrise looked like the sunset – it was like watching a really slow firework the way it lit up the sky. I can’t remember the last time I watched the sunrise; I definitely recommend it if you haven’t done it for awhile! As Michelle was laying the sand she said, “Did I tell you I hate sand.” Oops. I think it was worth it!

Here are the links for Grant and Michelle’s Wedding!

Click here to view their wedding album pre-design
Link to all pictures (available after Grant and Michelle release them – register to be notified)

Facebook link (Become a fan of ours and tag pictures of yourself!)

I had to pinch myself to believe my wife Martha and I had this amazing opportunity to create images of Grant and Michelle and their families over the course of 6 days in Mexico. Even greater is how fun it was just to hang out with these 30 or so people this week. It was the 4th wedding we have done in Grant’s family. I found myself reflecting on the awesome privilege and responsibility it is documenting people’s lives at their most important moments. Two of our newlyweds in the family had become parents (Josh and Dre / Jay and Frances) – it is so fun to see the families develop. The all-inclusive Azul Sensatori in Playa Del Carmen really helped make everyone happy as well. 🙂

Below are some of our favorite images:
Best dress hanging shot I’ve taken, Joe & Carli getting pedicures, the picturesque dock and hut, the ladies, my wonderful wife getting the amazing shot of the pelican in the foreground of the couple, Grant tearing up when Michelle walked down the aisle, the rings, the donkey bar (yes there was beer and ice in the green saddle bags, the massive chess board, Stephanie cradling her son during the dance (made us miss our kids!), and the final shot of the night through the folded “swan towels” on Grant and Michelle’s bed. The “Dirty Dancing” shot on the beach was Michelle’s idea and with her dancing & ballet experience she of course perfected the technique – right down to the toe point!

Some special thanks: Megan for braving the rainstorm in the pool with us, Joe & Carli for being our meal time buddies, Charlotte (Gma) for being a great hostess, Joanna for introducing me to Mudslides, Josh and Jay for the smack talk and causing me to pull a hammy on the tennis court, Natalie for the bottle of champagne, Frankie and Ruthie for just being really fun all week, and Grant and Michelle for being up for 5 photo sessions and making us feel part of the family all week. This was an awesome way to end our 2009 wedding season! -Judd & Martha

This has been an amazing week from the moment we had our first bite to eat at the Azul Sensatori resort near Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Grant and Michelle are this amazing couple who are up for anything and we had a full day before their family and friends arrived so we got to spend some extra time in downtown Playa Del Carmen and on the beach late at night capturing these images over the last 3 days. The wedding is Saturday afternoon – can’t wait! I’ll write more but wanted to get these images online quickly. -Judd and Martha

So Maria comes in today for senior portraits and “maybe” wanted some outdoor photos. After a little prodding we got THESE images – think it was wort it Maria? Those gloves are cool. She almost cancelled today since she got her wisdom teeth out Friday and we’re pretty glad she didn’t. 🙂 I am still amazed we are outside doing stuff like this November 30. Three of these five images are straight out of camera; I love that. -Judd

Anytime a family has their 4th photo session with us they get their very own blog post! The lighting was cool, Dave was in great shape from his 12 marathons this year, so we decided to do a little solo time with him as well. His beautiful girls have been up in the studio for so long he was jealous; it was time to shine. So Dave, here is your 15 minutes, and an eternity of fame in a blog post. Enjoy! -Judd

Wow that was quite a day with Santa on Saturday! Here are a couple of the holiday cards that came about from the sessions. If you are interested in fine art holiday cards – this is the place, just email us a picture # we have taken or your own and we will create!

If you were here for the Santa sessions, here is the link to all Santa photos. -Judd

We’ve had many families stroll through today and get priceless shots with Santa. Come join us for our Open House and check out the new studio!

-All of us at Studio J