This may be one of the most beautiful places to hang a dress--the stairwell in the historic Pfister Hotel, in downtown Milwaukee. What you don't see is the bride, one half flight down, holding her arms out between the rails so that if the dress was bumped, it wouldn't fall several stories down, between the stairs (I do have one photo where you can see the bride's grinning face peeking up from the stairs--but that one is for the bride and I!) This winter wedding was completely populated by genuine, big-hearted people with easy smiles and laughs. The wedding details were stunning, and the reception location, held in the ballroom where the ceremony was earlier in the day, was breathtaking. The awesome country band that performed for the dance was an unexpected bonus! I was so excited to photograph this wedding: I had been on hand to photograph the bride's brother's wedding the previous year, and I fell in love with the family. When the bride asked me to photograph her event the following year, it was a true honor. When I walked into this one, I knew half the people--and felt like an old family friend. It was important that I capture the elegance of this wedding. Every detail was carefully planned.
Location: 424 East Wisconsin Ave. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1/125; f/4.5; ISO 4000; 24.0 mm.