Jeff Cooke Photography » Bridal

Let’s Hear It For The Girls

Jeff Cooke — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:02:15 +0000

Let’s face it ladies, you deserve to be treated like a celebrity on your wedding day. Your hair, make-up and nails are perfectly done and, to top it all off, you are surrounded by friends and family in those moments leading up to your wedding. I really enjoy starting the day off with the bride and her favorite gals to break the ice and have some fun in those hours leading up to the wedding as there are lots of fun, impromptu moments. You and the girls will have a blast being treated like models for a day and we’ll have some fun creating your own personal version of the “Americas Next Top Model” pose (don’t be surprised if you hear me use the word “smize”!). I’m sure most will agree that these recent photos from Kim & Dan’s wedding make the old, cliche “dress shot” and “getting ready” pictures a lot more interesting (a big thanks to Kim for letting me share her images):

In all seriousness though, my shots leading up to the wedding don’t necessarily mean bridal boudoir, or just “the dress”, or “the shoes”, but are meant to be pictures with your unique spin on things to help tell the entire story of your wedding day.

Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress

Jeff Cooke — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:18:07 +0000

Trash the dress isn’t about trashing the dress as much as it is about creating artistic, fashion-inspired images of a bride in her gown. These sessions are usually done after the ceremony as an alternative to keeping and storing your dress that will most likely never be worn again. But if you want to torch your dress or jump into a lake or the ocean, I’m all for it! These sessions are typically designed to put “really pretty people in very ugly places” … think fashion photography. But if you’re not totally up for trashing your dress, you should definitely rock your dress. And you can rock your dress either before or after the wedding! Rocking the dress means having a fashion inspired concept, venturing into places where you might not normally feel comfortable or have the chance to visit on your wedding day, but still keeping it pretty clean and completely undamaged. Besides, you can get your dress cleaned! I like to add a little rock and roll to my shoots, creating gritty, romantic and uniquely sexy photos that are all about creativity, imagination and of course the bride … grooms optional.

The Shootout: Part 2

Jeff Cooke — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:11:50 +0000

I wanted to share a few more shots from our recent wedding photography shootout. A big thanks to Charlotte, Deb and Perry for allowing us photographers to have a little fun … and of course a big thanks to the amazing makeup artist Naphtali Carleton for working her magic.

Liam from Applehead Studios has been experimenting with fusion (a blend of video and photography) and put together a cool “behind the scenes” video short from the night …

A Wedding Photography Shootout

Jeff Cooke — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:42:51 +0000

Last night I had the opportunity to collaborate with five of the best wedding photographers in Halifax. The challenge was to work a few great shots of a bride and groom, in a completely random scene. We were given a 10 minute time cap and the use of whatever gear was available. The time limit was quickly ignored as we spent the next several hours practicing and joking around while trying a few new tricks. Here are a few from the series that I shared with a fantastic group of photographers. More to come …

The Cage Veil

Jeff Cooke — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:14:55 +0000

I met up with a few other wedding photographers for a little shooting in a dark and dusty basement in downtown Halifax … the concept was to come up with a few shots featuring a bride wearing a cage veil – and Deb totally rocked it …

I’ve read (and been told) that the cage veil is a popular trend for 2010 weddings and I sure do hope to see more of them this coming season.

DeAnna Rocks The Dress – Halifax Wedding Photographer

Jeff Cooke — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:00:27 +0000

Next weekend I’ll travel from Halifax to North Carolina to photograph DeAnna and Brad’s wedding and I’m really looking forward to sharing some of my favorites … but in the meantime I wanted to post a few shots that I’ve been sitting on for the past couple of months. I met with DeAnna earlier in the year for a “Rock the Dress” bridal session, but for obvious reasons didn’t want to share any of the photos until after their wedding.

Rock and Roll Bride – Halifax Wedding Photographer

Jeff Cooke — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:48:58 +0000

I’m so excited that Kat from the amazing Rock ‘n Roll Bride blog featured one of my recent “Trash the Dress” sessions … Rock ‘n Roll Bride blog features real weddings that don’t fit the mold of traditional weddings. Kat loves non-traditional couples and celebrates authenticity and originality. I really love everything about her site – and I’m thrilled that she’s now included my work with so many other fun and unique wedding photographers … thanks Kat for the featured post!

Meet Shelby – Trash the Dress / Bridal Photography

Jeff Cooke — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:47:53 +0000

When Shelby asked me about doing a bridal / trash the dress session – I jumped at the opportunity. I knew this would be a fun shoot, but when we came across a knight in shining armor – it set the stage for a phenomenal afternoon. She is an absolute knockout and looked stunning in her bridal gown … and she totally rocked it!

The Old Barn – Trash The Dress

Jeff Cooke — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:30:38 +0000

Mike and Jenn (and Shelby) rocked their photos – I loved everything they went for. I especially loved the location which happened to be an old barn that appeared in the movie Days of Thunder. I could’ve spent more than hours here, especially with 2 brides … what an awesome location.

Hello, Gorgeous

Jeff Cooke — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:24:52 +0000

Say hello to Holly … you may remember her from our engagement session a few weeks back. She’s a happy, creative, knock-your-socks-off kind of girl. She wasn’t thrilled with her original wedding photos (and yes, I wish that I could’ve been her photographer) … so she dusted off her dress, grabbed a bouquet from the local grocery store, and we headed out for a fabulous bridal session. I had a feeling Holly could really rock out in her wedding dress … you can be the judge, but all i’m saying is whoa …

The Carolina Bride

Jeff Cooke — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:13:49 +0000

Originally her great grandmothers dress, Caroline looked amazing in her wedding gown. I loved the splash of “Carolina Blue”, especially since both Caroline and her fiance Colby graduated from the University of North Carolina …

Caroline’s Bridal Shower

Jeff Cooke — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:19:12 +0000

A running friend of mine had me stop by his soon-to-be wife’s bridal shower to capture a few shots of the ladies … and yes, the second I walked into a room full of women I was immediately asked, ” … are you the entertainment?”. I have to say that everyone was super friendly and didn’t seem to mind the fact that there was “a lone man in the room”. Once Caroline climbed down from the ceiling (after jumping with excitement over a Kitchen Aid Mixing bowl), everyone gathered outside for a few beautiful (and fun) portraits. Here’s a couple of my favorites …