John Patrick's 1st Birthday Party

John and Aniquia Gay have been client's of mine for years. I've photographed their engagement, wedding, and maternity sessions. Recently, I had the privilege of photographing their darling little son (John Patrick) 1st birthday party. What a blast! Not only is he cute, but he's equally adorable and EVERYONE loves him.

The event started off with a downpour, but amazingly as soon as I arrived to start my still & video work, it stopped raining a sunshine came out. Although we took lots of great shots, the following images are from John Patrick's birthday album that we specially designed for John and Aniquia. We're looking forward to family portraits and many more birthday parties with the Gays.

Enjoy!
Willie

Happy birthday, John Patrick!

Quince With A Twist

Andrea Newell is one blessed little 15-year old girl. She has good looks, a great family that loves her, and lots of “cool” friends. What more could a girl want? How about an awesome quince party at The Signature Grand in Davie along with all of her best friends as invited guests. Well, thanks to her parents Ruth and Fred her fairy tale party came true, but with a twist.

Whenever I photograph a quince party I strive not to create boring dated shots of the birthday girl. After all, she’s wearing a stunning dress, the décor is fabulous, and it’s a fun, magical moment in her life. So, I believe her portraits should reflect all of the pomp and elegance, but let's toss in some classy images to cap off the event.

I hadn’t met Andrea before her “big night”, but as soon as we were introduced by her mom, we connected right away. It seemed she already knew what I had in mind. Andrea looked like a princess in a Walt Disney animation with a hint of “super model” attitude underneath her well-mannered personality. With no one in the ballroom except Andrea and her family, I immediately started creating some unique fashion shots of her near the stage set. I was looking for something totally different than the cheesy shots that most quince photographers deliver to their clients. Andrea had a blast working with my ideas and offered some of her own. With such a great start, photographing the rest of the party was a snap. See for yourself.

Andrea, I hope you had a great time. It was wonderful capturing your fun time with family and friends.

To see additional images from Andrea's quince party, go here: Portrait Corner, and enter this case sensitive Session ID: Andrea

Ena Bernard & The Kennedy's

This weekend I had the pleasure of being a part of history that can never be repeated. Imagine photographing the 100 year old nanny for the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy's family. Well, both my daughter (Dana) and I were the exclusive photographers for Ena Bernard's birthday celebration at The Signature Grand in Davie. We were honored that Ena's daughter (Josefina Harvin) chose us from among the Recommended Photographers at The Grand to document this special occasion.

The Event Producer for Ena's party was Linda Blanco and she saw that everything progressed smoothing with the high profile guests that would be in attendance. After meeting Ena and photographing her with Josefina, throughout the event I photographed her one on one with each arriving Kennedy, including mom Ethel Kennedy. You could feel the excitement building with each dignitary's arrival until finally the entire Kennedy clan was present. Awesome!

It was amazing watching the Kennedys embrace, touch, and kiss Ena in their own special way as they greeted her. Her eyes sparkled with each greeting and her lips broke into a smile as they snuggled their faces close to hers. The significance of the event, however, was so eloquently explained when Josefina introduced the audience to Ena and the Kennedys. She graciously thanked everyone (especially the Kennedys who had flown in from various parts of the country) for coming to her mom's birthday celebration. As Ena's only child, Josefina's humble words of appreciation and gratitude to the Kennedys brought tears to our eyes and a standing ovation for Ena.

While I was documenting this event I sensed a little of the humbleness and pride that Ena was experiencing for herself and her family. As a father, I watched my daughter photographing this "once-in-a-lifetime" event with me. She was getting both a history and photography lesson that would stick with her the rest of her professional life. Thanks for inviting us Harvin and Kennedy families.

Happy Birthday, "Mimi!!

The Harvin FamilyEna with the Kennedy children she lived with & helped raise.Ena & Josephina with the entire Kennedy clanEna and Ethel Kennedy
Me with Joe Kennedy & wife
Dana with Joe Kennedy and wife

Jorge Antonatos (DJ) with Joe Kennedy and wife
Josefina holding a greeting card to Ena
from Presidential candidate Barack Obama

To view more images: Click here, select View Events, and enter Ena as the Session ID

DJ: Jorge Antonatos (jorgeant@visiondjs.com)
Event Producer: Linda Blanco (lindablanco@thesignaturegrand.com)