Tampa Sacred Heart Church Wedding – Maria and Alex

Last Fall I photographed Alex and Maria’s engagement session in downtown Tampa and today I would like to share with you few of my favorite pictures from their wedding, which took place just a couple of months ago. Downtown Tampa is an incredible place for wedding photography – contemporary architecture sprinkled with dozens of tiny parks and surrounded by such distinct places as Ybor City, Channelside and University of Tampa, makes it absolutely amazing playground for us, wedding photographers.

Maria and Alex have been living in downtown Tampa for the last few years and they adore everything about it. So it was no surprise that their entire wedding, even though involving five different locations, was planned entirely around downtown Tampa. All locations (home, hotel, ceremony, photoshoot, receptions) were just a few blocks away from one another.
It was an early morning wedding and as I showed up at Alex’s room in Hyatt Regency it was still dark outside. Everybody was quite awake nevertheless and preparations were in full swing. I armed myself with my trusted zoom lens and began to capture the magic of the day. As the groomsman started to arrive we headed downstairs for few shots of Alex with the guys after which I headed to Skypoint, where Maria and the girls were just getting started.

Shooting in a condo with floor to ceiling windows and the entire downtown skyline in the background  can be a lot of fun. That morning, however, the weather wasn’t cooperating and we couldn’t see much from the balcony due to the heavy mix or rain and fog. Luckily this also meant that I had amazing light to work with while inside the rooms. Every wedding photographer appreciates natural light source the size of the wall of the entire room, so we used it to our full advantage.

Fifteen minutes before the ceremony a very stylish,  antique-looking Rolls Royce pulled into Skypoint’s garage. The girls helped Maria in the back while I hopped on the front seat next to the driver. It was a short (two blocks) ride to the Sacred Heart Church, yet on our way I managed to steal a couple of awesome shots of Maria.

Any Tampa wedding photographer would probably agree with me that Sacred Heart Church wedding photos are always easily recognizable – the place is a true architectural gem. I love everything about it – amazing facade, magnificent interior and of course how nicely lit it is inside, mostly with beautiful natural light.

The ceremony was about an hour long which gave me plenty of opportunities to explore all possible angles. Once we were done with the formals, Maria and Alex decided to dedicate about half hour for pictures of just the two of them. For that we all headed to University of Tampa campus where we had a lot of fun with the Rolls. By two o’clock we finally made it to their reception site – Jackson’s bistro on Harbor island. The guests were waiting patiently, but as soon as the newlyweds showed up – the party has begun.

Below are few of my favorite picks from that awesome day, hope you enjoy them!