Jewish Wedding at Selby Gardens

Stunning Nature Shots on Wedding at Selby Gardens

It looked like a scene from “Gone with the Wind” on this wedding at Selby Gardens in Sarasota.  The first look done in front of the Christy Payne Mansion, a historical southern style plantation house.
After the first look we took the bridal party to the Banyan Grove.  The Banyan trees at the Selby Estate are so big I was able to fly the drone under neath the trees, capturing the Bridal Party sitting on the huge root system. These pictures are photos taken off of our video.  Katie Beyer Photography was the still photographer, great working with her.  After seeing the footage from the drone, flying over the Banyan Trees, I was shocked at how tall those trees are.   The drone was 150 feet in the air, yet just above the tops of the trees.

We did the Ketubah Signing inside the Chrsty Payne Mansion. The groom has to verify to the Rabbi, that his is the bride that he wants to marry, a tradition dating back to Biblical times where Jacob was tricked by his father in law Laban, and ended up marrying the wrong daughter. The Ketubah is an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride.

The ceremony was at the Schimmel Wedding Lawn and Pavilion surrounded by breathtaking tropical plants, banyan trees, and birds chirping.  Jacqueline & Matthew were married underneath a chuppah (pronounce “hoopa”), which symbolizes the home that the couple will build together.  A reminder that as a bride you always want to have your officiant make an announcement for guests with cameras to remain seated during ceremony, as during the vows a guest was blocking our tight show of the groom during the vows. Katie the photographer also had several times where this “photographer guest” was in her way, which ends up negatively affecting the brides video and pictures.  Fortunately I had 3 other cameras, but it would have been nice to have that tight shot of the grooms face during the vows.
After the ceremony did some intimate shots in the garden, you can hear the birds on this video.
For more information on weddings at Selby Gardens see http://selby.org/the-gardens/weddings/