Most wedding photographers in Tampa enjoy shooting weddings on University of Tampa campus and I must admit, I’m no exception. I think the variety of scenery around Plantation Hall is simply amazing – stunning architecture, beautiful gardens, Hillsborough river and of course the awesome downtown skyline as a backdrop – what more can we, wedding photographers, ask for? Earlier this year I’ve shot BW and Regina’s wedding at UT and just few weeks ago we had a great engagement session with Maria and Alex on University of Tampa’s campus.

Victoria and Michael’s ceremony took place at the St. Andrew’s Russian Orthodox Church in St. Petersbug, FL on a Thanksgiving Friday. The day was shaping up to be warm and sunny, and both Michael and Victoria were excited about the photo session we had planned for later. However, by the time the ceremony was over and we were done with the formals, dark clouds moved in and the sky looked very threatening. As we stepped outside the church, it started raining.

Wedding photographers are always prepared to shoot in any weather conditions. My gear is weather sealed and I usually have a change of clothes in the car. Of course I realize that changing is not an option for the bride and groom, and therefore having a backup plan always helps. In this case, however, I felt confident that we could still shoot in UT even while it rained – Plantation Hall’s terrace offers many photo opportunities and we could also shoot indoors there if we had to. Luckily, by the time we arrived to Tampa the rain has stopped, leaving us with an awesome afternoon overcast – I couldn’t have asked for a better light!

Not wasting any time, we started shooting on the terrace, then moved into the gardens and finally ended up by the river, taking portraits with gorgeous dramatic sky and downtown in the background. I think we were also lucky in a sense that due to the rainy weather there weren’t a lot of people on campus, so we pretty much had it all to ourselves. Because pictures were very important to both Victoria and Michael, we spent almost an hour at UT, but walked away with dozens of amazing photos for their album.

The reception was held at Maggianos, just a short ride away. Dinner followed by lots of dancing, toasts by close friends and family and more dancing. Everybody had really good time and the cake was the best I’ve ever had!

Below are some of my favorite pictures from their wedding, enjoy!!

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