Vendor Spotlight: Steve Fogarty of Fogarty Weddings
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Name: Steven Fogarty
Location: Las Vegas, NV and Park City, Utah
Company Name: FogartyWeddings
Number of Years in Business: 3 as a wedding photographer
Website: www.FogartyWeddings.com
Blog: www.Facebook.com/FogartyFOTO
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FogartyFOTO
How did you get started in wedding photography?
After a successful career in computers and email, I decided to learn from the masters how they make such gorgeous photos. Since then I’ve studied with some of the most amazing photographers alive, including: Joe McNally and Matthew Jordan Smith and Denis Reggie, the father of wedding photojournalism. They’ve all influenced my style tremendously.
What did you do prior to this?
For the U.S Congress in Washington, DC, I designed and managed the LAN email system that replaced their 20 year-old mainframe email system. I then accepted a position with Novell / WordPerfect, which brought me to Utah. With 3 friends I co-founded an Internet email business, that we sold in 1999. We just moved to Vegas a couple of weeks ago.
If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead?
I’m kind of a history geek. One of my great pleasures is listening to educational tapes on very long drives and discussing history with friends. I would love to teach history.
What are some of your hobbies?
I love to snowboard really fast and steep with my peers, and to ski with my children. Scuba diving is the easiest way to leave the planet. And I love to read, mostly geeky history and policy stuff. I love wrestling with my 4 boys.
What is the craziest wedding experience youâve ever had?
It was snowing really hard the morning of Courtney’s wedding in Aspen. She was distraught, tearfully wondering why her mountain-top wedding was to be ruined. We reminded her that these morning mountain storms are often very short and pass quickly. The clouds broke, her wedding was full of sunshine. Everyone was happy (and very relieved!) Her photos are gorgeous!
What is the best wedding experience youâve ever had?
I loved photographing Rachael & Evan’s simple Salt Lake City wedding just before he shipped off for a one year tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is the crew chief on an Apache helicopter. Photographing Nicole & Travis at the Paiute Golf Resort was such a blast because Nicole didn’t stop smiling the whole day – it was clearly one of the happiest days of her life. And photographing Jane and Seth at Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah was absolutely gorgeous on that stunning fall mountain day. Russians know how to party!
What is your inspiration?
While it sounds corny, I honestly believe that wedding photography is the most important, the most challenging, and the most rewarding photography I do. I am very grateful that in my work I am able to create things of such beauty that are so timelessly valuable to my brides.
Name an exotic location youâd like to visit soon.
I’ve been fortunate enough to travel around the world more than once. Of the 17 countries I have visited, I still remember India for its rich, ancient culture, incredible cuisine, and extraordinary contrasts, like the 3 men walking arm-in-arm down the street, one shirtless and dressed in a traditional dhoti, one dressed in a western business suit, and the third wearing a fusion of the two. Emerging wealth juxtaposed next to striking poverty amid ancient culture, and sensory overload. I would love to return to India with my family.
Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?
My clients want strikingly beautiful portraits to hang on their walls, plus lots of discreet photojournalism (PJ) of the day’s real moments, informal photos that will bring back a flood of warm memories with every look. They want a photographer who records the party, without becoming the party. They want the kind of amazing portraits that few photographers can make and are Can’t-Look-Away-GAWJUS. They want traditional portraits of the wedding party. And they want lots of quiet real-moment PJ – the photos I consider the most important of the day.
What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?
Don’t worry about the photography! Forget all of your cares for that one day, let the love and attention of everyone who has come so far to wish you well just sink in.
Anything else interesting you’d like to share?
Thank you Juliet for giving me and my family such a warm welcome to Las Vegas!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com
Suzi Lighten of TSL Photography
Learn about the lovely young lady behind TSL Photography.  I love this video of Suzi Lighten created by her husband Terrence Lighten of Lighten Films.
Promo for TSL Photography from Terrence Lighten on Vimeo.
Love this beautiful bridal photo!
I saw this beautiful photo on my friend and talented photographer Chelsea Nicole’s blog and had to feature it on my blog too! Here is what she had to say about capturing this moment.
“Prior to the ceremony the wedding day is often a wonderful, chaotic frenzy, filled with slipping into the dress and any last minute final touches. But in the midst of all the hustle and bustle leading up to the ceremony, there are moments when time seems to slow down, if only for a minute, and it allows everything to be taken in. That is the significance behind this image. This photo was taken in the bridal salon just minutes before Daniela was about to walk down the aisle and greet her smiling husband-to-be. Her mom and bridesmaids were busy fastening up her dress. But there was a moment where everything stopped — and Daniela had this beautiful pensiveness about her, and I just had to capture it.”
Photo Spotlight
Over the last year, I’ve gotten to know Suzi Lighten of TSL Photography. I really love her work and wanted to highlight a beautiful sunset photo of a bride and groom today.
To learn more about Suzi, check out her interview for The Vegas Wedding Planner here.
Vendor Spotlight: TSL Photography & Lighten Films
Name: Suzi & Terrence Lighten
Location: Vegas, Baby!
Company Name: TSL Photography & Lighten Films
Number of Years in Business: 3
Website: www.tslphotography.com and www.lightenfilms.com
Blog: www.tslphotography.com/blog and www.lightenfilms.com/blog
How did you get started in photography/cinematography? Itâs kind of a funny but long story, but Iâll see if I can size it down a bit. When Terrence and I first met, we were both working at Costco part-time and attending college full time. I was on overload with 6 classes, majoring in Education with a minor in Photography. Terrence was studying to be a big-time Hollywood producer, majoring in Film Production. Truth be told, there tends to be a lot of âsocializingâ outside the workplace amongst co-workers at Costco. Although, Terrence and I were COMPLETE opposites and had 100% different perspectives on dating, Terrence tried to befriend me and invited me to one of his many Costco get-togethers. Long story short: Through much persuasion, and a few huge life-altering changes on Terrenceâs behalf, we began dating, got engaged, married, and 4 months later photographed a friendâs wedding. The feedback we got on the photography was truly amazing! Everyone was floored and advised us to pursue wedding photography as a career. We incorporated cinematography into the mix to make sure Terrenceâs incredible talents werenât wasted, and voilĂ , here we are today!
If you didn’t do photo/video for a living what would you be doing instead? Well, I know Terrence would definitely be on a movie set somewhere, most likely directing one of the many film scripts heâs written, or helping behind the scenes in some other aspect to make movie magic happen! As for me, I would have to figure something else out that would allow me to be a stay-at-home mama and yet still be around people! We have two kids, and I love being at home with them. I would totally have to invent some sort of get-organized-and-make-your-life-easier habit that I could share with other momsâŠ. âcause the good Lord knows I could sure use that myself! LOL!
What are some of your hobbies? Hobbies?! Ha â thatâs a good one. In all honesty, Terrence and I have been so swamped with work and family, we havenât had a whole lot of time for much else. But, when time permits, we enjoy picnicking in the park with our babies! Arielle is almost 6 months and Isaiah is 20 months (See, I told you we busy)! We also enjoy going to the movies. Terrence can practically recite the entire script by heart on the car ride home. Snuggling up on the couch watching CSI was a fave for us during both of our pregnancies. And for those of you who keep up with our blog already know that Terrence and I intend on going swing dancing more often⊠starting this weekend! E-mail me if youâd like to come hang with us!
What is the craziest wedding experience youâve ever had? Iâve had some real doozies, but one wedding does stand out amongst the rest, actually. The bride who hired me *seemed* to be the shy, innocent, girl-next-door type. Alright, add some alcohol and a bunch of party animal guests, and before you know it, things were a tad bit out of control. Next thing I know, clothingâs flying across the dance floor, the bride was making out with another woman (which the groom seemed to be enjoying, I might add) and what was taking place on the dance floor really should have been taking place behind closed doors. Talk about crazy â wow!
What is the best wedding experience youâve ever had? Thatâs a toughie! For us, we strive to make every wedding experience the best weâve ever had. Through making connections with our clients and giving that extra bit of unexpected service, we really bond with our couples. After having laughed and cried through the vows and thank-the-Lord-they-booked-video-super-incredible speeches, at the end of the night, when the bride and groom get on the mic and personally thank us for a job well done â weâve just experienced the best wedding ever⊠until the next one!
What is your inspiration? God! Yes, God is our inspiration. We just want to have a business that would please the Lord. That means having honesty, integrity, and good, wholesome relationships that lead to awesome referrals. When our clients know that they can trust us and are 100% in love with our work, they tell all of their best friends, their mailman, the clerk at the pet store â they tell everyone. The best form of advertising is free â and thatâs why itâs so important to us to keep God the center of our business!
Name an exotic location youâd like to visit soon. Hawaii!!!
Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors? We are remarkably different. Personality is key. And weâre all about going above and beyond the norm. Our clients see that during their initial consultation with us.
What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day? As much planning has gone into making this day the perfect day, donât dwell on any of the details of the day. Leave that to your coordinator! (Juliet will have that all taken care of anyway!) Focus on one thing, and one thing only: marrying the love of your life. That is all that matters. Everything else will fall into place. Your photos and video will definitely reflect the pure, raw emotion of the day when you are grounded and left to focus on your love.
Anything else interesting you’d like to share? We just want to thank Juliet for wanting to feature an interview with us on her blog! Juliet is amazing and we highly recommend her so that you can focus on what matters most â showing up to marry the one you love and celebrating your joyful union!


Elena & Nick Highlight Video from Terrence Lighten on Vimeo.
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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com




















