Working as a wedding photographer in Florida I get to shoot a wide range of images at many luxury venues. This picture was taken at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood Florida. I relocated to Florida just over 17 years ago from LA. When I first moved here, I rented a condo in one of the on the beach high-rises only two buildings away from the Diplomat. Since I moved here, I have photographed lots of weddings, corporate events, and parties at the Diplomat. Later in this post, I will provide links to many of the other pictures I have taken at the Diplomat.
If you are recently engaged and planning a wedding in South Florida, you have a wide range of great options. Looking for a beach wedding location? Country Club? Garden Setting? Did you want a casual wedding location, or a formal location. How about casual by the beach? There is a good reason why South Florida is considered the wedding capital of the country, if not the world. When I was considering relocating to Florida from Los Angeles, I had no idea that this place was a hotbed for weddings. Once a wedding and event planner mentioned to me how popular weddings in Florida are, I decided to do some research. I made the move here in 2004 and started learning about the Florida wedding business right away. Living only two buildings away from the Diplomat Hotel, my first weddings were at the Diplomat. By the way, did you know that there is a Diplomat Hotel & a Diplomat Country Club? I have worked at both. One of the nice things about a Diplomat Hotel wedding is the fact that you can have your ceremony on the terrace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Then after the ceremony all the wedding guest could relocate into one of the Diplomat Convention ballrooms or open spaces for an indoor cocktail hour that offers an ocean view as well.
Over the years I have amassed a wide range of pictures from this beautiful picturesque location. Below are a few of my favorites.
Bride and Groom getting wet at the Diplomat Hotel Every once in a while I come across a bride that really wants something unique and well, wild and very different. The question is, what and are you willing for follow through with your idea? In this case she wanted pictures of her standing in the fountains located at the front of the hotel. Of course we did not shoot this on the wedding day. We shot this early the next morning. This type of photo shoot is commonly referred to as a "Trash the Dress photo session." I just love it when I have a subject to is willing to push the envelope in order to get something new.
Check out this picture and ready this crazy story. I know this has nothing to do with the Diplomat or a South Florida wedding but it's a example of wedding photography pushing the envelope.
Once when I was living on Los Angeles, I shot a wedding for a couple that was very fun. The bride was into taking pictures that were unique, different, outside the box, Ok, not just outside the box, Way outside the box! After the wedding, when we were talking about the pictures, I mentioned that I would love to photograph a bride by the HOLLYWOOD sign. She didn't hesitate to say, YES! Let's do it. Since I was very familiar with the area, I knew the side roads that would take us there.
The Hollywood sign is way larger than it appears. When we got to the spot below the sign, it didn't look so easy to hike up. There were also signs posted that clearly stated, "NO HIKING TO THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN". He husband, who was a lawyer said, this is a bad idea. Then the bride said, tough, we are doing this! So in her wedding gown, with hiking boots we hiked up to the sign. It was not easy, at times we climbed on our hands and knees up a very steep angle. We were focused on getting to the sign. Once we did, and I started taking pictures, we realized that, we would need to climb down before I could shoot her with the complete sign I the background. By the time we got back down, the grown was trashed. Torn, with burrs attached, dirt stains, talk about trash the dress? This one was more like, destroy the dress.
ABOVE: This Indian wedding portrait was taken in the lobby area of the Diplomat's convention center. Sometimes if I feel that the hotel is too crowded I'll move the couple over to the convention center side. At the convention side of the Diplomat there are plenty of places to take beautiful bride and groom pictures. The lobby offers an attractive modern look with greenery, nice lighting or around the corner is the pre-function area. Of course the pre-function areas offer awesome ocean views.
Location: 3555 S Ocean Dr, Hollywood, FL 33019.
