Hotel LBI; A wedding photographer's review
As a wedding photographer I have had the pleasure of exploring plenty of hotels, venues, etc... and Hotel LBI sits high on my list of favorite locations. Approaching this review from the perspective of a photographer there are a number of factors that I look for which will make my day easier in combination with providing the ideal photo/service conditions for the bride, groom, & guests. Hotel LBI checks all the boxes.
The rooms make for excellent prep locations with gorgeous decor and beautiful natural light. The staff is incredibly welcoming and friendly –Maria & her team were a huge help! Without making a trip to the beach nearby, there were still plenty of photo locations available while shooting on site for the entire day (even when the sun was super bright on a cloudless day).
The ceremony location could have been a difficult situation to photograph due to the lack available cover on a cloudless day but the venue did a great job with setting the ceremony time so that the sun was behind the bride and groom.
The event space was gorgeous! From a photography perspective white ceilings are ideal but so the tall wood ceilings prompted me to use two off camera flashes which crossed each other on opposite ends of the dance floor. I still utilized my on camera flash to fill in any shadows created by the strobes. I primarily photographed the evening facing towards the DJ's booth using the white fireplace wall as my lighting bounce source but in hindsight found the photos shot with my back to the DJ to be the look I preferred.
The food was delicious! Myself and the other vendors were served excellent burgers –not some cold leftover noodles from cocktail hour. The venue made sure to serve the vendors earlier on too so we could get back to work and prep for what was to come next as guests still mingled and finished their own dinners. This detail is huge and hopefully not overlooked because the quality and timing of dinner is an important detail that contributes to anybody's day.
In summary I would recommend Hotel LBI 10/10! Shooting an entire day on site can feel claustrophobic but HOTEL LBI manages to overcome this. There is a certain degree to which inclement weather would make photographing the entire day on site a bit more difficult but certainly not something unmanageable with plenty of additional locations I did not have time to utilized inside the venue. The staff was perfect and I have no critique on how they could possibly improve. Lighting was a bit tricky at times, but it is the challenge that promotes change and as a student to photography I know what I would like to adjust the next time shooting this location. Lastly, it only feels right to congratulation Jay and Ashley once again. It was an honor to be invited & entrusted to photograph such an incredible day. Their generosity and welcoming nature is something to be admired, not just as dream clients but as people who make the world a better place in my opinion. The entire Tracy and Sogluizzo family are wonderful people, and even better now that they are joined as one by Jay & Ashley.