Elise and Tony

As many of you know I went to New Zealand this past winter (their summer) to photograph my sister Elise's wedding and to catch up with family and friends. Here are some of my favorites from Elise and Tony's day. I have to say weddings are a bit different than they are back here at home. In some ways not as formal - I actually shot the ceremony barefoot - can honestly say I've never done that before! Others ways more formal they have a Master of Ceremonies who tells tales and leads into others speaking and announces the dancing/cake cutting/etc. Usually a close friend who knows how to tell a few good stories!


First off Elise and I started at the hairdressers and I decided to play and have some fun. I'm sure neither of them had any idea what I was doing!




I had some down time and I decided to abscond with the shoes and see what I could find - I don't know why but I really love this shot!


Getting ready - Elise with the make-up and Mum putting on Tony's boutonniere - which they have another word for and we spent a few minutes trying to figure out what the other was saying!




This is one of my all time favorite wedding shots ever! I love it. It was taken in a covered flora fauna area on a very hot day - was so much cooler in the shade of the plants!


Elise and Tony did see each other before the ceremony - I love when people do that - not only does it make for some great pictures but I like to believe it gives them some time to be together without everyone hanging around and have a special moment. These were the last shots just before the ceremony.




My oh so cute niece Izzy during the ceremony.


The setting was an outdoor garden at an old house - garden area that is open to the public. Beautiful Beautiful and HOT! I love how what I think is ivy is framing them and the wedding party.


Not only was there a wedding but there was two more rituals blending the family as one - Here is Tony and Caleb - now officially father and son. And just below is the naming ceremony for Elise and Tony's son Jacob - being held by Dad.




Right after the ceremony they had a little music in the garden while everyone milled and families caught up.


Here are the Tony and his cohorts in crime (all in the past I'm told)!


I love this shot - this is my two sisters Elise and Danie - you should have seen us trying to get this shot - let's just say it was a sister moment! :)


Elise and the Ladies!


Ok this was probably the hardest shot of entire day - Mum. She hates having her picture taken and you have to sneak up on her to get it - she usually catches me!


Here's Dad giving his speech - he worked really hard on this - even downloaded sample versions as outlines - I think he did a great job!



I had a phenomenal trip and I also knew I was exactly where I was suppose to be this Dec/Jan. Love and Miss you All!

Chchch Changes..

I've avoided putting this out for quite some time. I wanted to be really sure of my decision before I made any announcement. For those of you who don't know, I moved my headquarters back to Old Lyme this past winter. It was a tough decision but one I knew had to be done. I still work in the Wilton, Ridgefield, Westport area - I'm just not there full time anymore. This leads me to the next change. For the time being I will no longer be accepting weddings. I am going to exclusively focus on my children's location portraiture. Keep a look out for some changes in that area and hopefully a new website too. In the meantime I have images from Elise's wedding this winter cominig up (she's been patient and deserves a little of the spot light!) and some other projects I've been working on. Stay Tuned!

New Zealand Here I Come!

I'm so excited! On Christmas day I am go to New Zealand for 3 weeks! I'll be photographing my sister Elise's wedding and catching up with friends. The really neat part about this all (and a little scary - where did the time go?) is that this is also the 20th anniversery of the first time I went to NZ. I was a bright eyed 16 year old looking for adventure! I still think I'm 16 and looking for adventure - just not sure I'm as able to keep going like I use to... So excited to see everyone and meet my niece and nephews - along with my best friend Alan's boys! I'll be busy!

Julie and Casey

I had the pleasure to be a part of Julie and Casey's lovely intimate wedding. It was held in her parents garden overlooking a cove - beautiful beautiful!

Julie's niece just before the ceremony


the garden cermony


the guests





look how happy Julie is!


just after the ceremony





Julie with her children


Julie and her sisters


a few wedding details







Julie and Casey's son really getting into the cake!!


two of Julie's newphews decided they were done with the wedding - never a bad time to fish!

Jen and Brian are Married!

Jen and Brian where married this past weekend at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Samantha DePoy was the photographer for their day and tells me that the energy and the dancing was amazing! Jen looked beautiful of course and Hudson even made a guest apperance at the reception. You can see how wonderful they look on the following posts to Samantha's blog.

Jen and Brian - Brunswick

Jen and Brian - Bowdoin College, Brunswick

WPJA and ME

Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) is an elite association for wedding photographers with a phojournalistic style. It is very hard to get into and you have to maintain your standards to stay in - all in all a big deal. Many people don't get in the first time around. So a few weeks ago I decided to apply - I thought that if I don't try I'll never know, plus I can always apply again later. You are only contacted when accepted - so several weeks had past and I figure - well ok will work on it and try again in a few months. Imagine my surprise when I checked my email just before running out the door for a shoot to see my acceptance email! I was shocked - I had already resigned myself to the fact I hadn't gotten in. I was shocked and thrilled! You can check out all the other great photographers and wedding resources at www.wpja.com - I'm looking forward to a wonderful partnership!

Think Big!

I'm so excited to share this with you. I recently had two images printed on canvas and I love them!! It was like Christmas morning the day I received them. They were waiting at my front door the friday of the last nor'easter before I was even awake and walking the dogs. I quickly walked the dogs and tore in to the packaging - wow was all I could say. I was as thrilled as a little kid on christmas morning and the feeling lasted all day.

Here's an image of one in a room (it's 20"x24" and yes that is the teddy bear my grandfather gave me when I was born).




Isn't wonderful!

And here is a close up.

Are You in a Wedding FOG?

Planning a wedding can be like diving into the deep end of a pool with all your clothes on - difficult to move around in and hard to get to safety. There is a new site just out called wedfog. Wedfog takes you through a great series of facts, sample contracts and pricing to help you make sense out of the photography side. It'll help educate you on what you want and what's important to you in your photography needs. Now you can approach your potential wedding photographer armed with knowledge - and that's a good thing!

Angie's List

Ooh I'm a blogging fool today but I just had to pass this on. My sister has been telling me about Angie's list for about a year now. It's an online resource for just about any service you can think of - from handyman to babysitting agency. The only way to be a referred vendor is to have a past client refer you - ie I can't put myself on but one of my brides could. They even have a dog house and mediation area so you know who to avoid. Well they've just started a New York - Fairfield County area list and I'm really excited. I signed up the other day - I've been trying to find a drycleaner forever! Check them out at Angie's List

New Resource for Brides

I'm really excited about this new up and coming resource I came across called WeddingWire. It a place where couples and vendors can meet up. Couples can search for various wedding vendors and also see reviews on the vendors they're interested in. I'm always looking for new ways for my couples to reach me, but also easy ways for them to get the information they're looking for. I'll be adding a links section to the blog soon - but in the meantime check it out!

WeddingWire

Leslie and Noah get Married!!

I just got back from a unique wedding in Berkeley, CA. Leslie and Noah met there in College. They love Berkeley and knew this was the perfect place for them to get married.

I meet Leslie the morning of at the beautiful Claremont Resort where the bride and bridesmaids were getting ready.






From their suite we had great rooftop access which we used for portraits.






The ceremony was held on the lawn at the Lawrence Hall of Science. The best part of all the reception was held at Albany Bowl - so much fun!



To see more visit Leslie and Noah