Let me tell you a little about Jackie and Kay because I think you will tell from their wedding images that these ladies are really fun.
Here is the low down on these two and their love story.
They met in 2008 through their cousins who are friends. Jackie’s cousin owns a cottage in Maine and was hosting her first annual Maine-A-Palooza party. These two ladies ended up on the same winning beer Olympics team. They saw each other occasionally over the years and reconnected in 2011. Now they have been together for just over three years.
For fun, they love to go on little adventures and often like to go on surprise dates.
Jackie & Kay got engaged this past May in Plymouth at the Brewster Gardens. They went to the Mayflower Brewery first for a little liquid courage. Kay knew something was up but wasn’t sure. Jackie faked a knee sprain before getting down on one knee and proposing with one of Kay’s mom’s wedding rings. Jackie had told almost everyone they know before the event! It was an awesome day.
After the wedding they went on a short vacation to Provincetown for a few nights with plans for a longer trip later in the year.
So long and short of their wedding day is that they had the ceremony and reception at Atlantica Restaurant on Cohasset Harbor. They got ready at the Nantasket Beach Resort and had their first look there as well. Then we drove around for a few portraits on the way to Atlantica. They had an early ceremony and reception with an after hours dusk party at Daddy's Beach Club back in Hull. So after the reception finished we drove around for a few more portraits before delivering them to their hotel to change into casual clothes and finish their night at Daddy's
All the vendors will be listed after the photos.
Enjoy and thanks for checking our work out.
Venue: Atlantica Restaurant, Cohasset Harbor Resort
Key Contact: Michelle Scully, 781-383-0900 [email protected]
Ring Designers / Creators: Deb Blazer/Etsy
Jewelry: Family pieces
Wedding Dress: Liv Harris, Vows, Watertown
Veil: Vows, Watertown
Shoes: Betsey Johnson
Hair: Salon Serenity, Weymouth, MA
Make-Up: Merylinda Santiago
Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Angelo
Flowers / Florist: Whole Foods, South Weymouth/Myriah Manley
Centerpieces: Whole Foods
Bride’s suit, tie, cufflinks, etc: JCrew
Bride’s Shoes: Sperry
Stationary: Minted
Band & DJ’s: Peter Hallisey, Sound Choice Events, 617-909-4700
Pre-ceremony & Ceremony: Mary King, harpist, 401-949-2533
Cake Montilios http://montilios.com/weddings/
Spring in Boston is lovely and especially this last Spring. We were so happy to have a few wonderful family portrait sessions during this time.
We wanted to highlight this one in the Boston Common and Beacon hill area.
This family is getting ready to move to Colorado for him to set up his family dentistry practice. The two met in Boston, fell in love here and had there adorable sone here. They wanted a portrait session that spoke about Boston and their love for it.
So we started off at the park and really just strolled around for a little over an hour creating some fun images.
We hope you enjoy!
Chris & Jeff are unique to say the least. These two met at Boston College the summer before their senior year and had been together for 7 years before they tied the knot. They had an amazing group of friends and sisters as their casual but well dressed bridal party. They started things off with getting ready together at the Commonwealth Hotel in Kenmore Square followed by a quick drive over to Alden Castle, by Longwoods Events, for the ceremony and reception.
This area is perfect for group portraits and the couple's photo walk. We were able to use the Jamaica Greenway for an hour before the ceremony to get all the family and bridal party images out of the way. Chris & Jeff both really wanted to have time to enjoy their reception so they had a short and sweet ceremony followed by a gorgeous cocktail hour and reception party to be reckoned with. Folks got down on the dance floor to say the least. Some of the speeches were simply wonderful by their friends and family as well, and the photo booth was truly incredible.
To top it off, Chris and Jeff had an after hours party at Barcelona Wine Bar in Brookline that went on until closing with meats and cheeses, Spanish Cod fritters, sherry and so much more.
We truly had an amazing time working with them, their families and friends. It was another spectacular day to have the honor to photograph.
A lists of vendors follows at the bottom of the photographs. Thanks for viewing and stay posted for more.
Venue: Alden Castle http://www.longwoodevents.com/Venues/alden-castle.shtml
Cindy Goodman - tel:617.854.5064 – [email protected]
Rings: Brookline Goldsmith Co. http://brooklinegoldsmithco.com/ [email protected]
1386-B Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02446 tel: (617) 608-2444
Cake- I Dream of Jeanne 978-869-6013
Entertainment- Entertainment You Can Count On, Scotty, 508-325-9036 [email protected]
Make-Up: for the sisters Paula Voisembert [email protected]
Flowers / Florist: Succulently Urban www.succulentlyurban.com Marialuisa Kaprielian [email protected]
Centerpieces: Homemade w/ succulents from www.succulentlyurban.com
Suits: Bonobos – www.bonobos.com
Ties – Nordstrom
Bowtie – converted from standard tie by Chynna Pope of Beacon Hill Bow Tie Club http://chynnapope.wordpress.com/beacon-hill-bow-tie-club/
Shoes: Cole Haan
We have the amazing pleasure of photographing Jackie & Antonio's Wedding at the Wequassett Beach Resort this coming Friday. So we thought there might not be a better time to show off their super fun engagement session at their alma mater, the University of Connecticut, where they met.
I had never been to the campus and had no idea how gorgeous and truly New England it is. There were so many locations to choose from for this fun e-session. Enjoy!
Stephanie & Anthony may live in Waltham and have met in PA school 3 years before getting married but they decided to tie the knot at LaBelle Winery in Salem NH. They are big foodies and love dinner parties with friends so the winery space totally fit their style.
They are also big fans of Breaking Bad and cider donuts; we hit it off pretty quickly.
Stephanie got ready at a local hotel in the master suite, which had this crazy amazing window space which just brought in incredible light. All the bridesmaids had these adorable robes on for getting ready as well.
The weather started off raining in the morning but the outdoor ceremony turned out perfect; it totally cleared out and was awesome.
Anthony loves cigars so he even had a roller at the reception; I did not mind getting to take 2 home with me.
One thing I still can’t get over every time I look at these images is just how intense Stephanie’s eyes are. She was wonderful to work with and simply stunning.
We hope you enjoy the images and check out the list of wonderful vendors at the bottom of the blog.
Venue: Labelle Winery Key Contact: Jessica Belanger
211 Middlesex Turnpike Burlington MA 01803
Fireside Catering | LaBelle Winery| Director of Sales and Events
Ring Designers: Tacori
Jewelry: Swarovski & Etsy
Wedding Dress: Allure
Veil: “Bling”
Shoes: Kate spade
Make-up Custom For You Makeup Artists
Donna Cotnoir [email protected]
603-738-5313 www.customforyounh.com
Bridesmaids Dresses: Allure
Florist: Ford Flowers Co Salem, NH [email protected]
Groom’s suit, tie, cufflinks, etc: Egara suit & Calvin Klein Tie
Stationary: Cordially Yours Invitations
Band & DJ’s: C-Zone Entertainment: Greg Capozzi
[email protected] 617-320-0723
Transportation: First Choice Limousine
We at LoveDays Photography love working with other great vendors that believe in superb service and deliver a wonderful product. So we thought why don't we interview a vendor that we love to refer to our couples.
When it came to flowers this was pretty easy. We fell in love with the Ford Flower Co. when we were photographing Stephanie & Anthony's stunning LaBelle Winery wedding in Amherst, NH. The flowers were simply gorgeous, the delivery and service was great and everyone was super psyched with all the different creations they made.
So we approached them a few months after the wedding to chat about their job as a leading florist company that has been around for over 30 years, and we did a mini lifestyle photo shoot of their store in Salem, NH.
Bert Ford founded the company and it has grown into a pretty impressive storefront and operation. His daughter Becky is at the forefront of many of the operations and really did a great job of helping me put this together.
Here are the questions and answers along with a few images.
1. What is your favorite thing about running a floral design studio?
Always being challenged to stay on top of the trends and always attempt to more than please our clients!
2. What do you believe is the most important decision a couple can and should make about the colors they choose for their flowers?
That the chosen colors will show well in the environments of the events. Dark purples and blues in a darker area have no reflective value, bright whites on very bright bridesmaid outfits just disappear.
3. What's the most important question a couple should ask when then are looking for a florist for their special day?
Can the florist perform professionally and stay in budget creating what the couple needs and desires?
4. On the big day what should couples know about the flowers they carry or wear?
We instruct the ladies to hold their bouquets low and the boutonnieres & corsages are to be pined on the left side of the suit.
5. I loved your designs at Stephanie & Anthony's LaBelle Winery wedding. Where do you look for regular inspiration in creating beautiful floral designs for your clients?
Many of our inspirations are from the clients. Some of their ideas we share with our brides & grooms, online sites are helpful. We also refer to and subscribe many floral and wedding publications.
Collage metal print from Stephanie & Anthony's wedding
6. What should other vendors know in order to work better with you and other florists?
Collectively, a time line should be established and that all vendors need to pay attention to that. This eliminates wasted time and power struggles!
7. Do you have any other info you want to share that you think is important for couples to know and or vendors.
Be comfortable with all your choices. Keep comfortable focus on your time-line so other vendors can perform their tasks and make your special day run smoothly. Hire vendors that you trust to work well with you to make everything run smoothly.
Ford Flower Co. LLC
Bert Ford AIFD, PFCI + Becky Ford
83 South Broadway Salem, NH 03079
603-893-9955 www.fordflower.com
A big thanks goes out to all the staff for letting me come in and photograph them at work.
Liz & Matt are getting married in June at Yale University with a symposium of friends speaking to kick off the day followed by a funky reception at a local Spanish restaurant afterwards. They had their first date at the Boston ICA (International Center for the Arts) and they love to play Pro Kadima paddle ball. In other words these two are pretty unique to say the least.
So they chose Fort Point and the ICA area for the engagement session, one of my favorite areas to use for this sort of thing, and it was awesome. I found a new funky old building way out at the end of the shipping docks, so we started there and then just kind of meandered around for a while creating some fun shots.
I hope you enjoy, thanks for looking.
Stephanie & Tradd are lawyers. They live in New Hampshire outside of Manchester and they have an adorable dog named Huck. He was with us for their awesome engagement session in and around Portsmouth, NH.
And they are big foodies which seems to be the kind of couple I always get. Go figure! They chose the Phoenix Room in Newburyport for their wedding reception and they had their ceremony at the waterfront park. You will see from the photos that their style was pretty clean and lean for the reception with emphasis on food and dance and the late night cookie and popcorn table. I think I want one of these once a week at my house. They did a bunch of DIY stuff via Estsy, I really loved their matchbooks.
They kept their ceremony outside even though it was drizzling pretty hard at one point. I was so impressed with their constant joy at just getting married that day. They didn't let anything bother them. You will see that they were just simply wonderful.
Ceremony Venue: Waterfront Promenade Park: Doug Locy, Chair of the Waterfront Trust 978.387.9621 [email protected]
Reception Venue: Jen Piessens, Manager & Events Coordinator at Michael’s Harborside & the Phoenix Room
[email protected] 19 Inn St, Newburyport, MA 01950
(978) 463-3301
Jewelry: Earrings – “Something Old” Vintage 1960s jade drop earrings from Market Square Jewelers, Newburyport, MA
Beaded Hair Clip – Twigs & Honey out of Portland, OR
“Something Borrowed” Locket (on bouquet) that dad gave mom for Valentine’s day many moons ago with his picture…that way he can sort of walk with me down the aisle
Wedding Dress: Vera Wang ivory gown
Veil: Ivory with ribbon trim from Flair, Boston
Shoes: Gold flats from J Crew
Accessories: Vintage 1940s gold clutch with chain strap
Bridesmaids Dresses: Diane Von Furstenberg
Hair Make-up Eric Couture will be coming from Not So Plain Janes in Manchester, NH, to do hair and I'll be doing my own makeup!
Flowers / Florist: Courtney at Nunan’s Florist in Georgetown, MA
269 Central St. Georgetown, MA 01833 [email protected]
Groom’s suit, tie, cufflinks, etc: J Crew Suit, Brooks Brothers Shirt, Tie Bar Bow Tie
Caterer: Harborside Catering, above
Stationary: Wedding Paper Divas
Rentals: Party Plus in Haverill, MA (chairs for ceremony & popcorn machine for late-night snacks/favors)
Band & DJ’s: Pre-ceremony & Ceremony:
Lindsay Straw, an amazing Boston-based folk singer/acoustic guitarist 617.651.0892
[email protected] http://www.lindsaystraw.com/
During Reception: Northshore Entertainment
http://www.nsedj.com/ [email protected]
Lighting: DJ above
All your DIY (Do It yourself stuff) Listed Here:
Wedding/Bridesmaid dress hangers from TheEliteBride Etsy shop
Wedding signage from MarryGrams Etsy shop
Hand-embroidered hankies for bridesmaids/Tradd & I/immediate family made by my Aunt, Donna West
DIY guest book out of vintage 1960s chalkboard globe
Jessica & David put together a pretty hip Boston wedding day that we were so happy to have the chance to photograph.
David and his groomsmen prepared themselves at the Seaport Hotel while the ladies got dressed across the street at the Renaissance Waterfront Hotel. They wanted to stay close by their reception venue at the end of the Fish Pier on the waterfront, the Boston Exchange Conference Center.
David was sporting a Ben Sherman suit, Gucci shoes and a custom tie by Saint Laurent. Not Shabby for this professional physical trainer at Equinox Gym Franklin Street Boston.
Jessica wore a truly unique wedding gown by Monique Lhullier accompanied by Prada shoes. Her stunning flowers were done by Susan Miranda at Exquisite Flowers out of Pelham, NH. Jessica did her own hair and make-up with a little finishing help from Stylist Rosi Connary who also did all of the bridemaids' hair styles. All the bridesmaids chose their own style of black dress that went so well with the groomsmen suits.
Here are some notes from the bride about all her DIY stuff as well: "We did pretty much everything you saw detail wise: I designed a logo and essentially 'branded' our wedding with logo, colors, type faces, textures etc. I also made the messages in bottles, menu posters & cards, hand wrote notes on all the favors, and made the tags. We picked out the lobster trap in Essex at an antique store and I made the card banner, the favor trays were antique from the Navy cafeteria I believe.
I did my own hair and makeup, and the veil was just an Etsy find. Jewelry was my own: diamond studs as a gift from David with that cute note of '100 reasons why I want to marry you', and his watch was Burberry and a wedding day gift from me. I wore a blue sapphire ring on my right hand that is a piece passed down from my mom. My ring was a family heritage diamond that was totally re-designed by myself and Charley Hafen out of Salt Lake City."
Jessica and David chose to see each other for the first time as she walked down the aisle at the landmark Boston cathedral Old South Church. They had a traditional church ceremony and then everything seriously relaxed afterwards with portraits in front of the Public Library and the whole bridal party walking over to Trinity Church for some really fun group portraits.
Everyone took a large Upper Deck Trolley Tours Bus over to the waterfront for the reception. Their whole theme was nautical which was perfect for the Boston Exchange Conference Center. Jessica even had custom made Lobster shaped cookie-cutters as favors for their guests. And the catering by East Meets West was wonderful as always: lobster roles, Crab Rangoons, killer clam chowder and so much more. Jessica is a private chef and cooking instructor at her test kitchen and school Shiso Kitchen in Somerville, so food was pretty important to her. As a chef, Jessica is lucky to have some great and talented friends in the industry. Pastry Chef Robbi Mills made the custom Naval themed, multi tiered show piece wedding cake, and Chef Thao Rich whipped up the whoopie pies- both Classic Chocolate Creme and Pumpkin Spice & Brown Butter. The Pumpkin Spice pies were amazing.
Jessica and David wanted their whole reception to feel like a cocktail party and it definitely did, especially with the superb band they chose The Ward Eights. People tore it up on the dance floor. And everything finished with a stunning Boston waterfront sunset along with more partying into the night.
Such a big thanks goes out to Jessica, David and their amazing friends and family for allowing us to capture their special wedding day.
This wedding has also been featured by Borrowed & Blue's blog.
Vendor List
Reception: THE EXCHANGE CONFERENCE CENTER
Boston Fish Pier 212 Northern Avenue Boston, MA 02210
Event Planner - Rebecca Thomas
Catering: East Meets West [email protected]
Ring Designers / Creators: Charley Hafen: http://www.charleyhafen.com
Groom’s Ring: custom design, Charley Hafen
Wedding Dress: Monique Lhullier
Shoes: Prada
Bridesmaids Dresses: Individual selection
Flowers / Florist: Exquisite Flowers, 30 Bridge St., Pelham, NH 03076 exquisiteflowersetc.com
Groom’s suit, tie, cufflinks, etc: Suit: Ben Sherman, Shirt: Custom, Tie: Saint Laurent
Groom’s Shoes: Gucci
Stationary: DIY
Music The Ward Eights [email protected]
Church: [email protected] Old South Church, Boston
Life is a journey. That is where this begins and ends.
Photograph of me just before Inspire started in Portland, ME.
Last week I attended Inspire Photo Retreats in Portland, ME. I attended two years ago, loved the experience, and sadly missed last year’s due to my father's sudden illness and death.
Life can really throw a wrench into the sprockets of those slick wheels you are riding on sometimes. Last year it definitely did.
But I made it this year and it was amazing. It reminded me of why I do what I do. It made me open up to other photographers, see their vision, see their art and really see them.
And Inspire reminded me, brought home the fact that we photographers are all people that live off of our creations.
This may not be as easy as it looks to many of you watching us. The public, our clients and our distant Facebook friends see us post happy photos all the time and crazy self-portraits in photo-booths, we may brag about how awesome our clients are, we just shot a cool destination wedding or we simply have more time to travel than most people.
Now, I am not hating on my profession. I really do have access to creating my own schedule (with the exception of Saturdays odd for 6 months) and some great opportunities that may not exist in other occupations.
But I do want to admit that we do self-doubt, we do question how good we are and if we are steering our business in the right direction. We do have nights where we are super worried about how that bride and groom will react to the full set of images from their rainy wedding day that we actually adored photographing.
We experience loss, we get married, we have children, we get distracted.
We get insecure! But I was reminded at Inspire that it’s all ok.
Why is it ok?
Well for a lot of reasons: we are people too, we don’t have emotional armor like so many people seem to believe photographers do, and we experience all the same struggles that the rest of humanity does.
But a really big thing happened for me this year at the retreat.
I attended an amazing class led by Matt Ebenezer of Matt & Katie photography out of Brisbane, Australia. It was titled “One Life. Zero Regrets” and I believe it was the only class without a description. I was intrigued so I went.
I don’t think anyone in that classroom knew what they were getting themselves into. Matt spoke completely openly about his life experience, incredible successes and very challenging struggles. He was an open book to us all. And he really reiterated why it is important to be true to yourself and the ones you love so that you don’t have any regrets in the end. Here is a link to a fundraising page for him and his wife.
Matt’s talk hit me like a ton of bricks. It triggered so many things from last year that I believe I was pushing back, and it humbled me greatly. I broke down like I haven’t broken down since my father’s passing.
And I allowed myself to really accept 2014, it was tough. Not as tough as Matt’s year or some other people’s years but tough for me.
I lost my father only 2 weeks after coming back from a medical photography trip to Haiti, a friend and colleague died from cancer in the summer, my dear uncle on my father’s side died from his 3rd battle with cancer, he gave me his motorcycle two days before passing and I drove it from Bend Oregon to Boston in 9 days, I planned an amazing wedding and married my true soul-mate, and then a dear friend of ours mother died from cancer just before Thanksgiving.
Yeah, life gets really tough sometimes.
Collage from my father's house.
And that’s ok. I don’t even know how our business grew last year; I felt like I could almost never keep my head above water. I think we really do have great clients that enjoy working with us and appreciate the images we create. I can’t thank them enough for believing in what we do and continuing to allow us into their homes, offices and special events.
Because that is what really matters to me. Creating images is who I am. A few hours after my father passed away I went into his home and spent a few hours creating detailed photographs of his collections, his tools, his spice rack, really his existence for the last 25 years in that home. That was my therapy. And I created wonderful collage metal prints of these images for my three siblings. Here it is.
Driving my uncles motorcycle across country at the end of July was an intense self-reflection journey to say the least and photographing the trip was very important to me.
Driving my uncle's Kawasaki Versys across country.
When I reflect on 2014 I am reminded that it was just a small trip around the sun in my life’s journey, and that the journey with your loved ones is what really matters. I could not have gotten anywhere in the last 10 years if it wasn’t for Melodie.
Now when it comes to our clients we photographers get to show up and document your life journeys.
It's kind of amazing when you think about it.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes its not that easy. We get the family where one child is seriously having a mental breakdown and one of the parents is visibly exhausted and finding it difficult to not let their brain think about a work deadline. I get it, life’s a pain in the arse sometimes.
I just wanted to admit that we photographers have struggles to.
But it makes us stronger and better, isn't that hopefully the point of this little thing called life.
Photography really is my way of going through life’s journey, of seeing it and capturing it in my own way.
So whether you are a client, a loved one, a fellow photographer, someone I have documented in another country, a dear friend or just an innocent pedestrian that has been in the line of photography fire I want to thank you for being part of my journey. Thank you for letting me define my life by photographing yours.
And a huge thanks goes out to you Matt and the Inspire Photo Retreats team for keeping it real and making it a great conference.
Thought creates reality so lets make a great reality!
Hand mixing cement in Haiti.
We are super excited that Equal & Forever is doing a blog post on Chris and Jeffrey's awesome Alden Castle Wedding.
Do us a favor and check it out.
Ok, I know, I know, I am a little late in getting around to making this happen. I was fighting some horrible flu for seven days during Christmas and we've been catching up with all our wedding album designs and orders. But here it is.
What an amazing and life changing year on so many levels. I went to Haiti for my 2nd trip documenting for the wonderful medical non-profit group Hands Up For Haiti. Some of those images will be published in March in Most Magazine. Shortly after returning my father fell ill and passed away. It was and still is challenging to deal with but he was a huge inspiration for my photography. His brother and a dear uncle to me died from his last battle with cancer at the end of July. One of his dying wishes was for me to have his motorcycle which prompted a cross country trip on the Kawasaki 650 Versys from Bend to Boston in 8 days smack in the middle of wedding season. It was an amazing journey filled with challenges, photography and incredible highs and lows.
And to top it all off I married my soulmate of 11 years and 11 months, Melodie, on the southwest tip of Martha's Vineyard on September 20th. It has been a big year to say the least for me personally and for us as a company.
Besides having a wonderful wedding, event and family portraiture year this was an amazing year for commercial and gourmet photography as well with multiple features in Town & Country and some wonderful photo shoots for restaurants in Boston, Cambridge and on Nantucket. We can't wait to see what this year brings. Throughout everything I have continued to create more fine art architectural and landscape photography with more exhibitions occurring. And I had the wonderful opportunity to 2nd shoot for some of my favorite photographers as well. We are blessed to live in a pretty amazing photo community here in the greater Boston / New England area with so many great colleagues producing so much inspiring work.
As we went over all the images from this year we decided that we would just scatter the whole mix in fairly paying attention to the time-line of 2014. It will make your eyes jump around a bit, ranging from medical clinics in Haiti to groovy weddings, yummy food and stunning sunsets, but we think it is important to show all that we do.
As the owner and lead photographer for LoveDays Photography I can't emphasize enough how important it is to myself and this company for us to create meaningful work no matter what our subject matter is. Thank you for being our clients and our inspiration, for watching and following what we do, and for sharing. We appreciate what you mean to our business, our growth and continuation.
Let's make it an amazing year and an awesome trip around the sun.
The frozen Charles river, Cambridge side by Harvard Square.
Tucson, AZ at dawn. I love photographing the landscapes of my home town.
Chatham Bars Inn
Claire & Paul's coastal Connecticut wedding at Harkness State Park and Eolia Mansion was pretty amazing. First off, if you remember Sept. 6th in New England this year, you know that a crazy storm came through that day. Well somehow their outdoor wedding ceremony was perfectly timed. We literally finished the photo walk after the ceremony and bam that storm came in.
Secondly, I was simply psyched to finally photograph at this stunning location. The mansion is gorgeous, the grounds unbelievable, the boardwalk to the beach spectacular, all of it was phenomenal. I could easily shoot for 3 hours with completely different landscapes and backdrops at my disposal at this killer location.
Thirdly, Claire and Paul were just fantastic. They were so great to work with and she left me pretty much the most amazing voicemail the day after that I've ever received. Here it is.
"First off thank you, which is a total understatement to how much of a role you played in yesterday going the way it did. I had such an amazing time and to have you there conducting the show was priceless, truly. And I am so excited to see the photos. I hope you had a great time. And really just wanted to say thank you for everything: your support along the way and the amazing job you did yesterday. It made a huge difference in mine and Paul's experience of the day. But seriously Wayne, from the moment you walked into the bridal salon I just felt this calm and excitement that lasted for the whole evening with you. So thank you!"
And Fourthly, this turned into a great party, you'll see at the end, and I'm not even showing the photo-booth shots.
I am going to let their photos tell the rest of the story and want to mention that this wedding was just featured in The Well Groomed Groom blog as well.
Enjoy and thanks for viewing!
Vendors Caterer: A Thyme to Cook // Reception Venue: Eolia Mansion at Harkness State Park // Cake Designer: Lynn Palmer Cakes// Florals: Green Dahlia // Equipment Rentals & Lighting Design: Ryan Designs // Invitation Designer: Wedding Paper Divas // Band: Tangled Vine // Groom’s Shoes: Cole Haan // Groom’s Suit: Jos. A Bank // Groom’s Tie: Vineyard Vines
I love a good end-of-the-story shot and it was great to be leaving, see the clouds from the storm breaking up and then decide to grab the tripod and do a long exposure of the Eolia Mansion.
I have been preaching about good service with weddings and vendors for years.
And now I just got married to the love of my life, Melodie, after 11 years of being together.
And I could not feel any more adamant about this topic.
Wedding vendors need to provide superior service to their clients on the big day; it doesn't matter where the wedding is, what the couple's income level is, their style, the weather that day, their in-laws, none of it.
Stephanie & Tradd in Newburyport
Nowadays I am a full time wedding, commercial, corporate, gourmet and documentary photographer, but this wasn't always true. I started off in the service industry at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, AZ. just two days after I turned sixteen and I stuck with the restaurant biz for many many years.
I paid my way through college with restaurant and resort work, I spent six summers on Nantucket managing, bar tending and running large catering events. All this helped pay for my annual travel trips for a few years building my photography portfolio and style. I even worked abroad, not only in the restaurant business but teaching English in several different countries; a year spent in Japan was one of the highlights.
Along the way I kind of fell in love with proper service and communication and giving your guest, client or student the best experience you can provide.
This has been essential in our growing photography business and in maintaining proper ethics with all our clients, their relatives, and their colleagues.
Now, of-course we believe that all of our photo sessions are important and that our clients deserve a high level of service no matter what style of shoot it is, but let's face it Weddings are Really Really Important.
I Really Really Know this after getting married and planning our perfect day a little over a month ago.
You folks getting married have put your hearts and souls into your special wedding day; trust me we did. Melodie and I created a 75% + DIY wedding on the southwest tip of Martha's Vineyard with most of our family coming from CA and AZ. it was a logistical nightmare for transportation, food, housing, etc. And it only reinvigorated my belief in using and referring awesome vendors that believe in great service.
We got the short end of the service stick from two different vendors, I'm not going to mention any names here, but lets just say its not much fun to get an altered and or increased bill or a nasty letter from a vendor 6-8 days after your wedding.
We learned a simple lesson from all of this that I want to share. It may not pertain to all venues and all circumstances but its important none the less.
The big simple lesson is Always Always get a Contract.
Chris & Jeff's rings at Alden Castle
We were on Martha's Vineyard and dealing with some pretty lax folks when it came to contracts. I asked for them over and over again but two vendors said they simply didn't do them. "Don't worry about it, we always deliver and deliver well."
I'm going to keep this part of the blog short and just say that communication, and delivery of goods and or services, and the final billing did not go well.
When some of our other awesome vendors heard about these negative circumstances they were appalled and almost laughed about the "no contract" idea. They all commented "Who in the world runs a business without contracts?"
Ok, so lesson learned.
As a wedding photographer with over 400 weddings under my belt I should have been more adamant about getting a contract.
As a photographer I love what I do, what we do, not only capturing our couple's amazing wedding days but also how much a part of the functioning of their wedding day we are.
I am not saying that we make or break our couple's wedding days, that would be very boastful. But we are around for almost the whole thing and we really see how other vendors work. We generally end up communicating a great deal with these other vendors and passing that info on to our clients or vice versa.
Most often we end up becoming the key contact at the reception dealing with the on-site coordinator, DJ or Band, catering manager and much more.
I'm not going to lie, I kind of relish it. I really enjoy helping time-lines work and doing anything I can to make our couples have the best wedding they can.
On occasion it can be eye opening, to say the least, to observe some pretty shady service standards in the wedding industry. If you are in the business you know how much gossip photographers, dj's and bands spill about the food they receive at different venues. Sub-par food for vendors is just one of those things that needs to end. But that's just me sidetracking.
Let's get back to the real topic at hand, SERVICE!
Cru Nantucket
What do I mean by good service and what does it mean to be a wedding vendor that provides great service to their clients.
First off is simply put - communication. We don't want our clients to feel like we are hiding anything, why should we?
Why should any vendors. They should explain their services, products and prices in real terms.
We chose a pretty expensive catering company for our wedding, but you know what, they were super realistic and honest from the get go and they provided awesome food and great service. We got exactly what we wanted; it was amazing. And the pulled pork was to die for.
As a wedding photographer providing wonderful photographs that really capture the essence of your wedding day while providing great information and service before, during and after the big day, all require time and a professional level of service and delivery.
The same is true with the florist, limo driver, videographer, coordinator, lighting company, etc. etc. And all us vendors should be on the same page when it comes to making sure that the couple on that specific day is having the best wedding experience they could hope for.
I have a few videographers that I refer like crazy not because their work is good, its really good, but because they work really well with me and my team and with other vendors. And they have a good time.
This is part two by the way, vendors should be having a good time.
What is up with the negative function manager or the limo driver that wants to complain about the tardiness of a wedding.
Its a wedding folks, time-lines change, things happen, we work together to adjust anything and make it all work for the couple and their families.
I carry a crazy amount of Wedding Day Stuff in my big camera bag and sometimes other vendors are blown away when I pull out a pair of pliers or superglue or mini tie clips for the dudes.
My Stuff List keeps getting bigger but it comes in super handy at 50% or more of the weddings we photograph.
I've been known to fix a veil with superglue, help fix a torn bustle on the dress with safety pins, do all the guys ties and so much more.
Its important to remember that wedding days fly by for the folks actually tying the knot and for their special loved ones. Us vendors are on the sidelines helping and observing.
Melodie and I knew this going into planning our wedding, so we purposely had a longer reception than most. And you know what, it still flew by. I can barely remember all the incredible moments from our wedding day 6 weeks ago.
My point is that as vendors we need to understand how much goes into making this very special day happen and how important it is for us to empathize with our clients and how over-the-top their brains are firing away during this whole thing.
They are so focused, as they should be, on having the best time possible, trying to see all their guests, listen to toasts, dance with parents and so much more.
And then we vendors come along with questions such as "Do you want to try and make that 2nd Cousin photograph happen now or after the cake cutting." Be there in the moment with your clients. Understand if they get frustrated, understand if they don't want to go back out for another mini photo session at dusk. And especially understand when they are having important or intimate moments with each other or with their guests. Don't butt in, give them a minute.
We recently photographed at one our new favorite locations in CT, Harkness State Park, and I was obsessed with getting the couple out into this fiery gold and red field at dusk. I told them about my idea at the beginning of cocktail hour and they were totally psyched about it. The storm held off for us, and after I spoke with the coordinator and the band, I approached them just before dusk about taking them outside for 5-7 minutes for the shoot. They flat out said they simply didn't want to do any more photos outside, they just wanted to have fun with their guests for the rest of the night. And they did, I didn't push the subject, and they had an amazing time. The bride left me one of the sweetest phone messages I've ever received the next day thanking me for helping make their day run so smoothly a become everything they wanted it to be.
All I am really trying to say with all of this is that excellent service is really just helping your amazing clients have the most amazing day they can. Let's do this, let's work together to make this happen for our clients and make the whole industry better.
A recent quote from one of our awesome couples that got hitched at LaBelle Winery in NH.
"Just got back from our honeymoon and it is time to regroup. I wanted to send you a quick email just thanking you from the bottom of our hearts. You were truly amazing to work with. Our wedding day went so smoothly, mainly because of you. You took control of all the bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents and family, and they are a wild bunch, so Tony and I appreciated it. With any other photographer, things could have definitely gone astray. You were much more than a photographer, you were a do-it-all wedding connoisseur! I just want to say that Tony and I will recommend you to ANYONE we know. We can't wait to see you again."
Stephanie and her Bridesmaids at LaBelle Winery, NH
And now for a few photos just for fun:)
Three Tides at dusk, Belfast ME
Our Studio Style Photo-Booth
Sashimi at the Nautilus, Nantucket
Jessica & David in Copley Square
The Lobster Roll at Cru on Nantucket
Family Portrait Session at Chatham Bars Inn
Young girl in pop up medical clinic, Northern Haiti
When Ilana & Ivaldo contacted us about getting married at the Belmont Mass Audubon Habitat Education center we were shocked. Not because its an amazing hidden little gem of a space in Belmont Mass but because our office is only two miles away and we didn't even know about it. So Wayne ran right over there after the first phone call, and even completely covered in last winter's snow he could tell this was a great spot for two nature lovers to have their special wedding day. Ilana & Ivaldo have been in the catering and service industry for years and are big foodies, so their choice of Season of Taste catering was perfect. Considering the amazing amount of DIY that was at this wedding the most stunning component to note was the hand grown succulent centerpieces that Ilana made. Check them out on the table setting photo and one of the ring shots, pretty amazing.
Huge congratulations goes out to Ilana & Ivaldo for their stunning wedding day. And big thanks to their cantor Robin Sparr who really provided a wonderful ceremony for them.
If you would like to see more, check out their Facebook gallery on our professional Facebook page, or go to our flickr page as well. Enjoy!!
And if you want to see the full gallery of photos from their amazing wedding day click here.
the VENDORS
Jewelry Blue Nile [email protected] 800-242-2728
Hallie's Flower Garden (617)354‐8000 halliesflowergarden.com [email protected]
HAIR/MAKEUP Wedding Tresses Jacki Norrie (781) 361‐3600
CATERING Season to Taste http://www.seasontotastecatering.com
OFFICIANT Cantor - Robin Sparr (508) 650‐8894 [email protected]
CAKE Danish Pastry House (617) 926‐2747
DJ Charles Mercer EntertainmentSpecialists (617) 599‐9665
Tiffany and I had a wonderful portrait session when she was 8 months pregnant. Then the three of us had a great session when Beatrix was just 5 days old. And now we truly had an amazing photo session with Beatrix at six months old. This is one of my favorite ages to photograph and I love creating these 3-part portrait sessions, From Bump to Six Months. Enjoy!!
And the beginning!!
Most of our engagement sessions are one and half hours at one location, maybe two tops. This engagement session with Stella & Frederick was totally different and a joy to facilitate; we spent four hours all over Boston and Cambridge making some really fun images. A brief history of these two should be told. They are both from Indonesia but met here in Boston at a mutual friends party. Romance flamed up, dates occurred and now they are planning their wedding in Jakarta back home. Because they met here and so many of their friends and family will never see Boston they wanted to show the city to them with their engagement session.
So here you go. We started at MIT, moved to Fenway, then over the Boston Garden and finished up at the Boston University bridge which I always love using for portraits. Wayne organized the timing so that no one got stuck in Fenway Game-Day chaos, etc. I think you can see from the images it was a joy to work with them.
If you want to see the Facebook Gallery, it's right here.
Friends showing up to Photo-Bomb your engagement session. Priceless!!!
Ilana and Ivaldo are lovers of nature, hence why they are getting married at the Mass Audubon Habitat in Belmont. So we agreed to do their engagement session very nearby at one of my favorite nature preserves, Rock Meadow which borders Lexington, Belmont and Watertown. It is a sprawling 100 acres of stunning beauty and so much fun to photograph at. I have done a few family portrait sessions here and this is my first e-session, which I was psyched about. Anyway, usually pictures speak louder than words. So enjoy checking out the photos and if you want to see more check out the gallery on our Facebook page.
Nili & Andrew wanted to keep their wedding small and intimate for family and very close friends and they chose to do a Sunday brunch wedding at the elegant Mistral restaurant in the Back Bay are of Boston. Nili got ready a few blocks away while Andrew had a couple predatory drinks with friends at Mistral to shake off any remaining nerves. Nili didn't have any bridesmaids per say but her three best friends matched up their dresses with her stunning red shoes. It was a brief and sweet ceremony followed by a few portraits outside in the last remaining drizzle of this rainy late March Sunday. But a few umbrellas and a little urban photo shoot is always fun. Thanks goes out to Nili, Andrew and their great family and friends for having me be part of their special wedding day. Vendors are listed at the bottom.
Dress: Badgley Mischka for BHLDN.com
Shoes: Cole Haan
Florist: Bouquet and boutonnieres: Braintree Flower Shop.
Make-up
Meagan Gorham
607-329-5417
[email protected] Meagangorham.com
Table pieces: Bride's mother, Nava Dana and Cosco!
Cake: Sweet Tooth Bakery, South Boston
Jewelry: unknown gifts from mother of the bride
Rings: Lander Jewelers South Shore
Suit: Joseph A Bank
Tie: Nordstroms Brand
Shirt: Hugo Boss
Stephanie & Tradd are getting married in Newburyport, MA on the 4th of October this year, pretty much my favorite weekend to shoot a wedding in New England. They wanted to create their engagement session photos in and around one of their favorite towns, Portsmouth, NH which is also one of my favorite spots to photograph. And they wanted to start off in a book store (Book & Bar), move to some urban photographs and then finish up seaside. Well they picked the right town to make that all happen in a really fun hour and a half e-session. All this and they brought along their awesome dog Huck.
Oh yeah, great side note, stuck on an island with only one thing to eat: Stephanie = good chips + salsa / Tradd = mac + cheese. Wayne = chimichangas.
Enjoy the photos and thanks for looking.
I spent a couple weeks back in Tucson, my home town, at the end of January into February. It was not due to positive reasons, my father quickly became very ill with Pancreatitis and then passed away a couple weeks later. It was a blessing to have the career I do and be able to create the time to head back home and be with my siblings during this time and simply to be with my father for the last days of his life. I will share more later on capturing the details that made up my father's life in so many ways.
Anyway these two trips to Tucson also allowed me to spend a little more time with dear old friends and I had the pleasure of creating photographs of this lovely child, Willow, the 8 month old daughter of one of my best friends since high school. All the living and dying moments that I observed combining during my time back home reminded me yet again that it is so important to beautifully and artistically document these moments as the photographer I am. And this feels even more emphatic after just returning from two weeks of photographing medical clinics in northern Haiti.
So here is a glimpse at Willow in her stunning beauty.
It's been an amazing year and I am really looking forward to what 2014 has to offer. We already have some amazing shoots and weddings lined up while myself and my fiance plan our own marriage Shindig as well. I am on my way to NYC on the Acela train as I write this post, flying out to Haiti tomorrow for 15 days of working with some fantastic medical non-profit groups that are doing important work there.
This post is dedicated to all the amazing couples, clients, friends and families that made 2013 such a great year. Its been a huge growth year for our business and especially for our creativity which is most important to us. We couldn't have done it without the confidence, style, love and passion that so much of you displayed on your wedding day, during your engagement session, with your awesome children and just being yourself during the photo sessions. We can't wait to work with you again.
If you want to see what has happened on the commercial and journalism front for 2013 check out my other blog WECphotos.com blog.
Working with Grazier Photography
Working with Silver Pix Studios
Working with Solare Wedding Photography
Working with Claudia Kroneneberg
Working with Fotique
Working with Silver Pix Studios
Working with Solare Wedding Photography
Working with Grazier Photography
Thanks and enjoy this trip around the sun. Welcome 2014!!
I always love creating images at Wentworth by Sea in New Castle just outside of Portsmouth, NH. The area is especially awesome at dusk which you will see at the end. I was psyched when Elizabeth and Matt decided to do their reception here. This adorable couple found out about me via one of my favorite couples and same-sex weddings from 2012, Whitney & Sam.
Elizabeth & Matt put together a very intimate reception at the Wentworth with strong emphasis on family and a tight group of friends from South Boston and across the country. Their place-card and table number theme was all about bicycles which of-course I love. We bonded over stories of road cycling and long bicycle trips in New England.
And Matthew made wine with Elizabeth's dad, created his own labels from our Engagement Session shoot, then created bottles of wine as the Give-Aways for the guest, amazing! Only to top this off was Elizabeth’s Dad finding out I was obsessed with one of his bow-ties I saw hanging in the closet where Elizabeth got ready; surprised the heck out of me by giving it to me as a gift at the end of the wedding.
What an amazing day working with and getting to know this great couple and their dear friends.
Dress - Country Weddings in Hingham, designed by Modern Trousseau from Australia.
Flowers from Anderson's Florist in Arlington, MA
Stationary, table cards and placecards: Alfie Cooper
Cake - Jacques from Suncook NH
Wedding Bands - Long's Jewelers
Band= Bill Jones [email protected]
Using a smart phone for video, click here! Video Slideshow at the end.
Thanks to Aisle Perfect for choosing this stunning orange themed wedding at the Endicott Estate in Dedham for Today's Blog on their website.
Sheneya & William put together an elegant and intimate wedding ceremony and reception at this gorgeous location. They are a very private couple that wanted only a limited number of their images to reach the web so here is only a smattering of photos from their lovely day. Sheneya and William created an intimate family affair at Endicott that really celebrated their union amongst close family and friends.
Aisle Perfect wanted to highlight their gorgeous use of orange throughout their wedding details, tables and reception. Check out their blog at Aisle Perfect's Blog and I'll throw in a few extra photos below.
Thanks for looking and thanks Sheneya & William for choosing us to create images for you.
Anya & Evan put together an awesome wedding day with tons of traditional Jewish notes to the ceremony pieces along with some wonderful personal touches. The Red Barn at Hampshire College was perfect for their no-nonsense natural style and for their reception size. I think it was simply perfect for their ceremony up against the big tree at the top of the hill overlooking the Red Barn. I really love all the different facets of the Jewish wedding ceremony and it was so much fun creating images of their different steps towards a wonderful union. I hope you enjoy the images, feel free to check out their Facebook gallery as well.
Using a smart phone? Click HERE!! for the video slideshow.
Molly & Ben's dream wedding came true after months of planning and organization. They combined all their years of being in the service industry and wine sales to create this amazing day. They held their ceremony and reception at the stunning private estate in western New Hampshire that has been in Ben's family for generations. It simply could not have been a better location and the weather couldn't have cooperated more for an early August wedding, Simpson clouds in the sky and a light breeze all day. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to shoot their special day and it was fantastic to have Mark Bolton as my second shooter creating some stunning journalistic candids throughout the day.
Big thanks goes out to Molly, Ben and their amazing families for being so great to work with on their special day.
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Private Estate Wedding, NH
Molly and Ben's rehearsal dinner may have surpassed any I've had the pleasure of attending or photographing thus far. This was mainly due simply to the stunning beauty of the estate they were getting married at in addition to amazing weather and wonderful family and friends. It didn't hurt that Salt Box Farm was their caterer for both days as well. Here are just a few images from their pre-ceremony night to give you a hint of how phenomenal their wedding day was.
Emily & Mike live in the Inman Square area of Cambridge and wanted to do an engagement session that was urban and fun. So we roamed around the old Taza factory repair shop area near Inman square before heading over to the Boston University Bridge at dusk to finish off. Their style and colors worked so well with where we shot and they were awesome to work with, whimsical and just plain sweet.
If you want to see a few extra images check out their facebook gallery.
I had the great pleasure of photographing Johanna & Rich on the 4th of July in Sandwich on Cape Cod creating some really fun E-Session photos for their wedding invites, save-the-dates and their guest signature book. This is just half their engagement session; we are going to do the rest in Boston and Beacon Hill area to round out the array of images for them to use. They were great fun to work with and I can't wait to shoot their wedding in November at the Four Seasons.
Check out their video slideshow HERE!!
I had a the great pleasure of photographing this stunning and intimate wedding day in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Chelsea and Eddie have been together for 8+ years and are finally tying the knot and having a baby in August. Chelsea chose a wonderful combination of colors for her dress, flowers and the men's boutonneires. The had a very relaxed ceremony in Prescott Park followed by cocktail hour and an intimate reception at Mombo Restaurant. Here is just their video slideshow. I'll be posting an image blog shortly.
Using a Smart Phone click here.
Last week Eric Langlois, a fellow photographer and an inspiration with lighting techniques and instruction, went missing after falling into the water at Lover's Leap State Park, CT. His body was found yesterday in Lake Lillinonah in Bridgewater. He is survived by his lovely two children, his wonderful wife and photography partner and the unborn baby she is carrying. Nothing can compensate for the loss of a loved one, a respected colleague, a parent; however, a Fundraising Site has been set up to financially help his direct family after their loss. Please take a moment to ponder even the smallest donation that may help them in this tragic time.
He will be greatly missed.
I had the great pleasure of creating images for this lovely expectant couple. Amanda and AJ have a bit of a artistic Hipster flair to them while being completely relaxed all the while, with a good chunk of humor to them as well. I wanted this to shine in their images along with their comfortable love for eachother and the child that's on its way. I scouted out a couple areas near their house for easy access, she was due 3 weeks after the shoot, and then we finished photographing at the house they were moving into the following week. They are getting everything on the check list done this year.
If you want to see more of their images check out their facebook page: Amanda & AJ's Facebook Gallery
You can always see tons more of my images on my Flickr page and feel free to follow my Pinteresting Habits!
They are expecting to deliver in just a few days.
Becky and Dorsey are getting married on Nantucket in September at the Nantucket Yacht Club. But they live in Boston and wanted to do their engagement session with a city feel. They often head over to Drink and Lucky's in the Fort Point area for drinks and food so I suggested we meet there, begin shooting in that industrial area and then head to the waterfront. Their engagement photo session was great fun as you can see in these images.
If you want to see more check out our facebook page for regular updates and like us.
Thanks for viewing.
Here is a sneak peek at Stephanie & Will's wedding photos. They were great fun to work with and I hope they are having a great honeymoon in the Caribbean. They had an orthodox christian ceremony in Cambridge, bridal party portrait session at Spot Pond in Stoneham and the reception at Andover Country Club.
Here is their Sneak Peek Facebook Gallery as well.
I love shooting details. Anyone that knows me knows that I love this stuff. It probably all started with shooting tons of food and using macro lenses and simply falling in love with the landscapes that detailed close-up images offer. So here are a few fun detail shots from photographing Hilary & Tim's wedding two weekends ago. Enjoy!!
Hilary's mom made this amazing cake by the way.
I love the texture on the inside of Tim's ring.
While I was photographing for a few different non-profit organizations in Haiti for 5 weeks I had the great opportunity to shoot a killer destination wedding on the north coast of Haiti about 20 miles west of Cap-Haitien in the beach area of Labadee at the little resort of Belly Beach. You get here either by a pretty crazy dirt road through the ocean side mountains or via boat service from Adventure Ocean Oasis resort around the peninsula bend. Adventure Ocean Oasis happens to be where Max (Maxime) the groom works running the Jet Ski facilities at what is arguably the nicest beach property in the north of Haiti, which is where we took a boat to do their awesome post ceremony photo walk.
The lovely bride Hannah is from England and has been working in Haiti with a few different NGO's for a few years. Her and Max met on the beach a couple of years ago and have been together ever since. They couldn't have been an easier and cuter couple to work with. It was a dream come true with picture perfect weather and such stunning locations to use.
And I was psyched when they agreed to my proposal to head into Cap-Haitien the next day fully re-dressed to use this city's amazing colored walls to do a final photo session. I had to digitally get rid of some crazy stains on Hannah's dress but it was totally worth it. This couple's comfortable beauty, love and ease to work with combined with the supreme locations made this a truly wonderful wedding shoot.
Thanks to Hannah & Max for being so great to photograph. Happy Ever After!!
I took this one from the front of a heavily rocking boat. Hannah & Max really wanted a picture of everyone at the wedding together.
One of my favorites just because Hannah has such comfortable beauty, so fun to work with.
Driving into Cap-Haitien in style.
You can't beat the colors of downtown Cap-Haitien, this actually a small lottery office behind them. 
Some local school girls tag along and join the color palette.
Check out our professional Facebook page for more images and like us if you dig our photos.
Last week was spent working with Hands Up For Haiti in the greater area of Cap-Haitien city in northeastern Haiti. This was a great opportunity to photograph medical clinical work on the ground here in a variety of settings ranging from a very small clinic in a slum section of Cap-Hatian to Justinien Hospital to the Open Doors Ministry Clinic in the village of Bwadlands. These images specifically were created at the Open Doors Clinic. Feel free to use the link above to learn more about this great organization and donate if you wish.
Thanks for viewing.
A young school boy on the scale.
Waiting to see a clinician.
A young boy gets treated for scabies.
I'm photographing for Hands Up for Haiti for one week in the northern city area of Cap-Haitien. We are spending two days working and staying with Open Door Ministry, which has a school and a health clinic. This image was created while helping some boys carry a bench to a 2nd floor classroom.
I'm in Haiti for about 5 weeks to document the work of a few different non-profit humanitarian groups and projects. World Wide Village and Randy Mortensen have been incredibly ingratiating to me by allowing me to work with them and a few of their affiliates for a couple weeks while utilizing their guesthouse as home base. I arrived early afternoon the first day unable to join a visiting American sponsored WWV team which was working with the full-time Haitian WWV team building a low-cost home for a woman in Cazale northwest of Port-au-Prince.
The next day, my first day really on the ground, was an amazing start to this trip. I joined the visiting Utah team members as they worked along side their Haitian counterparts to install the entire roof from beams to steal in a matter of hours. The most impressive part of WWV's work and donation process is their enabling of the locals to take the skills and practices that craftsmen from abroad bring into the country and make them their own. WWV is not simply coming in, building and giving homes away. They are enabling communities to become stronger from the ground up. This was wonderful to observe in action.
Along with helping in the construction process I had the opportunity to walk down to the village of Cazale and see the work of Real Hope for Haiti. This is a truly amazing organization that runs a Health Clinic, a Cholera Treatment Center and an Malnutrition Rescue Center all in Cazale. I am very grateful to them for allowing me to spend even a few minutes documenting some of the patients in their malnutrition center. It is eye opening to say the least to see such dire physical conditions but also to experience and be inspired by such amazing work. Visit Malnutrition Facts page here.
I hope these images are inspiring and please use the links above to read more about these organizations, make donations or plan on volunteering.
A volunteer hugs the woman they are building the house for.
The combined teams.
Real Hope for Haiti
Waiting line at 9 am at the Health Clinic - Real Hope for Haiti
A child snacks on crackers while waiting in line at the clinic.
A volunteer sits with 2 children at the Malnutrition Clinic. The girl on the left is 19 months old and weighs 9.5 pounds.
A child receives extra fluids by IV.
A young man with HIV and severe Shingles eats.
A volunteer rubs lotion on a 19 year old girl who is battling Diabetes though she has recovered from Tuberculosis. She weighs about 75 pounds.
I am very excited to be heading to Haiti tomorrow to work with a few non-profit organizations. Its great to have the opportunity once a year to focus on humanitarian and documentary work which always inspires me with the rest of my photography as well. This should be a great experience and provide some amazing photographic opportunities in addition to being very educational. I will keep my readers posted as much as I can while on the ground there.
Alright, I don't like to toot my own horn that much, I really don't. You know this if you know me. So I will let an outside party do this for me. This is about the nicest blog post I've seen that talks about one of my favorite couples and their amazing wedding. I am so psyched by all the media coverage that Whitney & Samantha's wedding has gotten, but Bitchless Bride really did a wonderful job: Check out the post here.
I am very excited to take part in this years Inspire workshops that are next week. It is going to be an amazing learning experience and sharing experience. Lots of great photographers, editors and much more will be there and I haven't done a workshop this intense since at least Magnum Photos Workshop in Toronto 2 years ago.
The Lovely Find wedding blog just featured one of my favorite weddings this year that took place at the stunning Smith Barn north of Boston.
I love getting to shoot weddings at the Fruitlands Museum up in Harvard, MA. The grounds are amazing to use for photos and the roaming hills nearby along with farms and rivers are amazing to use for portraits. Not to mention their service is impeccable because they use Fireside Catering for their events. Jackie and Phil chose the Fruitlands Museum for a few reasons but number one was its close proximity to their home only a few miles away in Bolton, planning was much easier this way with their hectic work schedules.
Jackie, Phil and I did a walk through of the huge Museum property a few months before the wedding and decided on a few key locations to use for a variety of bridal party portraits as well. It worked out great to start at their house for getting ready, the 1st look and some initial portraits before stopping along the way to the Museum for some stunning group shots and more. We ended up with amazing weather for their ceremony on the lawn and for the rest of the reception. They topped off everything with one of my favorite wedding & event bands Brandy which Jackie's father sang a few songs with as well. And Jackie and her friends were all about the Studio Style photo booth which is always one of my favorite additions to my wedding packages.
I hope you love the images and the video slideshow.
If using a smart phone click here.
Bridesmaid.com just did a wonderful blog post featuring one of my favorite weddings this year, Portia & Don's wedding in Meredith, NH.
Check it out at Bridesmaid.com blog!
Just wanted to share that Whitney & Samantha's awesome wedding was used by this great blog, A Bicycle Built for Two. . Check it out!
Whitney and Sam's love was so evident throughout their entire wedding day. The union of this same-sex couple could not have been a better way to top off the end of my high-wedding-season. They were stunning, emotional and so real to work with.
Thank you Whit & Sam and your family and your amazing friends for creating so many wonderful moments that I had the opportunity to capture and create images of for you and your lives together.
They met at the Blue Room restaurant in Cambridge years back and decided to use this space for their entire wedding day, besides the photo walk and drive we did in the Cambridge area. The Blue Room and its sister restaurant Belly couldn't have been more perfect for these ladies awesome day. The reception took place in the Blue Rooms dining room and all the dancing took place in Belly. The Self-Portrait photo booth chaos was in the private Wine Room.
The weather was super chilly for October 7th, but it all worked out the end; the rain drizzle literally ended about 5 minutes before their ceremony on the patio. And I'm so glad the ladies took my advice to purchase some nice shawls to keep warm during our photo walk at dusk.
First their wedding video slideshow....
Now some photos on their own.
Flowers were amazing, created by Bunker Hill Florist
The stunning jewelry of Michelle Mercado
One of my favorite buildings to shoot against in Cambridge. 
On the BU bridge for final dusk shot.
Casey Williams as the fantastic DJ
Sam & Whit in the photo booth
Sparkler send-off, always my fav.
Nadia and Jonathan put together a beautiful wedding day and made it through an incredible rain storm between their getting ready venue, ceremony venue and reception. They were fantastic to work with though they had the largest bridal party I've shot to date. I hope you enjoy!!
Eloise and Don put together a remarkable wedding at the Hedgebound Estate on Cape Cod in Truro, one of my favorite areas to photograph. This is just a sneak peak from an amazing day of shooting this wonderful couple that is so dear to me. I have know Eloise for almost 20 years and felt so honored to photograph her special wedding day.
Jessica and Ross put together a truly colorful and fun party for their wedding at the Bournedale Function Facility in Plymouth on Cape Cod. The colors were vibrant and daring but they pulled it off so well with their stunning location on the water. And they couldn't have asked for better weather. Bournedale has just done a bunch of upgrades to all of its houses and is even a better place to photograph at. These are just a few pics, if you want to see a great deal check out there gallery on my facebook page.
Oh, and yes, their wedding party got down and partied. 
I've shot over 100 weddings in New England and have never had the chance to shoot at Smith Barn so this was a treat. I love this location. It screams New England and country, simply stunning. This only got better when Maggie told me the ladies were going to be sporting cowboy boots, the Tucson home town boy came out in me. The only big challenge which seemed to be the case some much this summer was the weekend rain. We had torrential downpours on this wedding day but luckily managed to use every moment that wasn't raining to create some wonderful images for this great couple.
Maggie and Chris got hitched at Saint Mary's in Melrose which was a stunning church with a superb balcony. I love when you get to shoot in a church that has some really ornate woodwork and stained glass. We had a bit of a drive through the storm to Smith Barn in Peabody and then the skies opened up for us for about 15 minutes before the reception began.
Here is their adorable give-aways for the guests, I thought it matched their them perfectly.
I love Smith Barn's indoor lighting, what a great reception space to shoot in.
Jackie and Phil wanted to do their engagement session somewhere that was special for the two of them and Sandwich on Cape Cod was perfect. Phil's family has had a home there for generations and it is such a stunning area to shoot in. And they were so easy and comfortable to work with. I love their candid imagery and really enjoyed creating these images for them and am so excited to shoot their wedding on September 15th at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA. You can check out more on my facebook page.
Thanks and enjoy!!
This was truly one of the most incredibly fun groups of people at a wedding that I have ever seen using the photo booth, and that's saying a lot. I've never worked on more images the next day but it was a ton of fun. Enjoy and you can see more on my pro facebook page. The kids were amazing.
The Bhuta Yajna Ritual or Ngrupuk occurs on the island of Bali on the eve of their day of silence Nyepi. In preparation for this day of silence involving fasting and no electricity, offerings are given to the Hindu gods of Bali and beyond. Weeks of preparations go into building the ogoh-ogohs, demonic statues made of bamboo and paper symbolizing negative elements or malevolent spirits, which are paraded at dusk down the streets of each city and village. These statues are truly amazing as is the marching of and dancing with them that the individual troupes perform with their ogoh-ogohs.
I was blessed to end up in Ubud, Bali during these festivities while on my recent trip to Indonesia working on a floating fishing hut story. The Balinese pull out all stops for this festival and it was really amazing to document. Here are just a few images from Ngrupuk in Ubud, one 24 hour period of photographing. I had a great time, more images will come to my journalist site WECphotos.com and I hope you enjoy.
On a side note, Bali was amazing and I can't wait to shoot a destination wedding their. The combination of geography, culture, people and food was simply amazing. The Gili T islands off of Lombok's northwest shore should not be overlooked either.
A short video clip of some of the festivities.
This was a seriously fun couple to work with. I drove out the day before to scout the area around Speculator, NY to find some really great spots to photograph the couple and the wedding party. The wedding was at an amazing private camp that Noah had worked at before so there was no lacking of natural beauty. But I thought the court house would be great for a group shot in addition to an amazing hill farm as the final dusk photo walk session. So great to have the opportunity to shoot yet another very different destination wedding.
To view slideshow on a smart phone click here.
A wonderful spring wedding at the Liberty Hotel with portraits in the Boston Common Garden.
I am honored to be highlighted as the photographer of the month for Grace Ormond Wedding Style Magazine.
Just a quick photo I created at the end of shooting the Ngrupuk parade in Ubud, Bali two nights ago.
Just a quick pic of some adorable children in the village of Tamanjaya, southwest Java, in which I was recently photographing in the area. 
This is my favorite series from the Self-Portrait Station I set up for the reception of the fabulous wedding I captured yesterday.
What a great gathering of people to work with and photograph and they took full advantage of the photo station.
Jen & Andreas were so wonderful to work with for this engagement session. We met at the Lars Anderson Park outside the Auto Museum in Brookline near where they got engaged, at the Arnold Arboretum park.