Liz & Jarett’s engagement portrait session

Liz and Jarett are getting married on October 29th at Bayard’s in Manhattan… I was already booked for the date but they were still interested in having an engagement session with me and I was happy to be able to provide some pretty portraits of this sweet couple around the city.  Originally we were thinking of shooting way downtown but then the protest movement called Occupy Wall Street started gaining momentum and I was a little concerned about trying to navigate the area, so we moved it to the Madison Square Park area.  It never ceases to amaze me how many fantastic backdrops you can find wherever you are in NYC– there is just cool looking stuff everywhere.  I mean EVERYWHERE!  Check out Liz & Jarrett below, they are so cute together…

Amy & Jon’s Wedding at David’s Country Inn

Amy & Jon saw me shooting at their friends’ Anne & Bret’s wedding a while back– they had been admired Anne & Bret’s guestbook of engagement portraits and enjoyed the resulting images from the wedding in their online gallery, so when they got down to the business of planning their own wedding at David’s Country Inn not far from the city, they got in touch to see if I was available.  Anne & Bret have since moved to Seattle so I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing them at the wedding, but it was such a big and busy wedding I’m not sure I would have had time to chat with them anyhow!  I really enjoyed the interiors at David’s Country Inn– an older venue that’s really held onto some of its’ charming and unique features over the years.  Check out the amazing balconies in the ballroom and cocktail areas…and their baby-blue bridal suite was so lovely I had to bring Jon in for a portrait with Amy once they’d had their first look.  One thing I must say I enjoyed at this wedding was the closeness and fun spirit of the families.  It was on the larger side, as far as my typical weddings go, and as usual this group really knew how to cut loose on the dance floor!  Congratulations, Amy & Jon!

When Amy’s mom went to put on the necklace (above, her grandmother’s) for her they had such a sweet moment together it brought tears to several in the room.

It was time to present Amy to her grandmom!

And then to her groom!

This shot above of the flowergirl peeking through the window and watching the first look moments might be one of my favorite shots from the whole day… it was such a sweet and natural moment of this little girl being enchanted by the romance of a wedding…

Above, the bridal suite i mentioned loving, below a funny antique phonebooth I simply had to incorporate into a portrait!

After taking care of the family and wedding party portraits we made our way through some not-quite-yet-raining weather to the church a few doors down…

This church had no center aisle, but rather 2 aisles… which was an interesting change of pace for me… which made it a little harder to get a standard-head-on-viewof the kiss, etc.  Luckily there was a balcony as well, so we shot it from up and further away…

I just had to get Jon’s mom’s expression as she took in the ceremony…

This just tickles me to death… the maid of honor is covering the eyes of the flower girl during the kiss… so funny!

One thing that’s always sweet about church ceremonies is that getting out of the space practically demands a receiving line.  Everyone always wants to hug and congratulate the bride and groom.  As long as the schedule allows time for this, it can make for great pictures…  one more reason I always go over a couple’s timeline in advance so we can make sure to allocate enough time for those wedding party and family portraits if they’re to be done following the ceremony.

On to the cocktail hour, back at David’s Country Inn.  They have this cool antique wooden bar situation and a big stained glass ceiling with a balcony overlooking this room where cocktails were being served.  My fisheye lens came in handy for the shot below.

Downstairs guests mingled in several areas in addition to the room above.

Here’s their guestbook, made with the engagement portraits and left out on a table for folks to sign– above are their login-info cards for guests to take so they’ll know where and when to check online and view the photos from the wedding…

We grabbed some detail shots in the ballroom before the guests migrated in…

Amy and Jon made use of the cool balcony that overlooks the ballroom by walking along towards the staircase for their entrance while their guests applauded below…

Gotta love the way this balcony gave us a nice wide angle on the whole reception!

Toasts!

Amy & Jon’s moms were tearing it up on the dance floor!

I love it when I have access to a balcony or other high point for taking pictures from above the reception.  With some off-camera lighting I got this nice shot above.




Beth & Michael’s Wedding at Stamford Museum and Nature Center

Last weekend I shot this sweet wedding in Connecticut in place of Jeff Zorabedian, who used to be a frequent 2nd shooter of mine but has been booking more of his own weddings lately, and, well, getting his wife pregnant!  He booked Beth & Michael’s wedding date before Una was pregnant, and when they realized her due date would fall right around their wedding, Jeff wisely booked me as a 2nd shooter/ full backup solution 🙂  Sure enough, Saturday morning the phone rings and Una was in labor… I was honored to be able to put his mind at ease and take care of this wedding for him!  His smart backup planning included a stand-by assistant for me to call up should I turn out to be on my own, so I got to know his friend (also named) Sarah on the drive to CT, and she proved an excellent help throughout the day!

Beth and Michael both work in publishing, and make a really sweet couple. I was delighted to find that their venue, the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, was housed in a charming old mansion with beautiful surrounding grounds to inspire some portraits of the couple… I must say, I think the couple-portraits have become my favorite little part of shooting a wedding… people just look so gorgeous on their wedding day– the glow of happiness and the carefully selected finery combine with what is usually a really beautiful location lend themselves perfectly to capturing what I hope are going to be images that the couple will cherish and look at on mantles, walls, desk-frames, or in their wedding album for the rest of their lives… Despite the weather and Beth’s elegant high heels we managed to get a good little round of portraits outside right after their ceremony and then re-entered to find cocktail hour in full swing. I loved the colorful (multi-colored) decor (lanterns, mini-toy favors, flowers & antique tins on the tables, etc) that this couple had going on to work with their vintage typewriter keys they had selected as a reoccurring theme (I suspect because of the couple’s connection to books and publishing).  The venue proved to be a beautiful spot to have a ceremony indoors and staff expertly maneuvered the guests between the various areas for ceremony, cocktails, reception, and dancing.  They even had a nice little area for me to set up the photobooth during the reception– a good time was had by all…  Congratulations, Beth & Michael!  Your wedding was lovely!

Beth’s gorgeous lace gown was by Cymbeline.  The shoes, below, were by Salvatore Ferragamo.

That’s right, the shoes were so neat i had to photograph them from multiple angles 🙂
Bouquet above and boutennierres/corsages below (and the flowers you’ll see later at the reception tables) were all by the amazing Poppies and Posies.

Michael’s wedding ring was from Michael C. Fina, while Beth’s was from Alex Sepkus.

Beth’s hair was done up beautifully at Lanphier Day Spa.  The accessory above was from Lo Boheme.

Sweet acoustic guitar played by friend-of-the-couple, Kabir Green, accompanied the ceremony processional.

Bruce Coville, another friend of the couple, performed the ceremony (and also gave a toast during dinner)…

Back inside, guests were having cocktails, getting their seating cards, which (see below) were on tags attached to cute little toys and figurines chosen specifically for each person, what a bit of colorful fun. This project was put together by none other than Beth herself!

The beautiful flowers on the dinner tables were arranged in antique tins of various kinds (rectangular, circular, with and without text, but all colorful).  Below you can see how they sprinkled antique typewriter keys about the tabletops for additional flair.

This venue had stunning lighting inside the reception room– just look at all these beautiful twinkly string lights hanging!

Small colorful lanterns adorned the aisles during the ceremony as well as various spots around the reception like below.

For their first dance Beth changed into a (shorter, more dance-able) pale pink number that swished beautifully as they performed the choreography they had practiced!

Guests sat down for a delicious dinner from caterers Frank and Julio.  Toasts were very funny… Beth’s mom used her toast as opportunity to educate us about her various quirks, to everyone’s delight…

And of course the sweetest toasts can sometimes invoke laughter AND happy tears– here we had both!

Michael’s coworkers made some beautiful remarks to share with everyone what a great inspiration he’s been to them in publishing.  It was truly sweet.

The cake (an antique typewriter key for an exclamation point, what else?) and cupcake array was by SoNo Baking Company.

Meanwhile, things were just getting started out on the dancefloor…this kid was a riot in the photobooth… couldn’t get enough.  During some downtime he took a break to go learn how to scratch from the super-friendly (and awesome) Stephen Bolles, a.k.a. DJ Still Life!

Props Beth had collected for the photobooth began to make their way over to the dance floor, making for some pretty fun photos.





robin Glasser - October 10, 2011 - 8:14 am

A magical wedding- and these stunning pictures capture so much of it’s feeling so well. Robin

Ange - October 14, 2011 - 3:15 pm

Amazing images of a great day!

Jason turns 1 year old: Baby portraits in Central Park

Though Jason is still just a baby he looks like a big boy in some of my faves from this shoot!  I hadn’t seen Erin and Ernie since their maternity shoot– to finally meet little Jason was a joy to say the least.  What a sweet child– calm, curious, and I was shocked at how unfussy he was over the course of our session in Central Park.  To celebrate his birthday Erin had a sweet little birthday cake made for him and we set him out on a little quilt with his cake and let him explore it!  What a fun session!



Amy & Andrew’s Bookshop Wedding

Amy & Andrew found me through The Housing Works Bookstore Cafe— their chosen wedding venue, where I shot Adam & Shireen’s wedding last fall.  I was so excited to shoot at this sweet bookstore again– everything this organization does helps AIDS advocacy… so for those of you looking for ways your wedding can “give back”, this venue might be for you.  I must say the catering team at The Works does an amazing job– they even remembered I’m a vegetarian without me having to mention it!  This venue was perfect for Amy and Andrew, as they were having a smaller more intimate wedding with close friends and family, and the bookshop felt nice and cozy with all the shelves of books on the walls!  Amy and Andrew wanted to wait until the ceremony to see each other dressed, so for this wedding I went to the bride’s hotel room at the Hotel Mela for some shots of her and her gals getting ready, followed by a quick set of portraits of them outside– and again down by the bookstore, along with a turn for the guys, who had been hanging string lights and getting ready in the basement of the bookstore.  There were so many cute spots around the hotel and the Bookstore (I mean, it is SOHO!), I was excited to have plenty of time to play with the gals & guys making separate group portraits.  The ceremony was sweet and emotional– I must say I love it when grooms get choked up and Andrew did not disappoint!  It was dark out after the ceremony so I waited and did their “couple portraits” outside til later after they’d had a chance to catch up with friends and family throughout the cocktail hour and reception.  Some of my favorite portraits these days are night shots where I steal the bride and groom outside for a few minutes and create a dramatic shot with my assistant holding a light on a stand.  Scroll down to the last few favorites to see those…

To view the slideshow at optimum size click on “VIMEO” to watch it in their player… then come back to check out my favorite stills below…

When I met with Amy and Andrew for their consultation I had the opportunity to recommend she check out the Bridal Garden– an amazing nonprofit store that sells donated gowns and gives 100% of the proceeds to an NYC educational charity.  It’s by appointment only, and they have a surprisingly high-end and beautiful collection of dresses at any given time.  I was so thrilled to hear that Amy found this gown from Winnie Couture there!  Her shoes, below, are Jimmy Choos.

She wore elegant chandelier-style earrings paired with her great-grandmother’s bracelet.  The bouquets for Amy and her bridesmaids, along with the boutennieres for the groomsment were made of white feathers.  She ordered them from talented Etsy-seller La Plume Ethere.

Down in the lobby of the Hotel where Amy got ready I spotted this gorgeous red velvet couch and just HAD to make this portrait… she looked so gorgeous in this dress… not everyone can pull of a dress like this, so as far as I was concerned it had to be flaunted!  Hair and makeup by Angela Wang of Embellir Artistry.

Right across from the Hotel was a business-y building but it had amazing blue-mirrored exteriors… great to set off Amy in her white gown.

Once all three bridesmaids were done with hair and makeup we did a quick round of portraits there, and then met down at the bookstore for a few more while I waited for the guys to get ready.

GOOD TIMES!  I couldn’t resist the playful storefront with it’s cupcakes and donut covered windows… And of course when I saw this set of 4 antique dress forms in another store window I knew it would be perfect for a portrait of my gals.

Back at the bookstore the groomsmen were busy hanging up these sweet stringlights.

Andrew gets his suit together downstairs…

It felt like the secret stacks down there in the basement… I guess these are books waiting for their turn to be sold.

I took the fellas out for a spin around the block once they were in gear– here we are in front of the Puck Building, which was mostly covered in scaffolding but I managed to get a clean shot of them on the stairs, which I just loved the look of…

And hey, when you convert to black and white the scaffolding itself has a pretty awesome graphic vibe to it too!

We went back to the bookstore in time for me to snap a few last details– here is my shot of their rings, probably one of my favorite ringshots ever– I arranged the books just so!  Found these in the “rare and unusual” section!  Their rings were from Zales.

Amy has one of those laughing smiles that just lights up a room.  Andrew is one lucky fellow- just keep her smiling, Andrew, and you’ll never need anything else!

The cupcakes were from none other than NYC’s original cupcake madness-inspiring Magnolia Bakery.

As we walked past a local bar’s courtyard on this saturday night Amy and Andrew got cheers and congratulations from the patrons… it was a sweet moment and Andrew turned to them and proudly exclaimed “Look at my beautiful WIFE!  Isn’t she Beautiful?!”  (I think those were his exact words) and they cheered louder, of course!  It was a touching moment.  Congratulations, Amy & Andrew!  You guys deserve every happiness!