Sunday I met up with my friends Amy and Ratty in Boston for their engagement shoot.  I feel like I’ve known Amy forever, and although I’ve only known Ratty (actual name:  Michael Ratty ) for a few years, he’s one of those people that makes you feel like you’ve known him forever as well.  Oh, the tales I could tell about fun times with these two (“oh no you did not talk to Amy Deveau like that!”, or the time that Ratty was vomited on by a drunk frat guy at the Purple Shamrock… sorry Ratty)… I’ve had some great times with these two over the years in Boston, and while they started out as friends, it eventually became something more, and now they will be married in September of this year!  I am looking forward to their wedding, which the amazing Erica Ferrone will be shooting.  For now, here are some favorites from the engagement session!

We started out in Faneuil Hall…

Then we headed over to Christopher Columbus Park…

We ended the afternoon in Ratty’s old stomping grounds, the North End!

I LOVED all the signage here!

Cannoli stop

Bling bling

Possible favorite…

Dance practice!

The end.  XOXO.

In July, I went up to Vermont with my friend Jill for my second stylized shoot.  Jill and I had wanted to work together on a shoot for her portfolio, and we roped Jill’s best friend Dana and her new husband Jordan into modeling for us up in Vermont.  Dana’s family owns a rentals company outside of Boston, so we had a lot of fun putting together a table top setting and really working the pink theme we came up with  Jill is getting into wedding and event planning, and Dana is an expert at rentals, so we got together a few times and worked out a concept around this pink candy theme I had in my head.  I am not usually a huge fan of country club weddings, but I love, love, LOVE the Vermont National Country Club.  It’s beautiful and their wrap-around porch is to die for.  Plus, Emily, the events coordinator, was a huge help in planning our shoot and keeping everything running smoothly.  I was lucky enough to have this shoot published in two places, in Inspire a Bride and Adore by Chloe, and it will also appear in the Style File section of the spring/ summer issue of Vermont Vows!  I am very excited as this will be my first time seeing my photos published in a magazine, and I’m pretty much obsessed with VV, so it’s pretty awesome.  Anyways, here are some photos from our day in Vermont!

We set up a super pretty drink table…

But the best part was obviously the sweets table

Thanks again to Dana and Jordan for modeling, and to Jill for all the design expertise!  Also a huge thanks to all the vendors that contributed!!!  Could not have done it without you

What a great weekend!  I am a little sad that it is Sunday night already, but I have to say that I really loved this weekend.  Nothing major happened, but I was able to get a bunch of stuff in order, work on my taxes, and have an early birthday dinner with my family.  My dad takes off to Florida tomorrow for the rest of the winter, so we have my birthday dinner before he goes each year.  I also got totally inspired by two blogs I came across, and I won’t share specifics just yet, but I’m hoping their inspiration leads me to follow my heart a little more in 2012, and make this the best year ever.

I also got a chance to get back to work in photography.  I haven’t shot anything since November, and while I won’t lie and say that I’ve hated the downtime, I will say it was good to pick the camera up again and hear that shutter snap.  I love that sound!  I photographed Emily Jane, who turned one on December 30th, and her and her parents were just super sweet and welcoming to me.  I’ve still been playing around with making slideshows, so here is the one I made for them.  I don’t know if I’ll keep this current slideshow service or try to find a new one, but let me know what you think.  Hope everyone has a great week!

Back in July I headed out east to help my friend Molly Bergeron shoot Jessica and Patrick’s wedding!  Blogging so much later than the actual event, it’s hard to remember much about it lol.  It was hot?  There were vows?  Ok, I’m kidding.  This was actually a really gorgeous wedding.  I’m actually trying to get away from doing church weddings.  I much prefer outdoor weddings, backyard weddings, tented receptions, that sort of thing, and I’ve had a lot of crazy experiences in the past 2 years with restrictions at churches, as far as lighting and where you can go is concerned.  So churches are not my favorite.  But this church, with this pastor?  Definitely my favorite church wedding of all time.  This place was GORGEOUS and the pastor was hilarious.  His Boston accent was perfect and he told funny stories about Jessica and Patrick, making the ceremony that much more personal.  The reception was also gorgeous, with incredibly uplighting and beautiful centerpieces.  All in all it was a good day and I loved getting to hang out with my girl Molly!  Here are some of my favorites…

Jess reading the card that Pat sent to her room….

This was fun because I got to spend time with the both the girls and the guys before the wedding…

Going to the chapel…

Grabbed this quick bouquet shot right before we headed into the church…

Like I said, I could shoot at churches like this every day!

Next we headed off to Stonehill, where Jess and Patrick met, for some formal photos!

I hung with the guys for a few minutes…

These were the steps where Patrick proposed…

Over to the beautifully decorated reception!  Gotta love uplighting

Husband and wife…

And I’ll finish with first dance…

Thank you Molly for having me along!!

I cannot believe it’s been over a month since the last time I blogged.  Well, I can, due to the craziness, but I am really mad at myself for not keeping up with my blog!  Seriously, I love blogging and I hate that I’ve gotten away from it.   I apologize for those of you who stalk my blog religiously (and by those of you I mean Shelby and  Lorin haha) and I promise to catch up on images from this summer.  I second shot on so many great weddings that I haven’t shared yet, and I had a few fun shoots to share with you as well.  Let’s start with this one…. the Sones family…

Where do I even begin?  Let’s start at a PUG meeting in Hartford about two years ago (has it really been that long??  Yikes!).  There I was, in the lovely Carla Ten Eyck’s kitchen, trying to get over my shyness and talk to new people at the monthly photography meeting I go to.  This was before we had a PUG group in Northampton, much closer to my home base, so I was driving down to Hartford each month for their PUG.  So as I said, I was in the kitchen, mingling with some other fabulous photographers, talking about second shooting, and a super skinny (hate her), adorable woman with bright red wine teeth asks me about second shooting with her.  I’ll be honest…. the teeth threw me off.  And I am only telling this story because we have laughed about it many times since that night.  Her name was Tania, and to make a long story short, I am so, so glad I looked past the red wine teeth (I mean seriously, as if it hasn’t happened to me PLENTY of times) because I am now madly in love her and her family.  I was just coming from a bad situation working for a studio photographer who did not treat me well, and I was down on myself and down on my work and not feeling very inspired.  Based on my experience, I felt like photographers were mean and competitive and you couldn’t make friends in this industry.  I was SO WRONG.  By going to PUG, I met (and continue to meet) amazing people who inspire me and make me laugh and who I feel like I have honestly become friends with.  I would say that Tania was the most special of these people for me.  She gave me second shooting gigs, but she also gave me confidence in myself.  She showed genuine interest in helping me move my business forward.  She truly wants to see me succeed, and she believes in me and my work like none other.  She has become a great friend and mentor, and I don’t know what I would have done without her in the past 2 years.  She is always, ALWAYS there for me, and hopefully I have returned the favor.

Tania wanted some new pictures with her boys back in September, and I was happy to meet up with them and take some shots for her.  I pretty much think that Alex and Aiden are the cutest kids ever… they are going to be total heartbreakers when they grow up and of course because of their great parents, they are amazingly well behaved and polite…. especially when bribed with bright colorful lollipops   Tania even brought their dogs Sam and Lucy along for the trip, and we laughed A LOT during this session.  This was the session that finally kind of opened my eyes to “lifestyle photography” and honestly this is something I want to develop more in the future.  The definition of lifestyle photography I found says that it is “a style of photography which aims to portray real-life situations in a controlled setting. Lighting is bright, airy and natural-looking.”  I don’t know if my lighting was necessarily “airy” lol, but these were definitely the most natural looking family portraits I have ever taken, and I loved them.  More importantly, Tania loved them, and that is most important to me.  But I loved doing this style of photography because to me, if I was a parent, I would rather hang photos of natural moments showing real life in my house, rather than a posed portrait where you can see the strain in the parents face (because in between takes they are telling the kids to look at the camera) and the strain in the kids face (because they are kids and would rather look ANYWHERE than where you tell them lol).  So yeah, lifestyle photography…. who knew?  I can’t wait to see what else I can do in the future with this type of photography.  I had more fun on this session than I can even explain, and I hope I get to do more sessions like this in the future!

You know how I love my brightly colored doorways   How cute did Tania dress the boys for this shoot???  

Not to mention how amazing Tania looks… dear Santa, please bring me a skinnier body so I can fit into a pencil skirt…

I like this one for Tania’s new website...   Or maybe this one?   Back with the whole gang… so this is what life looks like with 2 kids and 2 dogs…   We were in this adorable little town in Connecticut… can’t for the life of me remember the name of it… but there were plenty of cute spots for pictures!  This was at an old estate across the street…  

Hot mama!

Honestly, to see the love between these 3 is amazing.  Aiden and Alex are truly happy boys!

One last shot of the happy family.  Thank you for asking me to shoot these Tania, you are the best!!! xoxo

Happy Tuesday!  I am hoping this week goes by super quickly, because I have so much editing to catch up on this weekend and I can’t wait to get to it.  Yes, pathetic… my first weekend “off” and all I will be doing is work  Oh well.  Meet the Trocki family!  I used to be so quick with blogging and unfortunately in the busiest time of wedding season (which this year for me was October) I am much slower.  So, so sorry to the Trocki’s for making them wait.  Especially since I had already made them wait a year!  Heather had originally contacted me when she had Noah Jack, her adorable son who is now 1, but I was unable to do a session at that time.  She contacted me again a couple months ago for 1 year pictures, which we did a few weeks back at an orchard in Amherst.  Heather’s husband John went to UMASS Amherst, so he knew the area and we met up for a couple pictures on a Sunday afternoon.  Noah was pretty much the cutest baby I’ve ever seen, ever.  We had fun despite the muddy orchard and chilly weather  Here are a few from the afternoon!

Hanging with Mom…

And getting a lift from Dad…

A few of Heather and John alone…

I love Heather’s laugh!

Back to Noah… in his cute red sweater that didn’t last for too many pics

Last one for now- thank you Heather, John and Noah for being so patient!  You guys were awesome to work with, thanks for coming out and for following my work! xoxo

Ceremony:  New Marlborough Meeting House
Reception:  Crissey Farm
Flowers:  The Harwinton Florist
Ceremony/ Cocktail Hour music:  String Theorie
Entertainment: James Hall Events

Ov vey!  Hello blog friends, I have missed you dearly.  Holy cow.  I don’t even know where to begin with the last few weeks.  Obviously I’ll start with that minor storm we just had HAHA.  Never in my 28 years as a New Englander have I seen ANYTHING like that, ever.  I still can’t believe it.  I also, in 28 years, don’t remember the news outlets actually naming a winter storm here, like they named this one.  I know hurricanes always get names but for a winter storm… kind of shows the intensity of it right?  Well, we certainly didn’t have it as bad as lots of places, but we did lose power from Saturday until Thursday night.  It was one of the toughest weeks I can remember!  I was couch surfing between people that still had power and some that had a generator.  It didn’t help that the week before that I was  in NYC for the PhotoPlus Expo, so I was completely discombobulated once we lost power.  I hadn’t even unpacked from NYC yet  But I’m happy to say power is restored, and my poor mom is outside working like a mad woman to get all the trees and limbs that fell to the side of the road for pick-up by the town.  I want to go help her but work calls first, and I think Julie and Dan have waited long enough for their sneak peek.

About two months ago, I was driving in the car just thinking about weddings and relationships and love and all of that fun stuff, when something hit me that reminded me of Julie and Dan.  I don’t know why I started thinking about them driving in my car (semi-creepy, sorry J&D) but I did, and I literally wrote their blog post in my head.  I knew exactly what I wanted to say when I was ready to blog their pictures…. it was simple but eloquent, with just the right amount of sentimentality.  It was perfect.  So I swore when I went home I would type it up on my computer real quick, and have it done.

I think we all know where this story is going.  Yup, by the time I got home from my errands that day, I FORGOT WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY.

Ugh.

Well now that I learned that lesson, let me tell you another that I learned through Julie and Dan.   Life, love…. they’re not always easy.  You have to get your heart broken once or twice (or in my case, once or twice per week) in order to figure out who you are and what you want in this world.  Over the past year, I’ve gotten to know Julie a little bit, and I would say we have become friends (or at least that’s what Facebook says, and we all know nothing is official until it’s on Facebook).  We talked about a lot of things- family, friends, guys- and she was there for me with advice on certain days when things were just really unclear.  On her wedding day, she walked into her getting ready suite and said “I’m so happy to see you!”  It immediately warmed my heart.  We started talking, and she was asking for updates on a guy I was seeing.  SHE was asking about MY love life on her wedding day lol.  That is how much she cares about other people’s happiness, truly.  So I started telling her it wasn’t going so great, and why, and she stopped me.  She started telling me about her first date with Dan, and how before him she had been in relationships like I was describing, been on dates like the horrible dates I was talking about.  Then she agreed to go out with Dan, even though at that point she was a little jaded with the dating scene.  She said their first date was one of the best nights of her life; that Dan was romantic and held doors opened and showered her with compliments and told her how beautiful she was.  At the end of the night, they went their separate ways, but Julie got out of her car, went over to Dan’s, and told him thank you.  Julie thanked him.  For the dinner, I’m sure.  For holding the door, probably.  But mostly I think Julie thanked him for giving her hope again that there are great guys out there, she thanked him for seeing something in her that maybe she hadn’t seen in awhile, she thanked him for giving her back the possibility of love.  Her eyes lit up as she talked about Dan on her wedding day, and all morning long she could not stop gushing about how she couldn’t wait to see him.  By the time they said their vows in front of all their family and friends, I may have even been a little choked up.  It was a perfect wedding day, and I was so happy they hired me to document it.

I had my amazing friend Lynne Graves second shooting for me on this wedding, and we had such a blast.  Go over to her page and check her out…. I dare you not to smile at the picture on her home page

And now, my favorites from Julie and Dan!

The gorgeous bride getting zipped up!

Okay so can I just say how it drives me nuts when some of the favorite pictures I took were completely by accident?  Lol I know that sounds weird, but in this next set, both pictures are completely out of focus… and I am OBSESSED with them!

Oh hey beautiful…

Outside with the girls for a few fun pics!

I love, love, LOVE when brides leave enough time in their timeline for bridal portraits.  An extra half hour after getting dressed and before the limo comes makes me a very happy photographer  Check out Julie’s gorgeousness…

Time to get hitched!  I’ll say it, when Julie started walking down the aisle with her son Jack, I might have teared up a little…

The very first picture I took after the ceremony was over… newly minted family!

So I told Jack to make a grossed-out face while his mom and new stepdad kissed…. and I loved the result…

But I loved the moment after even better

Good looking group right?

Julie and Dan left plenty of portrait time between the ceremony and the reception… love them!!

One of my favorites!

It was so nice to have a little color left… I feel like with this freaky weather we had no fall whatsoever!  But these colors make me happy…

We brought Jack back in for a few more photos… it’s amazing to see Julie with him, she’s such an incredible mother!

Reception time!

Thank you for having me Julie and Dan!  I hope you enjoyed Italy!!!  Best wishes for a very happy life together…xoxo!

Trocki family, you’re up next on the blog!  Thank you for being patient!

LOCAL CHARITY PLANS FOR ITS THIRD ANNUAL FUNDRAISING GALA

A Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball Benefiting Special Needs Children

Dedham, MA (October 20, 2011) The John Thomas and Special Friends Fund will be hosting its 3^rd Annual Benefit Gala for special needs children on November 20^th, 2011 at Lombardo’s in Randolph, Massachusetts.  The Mardi Gras Masquerade strives to surpass the two previous years’ fundraising efforts that have already amassed nearly $50,000 to fund genetic research projects at Childrens Hospital Boston, educational projects at Perkins School for the Blind, and otherwise assist local special needs children, as well as the medical and educational institutions and social organizations that care for and support special needs children, with funding for special medical equipment, communication and other adaptive technology devices, therapies, and social activities.

The Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball will be an afternoon from 2pm-7pm of fun and mystery, music and mayhem for our young and old guests alike.  Excitement abounds with a stilt walker, juggling jester, and mask making activities to keep the younger guests busy, while the adults can enjoy the auction items, raffles, and the other elations of mardi gras.  Moreover, there is fun for the whole family with music by DJ Jerry Gemme of Starlight Entertainment, dancing, and family photo opportunities by professional photographer, Alanna Scully of Alanna Scully Photography.  A full buffet meal will be provided.  Tickets can be purchased in advance for $65/adult and $35/child.  The Fund strives to keep the enjoyment level up, while hopefully raising money for a great cause.  For tickets and donation information visit the Fund’s website at www.johnthomasfund.org or email at johnthomasfund@aol.com.

The John Thomas and Special Friends Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was established in 2009 by April and Shawn Wilmar of Dedham, Massachusetts, in honor of their special needs son, John Thomas, and is dedicated to assisting, encouraging, and promoting the health, happiness, education, development, and overall well being of special needs children, as well as the medical and educational institutions and social organizations that care for and support special needs children.  April and Shawn have appreciated the care that John Thomas has received and the progress that he has made thus far and are dedicated to giving back to the special needs community to assist other special needs children in their overall development.

If you would like further information about The John Thomas and Special Friends Fund, or to schedule an interview with April or Shawn Wilmar, please call April Wilmar at 617-650-1179 or email at johnthomasfund@aol.com.  Please also visit the Fund’s website at: www.johnthomasfund.org.  Donations can be made directly on the website.

I’m a big fan of when things are easy and uncomplicated.  Somewhere my dad is shaking his head reading that, about to call me and tell me life is never easy or uncomplicated, and he’s about to launch into a lecture about the value of hard work, the importance of health insurance, etc.  But I have always believed that the most important things in life should make our lives better by making them easier, not harder.  Photography is an example of this.  It’s not hard to go to weddings on the weekends and be running around all the time shooting pictures, because it is important to me to do  a job that I love.  Sporks are another example.  The sturdiness of a fork, the efficiency of a spoon… how can you go wrong?  Curbside take-out, Netflix movie streaming, all these things make our lives better with their simplicity.  And I think love is the greatest example of this.  Even greater than sporks.

I met Andrea and Brian a few months ago when we did their engagement pictures.  I remember being so tired that day; it was a Sunday afternoon after a long and busy weekend, and so I felt completely unprepared to meet new people, and I felt like it was going to be so hard to take pictures in my extremely tired state.  And the drizzly gross weather wasn’t necessarily helping me either. But as soon as I met them, it was like someone hit the Easy button for me (thank you Staples).  I felt comfortable immediately, and was able to see as soon as I sat down how in love they are.  Their conversation was natural, they were able to make each other laugh without trying, and most of all, they were genuine.  Genuine with me, genuine with each other…. They truly love each other, in a simple and easy way.  They don’t make each other’s lives harder by adding stress, or drama, or picking fights about pointless things.  They have fun, they laugh, they talk openly, they snuggle, they smile.  Their love comes easily and naturally, and it makes their lives better.  And it made my life better to be able to witness that love, and capture it with my camera, both on that dreary Sunday afternoon a few months ago, and a few weeks ago when they became husband and wife.

I had Shannon Grant along with me that day second shooting, and we had so much fun.  Literally, this was one of those weddings where you wish you could just clone it and have every wedding be so perfect.  Huge contribution to this=  FIRST LOOK.  There I go pushing it again   But I’m telling you, we did an amazing First Look, and I think Andrea and Brian would attest to how fun it was.  After that, they said their vows in front of 12 people (including the bagpiper and the officiant) and then we all headed back to the Red Lion Inn for a beautiful dinner.  It was perfect, it was quaint, it was warm and welcoming and happy… and yes, it was easy.  Weddings always are when you have such a great couple to photograph   Here are my favorites!

I am obsessed with this picture of Andrea.  I don’t know if it’s the lighting, or the way her hair was done, or what, but to me she just looks timeless and beautiful!

Ya know what’s great about the bridal suite at the Red Lion Inn?  It’s literally a converted old firehouse, so it has a PERFECT red door out front

We drove over to the ceremony site, a beautiful mountain in Tyringham, where Brian was waiting for his bride!  Yay First Looks!

The sky gave us some pretty colors for a few minutes…

Time to get married!

Ya know what’s nice about small weddings?  It’s pretty easy to get a group shot of the entire wedding

Back at the inn…

Back to the red door!

The details in the room where the reception dinner was were perfect.  I die when I see antique plates.  So beautiful.

Cheers to Andrea and Brian!  Congratulations and thank you for having me and Shannon along for your special day!