So, Mallory and Ryan live in Boston…. but got lost on the way to meet me.  (Thank you faithful GPS for getting this Colorado-born and raised girl to Piers’ Park in East Boston.  We had plans to go all around Boston but knew we would run out of light, so opted to stay at the park.  Well now, I am SOOOOOO glad they were late – and so glad we did not leave the park as I LOVE LOVE LOVE these nighttime images of the Boston skyline.  Sometimes, the unexpected is better than what we plan for.  How is THAT for a life lesson?!?!  Congrats Mallory and Ryan!  Can’t wait for your wedding!

Elise and Mike are busy wrapping up their wedding planning for their upcoming October wedding…  Here is a sneak from their engagment session in Old Saybrook, CT.  We started at a pinball game in a bar…. now THAT is a good start!  The whole session was a blast!  These two spend most of their time laughing together.  Love love love their kind of energy

It was a beautiful day at the beach with Melissa and Jamie…. there were gigNORMOUS horseflies and it was a pretty hot and sweaty day!  But, other than that, it was PERFECT!  We had a great time exploring around Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CT.  Jamie and Melissa have a ton of memories at this beach as it is a place where they camp and vacation.

My favorite part about this session was pulling into the parking lot to find them sitting in this ridiculously crazy AWESOME pickup truck!  Kudos to Melissa for wanting to incorporate Jamie’s other love into the engagement shoot.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this truck – add an extra LOVE for the fuzzy dice on the rearview mirror!  Props Jamie, WELL DONE!  I can not wait for your wedding….. but I might beg you to roll up to the ceremony in this truck!!!  Thanks for a great time!

DICE LOVE!!!!!!!!

Danielle and Matt’s wedding is RIGHT around the corner….. can’t wait!  Here is a peak at this beautiful couple from their engagement session in Old Saybrook.

It was soooooo windy that day!  We had to start under cover and found this great yellow wall in downtown Old Saybrook that looked awesome with their grey outfits….. and gave us some shelter from the breeze!!!!

And we used a little off camera lighting to create this super romantic feel —- still trying to keep cover from that wind!

A quick outfit change and a hair tie and it was time to hit the beach for sunset in Old Saybrook.  Thanks to the crazy storms we had last year, we had a HUGE washed up tree to play with! 

What happens when one marries their high school sweetheart and has a beautiful backyard to take photos in? Well, engagement session bliss!  And, one does not have to go far from home to find happiness! Congratulations Christine and Pete. Can’t wait for your wedding this coming July!

Seriously, this is NOT a cheesy backdrop we have in the studio from the 80s!  This is just how beautiful their backyard is!  

You know it is going to be a fun engagement session when you start at an awesome Irish Pub in downtown New Haven.  Liz and James really began their relationship at Anna Liffey’s, so it was only suiting to start their engagement session there, too!  I learned all about Liz’s favorite drink, root beer vodka and club soda with some firsthand exposure (thanks for the cocktails, my friends!).  Anyway, I have known Liz for a really loooooooong time so this was an extra special engagement session for me. 

Liz was a part of what I call my old life – when up until around 2002, I was working in a very corporate job in which I performed well, but never enjoyed.  She is a creative spirit herself and I think she really understood my suffering – though we never discussed it in so many words.  She knew that I needed a break from the grind and we would regularly enjoy conversations that had NOTHING to do with our work.  We each weathered through some difficult breakups, life changes and frustrations as we really grew into the people we are today.  It was one of my greatest joys to leave that job and re-gain my creative soul, but it saddened me not to have my daily office visits from my friend Liz.  And, as life got busier and busier, I found we hadn’t seen each other in years.

So, when I got a call from Liz about photographing her wedding, it was exciting in a lot of ways.  Firstly, I couldn’t be more excited for my friend to have finally found “the one.”  I could tell from her description of James that he is the perfect partner for her.  Secondly, it meant a chance to re-connect with someone whose friendship I truly valued and missed.  It was so incredible to watch Liz and James interact together.  James really loves my friend.  And, for that, I really love James!  Of course, James has other qualities (besides merely loving Liz) that make him wonderful, too!  But, that IS my favorite quality!

I can not wait for your wedding!  It is right around the corner!  So, until we convene again for another root beer vodka and club (yes, thanks Liz, for I am now hooked, too), enjoy your engagement photos.  I hope that I was able to really capture the laughter and the joy between you two.  

Jessica and Jon are getting married today!  Since we did their engagement session a very short time before the wedding, it never made it’s way to the blog!  So, as a means of celebrating their nuptials, here is a little taste from their Hartford, CT engagement session.  To explain the last photo, you have to understand that Jessica is a science teacher….. and my eyes just happened to catch this gigantic bug that was on the marquee at the CT Science Center…… well, that led to taking a photo that makes it look like the bug is a part of the session.  Cheesy, I know.  But, it just HAD to be done….. well, at least in my head it HAD to be done!  :)

Can’t wait til later today….. Jessica and Jon are getting married at Harkness Park.  BEAUTIFUL couple, BEAUTIFUL location, excited photographer!

Jackie and Jason are getting married on Saturday!!!!!!  We snuck a quick engagement session in before their wedding.  This is a beautiful couple in a beautiful place….. now that is a good day at work! 

We started out at the Boston Beer Works (admittedly, this little stop had a lot to do with me craving their amazing blueberry beer). Then, we ended up with unexpected access to Fenway Park (the trick was to LOOK as if we belonged at the party we were “unofficially invited to” by one of the guests who saw us on the street!) No one questioned our presence so we just strolled right up to the World Series trophies….. What a great surprise for our session since James is a huge Boston sports fan! Sometimes, you just have to roll with it! But, our Fenway side trip meant we burned through our daylight so we had to finish everything else in the dark – with a wrap up at the bar where Catherine and James first met. But, I love shooting in the dark – so with the exception of our drive back to CT in the wee hours of the morning, this session was perfect!

Catherine and James are having their wedding at the Omni Parker Hotel in Boston this September. I am suuuuuuuuper excited! I love the history in Boston and I can’t wait to shoot my first Omni Parker Wedding! And, if their wedding is anywhere near as much fun as their engagement, I will hardly be able to contain myself!!!

And when we saw this sign, we just could NOT resist!!!!!!!

And then we got our random chance to get into Fenway!  We created this soft glowy light with a little off camera flash – trying to use the right gear for the look we wanted – but still trying not to draw attention to ourselves….. a little tough!

And it doesn’t get better than this if you are a Red Sox fan!  (Disclaimer – being from Colorado, I get to appreciate BOTH the Red Sox and Yankees – though favor the Yankees so as to support my Yankees fan husband and Yankees fan Studio Manager! But, if push comes to shove and I HAD to pick a team?  Simple….. go ROCKIES!) 

The next two are some of my favorites from the night……

Then off to the Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market area to find the bar where Catherine and James first met.

Aubrey and Graham are getting married next April and I can’t wait!  This was the first time I got to see them in action together…. and what a great time we had down on the farm!

We played with some off camera flash lighting for the images inside of the old tobacco barn – between a fun couple, the sun coming in through the slats and a little bit of flash “love,” these engagement images ended up being some of my favorites!