Nicole and Jeremy have an international love story.  It is story that really makes evident how we are all interconnected in some way.  Nicole’s high school friend went to Syracuse to study while Nicole went to Fordham.  Her friend decided to study abroad and was randomly placed with Jeremy as a roommate overseas.  Little did Nicole know that when she went to visit, she would meet her soul mate.  They started dating long distance and traveling back and forth every couple of weeks.  Then, after college, he got a job in Norwalk, CT while she went to nursing school in Fairfield, CT….. their circumstances gradually drawing them closer to the same geographic locale which brings us to their beautiful wedding day.

Nicole and Jeremy had a beautiful wedding day.  Their ceremony at St. James Church in Manchester incorporated some traditional Filipino customs which made their celebration unique.  We left St. James to go to The State Capital in downtown Hartford for formal photos.  Then, off to The Hartford Marriott Downtown for a rockin’ reception, courtesy of DJ Sam of Atmosphere Productions.  Between Sam, Michelle and her amazing team at the Marriott, the unobtrusive video style of Fran Gagnon of Fran Gagnon Films, and guests who loved to get their groove on, the reception was perfect!

And can you believe that family friends are responsible for these amazing flowers!!!  They did them themselves and they were amazing! 

Jeremy, you may hate me for this, but I HAD to put this photo in!!!! 

 Thanks again for having Helen and I be a part of your day.  We had a blast.  You guys are full of energy, life and love!

 Cake - Modern Pastry – Hartford

 Dress Allure Bridal from Stylish Impressions of Farmington 

 Hair and Makeup by Beauty Entourage of Newington  

There are lots of reasons to love my job…. really, LOTS!  Now, trust me, it has its fair share of downs and bad days….. ask my husband as he can tell you about my long and random hours and being alone with the girls a lot on weekends.  But, every career choice has its pros and its cons.  Overall, the fact that I can love what I do when I am working is such a HUGE blessing.

I am thinking about how much I love my job today because it was a very special day.  Jenn and Luke got married.  And, eventually, I will blog all about their special day.  But, for now, I will sit in my post-wedding glow (letting my caffeine buzz and adrenaline high drain before I can sleep) and reflect on my day…

Today, when I arrived at the hotel where the girls were getting ready, I could walk in and hug half of the room.  I love these girls… and their parents and sisters and cousins and friends!  Jenn would be the fifth girl in the hotel room whose wedding I had photographed.  Today when I met the boys before the ceremony, not only did I know most of the groomsmen, but there were two special little boys in the bridal party, too.   I have been blessed to be a part of the two ring bearer’s life since I photographed them in their mommy’s bellies.  I took their newborn photos, I took their one year photos and now I got to photograph them spinning, dancing and hugging their way across the Society Room dance floor in their little tuxedos.

Today I got to hang out with friends…. and I still get to call it work!   Now, THAT is a reason to love my job!  

Congrats Luke and Jenn!  Thank you for making me a part of your family.

Helen grabbed a quick shot of me with the girls….. 

Sometimes mother knows best…. well, now that I am a mom, I know that VERY OFTEN, mother knows best!!!  :)  And, in the case of Andrea and Brad, Mom WAS right…. mom and an aunt that is!  Brad’s mom and Andrea’s aunt taught together, and did a little matchmaking in the teacher’s lounge!

Congratulations to you Andrea and Brad.  You are such a sweet and fun-loving couple.  Your families are beautiful.  All in all, you guys made this day so much fun for us, too.  Thanks for having us be a part of your wedding! 

 We caught mom a little teary…..  

I love the story behind the jewelry that Andrea wore.  Her grandmother, before she had passed many years earlier, left this note inside of this necklace box, “Elaine for Andy.”  I love that even the ink has bled over the years – but that Grandma just knew what to leave her Granddaughter for her wedding day.  It looked perfect with Andrea’s dress.  And, I bet her Grandmother was smiling from above as she watched her walk down the aisle.  

We grabbed a cool shot of Brad waiting for the wedding.  The church had new wood flooring.  And, though it was a little slick with the rain on our shoes, it was a perfect reflective surface to play with! 

Lovin’ those new floors! 

The transportation ROCKED for Andrea and Brad’s wedding!  Dattco has an “Executive Bus” that the couple used to transport the bridal party while they traveled via a stunning Bentley – also from Dattco.  Love this shot in the backseat of the Bentley! 

And off to City Hall – when it JUST stopped raining!  Ran into another photographer friend, Miss Carla, who (after I scared the pants off of her!) warned me about how hot and Shhhhhweaty it was inside of City Hall so we opted to take our formal photos outside – and rushing rushing rushing because we were SURE it was going to rain again.  And, it DIDN’T!  Yay Mother Nature!   But, because the couple loved the inside of City Hall, we snuck in for a few quick shots….. and it was REALLY SHHHHHHWEATY! Thanks for the heads up dear friend!

 LOVE the blue shoes and the groom’s socks! 

But it was worth the shhhhhhweat! 

And then off to the Pond House……

Brad’s mom came up with the idea of a groom’s cake made of Oreo cookies since that was Brad’s favorite treat as a kid!  It was served with glasses of milk at the end of the evening.  This is a shot of it that Colleen nabbed while Andrea and Brad were introduced.

And I love these shots from their toasts…. 

 ESPECIALLY this one.  There is something so loving about his hand on her back with the softness of the lighting.

 They had a friend DJ… note the Big Money bling and striped hat!!!  We shall call him 007 – and say, he helped put on quite a party!  Way to go 007!

 And, then we HAD to head outside at the end of the night with some of the sparklers that Andrea and Brad had for their guests.  The pics came out awesome with the heavy and moist air hanging around to leave a mist in the air.  Did I mention that it was still shhhhhhweaty outside?!??!  :)  

 And we HAD to finish with a heart, of course.  Yes, cheesy, but, in this case, I am ok with it!  This is the kind of cheese that I love! 

Flowers by Flowers ‘N Such in Granby

Reception at The Pond House in West Hartford, CT

Colleen and I got to spend a beautiful day with Tracey and John and their friends and family.  These two met online and they were a fire ball couple from the start!!!  Ok, there is a story to that comment.  On John and Tracey’s first date, the restaurant brought them each an atomic fire ball with their bill.  And, if you have never had an atomic fire ball, it should be noted that they can get pretty “warm” in your mouth.  So, despite Tracey’s better judgement, she popped it in her mouth only to have to spit it out in front of her future husband on their first date!  So, when John proposed, he put an atomic fire ball into the ring box he gave her…. and so they remain, a fire ball of a couple!

The girls got ready at John and Tracey’s home in Portland where It’s So Ranunculus Flower Shoppe had dropped of the most beautiful and vibrant pink bouquets.  Seriously, atomically HOT pink peonies!  Then, off to Elizabeth Park in Hartford for photos and the ceremony.  One of my favorite JP’s was the celebrant for their wedding.  Mary Coburn delivered the story of how they met.  She perfectly described their connection and their hopes for the future.  Mary incorporated a beautiful “blessing of the rings” ceremony where their friends and family passed their rings while offering their “blessings” for the couple.  The rings were passed in a pouch that Johns’ mother made from Tracey’s mom’s wedding dress.  They also introduced an “anniversary box” that Tracey’s deceased father had made for her when she was a child.  It was a very unique ceremony.  There was also beautiful music by Millenium Music.

Then, to The Pond House for a great party, led by Mark from Jock in the Box.

Dress from The Wedding Dress in Portland.

Cake – Creative Cakes by Donna.

I have had the joy of being a part of the wedding celebration of two beautiful people named Amy and Pritesh.  Amy and Pritesh are, in one word, extraordinary!  How does one become extraordinary?!  Well, I know that it has a lot to do with the influence of one’s family.  Because, quite frankly, these two come from extraordinary families.  There is so much to tell of their story and of their amazing wedding!!!   In the next week or so, you will be seeing a lot of them on the blog!  Between the wedding day itself, a special ceremony to prepare and bless the bride for the wedding and marriage, and this mehndi party (or henna party) we have been preparing quite a story…… and editing sooooooooo many photos!  I am going to blog each event separately because they were each so special and unique.

So, without further ado, meet Amy and Pritesh.  These photos are from the Mehndi Party or henna party that Amy’s parents hosted at their home.  It was the first time that I had ever photographed a henna party or seen these amazing artists in action.  Amy’s dad made this day extra special with his decorating skills as he personally prepared a room for the artists to work in.  I have to say, he did an impressive job!  I think you will agree!  During the course of the party, the women are painted with henna.  It typically decorates the palms of your hands – though I had to have mine painted on the outside so that I could work with my camera gear!  Thanks to the family for allowing me to not only photograph this celebration, but to also participate.  One of the things I really hope to convey in my blog entries about this wedding,  is how much I felt like a part of the celebration itself.  I was welcomed and invited to participate in all of the events surrounding Amy and Pritesh’s wedding.  The ladies pinned sweet-smelling jasmine in my hair, the family insisted I enjoy some amazing food and I was able to look at my henna’d hands for a week after the wedding!

Seriously!  Her dad did this decorating!  

And there was BEAUTIFUL dancing! 

“If you are on time, you are late!” say Steve and Janna!  And, it is no wonder they feel this way. ….. It is this ultra punctuality that is responsible for Janna and Steve meeting.  It is a really entertaining story.   Imagine two people set up on dates by friends….. These two were set up on dates to meet DIFFERENT people!   They were meeting their dates at the same place.  Only, they were early and their dates were late!  Guess the early bird REALLY wins out in this story!  

They had a very intimate ceremony and reception with their closest friends and family.  They were married at Gillette Castle in East Haddam, CT – former home of William Gillette, the original Sherlock Holmes.  It was a GORGEOUS day.  Under the circling of eagles over the CT River, they exchanged their vows.  Then, off to La Vida Gustosa for a fun and light-hearted dinner party-style reception.  The only “formality” being a cutting of their wedding cake.

It was such a pleasure to be a part of this celebration.  Congratulations Janna and Steve.  Thank you for having me be a part of your wedding day.

Heather and Joe met through their work in the medical community.  They began as friends, and, as most “friends-turned-into-more” couples, their deeply-rooted friendship is evident in the way that they interact with each other.  It was a joy to be a part of their wedding day.   They both teared during their vows – along with many in the room.  And, they both laughed whole-heartedly at the toasts and expressions of their friends and colleagues with whom they danced the rainy night away (to the tunes of one of my favorite Connecticut bands, The Savage Brothers).

It was a beautiful and special day – BUT it really wasn’t the wedding day that these two sun and boating-lovers had envisioned…..  Heather and Joe’s day started out a little drizzly…. and as we left the bride’s home to head to the shoreline, it got more and more drizzly and much more windy!  The ceremony had to be moved inside to the Grand Ballroom at the Water’s Edge instead of out near the beach.  And, we had to do our family photos under cover.  We did decide to take the risk of heading to the beach via the golf carts (be sure to check out the pic of Joe with all the girls in the cart – it is one of my favorites!) for the bridal party pics.  No sooner had we gotten to the water’s edge (no pun intended), than the skies opened up on us!  The girls ran for cover, the boys ran for the port-o-lets(?!?!?!?!).  And, Helen and I made a mad dash to try to keep our gear safe and dry!  (There was one official casualty in that department – thank goodness for backup gear and Nikon Pro Services!!!).

So knowing how much these two love the water and the sunshine, be watching for a fun post-wedding bridal shoot…. we have some great ideas in the works – and this time, we hope to get better cooperation from Mother Nature!

Thanks again to Heather and Joe for inviting us to share this day with you.

I will be adding the rest of the vendor links later….. I can’t get to that file right now and I didn’t want to wait until Monday to post these images!

And here begins our mad dash to the beach for photos…… can we beat the rain?!?!?!

The answer is no…….  :(

They both had such great images dancing with their parents….

And a huge thanks to my Associate Photographer, Helen, for helping me cover the dance floor action!

And though the rain never let up, we covered our lighting gear in plastic bags and headed up to take this shot at the end of the night…..

These photos tell the story of two people that have gone through life’s toughest passages and found their way to each other.  ”Concetta and Giovanni” found more than love in each other.  They found a completeness that neither expected they might find again or at all.  It was such a joy and honor to be a part of their union.  On this day I felt like a part of their family – as I think I always will.

The beautiful music was performed by students from the UHART school of music.  The flowers were by Amy Taylor Designs.  And Kathy Taylor performed a beautiful ceremony.  As well, the 1820 House in Simsbury, CT was the perfect venue for such and intimate affair.

Can a photographer have too much fun at a wedding?!?!?  The answer is a resounding “NEVER!!!!!”  Annie and Clint’s wedding was an amazing time for us:

The couple is soooooo lighthearted and fun! The bridal party had the same fun-loving spirit!  The shoes were pink… Go Kate Spade!  The band and lighting was ROCKIN’… Go Beantown!   The venue was perfect… Go Society Room! The flowers were beautiful… Go Hot Petunia!  Her dress was a gorgeous fit… Go Camille’s.  And the yummy cake….. Go Kim’s Cottage Confections!  So not only did Annie and Clint have fantastic hired vendors….. The weather was ALSO perfect… Go Mother Nature!  All in all, this was a fantastic day for our team!  I am going to post more than we typically do because I got on a mad-crazy light night editing kick and pumped out way too many favorites!  Oooooops – it happens!  Enjoy!

And, thanks for Annie and Clint for having us be a part of your wedding day.  And, thanks to Annie’s parents (specifically Mom) for being our local point of contact.  You guys know how to throw an amazing party!

Thanks to Helen for 2nd shooting with me, to Colleen for running our photo booth and to our favorite high school shadow, Brendan, for coming to shoot some video clips….. can’t wait to see those!

I can always tell what kind of day it is going to be by how the girls are before the wedding…..  And, as you can see, we were expecting a party…. which was just what they delivered!

Helen nabbed this great shot of the family dog who was glad to help me with family photos!  I also love that Helen caught the edge of my sparkly Chuck Taylor working shoes!

And another awesome grab from Helen in the balcony as they were leaving St. Augustine’s Church in South Glastonbury.

While I waited outside for this……

And a quick few shots on the church stairs after the receiving line…. and then off to Hartford.

We did not have time for a “scenic” stop at the park, etc.  So, we went straight to Pratt Street for our bridal party formals.  There are some fun nooks and crannies in Hartford…. LITERALLY…… as you can see!

And no one is more pleased that 80′s style hot pink glasses are back “in” than yours truly!!!!!!  Love em girls!!!!

And don’t I LOVE the “Tandem Parking Only” sign in the background!  :)

We shot up Pratt as the sun into direct sunlight and later into direct headlights…….

Here are a couple more shots from Helen’s vantage point that I absolutely LOVE!!!!  I love how they are waiting for their intro…. and I love this shot from behind as the band announces the new Mr. and Mrs!

And love the cake shots – which we lit with a video light for a much softer look…..

And one of my favorite shots is the one of Annie’s mom watching her daughter and husband dance…. I guess I am really liking shots of the backsides of people lately?!?!?!

And seriously….. this band was amazing!  The variety of music that they performed was unbelievable!  And, they were fun and appropriately interactive.  We really enjoyed working with this powerhouse band out of Boston.

And the next few shots should give you just a general idea of how crazy the dance floor was…. ALL NIGHT!

Which meant we had some tired little people…..

And we had to take some shots in the old bank vault!  I had a mobster inspiration in my head….. love them in black and white.

But I also love this one in color!

And a nice finale with the band…..

But not to forget what was going on near the bar………..

What a great way to start out our 2011 wedding season than to photograph Laura and Lowell’s celebration in Boston!  And, on the night of the “Supermoon,” to boot!

What made this wedding extra special for me was that I have known Laura (almost) since I moved to Connecticut from Colorado about a dozen years ago.  We can’t remember exactly how we met, through whom or even why.  But, she and I knew how to drink a martini together and that was the beginning of the many we would share over the years.   We lost touch for a while as Laura moved to Boston to live a crazy single girl life and I began a family in CT. With a little bit of irony, as Laura moved to Boston to start her new life, she ended up finding love in Connecticut!  And, I LOVE this part of the story because LAURA IS BACK!!!  And, she is so happy!  So, as her friend and photographer, I am overjoyed to share some photos of these two people in love…..

It is a little bit of a sneak peak because I was way too excited to start playing with the images of this amazing moon!!!!  Seriously, I LOVE the moon in these shots!  It isn’t every day that you have an awesome couple, a clear night and a lunar event!  (That sounded so scientific and geeky…..)!  There are other things that made this wedding one to remember:

Laura in her “Amanda” by Maggie Sottero from Mariella Creations in Rocky Hill.

Being in Boston and having the church organist’s real name be “Sam Adams….”

The fantastic and intimate venue, The Commander’s Mansion with history that dates back to the Civil War and an irreverent US military Commander most remembered for his overindulging and failures to appropriately express joy at the surrender of General Lee, and sorrow at the death of President Lincoln.

So, enjoy a sneak peak at Laura and Lowell’s wedding!

Laura, you knew me when I only had the dream of opening my own photography studio…. All these years later, thank you for asking me to document your wedding.  I am always honored and humbled when a friend puts this kind of trust in me.  I hope you will enjoy these images for generations.  Now, let’s go drink some martinis now that you are “home” again!  Lowell, you are invited, too!  You two are a great match.  Thank you for making my friend so happy.