Michael & Dawn are married!

06/07/08 what a great date to get married on, and we had the absolute joy of sharing it with Dawn and Michael. I'm sure when they chose their fully outdoor wedding, they did not anticipate a humid, 98 degree weather day!! Their setting was the Woolverton Inn, a Bed and Breakfast in Stockton New Jersey, what a beautiful setting to get married at – the property couldn’t have been prettier!!

We stayed indoors with Dawn and the girls prior to the ceremony and used the lovely indoor setting before the services. We found the guys in one of the guesthouses and enjoyed quite a few laughs with them as they indulged our creativity with the surroundings. They even agreed to venture out in the heat for a few minutes - what more could a photographer ask for!

Next was the lovely outdoor service that utilized the beautiful setting of the inn. Following the service, we did the family photos indoors so that everyone could cool off for a few minutes. We then ventured back outside with Dawn and Michael to spend some alone time with them. Its great to have this time with our couples as it really allows us to see their love for each other and how much they just enjoy being together. Dawn & Michael were no exception to this as they had so much fun being silly and loving towards each other. And they win the super trooper award for embracing the heat and each other! They did gently tell us that sitting on rocks, baked in the sun all day, gets very hot after a few minutes!

It was time for the tented reception that was just so beautiful. Despite the warm evening air, everyone had lots of fun dancing and showing off their moves on the floor. We must say – we’ve never before had to compete with another photographer while working a wedding. We’re not sure who took more photos – us, or Dawn’s four year old niece!! We give her a few more years experience and we’ll be able to start using her as an assistant!! It was priceless watching her go around to absolutely everyone, taking their photos!! We even got photographed a number of times too!!

Dawn & Michael – we can’t wait to catch up with you to talk about your wedding day!

3 months and growing

I can't believe she is 3 months old already! Well I'm going to have fun this year as I currently have 2 little ladies that I will be visiting every three months to photograph for her first year. Remember this little leap year baby? Well here she is growing up! She is so adorable and I just love seeing her parents on a regular basis. She will celebrate her baptism this weekend so they wanted some pictures in her Christening dress. This is the same dress Melissa wore for her baptism - you would never know it, it looked sparkling new! I was commenting on her long hands and how she will be a piano player when she is older and Melissa said she'll take after her mommy. Once I heard that, how could I resist taking an image of her in her mommy's dress by the piano!

Thank you again Melissa, Jesse, and little one, it was a lovely morning with you.

Dina and David get married!

What a wonderful time we had on Dina and David’s wedding day. We first headed into Yeadon to meet up with girls and Dina was just grinning from ear to ear, the day was finally here! Although the day started out with thunderstorm warnings and shhhh, a tornado watch, that didn’t deter anyone from having a wonderful day and by the end of the afternoon, we were all amazed at the blue skies that arrived.

After the busyness at the house, we headed over to St. Louis Church where we caught up with Dave and the guys. We were fortunate to grab a break in the rain and got some fun images of everyone outside (if only someone had brought and extra pair of black socks for the best man - we were all hysterical over the stark white socks he was donning)!!

The rains came pouring down by the end of the service, so everyone made a dash for the bus. By the time we all arrived at the Villanova Conference Center, the rains had cleared again for the rest of the day! We made use of the gorgeous property there to get images of the bridal party, families and Dina & David. We had so much fun walking around and finding great light and wonderful backdrops. Dina & David embraced their time together and just enjoyed each other, it was a blast.

Because the the skies cleared in time, everyone got to enjoy a great cocktail hour outside on the patio before heading in for the party. The party was awesome – great music, lots of dancing and fun was had by everyone. We finished off with Dina & David having a fun moment together in a quiet hall of the mansion before the evening wrapped up! We wish you all the best guys!!

There are more images in the Recent Moments Gallery on our website.

Niki and Dan Engagement

On Saturday we headed down to Longwood Gardens to meet up with Niki and Dan for their engagement session. We were so excited to meet up with them there and we had a wonderful time wandering all over the gardens. Neville and I were engaged there 14 years ago so it was as much fun for us being there as it was for Niki and Dan.

They truly enjoy being together, they love to laugh with each other, and I loved watching how Niki looked at Dan- precious! Thank you for making the long weekend that much better, we can't wait to celebrate your wedding with you in August!

Chicago workshop

This past weekend Lori traveled to attend a workshop by the fabulous portrait photographer, Audrey Woulard. Traveling by myself to a city I've never been to was a huge step for me, but I quickly forgot the stress of leaving, and embraced a weekend of education, alone time, a good book, room service, and meeting some other fabulous people. A small portion of our workshop was working with some child models so I thought I'd post a few quick shots I did. I'm looking forward to continuing my exploration with many of the things I took away from this weekend.

Cross those fingers

What happens when you cross your fingers all day long for good weather?... The rain stops just as it is time to do some fun family photography!

Donna and Alden are married

We had the absolute pleasure of photographing Donna and Alden's wedding. We knew we would be in for a treat as they described their wedding day as non-traditional with Asian, Country and Polish influences - we couldn't wait to see how that would all translate.

We started off at their home to meet with Donna. I don't think we've ever arrived to a home on the wedding day, that had a more peaceful and calm atmosphere. The style of decorating just lent itself to that and now I want to incorporate some of their elements into our home (ahh, the bell fountain is what I'm on the search for). There was so much unique spaces to incorporate into the imagery, we had a wonderful time utilizing these spaces.

We then headed over to Morgan Hill Country Club to meet up with Alden who was busy setting up for their outdoor ceremony. The ceremony was jut beautiful, filled with so much thought, and woven with Alden and Donna's uniqueness. Just a couple highlights: they had a sand ceremony that involved all their quests, and then they kneeled and said a prayer chant 100 times together. It was wonderful to witness.

Following the ceremony, they received their guests, including one guest that Donna was not expecting to be there and brought tears to her eyes (and mine too watching the reaction). We then buzzed off in some golf carts to the rolling hills to have fun with them and their special attendants. A word that truly describes them, fun-loving. They were so silly and just have a blast with one another. Then it was time for the reception that was filled with wonderful dancing and laughter. A joyous occasion and we felt so privileged to be a part of it.

Thank you Donna and Alden, we truly had a wonderful time with you, thank you for sharing your day and yourselves with us. We wish you a beautiful lifetime of marriage.

Alden's Dad passed away 2 years ago, and they wanted a way to incorporate his memory into the day:

Don't forget to visit our website's Recent Moments Gallery for more images from their day.

PTO Contest Images

Let the contest begin! Please vote for your favorite image, representing a family having fun and being creative with the red couch. Voting is found on the right hand side. Please vote one time per person. Voting is open to everyone (even our blog stalkers!!) and will end at 11:00pm on May 24th. Have fun!

A little background information. We did 30 minute mini sessions with these families (with the exception of one preplanned 60 minute session and one spontaneous 60 minute session). The goal was to create imagery that was fun and interactive for these families as a fundraiser event for the PTO.

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PTO Contest Images Continued

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First Communion

We really have enjoyed the First Communion Portrait sessions we have done. Today was pure joy, it felt so quiet and peaceful while we were taking the images, being surrounded by nature certainly adds to that feeling. Thank you for the gift of today's session.

Senior Geology

I love what we do! I know I sound like a broken record, but I really, really do. Monday was no exception because we got to meet this wonderful senior. We had so much fun walking around with this aspiring geologist. She will be representing the region at the national science fair soon and now we can say we know her! How cool is that! Thanks for a lovely afternoon.

Kristen and Anthony get Married!

Wedding season, wedding season, I love wedding season! This week we celebrated with Kristen and Anthony and had a wonderful time with them and their family. We started off at Kristen's parents home in Springfield for the getting ready fun and then headed over to St. Kevin's to meet up with the guys. They were a blast and so easily amused us with their antics.

The service was lovely and it is always fun for me to catch the looks they give one another during the service. After doing the family formals (gold star goes to the family for efficiency!) we headed over to Longwood Gardens with the bridal party. After we were done with the bridal party they were sent back to their limo van where they had a little too much time to spare! We then got to spend some more time with Kristen and Anthony enjoying the afternoon light (and a swarm of bugs) as we wandered through the gardens. As you know, I'm easily amused, and I'm still laughing over a bystanders comment of "is this an advertisement or the real thing?" It was the real thing for sure!

Next stop was Mendenhall Inn for the fun filled reception which was not complete until the Mummers made a surprise appearance to the delight of the guests. What more can I say but fun, fun, fun!

Thank you Kristen and Anthony - we loved our day with you!