Melissa + John | engaged

The longer I live in Boston, the more supah-fun places to shoot I discover. A friend tipped me off to the Boston ICA and it couldn't have been more perfect for these two. These two are true artists...of the musical kind. They have been in a few bands together and have informed me that music will be a huge priority at this wedding. YAY for me.... I have this crazy obsession with music so they are definitely my type of clients... (and friends)

The light...the reflections... the wind... it was a great day to shoot indeed.

I loved the reflection of Melissa laughing in this one :)

Surprise Engagement!

"Someday somebody's gonna ask you, a question you should say yes to...once in your life. Baby tonight, I've got a question for you"
- Old 97's

I woke up to grey dreary weather and a few natural deluges that rendered my morning shower useless. Mumbling a few quick "God, pleeeeease give us good weather" prayers under my breath, I set out for an expectant day of rainy mess. This was one "fashion shoot" that couldn't be cancelled due to inclement weather because it was no ordinary shoot... today was the day John would ask Elyse to be his forever. BUT not until 4:30pm [the scheduled time we decided we would set it all up] ;)

We met up in the a.m. and piled 4 people, 1 dog, and half of Elyse's closet into the SUV. A quick "we-are-starving" pit stop at Starbucks and we hit the road to Cape Cod. With Boston's downpours behind us, the cape welcomed us with bright "soft-box clouds" and 68 degree weather. SERIOUSLY?!...weather.com predicted a 100% chance of rain, but I wasn't complaining ;)

Arriving at the borrowed cape house, we set up camp in the kitchen and began the make-up application and wardrobe selections. Meanwhile John's nerves are writhing his stomach in knots and everyone but Elyse could see it.
[T minus 4.5 hours till showtime].

We begin the shoot and all the while you hear his redundant inquiries of the time. For John the hours inched...for Shyla they flew. ;)

After a few hours of shooting it was obvious that we had to get the show on the road or this poor boy may just die of anxiety.
A few drizzles here and there but the rain held off until an hour before showtime...that was when the skies elicited a 10 minute downpour before ushering in a BEAUTIFUL full half rainbow over the ocean. So we non-chalantly made our way down to the beach, utilizing the now blue sky, and shot a few portraits until it was go-time baby. Hiding the ring in his guitar case, John retrieved the goods from the car and went to join Elyse at the "next spot I would pose them" (aka the jetty). What transpired next is documented in the slideshow below....

walking down to meet Elyse...posing a bit... offering up a sweet prayer...and then the decent to bended knee.
She'd had no idea....

***CLICK HERE***

Melissa + Devang | west haven, ct

Alright my friends... here is the slideshow story of this wonderful Indian Wedding.

enjoy!

***CLICK HERE***

Plus, a few more fun images just for good measure...

Indian wedding...

A few weeks back I was invited to be a part of the wedding of Dev and Mel. I still feel so honored every time I have the privilege of being entrusted to document the commitment ceremony between two people. This one in particular lasted 2.5 hours long and was far from your traditional american ceremony. In addition to length of time... guests were allowed to talk, ice cream sundays were served, and I even caught a member of the wedding party talking on their cell phone during the ceremony...ON THE ALTAR. You couldn't help but laugh at her 16 year olds teenage antics. :) I also couldn't help but soak in the new traditions I was being exposed to. I love different cultures...learning about them, experiencing them and yes, documenting them. Because of you, Dev and Mel, I am richer for being allowed to share in your celebration. thank you.

Due to last minute changes I was scrambling for a second shooter and Tony the Tiger came to the rescue. He was the perfect addition to the day... and even endured all 18 hours without one complaint. The BEST part, however, was how he so graciously "let" me serenade him the whole 2.5 hour drive home. I was the epitome of a 'hairbrush singer' and 'dashboard drummer' that night. He still teases me that I knew every single song that was played at the wedding and on the radio during the entire drive home. Tony you are my hero! (especially for enduring 2.5 hours of my singing!)

anyway, here is a sneak peek of what is to come....

All Hallows Eve

I love Halloween!

sorta.

Technically if we are gonna utilize the word LOVE, then I would save that for Christmas... but I am rather fond of Halloween. Not for any other reason but that I have an excuse to get creative and make costumes. Creativity paired with Candy is awesome in my book! Every Year I partake in hours of imagining, sewing, and creating. Most of the time I create costumes for friends but this year I participated in the fun and my own costume as well.

Sooo... the party theme was Heaven and Hell. If you know anything about me, I am not a big fan of doing the same 'ol same 'ol cliche stuff... so I tried to think of a clever way to symbolize good and evil. And what a better way to symbolize good and evil in Boston then to do Red Sox and Yankees? Sooo my friend Suzanne and I went to the fabric store, broke out the sewing machine and camped out in her basement to create the following costumes.
She was the angel Red Sox and I represented the Evil Empire (yankees)
We each made nearly EVERY aspect of our own costumes except the underarmor, socks and angel wings. Even my horns and devil tail is made of ribbon, felt and coat hanger.

The bottom right are two of the jerseys side by side. The real one we used as an example and our imitation with felt letters. haha
Do you know how many needles and pins we lost between the two of us? I suggest not walking barefoot in Suzanne's basement any time soon ;)

The political costumes were hilarious this year... Our friend Mr Smurf kept getting blue all over us and Matt Grazier was the event's official photographer. wicked fun. Do you know how many people thought my red extensions were a real dye job?! haha

flashdance

I had a little play day today... :)

I don't typically incorporate flash into my shoots but I'm working on trying new things.
Emily here was privileged to experience the shyla-patented 'flashdance' that resulted from scoring some sweet images.
More to come from today, but for now here's a quick preview of some of the experiment that went on this evening.

A little election inspired lighting perhaps? ;)