Natural Reflector

I love this photo and am so thankful for the harsh light shining directly on the white dress, otherwise I would have missed out on the gentleman crying in the corner during the communion blessing! That gentleman (who happens to be the president of my old college) was not only the officiant, but the father of the groom.... so it truly was a special moment. To expose for his face would have thrown off the "feel" I was attempting in this photo, thankfully the natural reflector of the dress added more emotion to the image. :)

Bo + Blaik's wedding in Greensboro, NC

Sweet & Spicy | bridal shower

Up in the historic little town of Portsmouth, NH sits the cutest lil' letterpress & invitation boutique. Gus & Ruby opened up shop last year and have been taking the letterpress world by storm... I love paper, cards, and girly-fabulousness so trips to their little storefront are most definitely a treat.
Samantha, (co-owner) just happens to be maid of honor in a wedding this coming weekend, so when she threw her bestie, Lauren, a bridal shower last month, it was sure to be plethora of themed letterpress awesomeness........and indeed it was!

The theme was Sweet & Spicy. Guests were requested to wear pink or red and the event itself was held in downtown Boston at the Eastern Standard.

Well done Sam.... you are a wonderful MOH. ;)

The invites were lined with dried chili peppers.

favors were containers of cinnamon and sugar!

Guests had a choice of name tags declaring "I'm a little sweet" or "I'm a little spicy"

A quick little sequence of the bride's surprise after the blindfold came off...

Fun little mini portrait sessions with props!

and perhaps my FAVORITE of the day. The bride's Grandma was quite the little firecracker.

(ps) This saucy shower was just featured on 100 Layer Cake Blog :)

Sarah + Cedric | DIY Wedding

I am DIY. I thrive on the opportunity to create something exciting out of nothing. Or turn something antique into a modern treasure. Give me glue, paper, glitter, a hand saw, a gum wrapper, and a candlestick and I'll make you a wedding dress or even a bomb. :) Needless to say my hero is part Martha Stewart, part MacGuyver. If you could peek into my RSS reader, you will see 1/2 photography or business related blogs, and the rest are blogs like....

Design Sponge
Talk Crafty to me
The Crafty Bride
My Hands Made It
Honestly...WTF?

It's definitely a disease. :)

All that to say, I was super excited to shoot Sarah & Cedric's wedding. Sarah is the crafty-woman extraordinaire.... Everything was created by her. The garland made of antique handkerchiefs that she collected since she was a kid, the hair accessories and necklaces worn by her bridesmaids, the boutonnieres, her customized shoes, her veil... EVERYTHING. She is a one woman show. :) And to top it all off, She is downright adorable... a beacon of southern charm and darling-ness.

See?....

I shot the shoes on the bar where Sarah and Cedric met. It happened to be right down from the salon so the bartender kindly let me take a few photos.

A classic game of Croquet

And the corn-bag toss game created with silhouettes of the B&G as a wedding gift from groomsman and bridesmaid, Jeremy and Angelika. You may remember these two from their wedding I shot a few years ago. Remember the helicopter? :)

The cake was made by one of Sarah's bridesmaids... Sarah.

Sarah's young adult sisters were the ring bearer and flower "girl" ;) Both of the items below were made by the bride.

Cedric always calls Sarah his little "sassafras" so the wedding favors were, of course, bottles of sarsaparilla!

And, like I said before, everything you see below...The flowers, the boutonnieres, the hair clips...all made by the lovely bride.

Sarah runs the most adorable little boutique in Winchester, VA called The Purple Fern. I spent quite a bit of time there the day after the ceremony. She also has an Etsy store for all you out-of-staters ;)

kate + andy | wedding

Meet Kate... the amazing cellist and music extraordinaire. And Andy... the love of her life who happens to be the world greatest adventurer and also takes some pretty fancy pictures. ;) I had the pleasure of being a part of their celebration and it was a sweet affair indeed. Here are a few of my fav shots of the day...

Kate had lace pieces of her grandmothers wedding dress made into clips to wear in her hair.

Her viel was handmade by one of her dear friends...

This is one of my favorites. I turned around right as they laies were ascending up the stairs and didnt even rally have time to think. ... I just shot and ended up loving this little prize when I saw it while editing.

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the start of this three day weekend! :)

Danielle + Erik | part 1

My Danielle. My beautiful Danielle. I knew she would make a beautiful bride but I must admit I was literally blown away with how AMAZING she looked. Seeing her all put together literally took my breath away. I know these are a little out of order but bear with me.... I had to post these first. :)

Kate + Chris | boston, ma

Back in 2006 when I decided I wanted to "get into photography" I had the opportunity to intern for the fabulous Mike Colon out in Newport Beach, CA. I didnt even own a camera yet and it was my very first wedding as an assistant ( I think I was the 3rd or 4th shooter actually) was for Katie and John at which KATE was the Maid of honor. Its amazing how 4 years later, and a coastal move, brought Kate back across my path. THIS time she was the bride, Katie was the Maid of Honor and I was the photographer! It truly was a surreal experience trying to wrap my head around it all. Yet another little thing with which I am forever grateful to Mike for.

Throughout her planning, I've had the opportunity to shoot their engagement session but also shoot her boudoir... *click here*. SHe has become WAY more than a client and I can truly call her a friend. We've spilled life stories over nachos, she's been buck naked while I photographed her in the woods, and I had the honor of documenting her big day. Now it's time for babies Kate... you aren't getting rid of me that easy ;)

Anyway, here are few of my favorite moments... accompanied by a slideshow of their day

An extra special thanks to e-man for being my sidekick for the day. Its always a pleasure!