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Weddings

amy & jeff are married!

By | Weddings | 6 Comments

well, as the last few posts have mentioned, there has been a lot of rain lately. most of our weddings have been moved indoors and our engagement shoots have been mostly rescheduled or shot under umbrellas. what has struck me most about this last month has been the resilience of our clients, ready to smile and explore despite the huge drops that have fallen on their perfectly styled hair. amy & jeff did just that. as their venue scrambled to put their rain plan in effect, amy and jeff went through their day like nothing was different. we even shot a few portraits in the rain! but i’ll get to that later. ;) my day started as they usually do, in a salon with a few of the bridesmaids- chatting and easing into shooting as the hairstyles transformed from the all over tease to a smoother, more elegant design. do you call hairstyles designs? i don’t even know. but what i was sure of is that the day was going to be awesome- everyone was ready for a party! amy arrived smiling holding an array of brightly colored umbrellas- last minute gifts for her bridesmaids. her attitude put everyone else at ease about the weather and from then on it was decided that rain or shine, pictures with umbrellas had to happen. i agreed.

matt started his day hanging out with the guys, grabbing lunch and relaxing at amy & jeff’s house. eventually the actual getting ready had to start, haha- i love the shots matt captured there!

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the rest of the day flew by and before i knew it amy and jeff’s first look was happening and then we were shooting portraits. outside. in a little drizzle. no umbrellas. gotta love a couple that hardcore about beautiful outdoor lighting on their wedding day! the rain picked up and finally it was me that suggested we move inside. there were some interesting spots around the house, thankfully, and we shot the rest of the portraits, including family portraits, as the reception was set up around us!

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pretty much loved the chandeliers at cedar plantation, so sparkly!

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and then came the umbrella pictures! it was raining and rather dark but no one seemed to mind venturing out into it. we were glad we got the safe pictures out of the way before the ceremony because amy & jeff encouraged us to just have fun and do whatever craziness we thought of, so we did. as different as these shots are from what we usually do, i love them!

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the reception was the kind of party i’d been expecting all day- totally awesome! everyone danced and enjoyed one another and one of the most rockin’ parts was that amy & jeff danced so much too! many times brides and grooms find themselves too busy to eat or dance but this couple was not about to let that happen. they enjoyed their reception as much as anyone and danced the night away!

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we were in the zone shooting when we saw amy & jeff making their way toward us- their getaway car had arrived and they wanted some images with it, more then just them taking off. aaand this made us love them even more than their colorful umbrellas, their homer groom’s cake, the fact that they’d asked for our photobooth and their amazing taste in music- they were making sure to take time from their reception to get the images they knew they wanted in the end- SO SMART! here’s my fave:

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then it was back in for more dancing- these are some of my most favorite reception shots EVER!

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amy & jeff, we are still talking about how awesome you guys are! your optimism, despite the rain, made your wedding day so fun for everyone involved. we wish you guys the VERY best and we hope you like your images! :)

sara & george are married! finale.

By | Weddings | 13 Comments

…and the finale! they got married! this day, we were ready for. maybe not any of the rest; we aren’t used to shooting like that but THIS, we knew what we were doing. it was a wedding day and as different as it was from most other wedding days we’ve been involved in, we were prepared. when i walked into the girls room everyone was lounging, sara’s sister, chelsea, was straightening her hair while george’s mom sipped hot tea by the window and sara’s mom worked on getting some music going. as sara started to get ready it became clear to me that as calm as everyone was, there were tears of joy just under the surface. even just a little hug or glance would draw them into their eyes, glistening for a second before they were blinked away. this was the beautiful thing about this wedding, the intimacy. everyone was so deeply connected to what was about to happen it was impossible for the emotion to get swept away in the decor or the coordination. the natural focus of family was so apparent; i blinked back a few tears myself as i shot.

sara had the train cut from her dress since we’d be walking around the city- it was a great idea AND it gave her a little extra lace to make this perfectly lovely hairpiece!

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while i hung out with the ladies, matt spent time with the guys as they made the morning bagel run and dropped luggage off at the hotel george & sara would be staying in for their honeymoon. this means matt and i took VERY different images- but i liked how these next two seemed to go together anyway:30_new_york_elope_3 29_new_york_elope_3 28_new_york_elope_3 27_new_york_elope_3

it had been an overcast trip so far, the wind blew cool and the skies remained a thick grey for the majority of the time we shot. but there were two moments, perfect moments when the sun did peek through. one was just before sara & george first saw one another in central park. just as we walked up the sun blared through the clouds and matt and i scrambled to adjust our settings to capture it. this meeting was one of the highlights of our trip, their eyes glistening, their families watching and the sun reflecting the way we all felt. again i realized how perfectly a small elopement fit sara & george.

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this lady taking a picture was not a family member but seemed equally as excited as everyone else that sara & george were on their way to get married!

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after we all pulled ourselves together, we made our way to city hall. home of the fastest weddings on the planet. oh my gosh. we had a little while to wait before the blink of an eye that was their ceremony, so we shot a few in the lobby before we were called in:

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the ceremony started before i knew it and was over just as quickly. i let out an audible squeal at one point things were moving so quickly- embarrassing myself thoroughly. it was perfect though, exactly what they wanted- simple and official. and then, after a few family portraits, it was time for the reception at THE gray’s papaya– the one from the movies- perfect for sara & george- known to be huge lovers of entertainment. from there we headed to the buttercup bake shop for cupcakes and coffee and a sweet toast by sara’s dad. as a sidenote: matt had the most amazing peanut butter and jelly cupcake the world has ever tasted. if you’re ever there, i know it’s strange, but TRY IT!

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we all thought this backdrop was about the cheesiest most amazing thing we’d ever seen so there was no way we were going to pass it up! luckily we had our light so we could make the most of it, haha:

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grandfathers make me smile:

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we stopped in central park for a few green portraits- nyc has such a diverse landscape we could never get tired of shooting there!

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after lunch and cake we made our way to rockefeller center for their first dance. the top of the rock overlooks the whole city and as sara & george are considering moving there, it was just the right place to conclude their reception!

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sara & george: no idea where to begin with you two- you’re perfect together and we feel so blessed that we’ve been able to watch your relationship grow and strengthen. we cannot wait to see what is next for you guys; we’re confident it will be awesome! thank you so so much for including us in your sweet wedding; we wish you the VERY best!

sara & george are married! part 2.

By | Weddings | 9 Comments

we woke up bright and early the next day- ready for our photoshoot with sara & george around the city. we grabbed bagels (of course!) and headed for the subway discussing the different areas of the city we wanted to explore. the bottom line was- we weren’t going to miss the brooklyn bridge. the sky was threatening rain and we had NO rain plan so, after much walking, we just decide to start shooting along the way as we edged closer to brooklyn. sara & george were naturals- posing in an instant, running in and out of the street when cars came, ignoring the stares (even in NYC! aren’t you guys used to this!?) and working with us seamlessly as our ideas began to take shape. yes, sara is my best friend, but really, these two made our blaze through manhattan a breeze! we did finally make it to the brooklyn bridge and were able to grab a few shots before we got kicked off whoever’s land we were on(!?!). i guess it’s hard to pretend you’re not shooting professionally when there’s a strobe involved. we did get a few extra shots off before heading to grand central and then to the met to meet up with the families for lunch and a little exploration. a few of our faves:

a little DUMBO action! the manhattan is my favorite bridge in nyc- it’s blue coloring and intricate detailing makes me happy. i love the way it compliments this image:

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and again. i told you i loved it!

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i tore myself away from my bridge long enough to shoot a few with the brooklyn- love it too and the buildings behind it give such a soft hint of the city:

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back to the subway to check out grand central station- couldn’t resist this next series:

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grand central was a success! the light coming in was soft and pretty and most of the people were in too big of a hurry to bother us:

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george really was on the phone in this next shot but we felt it worked with the setting- so we kept shooting! i think he looks so hardcore here- not at all like the conversation ended with, ‘ok, bye mom!’ haha, george- you rock!

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and then one image from the met:

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we spent the rest of the day exploring the city with the families, shooting their interactions and enjoying our time as much as anyone else. dinner was conveniently located near time square so we grabbed sara and george and decided a little onelighting in the square was necessary. matt and i took turns holding the light and shooting and before either of us realized it there was quite the little crowd taking pictures of sara & george too! apparently they thought they recognized sara from somewhere but in the end it was george who was asked to pose with a group of european tourists who are now expecting to see his face in a new show coming out this fall. we all laughed for quite a while over that! but that’s what happens when you have totally awesome friends who know how to work it! we ended the night at west side story before turning in to get a little rest before the wedding day!

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…to be continued!…