lori + dan e shoot

Right after Christmas I had the honor of shooting two of the most genuine and fun people- my awesome couple Lori & Dan. I hadn't met Dan yet because when we booked he was overseas so I was really excited to meet him and get to know him better. We decided to meet up at West Hartford Center and start shooting there and end up at the new Blue Back Square. We started at Mike's second home, Starbucks (I think he may actually give Mary a run for her money on who exactly is more addicted to their coffee...!) and had our pre-wedding meeting, to go over all of the details of the day since they live out of state and this would be the last time we met prior to their wedding. I love this part of my job- planning and figuring and talking about what they are most excited for. It's a really nice prelude to the wedding.
So we start in Starbucks, they are so freaking cute- Dan makes Lori laugh so easily! I am not sure if they were laughing at me or Mike or what but it worked! We then decided to pop into the Elbow Room for a cocktail and relax (we still were shooting.) Once we got out (it was raining on and off all day) we found cool alleys, store fronts and even Crate & Barrel which we unceremoniously got our butts kicked out of, albeit politely!! It was a good time, to be sure!
We are so exited for your wedding and can't wait to see you two in March!

o hartford, my hartford

So this past sweaty and hot Monday I did what was essentially a pub crawl with two of my newest clients, Paul & Christine, the most smokin' couple ever! These two have such amazing chemistry and have such a good time- they took all of my suggestions for our shoot to heart and brought all of the trimmings, like a picnic, wine, strawberries, a blanket- the Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz in the park series was going on, which we ended on! We started poking around downtown looking for cool walls, trying to stay cool- it was hard because it was SO super hot out so we popped into this really cool restaurant, Sally's Fish Camp, very cool interiors, btw! We then stopped at Mayor Mike's to chill their wine down and change, only to return later for a stupendous dinner! We went to the fire station to shoot, which I love- and I had Paul & Christine sit on the bench and cuddle, while I laid on the ground to get the shot I wanted- well, a very nice, very concerned lady came running over dragging her kid yelling 'Is that woman ok??' Tell me we didn't laugh long and hard over that! Then a firefighter came running out to make sure I was OK, saw what we were doing and offered to pull the fire truck out for us to shoot on! How cool is that? So that is why we are on a fire truck not because either of them are firefighters but don't they looks smokin HOT? Thanks to the very concerned stranger for asking after me, we were all touched!

trish + alan wedding at center church in hartford + the hartford club

Hartford was rocked last Saturday by the awesome power combo of Carla Ten Eyck Photography and Light Mill Studios, with Geoff Boka and the future Mrs. Geoff Boka, Kate!! for Trish & Alan's wedding at Center Church and The Hartford Club. We had such a great time working side by side with each other towards the same goal- capturing the true spirit of the day using our mad skillz! I am telling you, if you are even considering a videographer for your wedding, please please please go to their site and check them out- they are amazing, SO UNOBTRUSIVE, really and truly, and can really see things in a different way. Plus Geoff is super tall so he gets awesome angles and is great to have around in case you need him to reach anything high. We started off at Matthew Phillips Salon in West Hartford Center- they were so nice to work with and their salon is beautiful- then moved on to get ready at Trish's parents place, right in downtown Hartford! What an amazing place- one of the images here was taken in their elevator, complete with a Hartford sign right above! One of my favorite images. They also had access to a cherry red antique car which my crazy driver Ellen chased thru the streets of Hartford with me hanging out of the car, practically on the hood of my super van to try and get some cool shots- Trish and Alan were turning and saw me hanging out the car like a fool and couldn't help but react! Love that shot too!! We also got to visit one of my child hood favorite places, The Carousel, right in Bushnell Park for a private photo session! (yes, you do need a permit!) I have been fantasizing about shooting there for some time and was so happy that Trish & Alan were up for it- I LOVE these shots! As if we didn't do enough already! We then headed over to City Hall, a super stunning building in Hartford that is one of the best places to shoot! All in all we had a wonderful time capturing Trish & Alan's total and obvious love for each other and for Hartford, not a bad combo if you ask me! ;)

yeah, they're mine!

Is this legal to create children SO DARN cute?? I know, I know, they're mine, I'm completely biased but COME ON! We had so much fun yesterday having our own photo shoot in Elizabeth Park- which ended up being perfect because we were expecting rain so the place was empty! No crowds to deal with, no run away frisbees, no people in my shot that I don't want!! I saw this super cute dress and got it at Marshall's and am planning on doing a super special thing for Super Daddy-O, my Dave, for Father's Day from the kids. They were so excited to be the subjects! I can't wait to post my Daddy's Day Surprise!!

hold me closer!

To complete the trilogy of my Memorial Day weekend shoots was my engagement shoot with Natalie & Yves that had me crossing state lines and up into Northampton MA way. We had a beautiful morning walking around town discovering little nooks of color and texture that were completely unexpected hidden gems- thank you Jean, assistant to the stars, who kept noticing little alley ways and spiral staircases! The thing I loved most about Yves and Natalie was how totally in love they are with each other! I asked Yves to stand across a doorway and hold Natalie's hand and he was like, 'WHAT? That is TOO far away!' I got about 3 shots before he had to go back to cuddling! Come ON! Right?

rockin the park & the town

On Friday I had the distinct pleasure of photographing Heather & Steve at Hartford's Elizabeth Park- yes, I said HARTFORD! West Hartford needs to stop taking credit for it, it's totally ours. It is also the oldest municipal rose garden in the country, super beautiful and a place that engaged couples LOVE to be photographed in! And why wouldn't they? It has so much character and so many nooks and crannies in it- there is this one part that really reminds me of the Lord of the Rings*, minus the orcs, of course! Heather & Steve were so super relaxed and did such an amazing job of getting comfortable fast. We talked about how they check out my blog (hi Heather!) and she said that it helped give her ideas and direction for her shoot, since she could see what I have been doing lately with other couples. Also I think that once people hire me they want to keep checking back to make sure that I am still, in fact a good photographer! ;) No worries there, can I get an AMEN!! Just a girl patting her own back here. So stop being quiet stalkers, girls! I KNOW you're ON! POST!! Show yourselves!

*side note on LOTR- Orlando Bloom- cuter as the elf Legolas or as the super hottie in Elizabeth Town? Pirates? Don't like him with facial hair? I want to know!! Seriously. And Paul & Stevedepino.com I already know your votes!! ;)