Overcome with Love

Kaitlyn and Mario were so fun to work with for their engagement that I was really excited for their wedding day! Things got started with prep at a family friend’s home.

Then it was time for the traditional church ceremony, with an unexpected twist - specifically, Kaitlyn fainting halfway through! Luckily she was fine - Mario caught her! - and only needed a quick breather to get back on her feet.

Everyone moved to the Aria for the reception. Toasts kicked off the night, followed by cake cutting and parent dances.

The bouquet toss was energetic!

Then it was time to dance and party the night away!

Congratulations, Kaitlyn and Mario!

Love in the Fall

Amanda and James had so many great ideas for their engagement session last year in Newport, I just knew that their wedding was going to be great.

The day started with prep photos at a local hotel.

From there we moved to The Lodge at Maneeley’s, where Amanda and James were relieved to finally have their first look and see each other.

The ceremony was short and sweet - James’ vows in particular required a lot of tissues.

After cocktail hour, it was time for introductions, which included an amazing surprise!

Those are the bridesmaids, charging in to the theme from Jurassic Park.

First dance, speeches, and parent dances followed.

Then: dancing! And lots of it! (James’ college friends especially put in a lot of work on the dance floor!)

We stole the happy couple away for some night photos on the amazing grounds.

It was an amazing day, and I’m so happy for James and Amanda. Congratulations!

A Capital Day

Sara and Abhishek somehow managed to plan their wedding while planning and executing a second wedding in India! I’m having anxiety just thinking about that.

Their entire US wedding was held at the Marriott Hotel in Hartford, a surprisingly wonderful venue with access to some of the awesome elevated walkways downtown. The day began with prep for the guys and girls in neighboring rooms.

My second shooter, Jeff, also got some awesome, artsy photos with the guys in the top-floor pool.

The ceremony was held in part of the Capital Ballroom. Sara and Abhi wrote their own vows, and they were so sweet!

While the guests were in the lobby bar for cocktails, the wedding party and I used some of those elevated walkways for some really fun posed photos. As always, my favorite were the couples photos.

And some pictures of the beautiful bride, of course.

The reception was a ton of fun. It started with the usually dances and speeches.

The DJ set up some fun games and Abhi’s cousins especially kept the dance floor hopping all night.

Finally it was time for the night to end, with a great sparkler exit.

Congratulations, Sara and Abhi!

Back to Work

Winter break is over, and it's back to work for me!

I met up with Angie and her bridesmaids at her mother's home for hair and makeup, while across town my second shooter Jeff was with the guys at a barber shop.

We all met up at Cascade in Hamden for the rest of the festivities, starting with an adorable not-quite-first-look.

The ceremony had to be moved indoors due to the cold and windy weather, but the space was beautiful, and the ceremony was incredible, written by the bride herself.

The reception was a blast, with a great DJ/singer Michael Nigretti. Great food, great music, and everyone having a great time kicking back and celebrating.

All in all, a great start to the 2017 season. And some exciting news:

The next wedding I go to will be my own. :)

A Weekend Worth Waiting For

I've been... busy. Weddings, yearbook photos, meetings, calls. I was out of town, living from my suitcase for the entire week before Trish and Ryan's wedding. I even got myself a hotel room the night before the wedding, to save a couple hours driving. 

So I hope you'll understand if I say I went in with a workmanlike, nose-to-the-grindstone attitude. Show up, do my job, go home. Sometimes that's how it goes.

That attitude lasted about ten minutes with the girls. Grooving to Beyoncé, cracking jokes - Trish had to be told, repeatedly, by her make-up artist to quit smiling so much.

Ten minutes in and this wedding wasn't work, it was a vacation.

"Quit smiling so much" was the refrain of the day. Trish and Ryan are one of those electric couples who can't seem to be in the same room without smiling. All through their ceremony I couldn't escape the feeling that they were alone up there in a world of their own.

Following the ceremony, we headed to the New Haven Lawn Club for posed photos and the reception.

As you'd expect, posed photos were a lot of fun, especially when it got down to just the couple, the videographer, and myself. Trish and Ryan didn't need a lot of encouragement to try fun stuff, and the Lawn Club made for a beautiful backdrop.

The reception was a blast - a cocktail hour full of good drinks and good food (those scallops!), and a reception that was low on formal events but full of amazing music from the live funk band, energetic dancing, and donuts and late-night sliders.

It was an amazing day, where everything seemed to come together just perfectly. 

Congratulations, Trish and Ryan! It was such a pleasure getting to work with you two.