magick & chris

on a beautiful may day i had the opportunity to shoot with my friend todd laffler...

magick and chris had their wedding at the magnificent mallard island yacht club.

the bridal suite is pretty amazing... the shower inside of it is at least twice the size of my whole bathroom. the groom, however, has a shack to hang out in. the 'groom's shack' was a neat little place with a rustic nautical feel...and no shower.

i love me some model boat and some wedding rings...

the girls peek down from the bridal suite to see what the guys are up to... how was i in two places at once? maybe it was magick...

the guys told me that they would be squinting in this photo, i told them it was fine as i ducked behind the grass... hahah...i'm sure they were confused, but sometimes i just like to crack myself up a bit while i shoot...

magick and chris had beautiful orchids prettifying the ceremony area...

when kids refuse to walk down the aisle, adults find it funny... when kids refuse to walk anywhere else, adults get angry.... you figure it out.

awesome orchid chandeliers...

i could have spent all day photographing these beautiful creations. i love the way they moved with the breeze from the ocean... so neat....

grandma sheds a tear...

chris gives a little talk to their son cj...

he agrees to one picture that we have about 1/2 a second to get...a celebrity in the making?

i enjoy this image...

by this time, chris had gotten used to me being around him and started to play up to the camera...

i really, really enjoy this image...

dance off...

the bridesmaids become band members...

and what could be better than ending the night with a bucket full of awesome, sweet things!

laura & joe

laura and joe got married on their 12 year anniversary of dating. i took a moment to think back to where i was may 8, 1998 when these two started dating... i'm almost positive i can trace it back to my first class and charter day at hamilton college and entirely too much fried dough and alcohol, hah.

fortunately for laura and joe, i have moved on from my college years, but as i thought about how much has happened in the years since that class and charter day- i realize how much laura and joe have also already been through. it was an honor to be the one chosen to photograph their wedding after all their years of commitment. i particularly liked what one of the groomsmen said in his toast...'they have never had a chance to know heartbreak.' that is something so special and rare. yay for laura and joe!

i love love love this picture below...so much laughter!

laura is so cool, she even coordinated her wedding to my blog...

quincy... cutie pie kitty cat...

the important part of this picture is laura's hands. coming from an italian family myself, i understand the need to speak with one's hands. here, laura is explaining to her bridesmaids how to button up the back of her dress... while using her hands.... that no one can see...love it!

below... not your typical 'on the porch' bridal portrait. the funny thing is while i was shooting this laura was telling me how she could never be a model. aside from basic editing, i did not retouch these images. this is how it was shot in camera... so laura....

you are wrong! you could totally be a model! you need less retouching than they do!

freaking gorgeous!

so cute. these girls have been friends since elementary school...

i love how laura's head was down... i can't quite explain that gesture, but it was super sweet. maybe you get it, maybe you don't. it's my blog, i don't have to explain everything.

finally.... husband and wife

laura and joe were awesome... they were willing to make their way into the woods for the shoot.

integrating the props from their photo booth...

first dance...

this is the 'i'm okay, i'm not gonna cry' hand signal. sometimes i wonder if people don't like me because i put pictures of them crying or about to cry on my blog, but i think it is beautiful. it warms my heart to watch a parent be moved to tears as their child enjoys their first dance as a married person...

laura and joe's parents enjoying the moment...

laughter from a toast... i love how joe has his head all the way down to the table!

this picture cracks me up because i felt like the girl in the pink was laughing because she knew that this groomsmen's silly behavior would be back to haunt him eventually... and she was right...

tequila face...

i don't know what this was... but it appeared to me like some sort of groomsmen ballet. i was quite impressed.

i've decided that laura should start a business coaching brides on how to 'just be' on their wedding day. laura was totally 'go with the flow' all day long. the only thing i heard her stress over was a tic-tac, which i know she eventually got because her breath smelled fabulous. thanks so much to laura, joe and their long time friends and family for letting me be a part of their day... 

in lieu of a card this year, you get a blog post

my mother is a patient lady. she has waited 279 days for a picture from me. a picture she has never seen, but that i had kept telling her she wasn't going to like because she wasn't going to 'get it'. i thought for mother's day i would publicly reveal the picture to her.

i know what my mom is thinking right now.... 'why would she tell everyone that it is a picture i wouldn't like? i like all of her pictures. she is so talented' (i can hear you now, mom, and i know you are smiling because i'm right). but let me explain myself... i know that my mom's vision of the picture i took that day is not what i am presenting to her today. but i also know that once she has a chance to understand my vision and why i chose to photograph her and her friends in this manner...i know that she will love it. (that's mom in the middle )

279 days ago i was woken up at the wee hours of the morning by my mother and two of her good friends. they were on their way to cape may for a fun weekend together. i stumbled out of bed as my mother insisted that i get my camera out.

ugh, really?

taking a picture for me is not as easy as pulling out my point and shoot (that might also be because i do not even own one). i have to get my giant camera bag, find a card to shoot with, look for a charged battery, pick a lens... knowing full well that later i will have to disassemble my camera and lens, download the card and edit the image. but it is my mother... and i love her... and once i was able to get the sleep out of my eyes, i saw why she was insisting...

matching yellow shirts and aunt nancy's surprise... giant sun hats for everyone! they were cracking up at themselves. they reminded me of a greeting card. i know the picture they had in their minds, but it wasn't what i was seeing... and when your daughter is a photographer, she will take the picture how she wants to because she said so.

what i saw was three women who have an awesome love and understanding for one another. three women who take charge. three women who would do anything for me. three women who know how to have a good time. three women that can laugh at themselves. three women who have taught me about friendship. three women that won't let anything stop them. three women in matching bright yellow shirts and giant sun hats enjoying every minute of their adventure.

the image that came to mind was a bright one. as i took a step outside, i was literally blinded by how bright it was (i had been sleeping afterall). then i saw the shirts and i was further blinded. but besides the literal brightness....it was their smiles and joy that were really blinding me. i had no choice but to make the image bright. mom, this is what you call 'sun flare'... i did it intentionally. i waited for this moment because i knew it would come. i knew that in enough time, you would crack yourselves up in just the right composition for me....see, i have patience too.

i know the reason i waited so long to show her this image. it meant something to me and i didn't want to just slap a print on her table and say 'here you go.' i wanted her to know what it meant to me and sometimes it takes me time to figure out how i want to say it.

mom, i'm proud of you for having such a good time. i'm proud of you for being filled with laughter and joy and being surrounded by great friends. i'm proud of you for doing your own thing. i'm proud of you for how you have decided to live your life. you are amazing and i am so lucky that you are mine. you know me so well and i know now you will realize the reason for my delay was not laziness and the fact that you are not a paying customer, hah.

you taught me to create and stick with my own vision despite how hard it can be. you taught me to do my own thing and have fun in life. and you have always supported my every endeavor. i know that you will love this image because it is my vision... and that makes me one lucky daughter...

i love you.... happy mother's day...

(yes, i ordered the prints...)