I had a great time shooting Amanda and Michael’s family at Elizabeth Park.  We shot at "the magic hour" (which is an hour before sunset) and I thought the color of the light blended perfectly with the park that seemed to have had a second round of roses all in bloom! 

I do get a lot of questions about what to wear for portraits and I would say Amanda’s family is dressed perfectly if you want to get hints:

• Same level of dress (they chose a nice casual, but you could do all upscale, all downscale, etc. – just as long as you are all on the same level).
• No tiny prints – paisleys, small dots, etc. freak out the camera.  (LOVE large polka dots and large patterns though…)
• They match in color but they are not wearing identical outfits (which is a certain look that can be okay in a really large group (although I still prefer this way), but not okay as a couple or a family of 4 or 6–matching identically can look too much like a uniform in small groups).
• They’ve chosen a color theme (blue, khaki, grey) and they’ve really mixed the textures, patterns, etc.
• They haven’t overdone the patterns – everyone can’t wear an argyle top, but it looks great on just their daughter.

Anyway, these are some of my favorites:

Thanks guys!

Well this was our last wedding of the season and what an amazing one to end on!  Diana and Michael were both so happy it infected the whole day!  It was beautifully planned and felt extremely personal and intimate.

Diana got ready at The Griswold Inn in Essex, CT (our street fashion shoot is on the post below), with her mom and attendants:

I was so happy to finally meet make-up artist Naomi Martinez who I’d heard of many times.  Naomi did this incredible sixties-ish make-up and Diana’s hair was done by The G Salon:

Michael got ready at the Island Cove Marina in Old Saybrook where he and his dad had their boats:

The ceremony and reception were at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT.  The ceremony was held on the bank of the river:

I don’t think we could have had more beautiful light for our portraits:

Some favorites…

…and a bridal party with a great sense of humor and adventure!

I love this picture … being able to get this close to Michael without him paying any attention to me …wouldn’t everyone love a picture of their true love staring into their eyes on their wedding day!

The reception was in a tent in back of the museum.  Diana and Michael had designed a beautiful setting.  It was great working with wedding planners, Lindsay and Talia from Sixpence for Your Shoe out of my town, West Hartford.

A great party:

The view from outside the tent:

Yes, there is a light under Diana’s dress!

Cookies to take away

…on the school bus!

…and I want to end on this great moment – the end of the party…what did the band play…”I’ve Had the Time of My Life…” (yes, from Dirty Dancing) and all Diana and Michael’s friends and family danced and hugged them – it was a great wedding moment:

Thanks guys for a wonderful day!

Well this was our last wedding of the season and what an amazing one to end on!  Diana and Michael were both so happy it infected the whole day!  It was beautifully planned and felt extremely personal and intimate.

Diana got ready at The Griswold Inn in Essex, CT (our street fashion shoot is on the post below), with her mom and attendants:

I was so happy to finally meet make-up artist Naomi Martinez who I’d heard of many times.  Naomi did this incredible sixties-ish make-up and Diana’s hair was done by The G Salon:

Michael got ready at the Island Cove Marina in Old Saybrook where he and his dad had their boats:

The ceremony and reception were at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT.  The ceremony was held on the bank of the river:

I don’t think we could have had more beautiful light for our portraits:

Some favorites…

…and a bridal party with a great sense of humor and adventure!

I love this picture … being able to get this close to Michael without him paying any attention to me …wouldn’t everyone love a picture of their true love staring into their eyes on their wedding day!

The reception was in a tent in back of the museum.  Diana and Michael had designed a beautiful setting.  It was great working with wedding planners, Lindsay and Talia from Sixpence for Your Shoe out of my town, West Hartford.

A great party:

The view from outside the tent:

Yes, there is a light under Diana’s dress!

Cookies to take away

…on the school bus!

…and I want to end on this great moment – the end of the party…what did the band play…"I’ve Had the Time of My Life…" (yes, from Dirty Dancing) and all Diana and Michael’s friends and family danced and hugged them – it was a great wedding moment:

Thanks guys for a wonderful day! 

As I’ve been going through the pics of Diana and Michael’s wedding, I realize I have too many shots from the the fashiony street shoot we did with Diana and her attendants that I want to show.  So I’m doing a little pre-post on this and we’ll finish with the complete wedding in a separate post!

Anyway, here we are on the streets of Essex before the wedding and I just want to say what a fun shoot – total collaboration…everyone got into it, looking for great backdrops and offering ideas, so I’ll just start with the dog — what are the chances of a totally coiffed french poodle walking by!!!  Luckily, it was spotted by Morgan, the MOH, (and interestingly, the dog’s name is Morgania!) – serendipity!

So some guys in a boat asked if we would like to use their Chopper for a shot!!!   YES!!!

Great time ladies!  Check back shortly for the rest of the wedding!

Great working with Dan and Christina at their wedding in Branford, CT.

The ceremony was at St. Augustine’s in North Branford and when Christina’s mom helped her out of the limo, I totally saw a 60′s bride – great style!

Neither Christina nor I are from the area but someone told her that we were close to the water for pictures and we were able to scout ahead of time and find Stony Creek which was amazing for pictures!  It looks out over the Thimble Islands and had beautiful pink sunset light:

Here’s a little joke for Dan that we did with the bridal party:

The reception was at the Woodwinds in Branford.  I loved the hydrangeas on the cake:

There are a couple of points to make about this party.

“Tina to Tempo”…the funniest story I’ve heard all year in the toasts was from Christina’s Maid of Honor.  I was crying looking through the camera I was laughing so hard!!!  Maybe it’s just a girl thing?

The next thing is there were a number of special moments that night including watching Dan, his mom, and his grandmother dance together:

This was also a special dance:

And finally – how do you know it’s a great dance party….

…when you are 98 and on the dance floor?

…when all the guys have their ties around their heads?

…when someone has crawled into the fireplace?

…when the bridesmaids are dipping the bride (I LOVE this picture)?

Some final favorites…the best man, Dan’s brother:

Thanks Guys and Congratulations!

Great working with Dan and Christina at their wedding in Branford, CT. 

The ceremony was at St. Augustine’s in North Branford and when Christina’s mom helped her out of the limo, I totally saw a 60′s bride – great style!

Neither Christina nor I are from the area but someone told her that we were close to the water for pictures and we were able to scout ahead of time and find Stony Creek which was amazing for pictures!  It looks out over the Thimble Islands and had beautiful pink sunset light:

Here’s a little joke for Dan that we did with the bridal party:

The reception was at the Woodwinds in Branford.  I loved the hydrangeas on the cake:

There are a couple of points to make about this party. 

"Tina to Tempo"…the funniest story I’ve heard all year in the toasts was from Christina’s Maid of Honor.  I was crying looking through the camera I was laughing so hard!!!  Maybe it’s just a girl thing?

The next thing is there were a number of special moments that night including watching Dan, his mom, and his grandmother dance together:

This was also a special dance:

And finally – how do you know it’s a great dance party….

…when you are 98 and on the dance floor?

…when all the guys have their ties around their heads?

…when someone has crawled into the fireplace?

…when the bridesmaids are dipping the bride (I LOVE this picture)?

Some final favorites…the best man, Dan’s brother:

Thanks Guys and Congratulations!