We are so excited to have 2 weddings featured in 2008 and 2009 Newport Life Magazine's Wedding Magazine.  

The photos from Neil and Kelly's include their portrait on the front lawn of the Astors' Beechwood mansion:

…and of Kelly on their sailing trip around Newport harbor at their Sunday brunch party.

Here are the girls on the dock at the brunch…the day-after harbor sail was a wonderful way to unwind and show out-of-towners what makes Newport so beautiful.

Friends and family inscribed wine bottles, noting future special meals, anniversaries etc.

Ben and Sharon's wedding featured a portrait in the Astors' Beechwood (disregard the caption error):

The bridal party was up for going out on the rocks:

….and just enjoying the back lawn of Astors':

We love Newport and will be there this Saturday at the Newport Bridal Show at Rosecliff Mansion!

Speaking of the Mayor's Ball, last year we attended with a group of friends and my friend, Jen and I bid on VIP tickets to see Live with Regis and Kelly in NYC.  Being VIP means you can pick which day you want to go and we went just before the holidays.  Daniel Craig (yes, James Bond) was the guest star and I have to admit, quite charming in person. David Archuleta was the musical guest who we also happened to see the night before in the Virgin store in Times Square:

Well you've got to get up early for this type of thing….

Here we are post-coffee waiting in the line (yes, even with the VIP tickets…although we had a shorter line!)

A big perk of VIP tix was front row…here's Jen waiting for it to start:
 

Kelly was amazing how quickly she could turn on bubbly at 8 a.m. … there was no warm-up…they just went right into their high energy banter:

All the talk shows are a great time and I can be talked into an NYC trip for any reason…one of my goals is to get to SNL though…maybe this fall!

Mike here…Jane and I had the opportunity to photograph the 10th annual West Hartford Mayor's Charity Ball last Saturday night–we had a blast along with the attendees.  The highlight of the evening was the emcee himself:  John O'Hurley from Seinfeld, Dancing with the Stars, and Family Feud fame.

John was born and raised in West Hartford, and attended Kingswood-Oxford School.  He is very involved with a variety of charities and his dead-on comedic timing–and, of course, dancing (he auctioned off dances…see below!)–added so much to the event.

The Mayor's Ball benefited two West Hartford organizations,  The Grounds and HopeWorks.   The Grounds is "a place for West Hartford High School students to chill" and is housed in the old Barnes & Nobles building in Bishop's Corner.  HopeWorks provides counseling and outreach services to young people in West Hartford.

Highlights from the night are below…hats off to a great evening and great cause!

John O'Hurley spins West Hartford Councilwoman Shari Cantor around the dance floor:

The kids from The Grounds dressed up as movie stars (Audrey Hepburn in the background below) and The Grounds paparazzi had lots of fun greeting the attendees.

The group shot of the West Hartford Mayor's Ball Organizing Committee–including Scott Franklin, Ronit Shoham, Karen Connal and Kathy Lommele:

John O'Hurley and Mayor Scott Slifka:

Lisa and John O'Hurley and our  friends Adria and David Giordano!

The current and former Mayors (from left Rob Bouvier, Scott Slifka, Catherine Reynolds, Kevin Sullivan and Jonathan Harris)…"Puttin' on the Ritz"….

We loved this dress and cocktail combination by Ronni Newton, Managing Editor of Living in West Hartford Magazine:

The high bidder for the Red Sox tickets right behind home plate….

State Senator Jonathan Harris announced his engagement to Lucy Morin at the ball:

John O'Hurley as auctioneer….

  To view or purchase these pictures, you can visit  the gallery by clicking here.   All proceeds will be donated to the West Hartford Mayor's Charity Ball to support  HopeWorks and The Grounds.

Our family recently discovered a great day trip going to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts.  It was about an hour from West Hartford and perfect for kids around 5 or 6 years old, although younger and older would really enjoy it too.  They had galleries, an art studio where everyone could paint, a library with story hour and a really well done movie about Eric Carle and how he creates the pictures (we're talking Hungry Caterpillar here in case you aren't in this world right now) – the movie was a little over the head of our 3-year-old but held Seb's interest (and all the adults!).  Two to three hours was about the right amount of time with young kids in tow.  The facility is beautiful…open, light, very modern and spacious.  They also had a lovely, kid-friendly cafe.   I think it's a great museum for introducing kids to art or could be a nice date if you are still a fan of children's books/art and want to take a nice drive too!

We recently had the opportunity to shoot a great group's biggest annual fundraiser, Hartford's West End Civic Association's (WECA) Progressive Dinner.  We shot the cocktail party before 240 guests went on to numerous different houses for a nice dinner, to get back together at the end of the evening for dessert at another West End home.

Living in West Hartford, about a mile from the West End, I saw some familiar faces including John from the Town & Country Club:

 
…and then here are my friends Ken and Sally (who I met by shooting their wedding 4 years ago) shaking hands with the Mayor of Hartford, Eddie Perez:

Great to see neighborhoods working on improving the local community!