From the couple: Amir helped his sister open up a cafe in Boston called Uptown Espresso. Amir worked there in the mornings before going to work and would work weekends too. Jen was an unsuspecting customer who used to stop by in the mornings and get some hot chocolate. After a couple months of flirting, they decided to get groups of friends together to meet out on Valentine’s day. That night after a couple of drinks they professed their “love” to eachother and enjoyed their first kiss. Okay, they didn’t profess love but it was more like “you are cute” “really? I think you are so cute too”.   Anyway, they got married five years later!

 
As a photographer, I LOVE when a couple has a good support team.  Anne Marie Kleis of AMK Events was the wonderful planner and designer for this amazing San Juan wedding (the first of its kind at the Conrad Condado Plaza Hotel!), and both the ceremony and the reception were truly amazing.  Here are a few of my favorite images:

I asked Jen and Amir how they chose Puerto Rico for their destination wedding, and they said: Amir likes to joke that a lot of Jen’s ex boyfriends are still down there and would help with the planning. In reality, we always saw ourselves having a destination wedding. Puerto Rico is beautiful, safe, and gives our guests a lot of different options on what to do. Flights from Northeast are direct, no passport needed. USD is the currency… it just made sense.  Believe me there was a lot of research… we have about 100 pictures of Jen meeting with different people at hotels and checking out different areas. Despite seeing some gorgeous properties outside of San Juan, we wanted to give our guests fun nightlife and restaurant choices and to not be stuck in the resort. The Condado area made sense with its beaches as well. It came down to the Conrad and La Concha… tie breaker was that the Concha wanted us to end our outdoor party at 9:30 and the Conrad let us party longer! 

Since I photograph forty(ish) weddings a year, I LOVE surprises and unique touches at weddings.  One of my favorite moments of the reception happened during the first dance- in the middle of their first song, Jen and Amir cut the music, donned a hat and scarf, and danced the Baba Karam (a Persian dance, which is a nod to Amir’s heritage).  Amir’s mom thought they had shot the idea down, so it was a big surprise for her!!

I had such a fabulous time at this wedding- congratulations, Jen and Amir!!   Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful week!

I have to admit- I absolutely love it when I can tell a couple that someone (a website/blog, a magazine, an organization) loves their wedding images so much that they want to feature them.  I love what I do, and I love all of my couples.  Each and every couple I photograph has a beautiful wedding, and I appreciate it when other people (who haven’t had the chance to get to know my fabulous clients!) recognize the beauty of their special day.

When that recognition comes from a website dedicated to educating and creating community among photographers, it’s even more of an honor.  So, I’m honored to say that two of my images have been featured by Clickin Moms- they are two of my favorite images ever (one from a wedding in the Dominican Republic, and the other from a Fourth of July wedding on the coast of Maine), and you can see them on the homepage of Clickin Moms.  Speaking of Clickin Moms, if you are a photographer (pro or amateur) and you are looking to join a wonderful community, head on over to their website and check them out!!

So many forums out there are aggressive, slow-moving, or take pleasure in ridiculing people who are just starting out, but Clickin Moms is a breath of fresh air for the thousands of women that have fallen in love with this online community.  As you can see from the screenshots above and below, it caters to all kinds of photographers all over the world!  And best of all, it’s one of the nicest online communities committed to online photography education!

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful week!

I’m so pleased to announce that one of my favorite weddings from the last year– the wedding of naval aviators Martha and Eliot– was featured in Real Maine Weddings Magazine.  Martha and Eliot met when they were both stationed in Maine, and they had a beautiful wedding at the Retreat at French’s Point (the ceremony was at Fort Knox).  I was so honored to photograph their wedding, which was beautiful from start to finish.  To read more of their story or to see more of their images, you can head over to my original blog post for their French’s Point Wedding.

A second wedding that I collaborated on– the wedding of Laura and Nolan– was ALSO featured in Real Maine Weddings, and several of my images were used in their article.  Laura and Nolan were the winners of the Real Maine Weddings contest earlier this year!  They were wonderful to work with as well, and of course being able to collaborate on a project with other photographers and friends is always fantastic!

Here are a few images quick shots from the magazine features:

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful week!

First, I sit down with my boys and we go through some of our favorite photographs this year.  They can choose their favorite photograph of themselves from the year- this year, they both chose images from our trip to Switzerland this summer.

It’s pretty easy to find great custom Valentine’s templates for purchase online, but the second step is to tweak that template to fit the folded card design.  I print my images through my pro lab- ideally I want to fold the card and staple it on the bag of candy, so I either create a card or tweak the template that I purchase so that it will work for a folded card.   They boys and I generally choose a nice, simple message for the back of the card, and then choose a complementary solid color for the inside of the card (since it will be invisible until the candy bag is opened).

Then we stuff cellophane bags with the candy of choice for the year.  I like wrapped candies so that the kids can help me.  Finally, fold the cards over and staple them to the top of the candy bags.  The boys love taking in custom valentines to their classes, and I love working on a photo project with them.

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!