So here’s the thing about engagement sessions. They are SO. MUCH. FUN. I love how laid back they are. There is so much raw emotion at weddings. So much love, so much tears. But at engagement sessions you’ve got two people, completely in love, and it’s just them in their normal clothes and everyday habitats. There’s no crowd, no gowns, no wedding party, no pressure. Just a boy and a girl (and a crazy redhead yelling directions). And it’s all about THEM. About the love they share and what makes them such a unique and incredible couple. I can’t even tell you how much fun this is for me to watch!!!!!! And how much we LAUGH!!! I’ve literally come home from engagement shoots with my face sore from laughing so much. It really is fantastic to see couples open up and be their crazy, playful selves.
All that said, I’ve had a MAD number of engagement shoots lately. What an amazing way to start off the summer!!! I am PSYCHED beyond belief to shoot every one of these weddings. I am overwhelmed by how each of my couples “get” me and how I work..which is the MOST important thing in getting great photographs.
Sometimes crazy fun engagement shoots take a little extra maneuvering, and my couples really step up to the plate. Literally! Valerie had to do some serious pre-planning to get us into Frontier Field so she and Keith could incorporate their love of baseball into their engagement images. But what a great experience that was!!! And Jessica and Clark impressively managed to get their ENORMOUS (and gorgeous!) dog all the way up to my forth floor studio without event! Talk about hard core…
And Stephanie and Micah were right there when I started yelling “AH! There! Light! Underpass! Run! Now! Go!”
And we NAILED it!!!! We make a great team. ::grin::
I love my couples and I am SO excited for this summer.
CRAZY fun at Anat and Josh’s reception at the Rabbit Room in Honeoye Falls, NY!
I love my job. LOVE. And I feel so fortunate to be able to be right there for some of the most amazing moments of people’s lives. To be able to capture these incredible and beautiful celebrations of love and affection. There are times I come home from a wedding just bursting to talk about everything and then I sit in front of the computer and…and then there is just SO much to say, it’s hard to get down. Adam and Stephanie’s wedding was one of those weddings. I still don’t even know where to begin. But first let me give a shout out to James Bass who helped me so much as my second. There is nothing better…I mean NOTHING better than a GREAT second. James got some AMAZING images — and I can’t wait to second shoot for him in August! Woot!
There was so much love at this wedding. Both bride and groom come from big, crazy, tightly-knit families. But what was really amazing to see was how Stephanie and Adam’s love for each other brought their individual sides of the family together. The tender closeness of the two families and the obvious love that they have for Adam and Stephanie took my breath away. And made me cry. Multiple times.
As you can see, I wasn’t the only one.
As if the ceremony at Blessed Sacrament wasn’t emotional enough, Adam’s mom surprised him during the reception by having his best friend play a song live for the mother-and-son dance. Adam’s BF gave an INCREDIBLE speech written by Adam’s mom, picked up his guitar and started to sing the Beatle’s “All You Need Is Love.” Adam, crying, held his mom close, also crying, while they danced. And then they reached out and brought Stephanie into the the dance, and then her parents and then the rest of their families and then the entire party was on the dance floor. So powerful and so beautiful. Um…yeah. It’s kind of hard to shoot when you’re bawling your eyes out. I’m tearing up again just thinking about it.
All of that love also makes for so much laughter, and let me tell you, this was a hilarious bunch.
I’ve known from the start that Adam and Stephanie were crazy funny, laid back and ready for anything. When they insisted on bringing my couch to the wedding, how could I refuse?! I told them, you can carry it, we can shoot it, so my (apparently very hardy!) Victorian couch followed us around all afternoon in it’s own personal van! And…velvet couch + the grounds of Irondequoit Country Club = OMG.
The dancing and jokes and laughter, the GORGEOUS reception, the warmth and celebration that just filled the entire day…Adam and Stephanie, you are incredibly lucky. Thank you so SO so much for letting me share this day, and your family’s tremendous love, with you.
Yeah. I really do love my job.
I love – just LOVE – shooting engagement sessions in Manhattan. The color. The texture. The action. It’s always an adventure.
The great thing is, it just so happens that this year I have A LOT of couples from New York. Some are getting married in the NYC/Long Island area. Some who live down there now are getting married in Rochester. And one couple is holding their wedding in an AWESOME old bank in downtown Albany!
Lots of NY couples means…lots of NY engagement shoots! WOOT WOOT!!! It also means some very strategic planning and a good deal of heated negotiation with the weather man. All of that has paid off, though, ’cause this last trip down was SUCH a success! Allison and Gregg and Leslie and Brad were totally fantastic and, let me tell you, between the lot of us we have some ROCKIN’ scheduling skills. What better way to spend a gorgeous spring day than marathon-shooting two adorable, fabulous couples in Manhattan?!?!
There really isn’t any. I mean seriously. SO much fun!!!! Allison and Gregg, Leslie and Brad, you made my day.
lol.
10.27.2010
Great work. My favourite is the one with rings.
11.23.2010
Beautiful photographs! They look so very happy!