My favorite thing is hearing their story.  What makes them amazing.  What they are passionate about.  All the fun stuff! 

So, part of a conversation yesterday resonated with me — enough so that I felt compelled to blog about it — because, as always — to ME — SEEING what I’m trying to talk about is as important as the words…

Todays Composition Title:

First Looks.

First Looks are misunderstood.

First Looks break tradition.

First Looks are scary (and exciting, and intimate…and…wait.  I’ll get there.  ::grin::).

A lot of brides come to me and when the subject comes up — they say — “oh no.  I want my fiance’s first view of me to be when I am coming down the aisle”.

Yup.  I TOTALLY get that.  And respect that.  and LOVE it if that’s what you want and choose to do…

But…if you are at all open to this — I want you to think about the advantages of a first look:

It’s yours.

You are not sharing it.  It is your day with your man (or woman).  It’s a moment that you DON’T share, except with each other.  You don’t have to think about your dad, or your mom, or all those people who love you who try to catch your eye as you walk down the aisle.

Nope.  It’s just you two.  Alone.

And it is breath-taking.  And quiet.  And soft.  And romantic.

THEN!

You have TIME.  For photographs…for time to breathe and laugh and play a little bit.

And here’s the biggest secret that no one really understands until you go through it –

When you come down the aisle and the music plays and everyone is crying…

You Forget the First Look Ever Happened.

You are IN THE MOMENT.

It’s Magical.

Then the OTHER magical part?  ALL YOUR PICTURES ARE ALREADY DONE.  You don’t have to make family and friends wait for you to go off somewhere — you’ve ALREADY DONE IT.

It’s efficient.  Which, really, is not a romantic word…but I can tell you that it makes your day smoother, less stressful, and fun.  And it gives your photographer time to do what you are PAYING THEM TO DO — which is take beautiful photographs of important people who love you and who you love.

I am a big supporter of First Looks.

But it’s, ultimately up to you.  I just wanted to give you something else to think about (and look at.)

…

So … Elyse and Josh had their First Look at…wait for it…the EXACT place they had their first kiss.

Perfection!

And then?  We had time to play and take cool pics.

Maybe just…think about it?

xoxo T

Ashley and Gil got married at the end of July at the Genesee Valley Club — an amazing and beautiful venue.  It was a perfect day and I was ready to go with my cracker jack team of support in the form of uber talented Jessica Weiser who came in from Maine a couple of times this summer to help me — and Erich Camping who tagged along to do some video and playful shots.

When all that mixes together – how can you have anything BUT the most amazing wedding?  Ashley worked super hard to pull ALL of the details together, Stacy K Floral put together GORGEOUS yellow center pieces and bouquets.

Because the venue was the location for both the ceremony and the reception, Ashley and Gil opted to have a first look — to see each other ahead of time and do most of the portraits before the wedding.  It was an amazing choice.  When a couple builds in enough time to REALLY get photographs — that’s when we can all play.  And oh my goodness, play we did.  Ashley was a champ — despite a deep fear of bees (farm on a hot day in July = bees) she and Gil ROCKED out the photographs — and that was before the real action of the day began.

A note about the wellies.  Ashley early on mentioned that she grew up on a horse farm — can you imagine me NOT getting excited?  So I SUGGESTED that having pics in a barn with wellies would be an absolute DREAM — and Ashley LISTENED!  She got these for a bridal shower gift — and I about cried when I saw them.  Truly — trusting your photographer and being willing to try things because of that trust = amazing.

Grey Likes Weddings Blog agreed when they published this wedding as an amazing use of grey and yellow — see more about it here.  We couldn’t agree more!!

We were off to the most gorgeous wedding at the aforementioned Genesee Valley Club.  Now I am a complete nerd when it comes to emotion.  If you see me photographing a wedding – -don’t LOOK.  Most likely I will be crying my eyes out.  This one – I really needed some kleenex.  ::grin::  Happiness + Loving Family and Friends + Wedding = Complete Bliss.  An excellent ceremony delivered by Pastor Jack (as usual!)!

The reception was beautiful and I had so much fun with everyone.  Truly an amazing blending of two totally cool families.

And the waiting part?  We knew that this wedding was going to be published — so we couldn’t share on the internets until it showed up — which it did on Friday!  We couldn’t be happier.  Ashley did an amazing job pulling everything together and we all had a TOTAL blast working with everyone!  A special shout out to Jessica and Erich for helping me document this PERFECT day!

Finally — I HAVE to share this.  (Sorry Ash).  Best Cake Moment. EVER.  Watch it and tell me you can’t just hear Ashley tell Gil — “please don’t put cake on my face”…and then the consequences which are hilarious. I was laughing so hard I could barely hold the camera still!

Take an extra 10 seconds.  It’s totally worth it.    Link:  The Cake Boss.

Thanks to everyone who made this an amazing experience:  and remember I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Shannon and Kieran’s beautiful wedding was featured on Hot Pink Brides wedding blog yesterday!!!!

Shannon planned the entire day on her own…and did an incredible job!!! From their ceremony to their wonderful reception at Oak Hill Country Club Shannon and Kieran’s wedding was gorgeous, stylish and so much fun! She even climbed these steps in Manhattan Square Park in bright red high heels!!!!

Shannon and Kieran, we are so excited for you!!!! And we’d like to send a special thank you again to Hot Pink Brides!!

Annie and Richard’s wedding has been featured in Junebug Wedding‘s style blog What Junebug Loves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are BEYOND thrilled and want to send a special thanks to Annie and Richard and Junebug Weddings!!!

Annie works for Nickelodeon and Richard teaches tae kwan do, and they combined their lively, creative personalities to fill their day with playful and unique details. The result was a wedding day that was so much fun and super funky – just like them! The Audubon Center in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park was the perfect setting too!

Read all about Annie and Richard’s day from their perspective here! Thank you guys so much! And thank you to the Junebug team!

Which is why one of my favorite times of a wedding day is the time BEFORE the dress goes on. Watching a bride and groom and the men and women they love get ready for her wedding day is something entirely different and special in and of itself. The emotion, the energy of anticipation and the excitement that is shared by everybody make these moments so precious!!!

Julie and Shawn were so full of excited anticipation before their ceremony at Ashbury First United Methodist Church, that when he first saw her coming down the aisle, I was sure he was going split at the seams.  Julie and Shawn were so. much. fun! Their reception at Irondequoit Country Club was stunning.

And I think this last image pretty much sums it up…the love and the laughter these two share.  Julie and Shawn, thanks so much for sharing your day with me!

So one layer of the day may look like this:

I love this image!!! And it perfectly sums up Megan and Asa – Quirky, colorful and SO. MUCH. FUN!!!

These two so obviously light up in each other’s presence, that anyone who is around them can’t help but smile. There was so much laughter and happiness that day!

Another layer of Megan and Asa’s wedding day looked like this:

Everything that Megan had on or around her while getting ready that morning held a very precious significance and connection to a family story. Megan had her mother’s wedding dress (the one in the wall photo) altered, and was so proud and honored to wear it on her own wedding day.

She wore her grandmother’s garter, saved for her all these years.

And in the room she kept photos of her parents on their wedding day, a card that her mother had given her father, and a bank that Megan made for her father when she was young :

Somebody was obviously thinking ahead.

Yet another layer of the day looked like this:

Megan and Asa exude so much adoration for their family and friends and they wanted their day to be as much a gift to those they loved as a celebration of their own love. They surrounded themselves with close friends and family, from the cutest group of flower girls and ring bearers ever…

…to an absolutely rockin’ wedding party.

Their ceremony at Artisan Works was so personal – tender and beautiful and hilarious at the same time – and their reception at Rochester Plaza Hotel was a perfect continuation of the stories, the traditions and the laughter that really made up their day. And this dance, which kind of rolled all of those into one:

Megan and Asa, I can’t wait to see what stories come next! Thank you for making me a part of your day!

Every single thing about Jessica and Clarke’s day, from Jessica’s breath-taking dress, to her shoes…

From their ceremony at Chapel Hill to their beautiful reception at Casa Larga – everything was wrapped in elegance, style and sophistication.

When Jessica and Clarke and I first met, we had tossed around some ideas about something unique to do after the ceremony. They finally decided on a dove release, which was SO much fun to watch, particularly just to see their faces! I had the pleasure of shooting with Kristi Hedberg as my second shooter, who captured this priceless image from release…Clarke’s face just makes this image for me!

LOVE.

But one of the things I loved the most about Jessica and Clarke’s day was that amidst all the hustle and bustle (we had a full day!), amidst the hectic-ness of knowing they were going to move soon, and in between the fun, the laughter and some wicked dance moves…Clarke and his mom ROCKED it out!  OMG I sooooo enjoyed watching the energy and fun during this dance!

Not to mention the obvious closeness and sweetness of Jessica’s family during the father/daughter dance.  Yup.  I cried too.  I’m not ashamed….

When Jessica and Clarke were together, it was just them…and the tenderness they had for each other was so beautiful.

Thank you Jessica and Clarke for letting me share your wonderful day! Now go and kick some hockey butt in Toronto!!!!

It was the wee hours of the morning at Allegria Hotel and Spa on Long Island. A tired but very happy wedding party and I rolled out of bed to catch the early morning light. And we all got in the water. Yes…I stood in the ocean with all of my gear. With the tide coming in!! And…well….

It was so worth it. ::grin::

Every bride’s favorite deets vary. Sometimes they are invitations and placeholders, sometimes they are favors or flowers or the cake. For Julianne it was COLOR! (in particular this brilliant, happy color green. I say “happy” because it’s virtually impossible to look at without smiling)…and her accessories.

Everything she wore that day, from her dress…

…to her shoes…

…to her bracelet….

…every piece was carefully and lovingly chosen, to express herself and her and Eric’s intimate and fun relationship (she was so excited about them that she sent me color samples and a link to photos of the bracelet way before the wedding!) and the final result was a wedding day that was elegant and very playful at the same time!

Just like Julianne and Eric!!!

Personal details are by no means limited to decorations or dress.

When Julianne and I met to go over her schedule she told me about Eric’s famous Michael Jackson impression/dance. By the way her face lit up I could tell that this was something about her fiance (husband!) that she cherished, which speaks to that same sense of playfulness she was creating with their accessories. Sure enough, when MJ started playing during the reception, Eric couldn’t resist the urge to get out on the dance floor! And let me tell you, this groom has got some MOVES!

So whether it’s shoes or dance moves, don’t be afraid to get excited about your details! If you need someone to bounce ideas of off, give me a call and I’ll get fired up right along with you!!! And…most importantly…never ever be afraid to play.