A lot of times those ideas kind of fade away because they are impractical for whatever reason, or I notice that someone else has done something kind of along the same lines, or…I get bored with it…or it’s too hard to REALLY do.  Since I generate a LOT of ideas all the time (who knew this was unusual?) this happens quite often.

Once in a while though, I have a “BIG” one.  And this time, not only was it big — but it turned out to exceed my wildest imagination and expectations — and I could NOT have achieved it without the diligent work and dedication of my team, my friends, my clients and my colleagues.

It started with Vanity Fair.

You know how they have that issue with the actors on it?  I remember thinking…I’d love to do something like that.  How can I do something like that?

And then…in the middle of the night…I woke up with this idea perfectly formed in my head:  my clients.

I wonder if my clients would do something like that?  And so…an idea was born.  The most humbling thing for me, by FAR, is that every single one of my clients we talked to said yes.  No hesitation…no maybe’s — just…yep.  Tam.  That sounds sooo fun!  Let’s do it!  Tell me when and we’ll be there!

I think I might have cried I was so overwhelmed by that.

As an afterthought i said — hey.  let’s videotape it and see if we can’t put a little behind the scenes thingy (yes, I said thingy, it’s the technical term!  ::grin::) together.  Which turned into:  let’s interview each person and ASK (innovative concept, right?  ASK our clients to tell us about their experience) — and we maybe might have forgot to mention this to our clients — so when they came in to be photographed, they were surprised and a little nervous to sit in front of a camera.  I’m telling you this so you can see what follows was completely unscripted — even when I talk (and it’s SO HARD to hear yourself…ugh.  do I REALLY sound like that?  OMG) I had things I wanted to say, but I just talked unscripted.  I sounded a little strange and disconnected and sometimes I’d have to say it a couple of times — but I wanted it to be more gritty and real — then a perfect beautiful video.  Because we want to have fun and play and take photographs — we don’t want to be perfect.  It’s too much pressure, right?

Here’s the Vanity Fair cover that inspired me:

Cool ,right?  So…what I love about what our final image is that it’s a TOTAL Swales interpretation.  I wanted several things — I wanted to show how DIVERSE my clientele is…I wanted to show how COOL they are…and I wanted to be PLAYFUL.

Here’s mine (and clicking it will take you to an online version — that if you click it will make it REALLY BIG.  Try it — it’s totally cool!)

Can you BELIEVE this?!  I LOVE it sooo much!!!

Finally — we worked on the COOL VIDEO.

I don’t know what to say about it other than it’s the coolest thing I think we’ve done up until this point.  I love everything and everyone in it.  Thank you Thank you Thank you to everyone involved — my amazing clients, Rock Paper Scissors Salon who styled, Bruce Hahn for advising me on lighting, My amazing team, and my family for supporting me through all the madness.  I love you all.

So…watch it will ya?  And tell me if you like it.  really.  Cuz it was a LOT of work.  And I really wanted you to know how important it is to me that my clients take center stage…because, ultimately, that’s WHY I do what I do.  For you.  xoxo

Ready?

Labor Day Weekend, I traveled to Long Beach NY (go there.  now.  it’s incredible!) to photograph the wedding of Jocelyn and Joe at the newly opened Allegria Hotel.  What made it difficult, like so many of my weddings, was that it got picked up by the gorgeous Merci New York Style Blog — and because they wanted to wait until warmer weather to showcase a beach wedding — we had to wait to talk about it…although a FEW images sneaked out here and there because, frankly, I couldn’t wait perfectly. 

I want you to look at the photographs and think about the fact that Jocelyn conceived the concept of sea glass and wove it through the entire wedding.  Blues, greens, that soft color that only comes from years of being washed in the ocean — were featured throughout all the details of their wedding.  They also got up the next morning at sunrise with the entire wedding party to do a day after session — and both “events” received rave reviews from the blog writers over at Merci New York.  Special Thanks to Jessica Weiser for coming all the way from Maine to shoot this wedding with me!!

Things that were cool:

Aforementioned decor and design — Joce even designed, printed and HAND DYED the ribbon on her invites.  Sooo beautiful.

Perfect weather.  Loving family and friends.

A large crowd on the board walk that participated in the ceremony — seriously, like hundreds of people were watching.  It was fun!

Jocelyn and Joe practiced not one but TWO choreographed dances at their reception.  I’m talking “Dancing with the Stars” level dances.  Super impressive!

A Chinese Tea Ceremony integrated both families

Sparklers at the end of the night.

A Day After Session that ROCKED!

So you can see…it was hard to wait to share these.  If you want to peek at the write up on Merci New York click the pic:

Some fun pics from the wedding (wait.  day after session also coming!)

And then we all got up at Sunrise.  But TOTALLY WORTH IT!

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 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.

When I first met Deb and Gary I was struck by the warmth and intense affection that they had for each other. It was truly wonderful to witness that again in their first look.

Deb and Gary worked closely together to design a wedding day that was so personal and full of details that really expressed them as a couple, from their artistic, quirky personalities to their cultural backgrounds and world views. They wanted their wedding, on a visual level, to reflect a kind of vintage/industrial feel (which they also incorporated into their engagement shoot, in downtown Buffalo), and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time for portraits that captured that look.

Thing is, there are added practical benefits to first looks as well. Since the bride and groom have already seen each other, it opens up the opportunity to do couple (and even family!) portraits before the ceremony even starts. This is especially a plus for weddings with later ceremonies (which get increasingly tricky as the summer winds down).  Since Deb and Gary’s ceremony and reception were in the same room at Pearl Street Brewery in Buffalo, and they wanted to glide seemlessly between the two, we took advantage of the time and light before the ceremony and rocked out portraits!

The tenderness that these two shared overflowed to their friends and family, whom they brought into every aspect of their day.  I never get enough of watching two people be so incredibly happy!!! It is absolutely one of the best parts of my job.  From their first look to the end of the night both Deb and Gary literally glowed.  I love watching days like that unfold.

So…back to work, but first, here’s a snippet of some of that fantastic-ness for you, and a taste of what we’ve been up to lately. August, here we come!!!!  And frankly, how can it be August already?!

Aww, heck…why not two snippets?!?!