Boudoir

Boudoir Photography has slowly been gaining more popularity over the past
few years, mostly because a lot of women are discovering that it can be done
in a classy and tasteful style. I personally love boudoir sessions because its an
opportunity to hang out and drink wine with funny, confident women while
taking awesome photos. Who wouldn't like that?

I met up with Kate and Nikki in Alexandria at the Hotel Monaco, a very eclectic,
contemporary hotel for a sneaky session away from their husbands - they
are planning a sexy surprise for the one-year anniversary gift. They both
were so awesome in front of the camera - in fact, they even said that once we
started shooting, they kind of forgot that they were in their underwear! They
were also nice enough to let me post a few "appropriate" photos for the
blog so thank you to them! Hopefully it might give some of those other newly
married or soon-to-be married women a confidence boost to try this.
I highly recommend it!

In other news, I will be in Boston for the remainder of the week.
I have a wedding and some portrait sessions so there will be lots to share
when I get back.

Have a great week everyone!

A Day for History

Generations from now, our children's children's children will look back on
January 20th, 2009 and remark that it was a day that forever changed the
path of America's history. Whether or not you are an Obama supporter
(and yes, I am) it cannot be denied that yesterday was history in the making
and I was lucky enough to be a small part of it.

Ian and I woke up way to late to make it out of the house on time to get downtown
and get spots on the Mall for the actual inauguration itself (we watched that from
the warmth of our living room), but we did want to go into DC to just be a part of
the energy and excitement that the day brought. It did not disappoint. Everywhere
we looked, people were smiling, laughing, cheering and fist pumping with their tiny
American Flags raised high and proud. It was awesome. We attempted to see the
parade, but 2.5 million people is a lot to navigate and so unfortunately we were not
able to get close enough to see Obama...shucks. But still, it was a pretty cool day and
although I wasn't necessarily down there to take pictures, I grab a few to commemorate the day.

















I found this super ironic. Hope in the form of commercialism/advertising.
Sigh. I guess some things never change.






One of the coolest things we saw was this area with posters scattered
all over the ground. People were writing their hopes for the
new president and the upcoming 4 years...





Ian all bundled up! It sure was cold.
Yesterday was actually a day where I was proud to be an American citizen.

Susan and Darren - January 10th

New England must have thought I'd forgotten what snow looked like
because we got quite the storm for Susan and Darren's Connecticut
wedding two weekends ago. I think over a foot fell throughout the reception,
making the Aquaturf Club the perfect backdrop for their wintery, white wedding.

Susan and Darren didn't let the weather bother them one bit though.
They even braved the bitter cold for a few photographs out in the
soft, falling snow. I love when my couples will do anything
for a few good photos. And Susan and Darren were so
relaxed the entire day - nothing bothered them! All day long
they were both just so wonderfully happy and thankful to be
marrying their best friend...

Susan's florist used some leftover lace from her dress to wrap her bouquet. Gorgeous.


The bride-to-be.






She is SO Stunning!




Jovee (Jovee Henehan Photography) was my second for the day.
She spent the afternoon with the boys. This was one of my favorites!




Looking pretty darn good before going down the aisle!




Married!







Making their grand entrance and showing off some dance moves.

Southern New England Weddings Guide

Each year, Schryver Publications puts out their annual Southern New England Weddings
guide. A resource and event guide for the New England States, the magazine shares tips,
vendor advice and even highlights real wedding stories. This year, I was honored to be
featured in the magazine with my photographs from Julie and Justin's Wedding.
The magazine did a spread on historical venues and Julie and Justin's August 16th
wedding at the Linden Place was just the ticket.

For all of my New England Brides, you can learn more about the publication here.
It is also available at your local Borders and/or Barnes&Nobles. For my DC brides,
this guide won't provide you with much help unless you are getting married in
New England, but as a fun tidbit fact, the bride, Julie, lives in Washington, D.C.
and planned her entire wedding from down here. Rock star!!!

Enjoy!

A Very Happy New Years

I'm back! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and took some time off to
celebrate with friends and family. I was fortunate enough to ring in 2009
in a very special way and it all begins almost 14 years ago...

I met Abbey in my 7th grade English class and from there, we were pretty much
attached at the hip. During college, I went off to Boston and she stayed in Madison, so
we still saw each other over breaks when I would come home to visit my parents. I would
meet all of her friends and different boyfriends...and then one year I came home and I got
to meet Ryan. He seemed different than most of the other guys she had been dating
and it quickly became clear that he was when after graduation, she announced that
she was moving to Seattle with him. It was probably a year and a half later on any
random night when my phone rang - it was Abbey calling to tell me that her and
Ryan were engaged.

It's an odd thing when you think about something happening for so many years and then
it finally actually does. I remember us as silly teenagers imagining what our weddings
would be like and how we would be each other's bridesmaids. But then to actually see her
in a wedding dress...well it's emotional. So it was my privilege this New Years to travel
to Cancun, Mexico and stand next to her at the alter and watch one of my greatest friends
marry the love of her life at Moon Palace.


As I was in the wedding party and this trip was all about spending time with friends
and celebrating, I didn't get a lot of photos, but there were a few I snagged so enjoy!





Getting ready at the salon.


Maggie, her maid of honor, working on her speech while she got dolled up.


Shoes!



The earrings were Abbey's grandmother's and the bag is a VERY unique and special thing
her soon to be sister-in-law, Allison, made for her. Allison is a fashion designer and
created this bag using the material from Abbey's mother's wedding dress. How cool is that!
I love the idea and if any of the brides out there are interested in something like this for
their wedding, please let me know and I'd be happy to put you in touch with her.





The boys...a very, um, unique group of individuals. We had a lot of fun on the trip.

The bridal party! I gave my camera to someone to snap this shot.


Ryan's little brother or the "King of Rings," as he was so dubbed.










They're such a good looking couple!


Dancing together...





Cutting their cupcake!

A little bit of rain during the night, but nothing too bad!


Abbey and I...there is nothing better in the world than good friends.
Thank you Abbey and Ryan for including me as a part of your day. I love you both!