[jillian and zach]

I had met with Jillian (a jewelry designer) a while back, along with her mother (who is also an art teacher...) and I could tell then that there would be a strong chance that I'd have a lot of creative freedom in photographing her. I met with her and Zach at Ellicott Island Park in Amherst ( a place so near to my school and yet I had never been there before) for the second shoot of a perfect day a week or so back....

The park is a dog park, perfectly chosen as there is just this bridge to get onto the island...All of the dogs were very well behaved too for being loose (although there was a head on collision once or twice.)





Ahhhh! Leaf Woman! (This shot really makes me giggle uncontrollably.)

I love when people aren't afraid to get a little messy in the name of art!





Can I say here too, that I have major hair envy (of Jillian, that is) after an afternoon of rolling around in the leaves and swinging, it still looked incredible!


I am really looking forward to their April wedding.....thanks again guys for your ever smiling cooperation!

[I wish...]

I wish that someone would actually make this their wedding cake and invite me over to photograph it!

(via Brandon Kidd)

[sarah and ken]

Two Saturdays ago I had the good fortune to have two engagement shoots on probably one of the nicest days of the year. Sarah and Ken were up first.....their wedding is next July at Becker Farms, so they were looking for a bit more of an urban feeling to their photoshoot. We started off in the vicinity of Asbury hall....





I have been craving some pretty intense color and architectural elements for a bit now, and these did not disappoint....I had been watching them paint this building and thought it would be perfect for a "bubbly" couple like Sarah and Ken.



I love these.....it shows that their relationship is so well balanced....




I had also been eyeing this building in the theater district for quite some time...




Ken and Sarah's sweetness contrasts well with urban hardness.




Walking back to Delaware, I found this great bit of tall grass with the city in the background, so I made the two of them squish themselves behind it. They were definitely up for it and I think it worked out pretty amazingly...



We then made our way towards the Bidwell Farmer's market....nothing like a college bar during the day to find a neat bit of architecture.




Sarah and Ken were so much fun to work with.....willing to bend to my artistic whims....Thanks guys (and I can't wait till your wedding!)

[weddings etsy style]

i think that i am going to make this a regular feature, especially now that my blogging is going to be slowing down in these cold wintery months....today I am going to focus on ring bearer pillows.....when we were married, my mother in law made our ring bearer pillow from leftover fabrics from our flower girl's dress....it was very pretty but perhaps couldn't be incorporated into our current decor. I love the idea of using the pillow for just that- an accent on a small chair or bookshelf. Here are some faves:

1. Kate Series Ring Bearer Pillow by 5eiszen


2. Silver Sash Bow Pillow by Emicibridal



3. Custom calendar ring bearer pillow by Giggleroom





4. Modern Poppy Pillow by evies

[erin and jeff (or, at long last)]

My last wedding of the season was definitely one of the most fun of the year.....Erin and Jeff, friends of my photog buddy Kristen had their wedding at Pearl Street Brewery, (at which I am quickly becoming a regular) on a cold, cold October day....luckily for me the whole wedding party was up for some quirky shots and we had a blast in the meantime.



















We tried at first to take some pictures at Hoyt Lake....check out this amazing sky!


But the cold winds took us to City Hall. The security guard there was awesome, he let us go up to the observation deck for some pictures.





Back outside, a "lifting the bride" picture soon turns into a childbirth roleplay?!












Sweetness!

Thanks again guys!

[jillian and neil]

Another day at Knox Farms, another super fun shoot. Jillian and Neil wanted to play it up a bit, giving their engagement shoot a vintage "love in the time of war" feel. When Jillian initially emailed me her idea I was literally jumping up and down in my classroom....she bought a couple of vintage dresses through Etsy to wear, and Neil, being a WWII buff was perfectly outfitted down to his grandfather's pocket watch.

I really had a hard time choosing.....it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and the light was too good.





























Neil is such a ham....this is one of a whole "Neil" series...

[WOW. or, A pretty inspired wedding link]

i love when I come across a totally random blog that contains a link to another random site of beautiful wedding styling that is in another part of the country altogether. I can spend hours doing this.
ok, actually it is a problem of mine. a large problem. I suppose it could be worse, I could quit my job and wait outside the casino every morning until it opens, but seeing as how i am not the gambling type, I'll stick to blog stalking. By the way, those of you who keep telling me in person that you are in fact stalking my blog, please leave me some comments! I feel like I am talking to myself over here, and that can be down right embarrassing.

so here are a couple of things for you to drool over, and incorporate into your own wedding if I am photographing it!

Joy Thigpen's Nashville Lifestyle Wedding:

[kelly and mike]

I am a bit out of order with my posting, so please if you are looking for a particular (erin and jeff) event, hold tight! I'll be posting like mad this week now that Halloween is over and I am not having to construct robot light panels or making mummy cupcakes.

I met Kelly and Mike out at Knox Farms State Park....if you have not been there I URGE you to go quick before all of the leaves are gone. I actually shot two engagements there last weekend, and there are so many places to wander, peacefully. I could definitely move right in to the old estate house at a moments notice (in fact I contemplated just moving into the ultra cool modern pool house.)

But I digress......Kelly is the daughter of one of the directors at my daughter's preschool and is wonderful, and Kelly is the spitting image of her mom, down to her voice. Mike is great too....and they were really fun to work with. Here are a couple of favorites from the day. Luckily the rain began only after we got into the car to go home!

[belinda and matt]

a couple weeks back i ventured down to chautauqua with my best photography bud, Kristen Davide to photograph Belinda and Matt's wedding. It was a stunning sunny day, although FREEZING, and all of the leaves were in full color....the perfect fall wedding. Kristen met Matt and his boys at the Anthenaeum Hotel in the Institute, while I met up with Belinda and the girls at the Plumbush Inn. I was in beautiful old home heaven!

Kristen had some amazing light with which to work....


















Then it was off to the Hall of Philosophy for the ceremony. What a perfect place for a ceremony, aside from all of the obvious beauty, it was awesome to be able to be behind the scenes to get some pretty great close up shots. Kristen was able to cover the "audience view" so overall we had really nice variety of images.






This could be my favorite of the day (thanks, Kristen!!) I love the familial LOVE that is happening here.



There are so many images where Matt is completely lost in Belinda (who wouldn't be, she is one of the most geniune people I have ever met!).....I love these moments.


"Stay Back!!"


I couldn't resist doing the ring shot on the shards of glass...





Back at the Plum Bush for the outdoor reception....Dinosaur BBQ provided the dinner and happy hour featured Pimm's Cup drinks- had I not been the photographer, I definitely would have partaken in a few of those....delicious! Oh, and there was a restroom trailer that had, I kid you not, a fireplace inside!














Apple Pie cake cutting.....



When we left the reception, we saw millions of stars (it was that cold) but the perfect ending to such a wonderful experience.....

[joan and todd]

I really love meeting a couple for the first time...particularly when you have had a vast email history.....I had talked back and forth with Joan many times via email, as she lives in Detroit (and Todd in Connecticut) and was super excited to put a face with the words...We met at Lake Effect Diner on Main Street near UB, an authentic vintage diner with lots of charm. We planned on starting the engagement shoot here, but the weather was (surprise!) less than cooperative. The sun just came out long enough to tease and then when we were ready to go outside, BAM! Pouring. We did manage to get a few....




The next best place to go shoot was Canisius, where Joan and Todd met. Todd worked at the library so we decided to play around with some of the architectural elements there.




Joan was really into the colors of the stacks....





We ventured back outside as the rain subsided and was replaced by wind and freezingness...


So, for a long time now I have been a great fan of The Image Is Found, a phenominal husband/wife photography team in California...this shot is my homage to them- I was really hesitant to make the image knowing that it really came from another source, but the art teacher in me knows that great art is informed by other great art. Besides, I really loved their glasses, and also how different they both look without them.






Then we went into the round tower at the center of the campus.....right out of the camera these pictures were somewhat Andre Serrano-esque (that comparison for Joan, the art historian, hopefully I don't offend, but I think you'll know what I mean) so I tried to correct as much as possible, but again, cool structure.


j&t- I am looking forward to your wedding next year at the Roycroft.....thanks for being great sports during that shoot!

[jenn and tim]

recently, i caught up with Jenn and Tim at the Central Terminal for their engagement shoot....great time. October 3rd was their wedding....even better time. I can't tell you enough how much fun this job can be, particularly when you have such awesome clients who have such a realistic view of what a wedding should be. Often, upon hearing that I shoot weddings, people will say to me, "Oh, I bet you have some stories!" or, "Any Bridezillas lately?" And honestly, I can say no. What could be better than spending the day with a group of people who are so happy? (Makes me examine my teaching job from time to time, that's for sure!)
In any case, Jenn and Tim's wedding was a blast (other than the limo driver who decided to take a 15 mile detour rather than tackle Niagara Street) and covered much territory in the Western New York region....

We began at Jenn's parents' grand island home:

For the record, this is NOT Jenn, but I suppose it could have been for as many pictures I took of this little one!


This is also NOT Jenn. This is Lucy (or Louis, whichever you prefer), who actually was rather a bridezilla. Don't let the "smile" fool you, she was waiting to rip my throat out.


HERE is Jenn. Stunning.


And here is Barbie. Naked. Probably not proper attire for a Catholic ceremony? (does it creep anyone else out that her skin is panty textured?)


The ceremony was at Holy Angels on Porter in Buffalo. Beautiful church, if not in a questionable area. Many of the homes in this community are real gems. I will admit however, that I was a bit nervous walking from my car to the church and then back again. As I left the ceremony, there was a group of "young men" riding bicycles with home made speaker systems built right on the back and blasting intimidating music (as intimidating as you could be on bicycles). Interesting.

How beautiful is this boy??







The priest was very into the ceremony...I really enjoyed that.






Then we headed over to the Historical Society...when the heck did that place get so busy?! I always refuse to go to the Albright because you nearly have to fight for a spot to take pictures against a not so ideal background (really, the white of the building does not do wonders for human skin tones), so instead I liked going to the historical society- lots of variation, water, flora, etc. On this day you could not get anywhere near the place. So instead, we worked with the little run down building near Elmwood.





We did make it up to the main Japanese Gardens walkway just as raindops began to fall....so a couple of quick action shots were all we could take. It was around here that one of my former students was also photographing a wedding....


So while the limo driver was taking the wedding party on a scenic tour of all of the area's expressways (190 s to get to Lewiston from Buffalo?!), I got to the Niagara Falls CC to photograph some details...

Killer cake!!







Maybe I mentioned it before, but I get super emotional now when I watch the parent/child dances, thinking about how someday it will be my kids.....




Can you guess which song had made a comeback this year at wedding receptions all over the country?





As I said....awesome day. Thanks guys!

[more etsy love]

everytime I try to get some proofing done, etsy goes and sends me another email that send me on a journey into the handmade....I am certain it is the photography that sucks me in, but here are some really beautiful wedding details for you to ponder...

Personalized wedding signs by Funkifolkart



Custom Wedding Gown by ktjean



and my FAVORITE, the gray sparrow dress by makool. I love these colors together, maybe a room inspiration since I am not getting married again any time soon :)
Oh, and by the way, a couple of new photo posts will happen tomorrow, I promise!

[vintage wedding lust]

one of my deepest passions is to drool over design blogs for hours and try to apply the ideas to my own house......Design*Sponge has been my number one source for ideas and its founder, Grace Bonney was recently married and her wedding is being featured over on Martha Stewart Weddings as well as on Design*Sponge. I thought I would post some of the images here for a little future client inspiration :). Click here for the full post of the diy details from their day.


Hand screened wedding invitations on vintage handkerchiefs:


Fabric Covered buttons attached to her Shrimp and Grits favors-


A vintage photobooth for guests to play with...do we have these in Buffalo that photograph in black and white?

[karen and mike]

I have been so lucky this summer. My clients have been phenominal, so much so that I wonder if I should just quit teaching and do this full time? Ok, I know that is ridiculous, but in any case Karen and Mike have been more than phenominal. You may remember them from their engagement session in Lewiston.....awesome then, even better now. After a bit of a driving fiasco, (let's just say that Niagara Falls Blvd. is not always 55 mph in Wheatfield...) I made it to Karen's place to get some prep pictures....





So Karen and I have the exact same aesthetic....she had scoped out this barn to use as a backdrop for some photos before going to the church...and it was rather funny seeing the little old man who owned it peeking out of his house and wondering why the heck this limo was parked in his driveway. As one of the bridesmaids commented, it was like a guerilla photo shoot.




And on to the Church...Karen designed the programs which were awesome.












The ring bearer held this tiny porcelain bowl, made by Paloma's Nest which Karen and Mike found on Etsy.


Saturday was the start of our awful windy stormy weather....



But aside from the raindrops, it was a perfect day to go to Niagara University for pictures after the ceremony.








Karen and Mike are super fun people, so of course they picked the most fun bridal party ever. Jonathan the ring bearer got into some heavy play fighting (he was promised WWE tix in exchange for good ring bearer behavior) which resulted in Mike's flower flying...





Then the guys decided to have a bouquet toss....



Because the girls had traded their bouquets for the guy's jackets and accessories.


And then on to the Crown Plaza Hotel in the Falls for the reception...






Mike and his best man reliving the better days of their childhood together.....


I loved watching Karen's dad taking many little glimpses of her all throughout their dance.


Now that I have a son, I can't keep from getting a little misty when I see Mother/son dances like this.

I could have pulled maybe 50 shots from the reception alone....Karen and Mike had a little set up in the foyer for people to make crazy portraits, complete with costumes and props. Ironically, the DJ also had lots of fun props to play with, so it was pretty wild.

Then Uncle Chuck sang a song....





This is hilarious....the difference between the men and the women and their excitement level for the garter/bouquet tradition.






I had one of the best times *ever* photographing this wedding...thanks Mike and Karen!

[kari and corey]

last weekend was one of the nicest, sunniest weekends we have had in a very long time. the warm sun felt so good, and I was lucky enough to be able to spend the whole afternoon in it, photographing this very cool couple. Kari and Corey are originally from Buffalo but have been living in Texas with their 4 year old son, Cameron, who, on many occasions, stole the show.

Kari's dress was super sweet....


....as were the bridesmaid's dresses....



They decided to do a first look prior to their ceremony at St. Louis, so we met down at the Commercial Slip for pictures. I think that the look on Cameron's face when he first caught sight of his mom was priceless.....



The sun was actually a bit difficult to work with so we needed to find some shady areas...but the blue sky was worth the trouble.




Kari and Corey have such a great ability to make each other laugh....the whole day was filled with this energy.









Then it was onto St. Louis for the ceremony....the late afternoon light was perfect both inside and outside the church.


Cameron was REALLY getting into his role as photography subject...



Kari's sister hand sewed each and every sequin onto her shoes, for about 3 days straight.











Reception at Pearl Street....I LOVE this little intimate corner.






I had an absolute blast working with the whole crowd throughout the day...thanks guys!

[etsy love]

When my husband and I were married, the options in wedding design were nothing like they are today. I ended up making my own invitations my hand because I just wanted something different. Now all I can do is drool over all of the things I never even thought of having. So I thought that the next best thing would be for me to pass along some of these ideas to others who will have me photograph them at their weddings.
If you haven't yet discovered Etsy, this is the one place to find it all...here are some things I happened upon today:

1. Custom Made Pinwheels by Petitsmetier


I just love the combination of turquoise and red......I would love to see an entire wedding done in these colors. What a fun, whimsical favor.

2. Custom Designed Screen Printed Wedding Invitations by Heatherjeany



These are awesome...they really have an edginess that I really dig.

3. Big City Party Invitations by Niftypear



I love typography, ever since starting to teach Graphic Design. These invitations are city-cool and sleek.

4. Name Card Holder by goodguest


My dream wedding would have been one that took place outside, but living in Buffalo, that is not a great idea if you don't want to have any weather stress in the weeks leading up to it. That being said, my favorite weddings are those that are outside, a garden party of sorts. These would be perfect.

5. Wedding bands by 51degreesnorth



So this one is for their pure hilarity....all I can say is wow.


And finally, over on Design*Sponge today, there was a post showing some of this amazing calligraphy by Leigh Wells of inkwells...I am just trying to figure out what I can have her write for me. Tasty!!




I am thinking that from time to time I will share some more ideas...maybe in some sort of organized fashion. At least now I have an outlet for my obsessive etsy browsing!

[jordan]

The family and I traveled to the remote parts of Alden to meet up with Jordan and his family (our friends Parrish and Karen) for his less than typical senior portrait session....it really had much more of a album cover shoot instead, which is so much more fun. We took a few typical yearbook headshots, and then Jordan changed things up. It seems that Jordan was not the musical sort of kid in his previous years, but Guitar Hero changed all of that. Not only does he have a beautiful guitar, but he plays it just as well.



Jordan's grandparents own this charming house on a manmade lake in Alden...it was like going camping in the Adirondacks, without the bears....Parrish took me out on the electric boat to get some of these shots...






A little bit grainy, but I really like it...I'm having fun using some new lightroom presets.

[my kind of town]

so last weekend we went to Chicago for a day....it absolutely amazes me how well thought out that city is. Buffalo could really learn a lot- I keep holding out hope that someone will start thinking holistically and create spaces that people interact with and actually visit. Shake that "the city is scary" attitude! In any case, I rant. We spent an hour at Millennium Park, playing in the giant face fountains, marveling over our reflections in the cloud gate, frolicking in the grass at the Frank Gehry Pavilion....we visited the Shedd Aquarium and walked aroung the greenspaces surrounding it. Definitely my favorite American city. I'd move there in a heartbeat. Those in charge in Buffalo- get it together!



Can you find us in this image? The Cloud Gate from inside.

[melanie and matt]

Melanie and Matt are one of those couples that I don't get to see too much if at all prior to the wedding but then turn out to be the coolest people to work with. A very unassuming couple who photograph amazingly well and just know how to have fun- my kind of people!


Melanie's "something old" included a hand written recipe from her grandmother...


Their ceremony was held at OLBS Church in Lancaster- lots of great light!







I grabbed the couple for a few pictures at the front entrance of the church, which had this super funky wall. I love the graphic patterning.


Some of the church's parishioners were arriving for 3 pm mass, when I spotted an older gentleman riding this great bike in and parking it at the back entrannce. He gracefully obliged me when I asked him if I could use it as a prop.



Vincent the dog couldn't wait to be a part of the wedding....since he wasn't allowed at the church, we swung by Melanie's parents place for a short doggy photo shoot. Vincent was a great model.


So I found out later on that Melanie and Matt had been roommates in a Habitat for Humanity in California, and that is how they met. So how fitting that Matt's ring had a redwood inlay....I so want to redesign my own rings now that there are all of these amazing options out there!


We went to Forest Lawn for pictures in between....the wind was whipping this willow tree all around but it worked. Of course it helped greatly that two of the groomsmen came to the rescue and held the branches away....but it definitely made for some cool shots.


Funny set- I sometimes ask the guys if they want to jump, sometimes it is a less than enthusiastic yes, but in this case, the guys were all over it.


Gorgeous classic dresses....



Tie dye tie! (The tie dyed vest wasn't feasible...)


Melanie and Matt were great to photograph....they are so comfortable with each other and were relaxed around the camera. That's what makes for great photographs.


Glen Oak Golf Club for the reception...you can't get much prettier scenery than this.



Matt is a glassblower and made the cake topper. He also insisted on the Mad Hatter cake, which turned out fabulous!



Nothing but sweetness during the first dance...


One of my all time favorites, Kevin McCarthy was playing at the reception....he really had the crowd rockin (and me, which makes it hard to photograph, sing and sort of dance simultaneously.)


What a great wedding to end the summer with.....now I am looking forward to some beautiful fall colors and sunshine for the final stretch of 2009 weddings.

[bridget and andrew: the wedding]

and a most epic wedding it was...I mentioned in my earlier engagement edition post on these two that they are among the most awesome people I have ever met. Bridget was telling me a little bit about the wedding that day and I never imagined that she would have pulled it off as visually amazing as she did. *EYE CANDY!* I drooled more than a little over the fun flavors of the girls' dresses and the guys' ties. And although it rained (surprise, I think we have adopted Seattle's weather as our own now) the colors still popped!
Bridget and Andrew had so many cool little touches too- a crossword in the Church program, handmade sparkly favors, invitations they designed themselves, the list goes on. I'll stop talking now and show you what I mean...

Bridget's parents have an adorable house in Kenmore, a town we always say we'd live in if we moved out of the city. The front door was my favorite, perfect for a dress.



toe details...


as an art teacher, this is color theory heaven! as I am proofing these images I am still thinking of ways to arrange them (nothing short of making everyone dress up again so I can fulfill my artistic vision...)


the ceremony at St. John's in Kenmore-




is this child not a porcelain doll??


afterwards we headed to City Hall for some good-old-fashioned-in-the-rain picture taking...the color of the stone worked so well with the jewel toned dresses...

ok...so every so often an idea doesn't work out exactly as you had hoped. however in this case it turned out rather intriguing. Definitely not album material but cool nonetheless. I find myself drawn to these type of images especially for the blog, to give them an audience that they would otherwise have (you can tell I am blogging late, I am personifying my images now...)



the boys, left to their own creative devices....


i love this....so andy warhol.


After that, we headed down to the commercial slip at the foot of Pearl Street. I really look forward to seeing how this area develops- it almost feels like a city here.



The reception was at Pearl Street...you can't get more Buffalo than that.


Oh, and the cake. Tops. Yes, it is really cool, but I mean TOPS. The STORE. Didn't know they could do wedding cakes, did you?





As if the night couldn't have been more fun....Bridget's cousin Becky, who teaches Irish dancing at Rochez surprised Bridget (and everyone else) with a pretty amazing show....I can't imagine how that sounded to the floors below at Pearl Street!


Then everyone else got into it....truly the bride and groom's first dance-

And I'll end with another photographic oddity...so many times when I am photographing people dancing, a random arm or head will pop into my viewfinder just as I snap the picture. Usually I delete these, but this one got by me, and I am happy it did...


So many times when I am photographing a wedding, I feel so much a part of the family and friends that are there....So many times I wanted to put aside my camera and just jump onto the dance floor...everyone had a blast. At one point, Andrew came up to me and said, "You know what the best part of your own wedding is? You can do ANYTHING you want!" That's really a great piece of advice- these two created a wedding that was entirely THEM. They broke the rules a bit and came away with something absolutely memorable. Thanks, guys for letting me be a part of that!