I joined them in their suite at the beautiful Saybrook Point Inn where they were getting ready. Gotta love those shoes!

There were tons of awesome details on display and many were personal mementos in honor of loved ones.

Yup–matching tattoos to celebrate their wedding!

The locket (below) contained a tiny lock of hair from April’s grandfather and The Lord’s Prayer on one side. A photo of him with her grandmother on the other. With it is his wedding ring. They were given to April by her grandmother. They were married for around 60 years…Amazing.
April and Amy’s rings are below, along with a book April had made as a gift to Amy.

Love the dark purple calla lilies they chose:

Once everyone was ready we headed out to the little gazebo on the property for the ceremony. The ceremony was officiated by Mary Coburn. I have had the pleasure of working with Mary many times in the past few years and am always amazed and touched by the thought she puts into each ceremony and her incredible connection to her couples.



Teresa, their “BFF of Honor,” hands over the rings:


After the ceremony we all headed to the town hall to have their marriage license signed and made official! Such a cool moment to witness, especially since in their home state of South Carolina April and Amy’s marriage won’t be recognized. The significance of documenting this day for them is not lost on me.


We grabbed lots of beautiful pictures after our visit to the Town Hall. We had a few rain drops but we got lucky and the real rain never truly materialized.



Hard to pick just one but this might just be my favorite from the whole day:



Back at The Saybrook Point Inn we got a bit of sun along with the gray, cloudy skies:


Another favorite pair:


After shooting their ‘formals’ we headed inside for some cupcakes and gifts! Their cupcakes were super yummy. Made by Little Sister’s Bake Shop in New London. If only I lived closer…sigh…

In the photo collage above you can see the knife they used was from April’s parents’ wedding! Love all their personal touches!

Below, April and Amy exchange gifts.

Congratulations, April and Amy! Your wedding was perfect and I was so honored to be there!

Jess, by the way, was once of one those “handsome grooms” on my blog! Here he is last September at his wedding in Sisters, Oregon:

In just over a week Jess leaves for a 2 month trip to Afghanistan. He has gone twice before to work with wheelchair-bound residents who are interested in learning to play wheelchair basketball. There have been several exciting developments since his first trip. In Jess’s words:

Here it is, Spring 2012 – about two and a half years since I made my first journey to Afghanistan to spend a week teaching a team of 12 Afghan men in a little town called Maimana the basics of wheelchair basketball. Since that initial trip, the sport has seen tremendous growth in several cities across Afghanistan, with new men’s and women’s teams having been formed – and many new players joining existing teams – following the delivery of 120 brand new basketball wheelchairs to the country in January 2011. Last May I made a return trip, this time working with about 70 players in three cities over the course of three weeks and seeing first hand the enthusiasm and excitement that wheelchair basketball is creating amongst the Afghan disabled population. Momentum has continued to build since my return to the U.S. last June, both within Afghanistan and abroad, and several significant developments have come to pass that are bringing a new level of excitement and legitimacy to this rapidly accelerating effort.

Jess started a blog to keep his friends and family up to date on his travels, along with other interested parties. On his last trip, in 2011, documentary filmmaker Michael Glowacki captured some incredible footage of his work with the men in Afghanistan. You can view a trailer here at the Kickstarter website.

Jess writes:

Michael hopes to join me again for the last month of my upcoming trip to capture more footage and continue to build the Afghan players’ stories. A film like this will be an incredible awareness-building tool if completed, so I’m excited to see where the team can take it.

Jess’s blog is definitely worth a look. You can read some more about his upcoming trip and about his partnership with the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross.You can also scroll down to some of his earlier entries from his previous visits to get a better understanding of the amazing growth this sport has seen in just a few short years. I remember when Jess shared photos from his first trip. He described the limitations these players faced because they were forced to use old wheelchairs not designed for basketball so the movements he was attempting to teach them were often difficult for them to replicate.  It was a huge victory when last January many new wheelchairs were delivered to the players in Afghanistan. There are many new and exciting developments on the horizon as well!

You can read more about Jess’s travels here.

I know that Jess doesn’t expect any accolades for what he does. But given the state of affairs in Afghanistan and what Jess risks and what he gives up to spend time in this country helping strangers (many of whom have since become friends) I am just so inspired and so proud and so, so hopeful for him and for all of the people who’s lives he will touch on this upcoming trip. Please consider supporting his efforts and saying a prayer for another safe and successful trip! Jess-we are so excited for the amazing growth that you have helped to facilitate. You are touching so many lives!

Little Liya was a dream to photograph. All babies are, really. But Liya was so easy! She was very calm, she slept a lot and pretty much let us do whatever we wanted while I was there! There are tons of favorites from this session and, as always, I had trouble selecting just a few to share.

We started off downstairs with the whole family, and their sweet dog, Eli.

Liya was awake for this part–I love her expression here!

Love this next shot. Just a natural moment and in this one their cat, Schlimy, makes an appearance in the background.

Liya was looking for a snack so I got a tour of her bedroom in the meantime. Love how they decorated! There was a little bird and an elephant theme going on. They found the pillow first and decided to incorporate the characters elsewhere, too.
They had the stuffed ones made from etsy to carry them through the nursery.

Check out the elephant her Daddy painted above the crib. That was my favorite part!

Love the next two of David snuggling little Liya:


Mommy’s turn!

And the happy little family:



Gotta love the quick snap of Liya with the 2 family cats. Schlimy we saw earlier. Here is Bip, too. The 17 year old gray cat. Yup–seventeen!

We got tons of gorgeous images of baby Liya once she’d fallen back into a deep sleep:



Another few family photos…Notice the elephant family on the couch pillows below. Random but awesome coincidence given her room decor!

A quick few outside–brrr!


And one more peaceful, sleepy-baby face to linger on…

Pam and David–it was such an honor to photography sweet Liya and to be able to capture these precious moments for you all to treasure!

I had such a great time spending the afternoon with them and snuggling little Sophie Clara.

To my delight, she, too, had the gorgeous black hair.

Ava was the perfect, adoring older sister and loved holding little Sophie for some pictures.

When it was time for some solo pics of the baby, Ava stayed close by to squeeze in some snuggles and to grab some photos of her own on her handy-dandy iPod Touch. So cute!




Hello, cutest family!






My last frame of the day. We promised Ava we would let her hold Sophie standing up at the end of the shoot. She did a great job!

Madeline, David and Ava–thank you so much for inviting me into your home to meet little Sophie. I had a wonderful time and love how these images came out. I hope they mean the world to you for many, many years to come! Can’t wait ’til next time!

(Move your cursor off of the slideshow to enjoy an unobstructed view.)

When we got together last fall for their engagement shoot at Bobby’s family’s farm we had a blast. These two were high school sweethearts. Indeed they’ve known each other since the first grade, I believe! (Their class photo was on display at the wedding. So cute!) I love how much fun they have together and they are just an easy, casual, loving couple. The fact they they are good-looking and photogenic was a total bonus.

I met up with Ann at her parents’ house while she and her girls were getting ready. I loved her details.

Stumbled on this very old family wedding photo in their house. Not sure who they are but love finding little pieces of history like this!

The old and the new.

Both of Ann’s grandmothers had passed away so she honored them by including a brooch from each of them on her bouquet. Lovely and very touching.


Her flowers were gorgeous, by the way. I loved the pretty, wintery colors she chose. They were done by Robinson Originals in Simsbury.

I love the getting ready process. Ann’s make-up was done at Puffer’s Salon and Day Spa in Westfield. You’ll get a better taste for how it came out in some color pics later!

Meanwhile–Julia was hangin’ with Bobby and his guys. Love her shots:

Finishing touches!


Ann and Bobby chose to do a First Look prior to their ceremony. These are always a great idea, in my opinion, but with a January wedding we knew we’d be without daylight after the church so it was key if we wanted outdoor shots. Of course it was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g and raining and windy so poor Ann suffered terribly–but it was worth it!
Love Bobby’s big ol’ smile waiting to see his beautiful bride!


I think they’re pretty happy with what they see.





After everyone was sufficiently frozen to the bone we decided to finish up with some pics inside!

Love the girls’ red dresses with their gorgeous bouquets.



After the formals we headed on down the road to the church for the ceremony:



Gotta love Bobby’s kiss in the bottom right image below. He told me at their engagement shoot that he would do that but I wasn’t sure I believed him. Sure enough–he did! And it was a hit!

Ann and Bobby’s reception was at The Riverview in Simsbury. It was such a lovely, cozy space for a winter wedding.




The toasts were, no surprise, full of laughs!


Tons of fun was had on the dance floor. Tony from Rob Alberti’s Event Services did an awesome job keeping the crowd moving.

Last shot of the night. Classic.

Ann and Bobby–congratulations! And thank you for being such a fun couple to work with. Wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness!

Here are a few from Janna’s belly shoot:

And baby Tatum arrives!

Wow! It was so fun to look back at those after just having finished her one year pics! Get a load of this face!

Hangin' with Izzy!

Getting sleepy!

I'm uuuuuuppppp!

She loves taking everything out of her baskets and drawers!

Tatum–you are adorable! Janna and Dave–thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home and perfect family with me! It has been both an honor and a pleasure photographing such important moments in your life!

Below are some favorites of Colleen and Evan. Check out Colleen’s flowers. The colors were so rich and so perfect for their fall wedding. They were created by Whisconier Florist in Brookfield.

Love this shot of Colleen and Evan and both sets of parents together.

And now with all of their siblings:

Love this image of Colleen with her sister and maid of honor, Erin.

And here is Evan with his co-Best Men, his childhood friends and twin brothers, Eliot and Nick:

When we got to the Candlewood Inn, Evan and Colleen went off on a boat to enjoy some quiet time together as their guests made their way into cocktail hour. Evan actually grew up on the Lake and having the chance to take this ride with his new wife was extremely special to him.
Everything looked amazing inside!


Here are a couple of quick shots of Colleen and Evan as they returned from their voyage and were about to join their guests.

The toasts were a riot!

Erin had everyone laughing with her toast.

I loved Colleen’s dress. So classic and lovely. The ivory color also looked stunning with her auburn hair.

Amy from Dana Bartone & Company was working on Colleen’s make-up when we arrived. Gorgeous.

Oh, Colleen’s hair was amazing–look at that color!

Love these shots of Colleen reading the card that Evan sent her. Apparently he has a way with words!







Colleen and Evan were married at St. Peter’s in Danbury. What a beautiful church.

Love this shot of Evan as he waits for his bride to appear:

Here she comes!

Colleen and Evan–congratulations on your wonderful wedding day. Part Two coming soon!