Here are a few of my favorites from Halley and Josh’s engagement session. I met the couple a few weeks after Valentines Day to discuss their wedding photography options for their upcoming Gallery 1028 ceremony and reception, and during our meeting, they mentioned that they would like to incorporate their dog Minnie in an engagement shoot. Hearing the name Minnie, I had to assume their dog was a petite dog, but I was thrilled to learn that they had a blue Great Dane. For the engagement shoot, they made the smart decision to incorporate their dog for a portion of the shoot, so I was able to focus on both the couple as well as the couple with their dog. I am very happy to have met Minnie and I cannot wait to photograph her as the ring bearer at their wedding ceremony.Halley wore a polka dot dress with an orange belt she picked out for this shoot from Anthropologie, red heels, and carried orange balloons. Josh wore a simple blue button down shirt and jeans.
Okay a bit off topic from wedding photography but this comes up a lot, so I’m writing about it on the blog. Ladies, have you gotten your sixpence yet? You know the saying:
Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.
A recent bride and I had a conversation about the old poem that everyone gathers items for the wedding day. I always see the old, new, and blue, but rarely photograph the silver sixpence. If you would like to add a vintage sixpence for your wedding day they aren’t that difficult to get. Having personally spent a fair amount of time in England myself, I know that they no longer mint the original sixpence. They stopped minting it in 1967, the summer of love. Can you imagine? The coin was made of real silver and worth six pennies. The items in the poem represent a good luck tokens for the bride. With the sixpence, it goes in the bride’s shoe representing financial security and wealth, and is supposed to be placed in the left shoe. I did a little research and found that you can buy an actual hand polished vintage Queen Elizabeth II sixpence coin dated between 1953 and 1967 for under 8 bucks here.
I am happy to announce that my wedding photography and Liza and Nia’s same-sex Boston area wedding has been featured on the popular gay wedding blog So You’re Engayged! Their wedding was on my photography blog here. View the write up regarding their wedding story and details or their day by visiting one of the best gay wedding resource blogs called soyoureengayged.com. You might also be interested in knowing that for their one year anniversary, Liza and Nia participated in Exploring My America and were featured on the website.
Here is a little video from their recent journey, congrats ladies!!!!
The Oceancliff in Newport Rhode Island, was where Claire and Andrew decided to have their destination wedding. It is a beautiful seaside hotel and resort in the famous town of Newport, on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island. The town is famous for the many opulent mansions such as The Breakers and Miramar that were built during the Gilded Age by some of America’s wealthiest families such as the Vanderbilts and Astors. The Oceancliff is one of the mansions which was converted from a private residence to a luxury wedding venue and it has some of the most enchanting views of Narragansett Bay and the sailboats it hosts.
When I was working as an architectural photographer some years ago, I hired the bride Claire, as my intern and we became great friends. She had just moved to this country and hit the ground running as an interior designer. I witnessed Claire and Andrew’s relationship from the beginnings, and saw their happiness grow. Over the years, I have met some of Claire’s closest friends and family from Taiwan and Canada. When Claire and Andrew got engaged, they wanted to find a wedding venue at a memorable destination which families from afar would truly appreciate. As a wedding vendor, I was asked many questions by the bride in relation to wedding advice and planning, and at some point I was hired to be her wedding photographer. I was excited and to be honest, a bit nervous!
On Claire’s wedding day, I arrived at the mansion finding my way up winding stairs to her bridal suite. The room had great big windows, and having a room to get ready with great natural light is essential on the wedding day. This not only is something a wedding photographer loves, but a makeup artist has an easy time working with the right colors for the bride.
For the wedding the bride and groom chose Tiffany blue and orange for their colors. Claire is an interior designer and fine art painter and has a great sense of style. She printed some DIY wedding invitations and menus, and applied stamping and cutting by hand. The guys wore black Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars and the ladies wore matching blue bridesmaid dresses and carried orange and blue bouquets.
When it came to making sure my good friends had the best Boston area DJ for their wedding, I recommended that they enlist Beat Train Productions. As a Boston wedding photographer, I hear a lot of great music, and a lot of not-so-great music, so I didn’t want Claire and Andrew to be stuck with any old DJ. As you can imagine, similar to wedding photographers, Djs can span a whole spectrum from great to cheesy. Just like Beat Train did for Karen & Robbie’s barn wedding (which will be published in an upcoming issue of The Knot Magazine) and Mary & Steve’s coastal maritime wedding, they kept the guests dancing non-stop. Without any hesitation, if you ask me who the best Boston wedding DJ is, I am going to say Beat Train. All of my clients above will agree hands down. I also just learned that Beat Train is expanding to New York City with select dates available. My guess is that a lot of Boston area brides and grooms might have their weddings back “home” in NYC/Brooklyn and want to meet their DJ before the wedding.
During the outdoor summer ceremony overlooking the ocean, Claire and Andrew exchanged vows amidst perfect weather.They incorporated unity sand into their wedding ceremony with sand from various significant locations. Being that their destination wedding was in Newport, there were plenty of sailboats that afternoon.Claire’s father who speaks Mandarin Chinese, made a toast which was his first speech in English. He did a great job with no mixups and happily welcomed Andrew into their family. Claire’s sister Claris came all the way from Taipei to share such a happy occasion with her sister.Andrew’s father also gave a toast to the newlyweds.Both Andrew and Claire were ecstatic on their wedding day and their smiles were contagious to everyone in the room at their reception.As an asian bride, Claire integrated Chinese tradition by changing into a qipao. The bridesmaids changed into red qipao, while the bride blended eastern and western tradition, choosing a white qipao.The cake was perfect for a destination wedding, using a beach theme integrating shells and adirondack chairs.
Crane Estate at Castle Hill is one of my all time favorite wedding venues. The groom Andrew lives in Chicago with his bride Alexa. They had their summer wedding close to Alexa’s home near Boston at the Crane Estate in Ipswich. There is another wedding venue nearby in Newport, RI called Castle Hill as well, so just to be clear, this was on Boston’s North Shore. The Crane Estate on Castle Hill is a National Historic Landmark, and encompasses more than 2,100 preserved acres, including a wildlife refuge. The North Shore wedding venue is a 59 room, Stuart-style mansion was designed by Chicago architect David Adler. It’s no secret that this is one of the Boston area’s best historic wedding venues, but it is also one of the most sought-after wedding venues in the Northeast. The weather could not have been more perfect for the bride and groom. The warm breeze with clear blue skies was just right for an outdoor ceremony on the rolling hills of the Crane Estate, which offers dramatic views overlooking the ocean. The bridal suite which has large windows that let in the most magnificent natural light was where I met Alexa to photograph her getting ready with her bridesmaids and family. This wedding photography blog post is filled with loads of photos of some of the DIY details that the bride and groom selected and created to personalize their day.
Alexa had ordered a personalized and custom made hanger for her wedding gown. As of this posting, I believe there is an 8-10 week waiting list on the LilaFrances hangers. The bride and bridesmaids wore Jack Rogers Navajo leather resort sandals, which worked great for the outdoor summer theme and complimented their navy blue Priscilla of Boston bridesmaid dresses. The groom and groomsmen wore custom made light green neckties from Etsy seller Tux and Tulle. The guys got ready in a room that had a set of antique vintage keys, probably to open the doors of all fifty nine rooms in the mansion.Perfect for a seaside summer wedding, navy blue and white letterpress invitations were made locally in Massachusetts by Blush Design Studio. The rehearsal invite on the right with the lobster are from Kate Spade.Alexa and Andrew had such a modern color palette of navy, hot pink, and celery green. Bella Floral Design worked with their contemporary colors to create a casual luxury atmosphere. I know from talking to the bride before her wedding day, that she and Andrew were working hard together on many DIY wedding decorations to complete the look of their big day.The mother of the groom made these fun table overlays!The bride and groom were each in a sorority and fraternity and this was incorporated into the bridal bouquet. One of my favorite decorations from the wedding was the pinwheel theme. Guests found their name and table number on the colorful pinwheels which were arranged in a tray of white sand.Alexa made a pink and white houndstooth card box complete with a navy blue bow.Rather than use a traditional guestbook, the newlyweds invited their friends and family to add wishes, predictions, and words of advice on note cars which were pinned onto vibrant DIY frame cork boards.Before their multicultural Jewish and Christian wedding ceremony, the bride and groom had their ketubah signing amongst close loved ones.
Guests were seated for the wedding ceremony in anticipation of the beautiful bride. Alexa was walked down the aisle by her parents. She wore a Watters and Watters San Miguel wedding gown.The day could not have been more perfect. I anticipated hot and humid weather but I was proven wrong and so happy for the best weather of the year.
The Italian rose garden is really a secret garden, it is surrounded by walls and sunken into the ground a bit. Surrounded by trees, it is one of the many locations for photography at the Crane Estate. The bridal party at this wedding wore blue dresses and beige suits, similar summery colors that you will find if you look at this link for some of my Nantucket wedding photography.I am a big fan of knowing what time the sun sets ahead of time, so that on a wedding day, if time permits, we can get photography with dreamy lighting.At the Crane Estate, there is a half-mile-long man-made Grand Allée grass lawn that provides sweeping views of the sea. You can’t really ask for a better wedding ceremony location in my opinion. The Grand Allée is framed by classical sculptures and Norway spruce and pine hedgerows. Grand in scale, it is modeled after the beautiful Italian and French gardens of Renaissance Europe, and is the only known landscape masterpiece of its kind still in existence in North America – and one of just a few remaining worldwide.The pinwheels were making appearances all day!Andrew and Alexa had menus artfully designed, with rounded corners, signature colors, and fonts to match the atmosphere of their wedding.After an indoor dinner, the party continued on the patio overlooking the sea, where Alexa and Andrew cut their cake. The first dance and parent dances as the sun was setting were about as magical as you can imagine.Following the dances, there was a brief hora dance. Its one of the main reasons I love photographing Jewish weddings.The Boston area band at the wedding was called The Return. This shot of the venue at night was hand-held. Every photo in this set was taken with available light. I enjoy the challenge of photographing in low-light venues. As the sun went down, this wedding reminded me of destination weddings held on the beach, because it had the same challenge of photographing outdoors under a night sky with little light available.
High school sweethearts in full force! They went to the same college, got engaged at a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, currently live in Chicago, and will be getting married in Ann Arbor, Michigan, followed by a honeymoon in St Maarten. They love the beach, so the location was perfectly appropriate for their engagement photo session! We had a lot of fun using the available setting such as the boats, lifeguard chair, and skyline, early this morning before everyone hit the beach.
Scooter love, its something you often can’t shake. I’ve met few people who own just one scooter, in fact many scooterists have plenty of vintage Vespas and Lambrettas in their basement, painstakingly restoring them, or just trying to keep them running. I got sucked into the scooter scene and met some of my closest friends through attending countless scooter rallies in Boston, Las Vegas, Montreal and Niagara just to name a few. A few years ago, I met Frank through scootering. He has been riding scooters for years, and was overseas inAbu Dabi for work. Here is a great connection story: Frank met his fiancé Pattie in Miami in 1989, though over the last few years, reconnected with her while she was living in New York City. They kept a long distance relationship going before calling Boston home. Frank began bringing Pattie to vintage scooter rallies and now she rides with him on his vintage yellow Vespa Rally 180. In addition to getting a staffordshire bull terrier puppy named Ivy, I believe they are adding a Lambretta TV175 now to their family.
A Nantucket wedding can be so hard to step away from when editing! It very much feels like I get to relive Vickie and Ted’s big day on the island. All of the wedding details were carefully put together and should be inked in my mind, but all the little moments are what stand out to me for this one. Yes, they had blue, aqua, and ivory – quintessential Nantucket wedding colors. What I remember most from this wedding day was after documenting Vickie getting ready, she offered a gift to her flower girl. This little girl’s eyes lit up in excitement, and her smile was so radiant. Without anyone asking her to do so, she complimented the bride on how pretty she looked. Vickie and Ted’s flower girl seemed to really enjoy the entire day. We went to the historic Brant Point Light, one of the favorite photo locations on the island. The bride and groom stood on the famous ramp leading up to the lighthouse, while their flower girl played barefoot along the ocean shore. She was a miniature version of a bride, and I wondered if someday she would remember this wedding, and yearn to have a Nantucket wedding of her own.
Same sex weddings in Chicago seem to be less common than they are in Massachusetts. Not too long ago I photographed Liza and Nia’s wedding at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, MA as well as Michael and Kenny’s wedding at the Barn at Gibbet Hill in Groton, MA. This was my first time doing photography for a gay wedding in Chicago. I am hoping that both Federal and Illinois laws change soon so that all human beings may share the same rights regardless of their sexuality. Before Megan and Emilia hired me as their photographer, I was crossing my fingers hoping that I would be able to document their special day, because after meeting them during their consultation, I knew it was going to be such a fun wedding. In celebration of their love, they exchanged vows in front of a large group of friends and family. This blog post has just a sneak peek of photos from their first look and creative portrait session on their wedding day.
I arrived at Hotel Sax to start shooting. While my second shooting assistant Chadd, was outnumbered in a other bridal suite photographing Megan and her six bridesmaids getting ready, I photographed Emilia and all six of her bridesmaids across the hall. We headed downstairs to the plush and elegant Crimson Lounge for a first look before the wedding. Here are some shots!
Emilia is checking the finishing touches.
The beautiful bride wore a custom tailored suit.
Emilia’s and her mother share some words.Rather than waiting for over a dozen women to finish getting ready, we headed down to the Hotel Sax lobby and Crimson Lounge to find the perfect photo location for the brides’ first look. Emilia waited for Megan to arrive. She was pacing.Megan wore a slim white gown and an elegant birdcage veil.
Facts about same sex marriage:
At the time of this posting, Illinois does not yet recognize same sex unions.
The Federal Court in Boston ruled very recently that same-sex married couples deserve federal recognition. This case, and another in California, may likely move the battle closer to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A map of what states recognize same sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships can be seen by clicking here.
Meg and Nick had their engagement shoot at Nick’s family’s machine shop. When scheduling their engagement session before their wedding, sending dates and locations back and fourth, I was thrilled when I got an email from them before the shoot saying that they were deciding between “our backyard, a toy store, his parent’s machine shop…” I knew we were going to have a blast at either location. I had never met the bride or groom before this shoot but soon realized they have a magnetic energy that stands out, and it was very easy to connect with them.
Before work one morning, we all headed over to the machine shop and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was up for the challenge of doing their engagement photography in a location that was significant to them. Inside the shop, the rhythmic sounds of machines making parts, the flicker of the fluorescent overhead bulbs, and the smell of machine oil loaded all my senses. It turns out, some of the machines at Nick’s family’s shop are old Swiss machines and Meg grew up in Switzerland. Meg is Irish, and the couple will be getting married at an Italian Catholic church. Their upcoming wedding (in about four weeks!) will have European influences.
Nick lead us around in various rooms, to the attic, on the rooftop and outdoors around the building. The raw, industrial nature of the facility provided a one of a kind background for the beautiful couple’s photos.
Spaces like these are a nice contrast and when you look at the couple in engagement shoots like these their beauty stands out. Sometimes you get a little dirty (I got oil on my hands) but it makes it all worth it. As a wedding photographer, are some of my favorite types of engagement photography locations.
During the outdoor summer ceremony overlooking the ocean, Claire and Andrew exchanged vows amidst perfect weather.
They incorporated unity sand into their wedding ceremony with sand from various significant locations. 
Being that their destination wedding was in Newport, there were plenty of sailboats that afternoon.
Claire’s father who speaks Mandarin Chinese, made a toast which was his first speech in English. He did a great job with no mixups and happily welcomed Andrew into their family. 
Claire’s sister Claris came all the way from Taipei to share such a happy occasion with her sister.
Andrew’s father also gave a toast to the newlyweds.
Both Andrew and Claire were ecstatic on their wedding day and their smiles were contagious to everyone in the room at their reception.
As an asian bride, Claire integrated Chinese tradition by changing into a qipao. The bridesmaids changed into red qipao, while the bride blended eastern and western tradition, choosing a white qipao.
The cake was perfect for a destination wedding, using a beach theme integrating shells and adirondack chairs.
Alexa had ordered a personalized and custom made hanger for her wedding gown. As of this posting, I believe there is an 8-10 week waiting list on the 
The bride and bridesmaids wore 
The groom and groomsmen wore custom made light green neckties from Etsy seller 
The guys got ready in a room that had a set of antique vintage keys, probably to open the doors of all fifty nine rooms in the mansion.
Perfect for a seaside summer wedding, navy blue and white letterpress invitations were made locally in Massachusetts by 
Alexa and Andrew had such a modern color palette of navy, hot pink, and celery green. 
The mother of the groom made these fun table overlays!
The bride and groom were each in a sorority and fraternity and this was incorporated into the bridal bouquet. 
One of my favorite decorations from the wedding was the pinwheel theme. Guests found their name and table number on the colorful pinwheels which were arranged in a tray of white sand.
Alexa made a pink and white houndstooth card box complete with a navy blue bow.
Rather than use a traditional guestbook, the newlyweds invited their friends and family to add wishes, predictions, and words of advice on note cars which were pinned onto vibrant DIY frame cork boards.
Before their multicultural Jewish and Christian wedding ceremony, the bride and groom had their ketubah signing amongst close loved ones.
Guests were seated for the wedding ceremony in anticipation of the beautiful bride.
Alexa was walked down the aisle by her parents. She wore a 
The day could not have been more perfect. I anticipated hot and humid weather but I was proven wrong and so happy for the best weather of the year.
The Italian rose garden is really a secret garden, it is surrounded by walls and sunken into the ground a bit. Surrounded by trees, it is one of the many locations for photography at the Crane Estate. The bridal party at this wedding wore blue dresses and beige suits, similar summery colors that you will find if you look at this link for some of my 
I am a big fan of knowing what time the sun sets ahead of time, so that on a wedding day, if time permits, we can get photography with dreamy lighting.
At the Crane Estate, there is a half-mile-long man-made Grand Allée grass lawn that provides sweeping views of the sea. You can’t really ask for a better wedding ceremony location in my opinion. The Grand Allée is framed by classical sculptures and Norway spruce and pine hedgerows. Grand in scale, it is modeled after the beautiful Italian and French gardens of Renaissance Europe, and is the only known landscape masterpiece of its kind still in existence in North America – and one of just a few remaining worldwide.
The pinwheels were making appearances all day!
Andrew and Alexa had menus artfully designed, with rounded corners, signature colors, and fonts to match the atmosphere of their wedding.
After an indoor dinner, the party continued on the patio overlooking the sea, where Alexa and Andrew cut their cake. 
The first dance and parent dances as the sun was setting were about as magical as you can imagine.
Following the dances, there was a brief hora dance. Its one of the main reasons I love photographing Jewish weddings.
The Boston area band at the wedding was called The Return. 
This shot of the venue at night was hand-held. Every photo in this set was taken with available light. I enjoy the challenge of photographing in low-light venues. As the sun went down, this wedding reminded me of destination weddings held on the beach, because it had the same challenge of photographing outdoors under a night sky with little light available.
The beautiful bride wore a custom tailored suit.
Emilia’s and her mother share some words.
Rather than waiting for over a dozen women to finish getting ready, we headed down to the Hotel Sax lobby and Crimson Lounge to find the perfect photo location for the brides’ first look. Emilia waited for Megan to arrive. She was pacing.
Megan wore a slim white gown and an elegant birdcage veil.
Nick lead us around in various rooms, to the attic, on the rooftop and outdoors around the building. The raw, industrial nature of the facility provided a one of a kind background for the beautiful couple’s photos.
Spaces like these are a nice contrast and when you look at the couple in engagement shoots like these their beauty stands out. Sometimes you get a little dirty (I got oil on my hands) but it makes it all worth it. As a 