What a day this day was for Kate and Erik’s Wedding! There was an upcoming rain storm that was going to hit at sometime close to ceremony and there was so much left to do and things to plan for! When I arrived at the prep area for Lord Howe Valley, the ladies were almost done finishing up and the boys were quickly on their way, so we took this opportunity to take a couple of photos of the dress in one of the empty prep areas before they came. Everyone was in great spirits, ready to party and ready to celebrate and Kate looked absolutely GORGEOUS with her hair and make up done. First Look was going to be an amazing time!

Alyssa and Alex are the type of people I could be friends forever with, why? Because they are quirky and funny and ridiculous like I am, it also helps that we’re all nerdddsss! The thing I love most about these two is that they are unapologetically themselves and they can BE themselves with each other. A lot of things we can easily take for granted is the feeling of being safe in the same physical and mental space of another person, a person that you love and that loves you back equally as deeply. They make each other laugh, with silly faces and funny vernaculars. When the laughter subsides, there is a deep sigh where their bodies and foreheads touching just melt into each other in quiet bliss.

This was definitely a day of new experiences, new adventures, lots of anticipation, and lots of family (chosen and related)! Kristin and Tj are two sides of the same coin - they both love a good ski adventure up a mountain and they love to party with their friends. The only thing that would make it better would be to have their wedding on top of a mountain, OF WHICH THEY DID. Kristin was a little anxious and ready to see TJ in his full attire and TJ was nervous as all heck - lets just add that they’ll go up to the top to do their first look and some photos and the wait time in between everything. THE ANTICIPATION WAS KILLING ME.

This blog is of my dearest friends!!! Colleen, an intelligent, vivacious and compassionate woman and Bill, an easy-going, thoughtful, and witty man GOT MARRIED - you just couldn’t imagine how excited I was to get to document their day! It was going to be a full day, full of photo opportunities and plenty of large belly laughs. Bill has this way of making Colleen laugh, and she laughs with all her genuine heart with a belly laugh - that means Bill is hilarious and Colleen loves to laugh.

I love adventures when doing engagement sessions, and this one in particular was a super fun day, with GOATS! We got together at Into the woods Farm for a nice team activity of Couple’s Yoga, + Goats - A Couple’s Goat Yoga! Kat is a healer of the body and mind, Chris is an everyday public super hero and they both powerlift and train together. Their synergy together is amazing, a Man who doesn’t take himself too seriously and a woman who cares and nurtures deeply, both who are always looking for fun silly laughs together. THIS DAY was a day for a TON of laughing, and lots of intimate moments.

I’ve been wanting to blog this Engagement session forever! during these crazy times where travel to amazing places is restricted, its good to revisit some of my adventures, especially when accompanied by amazingly funny, compassionate and down to earth people. Haley and Henry have known each other for a very long time, and with the longevity of their together comes with great comfort in knowing and being their authentic selves with each other, and with the world.

We had been planning this for months, convinced that a Sunrise Session on the Brooklyn Bridge was going to be glorious only to find out that it was going to rain on the morning of their engagement! However, even with the rain, we can make magic happen, a light, an umbrella and a foggy misty city skyline made for an amazing morning. Laurence and Nadjia are two amazingly chill people who love life, who have gone through many struggles together and who withstand the world together. The amount of laughing they did all morning was amazing, between being silly, talking about inside jokes and embracing their personalities with me around it was a day filled with magic.

These two highly intelligent and fun loving couple just could not stop swooning and laughing and being silly with each other. You could say we had some fun times in Downtown Troy NY making some Engagement Photos, but what we were really doing was just being crazy kids hanging out in the rainy and cloudy day - perfectly overcast for some photos. It was a perfect day for an indie band cover photo against a shrub! Throughout the day they reminisced on places they used to go to, Schools they used to attend and all the memories in between.

I am excited for this long time coming blog of Sarah and Tom! Its been a MINUTE since this point in time. Sarah is this sweet girl who’s always looking out for other people, This is not surprising as she is Alexis’ Best Friend (Shout out to you girl!) who is also super kind hearted and always helping other people. This could only mean that Tom would have to be just as kind hearted, he would have to be fun loving, and he would have to make Sarah laugh uncontrollably – all these things are DEFINITELY true.

Tanya and Kyle are SO silly, Tanya is boisterous and silly and loves to have fun, Kyle is quiet and cerebral and loves to laugh - who am I kidding, they BOTH love to laugh! There was just so much laughing in this session! They laughed the kind of laugh where you’re belly aches one second, and you take the long deep breath to catch your composure and you just melt in someone’s arms as the wave of appreciation fills the atmosphere. THIS WAS THE TYPE OF SESSION I WAS HAVING… IN MAGICAL PORTLAND. Honestly, the day couldn’t have been any better.

The day starts with A TON of laughing, perfect - that means we’re in for a PARTY. I get to Katie’s room and one of the bridesmaids is DEFINITELY keeping the party vibes on high (You the true MVP). There was no shortage of laughing, champagne, beautiful details and loving family in this room. Before her mom gets to put on her dress we take a couple of photos of Katie and her Bridesmaids on the balcony and a small champagne toast. When Katie is all buttoned up in her dress, we did a quick first look with Dad and then I moved into Ryan’s room to capture some details as he gets ready. His sister helps him put on his jacket and a family friend/florist help pin the flower and we quickly whisk ourselves away to get ready for the First Look before it starts to have the IDEA of rain.

I’m finishing out my Pride Series Blogs for this month with a very special couple who were SO DOWN to go to Mass Moca for their engagement. Lets just say we had a LOAD of creative fun with everything in there. If you have not been to Mass Moca, definitely worth a day trip! Dana and James were ready to ham it up for the camera, and already knowing James as a friend made me very surprised finding out how much more shy they seem to appear when around Dana. There’s something the other that eases each of them into a softer, lighter view of the world when they are together - and I think that’s amazingly beautiful when I get to see this in couples.

Anthony and Andrew first Met at City Beer Hall so it only made sense that we start their day HERE at City beer hall. Caring, the ability to care, to nurture, to uphold and to help flourish are evident in the smallest of acts - wiping away dirt, caressing the cheeks, holding hands, sharing inside jokes, holding each other up over fears of height. All these things they did this day and it made me so excited for their day. Even though as I’m sitting here making this small blog of their engagement, I know that through all of the hard times faced by the whole world over the crazy health pandemic - They will hold each other up. That’s what makes relationships last.

These two just love to laugh with each other… CONSTANTLY, and its the best! Whether its when Ben says something silly or mildly existential out of context, or when Kevin tells an engaging story, they just love to highlight all the funny and good moments. This was definitely one of those times when laughing together means crazy amounts of good times during our session. Nervous at first, we quickly moved into a comfortable place to create hugely cool photos while also LAUGHING their butts off. Indie Cover band couple anyone?

On this day, in the zenith (SAT Word right there) of the Autumnal season where there are plenty of beautiful colors to be had, Asia and Tammy get MARRIED. Like every couple, they’ve been waiting to have this day together for a while now, and its quite obvious (you will see in a minute) that when someone says “If you cry, I will cry” that its true for this silly, laugh it off type couple. When Tammy cried at the ceremony, Asia cried, and then I CRIED (even if you won’t have proof)

What more do I need to say about Asia and Tammy? They are a low key, fun loving couple who deeply love with all of their being. Silly, Sarcastic, and always a good time - We took an engagement session with these two at Schodack Town Park, maybe one of my new favorite places for a nice wintery sunset through the forest (you’ll see what I mean at the end). This is a place that is not without beautiful fall colors and a fun path through a small forest, close to the river and plenty of room to roam.

This day was always going to be beautiful and things couldn’t have gone any better on this wedding day! The weather was perfectly blue with a couple smattering of clouds just to keep everyone a little cooler on a hot August day. They both wanted to do a first look (My favorite!) and they were going to do it as a back to back but the one challenge, They both wanted to get ready in the upstairs room with the family that was more important to them.

We’re starting off this week’s Pride Celebration with a couple who’s created a beautiful life together already and they only want to continue this adventure together. Kim is a bit shy, very intellegent, and so compassionate you just want to give her hugs all day and Jen is an outspoken, heart on her sleeves and self sacrificing kind of person who would do anything for the people she loves.

On THIS day in July, It was a hot day - Ironically enough we were all worried there would be rain so we were first coming up with a rain plan - then as the days got closer, it was definitely NOT going to rain. Instead, Mother Nature said “Let there be sun” and TONS of it. It was a hot and humid day, thank goodness for AC at the Marriott Troy and Takk House because we took advantage of all the cool interiors as much as possible.

These two are nerdy, silly, passionate, and downright FUN to be around. They were down for capturing their personalities in multiple different places in the city that they love so much. A bit of role playing maybe, but a couple of really unique compositions while they joked, sarcastically participated, and in some quiet moments, softly enjoyed each other’s company. Philly is one of my favorite cities to just be in, walk around, and explore the congruence of Historical and Modern Architectural elements. I would come back here in a heart beat, if not for the city vibes, then for these two amazingly fun and chill couple!