Bettina & Jack's Wedding

Bettina and Jack were married on May 10th and to be honest was a wedding I had been looking forward to ever since I shot their engagement photos last fall. Bettina has a truly infectious laugh that you have to join in with once she starts and Jack likes to get that laugh started!!

Bettina got ready at a gorgeous house in Greenwich CT that had many beautiful shooting locations. I was able to frame her face in the photo below with a colorful painting on the wall and a flower arrangement that was sitting on a table in the foreground..

One of the Bridesmaid's bouquets...

After Bettina put her dress on, we stepped out into the upstairs hallway and shot this portrait..

The Bridesmaids in front of the fountain..

This is always a very special moment during the day - the Groom seeing his Bride for the first time during the processional. You can see the excitement and anticipation in Jack's eyes as Bettina approaches and what is particularly nice about this shot is the fact that Jack's two brothers are in the background..

Sometimes you have to think outside the box and experiment a little bit. I was walking to the back of the church during the ceremony and noticed the windows in the doors at the end of the aisle so I stepped out back and used the silhouette of the window to frame Bettina and Jack at the altar...

Newlywed at the Larchmont Shore Club..

In the digital age it's sometimes hard to compete with all the photographers out there!!

One of my favorite group shots in recent memory even though one of the Groomsmen did take a spill when the Adirondack chair gave way! Sorry about that Tom..

If an environment allows for creative composition, it's nice to let the bridal party do what they want. In this instance there was a huge rock that I asked the bridal party to go stand on however they wished and let them compose themselves..

The happy couple with the Long Island Sound and Glen Cove (I believe) in the background..

..and the Larchmont Shore Club lit up at night!

Bettina and Jack, thank you for letting me share your day with you and good luck and best wishes for your future together!

Jayne & Clint's Engagement Session

It does seem as though we are often blessed with good looking couples to shoot and Jayne and Clint are definitely easy on the eyes! They are a referral from Alix and Craig (who's wedding we are shooting next May) and they also happen to know another favorite couple of ours - George and Theresa - who's wedding we shot a couple of years back.

Last weekend we headed off to one of my favorite locations to shoot an engagement session for their upcoming wedding this summer..

Tilt Shift lens warning ahead...

I wanted to do something a little different here so I focused only on Jayne in this first image..

..and then Clint in this one. It's fun to mix it up sometimes.

As you can tell, they are completely relaxed in front of the camera and spent a lot of the session laughing it up!

The beauty of digital photography for me is the freedom it allows for special effects and tones during processing. I have a preset I like to use in Lightroom which I developed and fondly call '70s'. I tend to use it sparingly but when an image lends itself to it, I think it looks fantastic! Here's one such example for me, this picture looks like it was pulled straight out of an album from 30 years ago. And, I am happy to say, Jayne and Clint conformed to the sign and resisted swimming this time.

Tender moment..

I always try to get at least one ring shot but this particular shoot I was able to get a variety..

Thank you Jayne and Clint for making the shoot so much fun and I look forward to seeing you again soon on your wedding day!!

Katie & Jason's Wedding

April 19th was Katie & Jason's Wedding day. We have actually known Jason for more than 10 years now as he was our neighbor and a Shamrock regular when Kim and I first moved back to Long Island. Katie is a school teacher who works with a current neighbor of ours and that's how we ended up meeting with them again so six degrees of separation is definitely at work here.

Katie shows off the soles of her shoes with Jason's initials on them - does this mean they are 'sole' mates??

While Kim was with Katie, I hung out with the boys and took some impromptu group shots..

Coming from England, I appreciate people who appreciate good beer and Hoegaarden is definitely one of my favorites..

A final check in the mirror before heading off to the church..

This is not your typical 'Alter' shot, but I love the sharp bouquet and soft Bride & Groom as a backdrop to the flowers..

Invite some children to your ceremony and give them bubbles to blow and you know you have a recipe for success..

Katie with her pupils who showed up to enjoy her Wedding day!

The reception was held at a beautiful venue here on Long Island called The De Seversky Center. It's a Gold Coast mansion on magnificent grounds - as you wind along the driveway and catch a first glimpse, you feel like you are about to attend a Jay Gatsby party!..

After some formal shots we strolled around the grounds and Kim was able to steal this very special shot of Katie & Jason enjoying their first day as husband and wife..

Kim - hard at work!..

The elegant dining room..

..and the first dance..

I'm not quite sure what is happening here - someone took their shoes off and dumped them in the middle of the dance floor then everyone followed suit! Once they started running out of shoes, ties and shirts were also thrown on to the pile!

Katie had one of the best bouquet tosses I've seen - nice and high and straight down the middle!

I love it when the single ladies actually try to catch it rather than watch it fall to the floor..

..and I especially love it when there is a full out brawl to see who actually gets to keep it!!!

Katie and Jason - thank you for allowing us to share your special day with you. We had a great time with you and look forward to catching up over a Hoegaarden at Shamrock's soon!!