I’ve spent so much time with Lauren and Andrew. Consultation and timeline meetings before the wedding. Time spent visiting Lauren’s family’s house just to say hi while planning. An engagement session and dinner spent together in Charleston, NC. A maternity session in New Paltz, NY a few years after their wedding.
By now, they feel like home to me.
It may be an unpopular opinion, but I love, love, love July weddings - and I especially love July celebrations at gorgeous locations like Hollow Brook Golf Club, working with amazing people like Dani and Jimmi.
July just feels celebratory, it feels like growth, it feels like vacation. It holds all of the hope of the summer, and all of the long and lazy days. It brings with it the love of being outside while also embracing the cool rush of the air conditioning when you walk back inside. It feels like school is finally out, and you have so much summer ahead of you to enjoy…
Melanie may not know this, but she is one of my favorite people in the whole world. She is warm, kind, fun, patient, intelligent, and accomplished. She lights up every room she walks into, and I can’t help but think that the kids she teaches music to are beyond fortunate to be able to learn from her.
When she asked if I would photograph her quickly-planned microwedding to her love (military things, amirite), I couldn’t not be there. I said yes right away.
What can I really say about this Catskills Airbnb microwedding that properly encapsulates how perfect of a day it truly was? How do I talk about the view from the property, encased in fog and mist? How do I describe the grandma dancing on an outdoor dancefloor, wearing a bright pink raincoat, completely enraptured in her joy? How do I share about Amy and Gus’ first look under string lights that hadn’t been turned on yet, but still dressed up the scene like stars? How do I express how absolutely darling Amy’s mom was - a mom that seemed like a gift to grow up with?
How does one describe memories, moments, scenes that make one feel like they have just positively turned into the heart-eye emoji?
In preparation for this blog post, I took a look at what Kelly sent in her original inquiry form:
“I found you through [Otterkill Country Club’s] IG, then I stalked your pictures ;) I am in absolute awe of your work. We would love to hire you for our wedding.”
Simple. Sweet. Kind. Decisive. That’s exactly who Kelly is. And Joe is a great match for her. For all her sweetness, he is silly. For all her kindness, he is playful and warm.
Kelly and Joe’s wedding was a good day because they are good people…
Oh, yet another precious couple who had to reschedule their wedding due to the pandemic, but waiting was so worth it.
It rained on Amanda and Jordan’s wedding day at The Grandview in Poughkeepsie, but that rain did nothing to damper the joy that this darling couple felt that day. Weather is the biggest thing you have to release control of when planning a wedding day, and I think you can see that, at the end of the day, even if it pours on your wedding day, the photos are still gorgeous, and all that matters is that you got married, after all.
The moment I met Kelsey, I adored her. She is so genuine and sweet, and there is something about her presence that feels soft and comforting to be around. And Derek is her perfect compliment.
Although we had to navigate pandemic rescheduling and venue changes, we finally made it to their beautiful wedding at Saugerties Steamboat Co. in May 2021, and being able to witness such pure love between the two of them was an honor and a joy…
One of my favorite places in the whole world is Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY - it is especially one of my favorite places to photograph a wedding. Things feel simpler there. The air feels cooler and crisper. The days feel nostalgic even while you’re in the midst of living them. Getting back into your car after a wedding day there feels like a bubble bursting, as if getting back into your car is the first step back into a reality that is pretty ok, but may never feel as beautiful as staying at Mohonk just a little longer would.
It was the perfect venue for Sam and David’s sweet little microwedding.
When I think about Crystal and Joe, I think about their fun senses of humor, their smiles, their warmth. I think about Crystal’s adorable mom and sister, and Joe’s generous laugh. And I think about their beautiful West Hills Country Club wedding day on a perfect spring day with the breeze gently flowing through their ceremony space, smelling of flowers. I almost tear up when I remember it…
I think about Jillian and Nick a lot. About their wedding. Their precious families. Their sense of style. Their amazing wedding day vendor team. I’ve adored Jillian from the moment she stepped out of her car for engagement photos in the fall of 2020 in a bright floral skirt. And I’ve loved Nick with her and for her from that very same moment, as well.
On Jillian and Nick’s wedding day, one of their amazing wedding planners turned to me and said, “Nick just loves her so much.” And he does. It’s so evident that they work so well together - they’re a team. They just make sense…
Leslie and Billy’s October microwedding at a small bed and breakfast in the Hudson Valley is one that I think back on often. It feels so clear in my mind - like it just happened yesterday. I vividly remember the overcast skies and cool breeze; the bright colors of the foliage on the property; the smile Leslie greeted me with when I first arrived; the way Billy seemed to just link right up to Leslie for their photos; their cute families; the joy. All of the joy.
When I think back on Lisa and Mike’s October Otterkill Country Club wedding, all I remember is vibrancy. Warmth. Excitement. Joy.
Although we were still weathering pandemic requirements, Lisa, Mike, and their guests just exuded happiness at being able to be together. It was a nice day - a warm, beautiful, happy, nice day.
I feel lucky to have photographed as many precious wedding days as I did during 2020. While they all looked vastly different than their original plans, they were all incredibly beautiful and meaningful - almost more so than they were initially planned to be.
Michelle and Joe got married on a cool September day atop a hill overlooking the Hudson Valley at Red Maple Vineyard - the perfect setting for their intimate pandemic wedding.
Michelle and Joe got married on a cool September day atop a hill overlooking the Hudson Valley at Red Maple Vineyard - the perfect setting for their intimate pandemic wedding.
If you tell me you want to take wedding photos on the beach, the only question I will ask is, “When?” As a Boston native, I find the ocean extremely comforting. The sounds of the waves, the feel of the sand, the lack of shade from the sun - it all feels like joy to me.
When Casey and TC decided to host their small ceremony at the Spray Beach Chapel on Long Beach Island, with accompanying first look and couple portraits at the nearby beach, I had no reservations - I just knew I wanted to be there.
In 2020, I photographed exactly one (one!) “traditional” wedding, held at Hollow Brook Golf Club in Cortlandt, NY. A traditional wedding like this one during the pandemic looked like a guest list of less than 50 people, submitting COVID test results prior to arriving to the venue, always being 6 feet away from everyone, and a first dance being the only allowable dance on the dancefloor. Times were weird.
Oh, I feel these next set of blog posts are going to be hard to write, but so lovely and rewarding to look back on.
We all know 2020 was a year. But today I get to share a beautiful moment in that strange year that was important and lovely and a sweet break in everything else that was so hard to handle that year.
Enter Stefania and Daniel’s Westchester wedding. 💛
Maddie + Greg were both in medical school when I first met them; it was a bittersweet thing to photograph their Nyack Beach State Park wedding for two doctors during the pandemic. When I first saw them the day of their elopement, Greg mentioned how his face felt raw from constantly wearing an N95 mask in the hospital where was working nonstop. Greg and Maddie were conscientious and cautious of the virus during their elopement, but also just completely wrapped up in their love for each other. It was so much like any other wedding day in that respect that that’s really all I see when I look back at their photos - how much they love each other, how committed to each other they are, and how full of joy they felt to be getting married…
