Archive for January, 2010
Meghan + Peter
It was a beautiful day for a winter walk in the woods, and what a perfect “woods” it was for Meghan and Peter. Their story so touched my heart that I just had to share it with you. The couple requested that we do their engagement portraits at the Germantown Academy. It seems that back in the 6th grade the couple met when Meghan enrolled. The amazing thing is, they have been together ever since, even attending college together! How special is that; to have a partner in life that you have shared so much history with. In September they will be taking another step on their special journey in life, they will be getting married! Congratulations Meghan and Peter!
Jacqueline + Julian in The Knot New Jersey Magazine
Hot off the presses - Jacqueline and Julian’s beautiful Bonnet Island wedding is featured in the current issue of The Knot New Jersey. This is my third wedding at Bonnet Island that has been featured in a magazine! It is just such an amazing venue. It’s such an honor to be featured in The Knot, and currently I have real weddings featured in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York issue simultaneously! It goes to show the beautiful amazing weddings I get to photograph each year! Congratulations Jacqueline and Julian on you beutiful real wedding feature!
Gorgeous wedding! I absolutely love the colors and the cupcakes are too cute 
Lina + Charles 01.03.10 Part 2
Lina and Charles held their reception at The Venetian in Garfield, NJ. It looked so very grand with the beautiful work of event planner Christy Stoehr of Oh So Fabulous Events and florist Cindy of Floral Design by Cindy of South Bound Brook, NJ. The lighting kept changing all through the evening making me a happy camper. I loved the romantic portraits we took indoors at The Venetian. So warm and cozy! The couple, who are both Portuguese, brought in a troupe of Portuguese folk dancers to entertain their guests). Loved it (and so did their guests. The evening ended with a GIGANTIC flaming show for the guests! Yikes!
Lina + Charles 01.03.09 Part 1
Well, winter has officially arrived and I finally had a wedding without snow. There may have been wind chills of 20 degrees, but at least there was no snow. Lina prepared for her wedding at her mothers house. What a beautiful Lazaro gown she had! A the Lazaro “bling” was in the sash of this slinky gown! She paired the gown with a very classic pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes. The most gorgeous “bling” came from Linas beautiful jewlery. Her necklave and bracelt were by Thomas Knoell Designs which she found at Kleinfelds in New York. Check out the Christmas fun I had with the shoes in the tree. Silly me! Lina and Charles both grew up in Kearny, NJ so was very sentimental to have their marriage ceremony there. Theie ceremony was held at the historic Saint Cecilia’s R.C. Church. Before we were off to their very grand reception at The Venetian in Garfield, NJ we stopped by a favorite coffee shop of Lina and Charles!
Phenomenal Photography in Junebug
Well, how could it not bring a smile to my face when someone thinks I’m phenomenal! Junebug Weddings is an amazing wedding blog from sunny California. I’m always lusting over those “Forever Sunny” wedding days out in California and Junebug certainly features the best of them. Check them out for some beautiful wedding inspirations. They were sweet enough to feature one of my favorite images of last year, Janell and Jonathans May wedding at Jasna Polana in Princeton. Thanks Junebug!
Stephanie + Anthony 12.19.09 The Reception
As luck would have it, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia had a rescheduling of a Bar Mitzvah and were able to offer the grand ballroom to Stephanie and Anthony. A special shout out goes to the amazing vendors that made it all happen. Beautiful Blooms brought over all the flowers, lighting and decour from the Glen Foerd Mansion and set it all up so beautifully in the ballroom. You would never know it was not designed for the space. Their band also gets a special shout out. Could you imagine bringing in all the huge band equipment and instruments in a blizzard. Kudos goes out to The Strangers of Brandywine Valley Talent. A few of their singers were trapped in the snow and they were able to find replacements.
A touching end to a very emotional, yet beautiful day! And they were off to a very warm honeymoon in the Maldives!
Stephanie + Anthony 12.19.09 Blizzard Portraits
Imagine my delight when Stephanie asked to take some outdoor portraits around the city of Philadelphia right in the middle of a blizzard. I really thought that she would forgo the outdoor portraits given the heavy snow, winds and her beautiful Priscilla of Boston gown! Unfortunately Stephanies bridesmaid brought the brides boots along with the bridal party so all Steph had to wear in the snow were her open toe Wittner bridal shoes from Australia. Not the best for walking in the snow. Though it limited where we could go I do admit that Stephanie was a trooper. So much so that their “blizzard” pictures were so amazing it landed them on the cover of the Philadelphia Daily News. The couple were able to negotiate having their wedding reception at the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia. We took some cozy and warm portraits inside the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton prior to joining their guests in the cocktail hour!
Check out Stephanie walking across Broad Street in the blizzard with open toe shoes so she could have her iconic City Hall portrait. Bravo!
The beautiful christmas tree at The Ritz-Carlton made for some festive Christmas wedding images!
wow these are just beautiful. What an awesome bride for braving the cold…..totally worth it though!! Can’t stop looking a the city hall portrait and the one before it….
from Alyda in very hot Australia
Stephanie + Anthony 12.19.09 The Ceremony
The couple spent the majority of the morning trying to plan a reception. They knew they could not get their guests to the Glenn Foerd Mansion but Anthony assured Stephanie that they would be getting married that day not matter what. Stephanie was in the Four Seasons Hotel which is right across the street from the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul but their guests were dispersed in hotels throughout the city. The couple were not sure anyone would be there for their ceremony. A special “shout out” goes out to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, the Philadelphia streets department and wonderful taxi drivers of Philadelphia who ferried their guests 2 by 2 to the Cathedral!
I adored these flower girl dresses by Us Angels. Combined with the flower balls by Beautiful Blooms they were just too cute!
Only about 30 of their guests were not able to make it to their wedding. I was happily surprised by the crowd!
No, the snow didn’t stop after their ceremony but the couple said they were game for some outdoor portraits. Yeah! Even in Stephanies beautiful Priscilla of Boston gown!
Stephanie + Anthony 12.19.09 The Preperations (for a blizzard!!!)
Well, I know allot of people are waiting to see more images from this wedding. Stephanie and Anthony flew in from their homeland of Australia earlier in the week. When they left the temperatures in Sydney were reaching the 100 degree mark. Little did they know what they were in for! It’s not everyday that a couple chooses to get married in a blizzard, and this was no “average” blizzard. This was the second largest snow storm on record in Philadelphia with 23″! With weather reports getting worse and worse on Friday night I checked with Stephanie to see if we were still on. She and Anthony said “absolutely”! They were getting married on 12.19.09 no matter what. That said, I drove into Philadelphia on Friday night to assure I’d be in the city. Stephanie was preparing for her wedding at The Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia which is right across the street from The Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter & Paul where their ceremony would take place. Even in the worst scenario she could walk across the street. The problem came in when the trolley company they hired to transport guests to their reception at Glen Foerd Mansion in northern Philadelphia had to cancel. I agree that trolleys might not be the safest form of transportation in a blizzard. Stephanie, a corporate event planner back in Australia went right into action trying to find solutions. Even her makeup and hairstylist Claudia Seyler got into the act trying to secure transportation. Now that’s a makeup artist! They say “it takes a village” but for this wedding to come off so beautifully it took some of Philadelphia’s most talented and devoted professionals and I’ll be giving “shoutouts” to all of them in the next several posts!
Stephanie was on the phone for hours trying to redesign her “blizzard” wedding.
The Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter & Paul where Stephanie and Anthony were to be wed from the window of Stephanie’s room at the Four Seasons.
Stephanies spirits seem to lift as final preparations were made.
Stephanie requested this portrait from the cozy lobby of The Four Seasons Hotel just prior to her departure for her ceremony. .
How wonderfully romantic! You two are adorable. Congratulations!