Sara and Nathan's (CT) Wedding 5/12/12

      I have to say I feel truly honored to have been involved in Sara and Nathan's Connecticut portion of their wedding (which I will explain in a little bit).  I have known Sara since our days at UConn, and there was never any question that she was going to be a part of my life for years to come because of my husband, TJ.  Of course, I view having Sara in my life as a blessing.  I actually met Sara through TJ, and they have always been close friends and refer to each other as "sister and brother from another mother".  So another added bonus was that my husband was a guest at this wedding!

     Now when I said that this was the Connecticut portion of the wedding, what I meant was that this was mainly a reception being held for the friends and family who could not be at the first wedding.  Obviously, that made this wedding a bit different for Anne and me.  The reason for this was that Sara and Nathan had been living in Iowa as Sara attended Veterinary School, and wanted to have a wedding there with the people she knew from that area.  It also happened to fall on the weekend of her graduation, so that was a whole weekend of celebrating!

       Our day began at Sara's mother's house, where we were able to shoot the accessories from her wedding and also got to take some photos of the girls getting their hair done.  Since this was not a traditional wedding, the groom even popped in for a little while to see how things were going. 

     Once the girls were done getting their hair done, we headed over to a hotel near the venue.  Typically, the bridal party would assist the bride with the final stages of getting ready, but in this case the couple decided that since they were already married, they would help each other.  This was a first for us and we had no idea what to expect.  It really was hilarious and touching all at the same time; I mean women who know how to work dresses struggle at times trying to figure out how a wedding dress works, but Nathan was up for the challenge.  And I have to say, he did a great job after a few hiccups here and there!

     Once the CT wedding reception started, it was obvious that these people take partying and dancing very seriously!  There was such an insane amount of energy buzzing through the room.  You could not only see how happy everyone was for the newly married couple, but you could feel it!

Of course, we had to get an obligatory shot of all the UConn alumni at the event.. and I got to sneak into this one!  Wow, Sara and I look so short compared to the rest of the gang!

Congratulations again to the beautiful couple!  Both Anne and I wish you a lifetime of happiness!

-Stefanie

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow." – Imogen Cunningham

Stephanie and Stephen's Wedding 4/22/12

First things first,  the buildup to this wedding was much different than any of our other weddings for many reasons.  The main reason was that we did not meet our bride or groom until the day of their wedding, yet we already felt like we had known them forever!  Our meetings were all set up through Skype, and we were sure to follow Stephanie's Facebook and Pinterest boards to see what to expect for her wedding.  Yay social media!    Speaking of which, Stephanie was sure to keep up with her soon to be husband while they were getting ready...

As you can see in the photo, Stephen started his day getting ready at the barber with a hot towel shave.  This was a first for us, and it was definitely fun to watch!

While I was at the Barber Shop with Stephen and the rest of his guys, Stefanie was at the house with Stephanie.  (Sidenote:  Stephanie's middle name is Ann, and it was determined that we were meant to work with her because those are also our names!)  Shooting the getting ready images at the bride's house always allows us the freedom of creativity, because it is typically low pressure and you get to play around with the wedding dress and the accessories to create beautiful detail images.

After both the bride and groom were ready, we all rendezvoused at the church for the ceremony.  Now, before this we had been given specific instructions as to where we could be in the church.  (We included the videographers, who were two of the best videographers that we have ever worked with, they were just so in tune with us and had similar shooting styles.)  We were both a bit nervous because the rules were pretty restrictive.  But we talked to the officiant, and luckily,  all restrictions were lifted and he said we could go where we wanted as long as we were not a distraction from the wedding.  Of course, we never want to be a distraction so we were already prepared for that!  

Throughout the whole day, it had been raining pretty decently but we still had our fingers crossed that we would be able to shoot some formals outside... sadly this did not happen.  Luckily, the reception was held at Jericho Terrace which has beautiful indoor areas to shoot.  And we were very familiar with this location because it is the same place that Stefanie's wedding reception was held three years ago, and in the same room!

And then we went to shoot in the dome room, where the reception was held.  This was one of Stephanie and Stephen's reasons for choosing the Jericho Terrace, that room is beautiful and made for some stunning images!

The night rounded out with the reception, which included a performance by Stephanie's brother.  You can see in the images just how happy and in love Stephanie and Stephen are, and you can also see what great personalities they both have, always with such sincere smiles.  

Both Stefanie and I loved this wedding, and had a great time with our couple!  Congratulations again to Stephanie and Stephen!  We hope you had as much fun as we did!

-Anne

"Human gesture and expression are the essence of photography.  It's not about lights or fast lenses and fast film.  It's the ability to a capture a moment in time.  To capture the spirit of someone in that magic box is wonderful.  It's what I fell in love with as a kid." -John Shearer