Congratulations, Kaci & Chris! All the best to you both on your next journey in life.

So, you may be thinking, “well, wouldn’t she be suspicious that her boyfriend just wants to randomly fly her to Maine for the day? Does’t that seem weird?” Nope! Not at all and that’s why Andrew and I knew that this would work. He explained to me that it wasn’t uncommon for them to just take day trips to fun places, so this was not going to be out of the ordinary for Rachel. She just thought she was going on a fun afternoon, scenic flight of coastal Maine. Little did she know…..

And course, because this was a surprise, she wasn’t exactly dressed for a portrait shoot. Neither of us were. It was freezing for petes’s sake!! But she was a trooper and I think was so excited by what had just transpired that nobody cared that they were in winter hats and had bad hair.

So, like I said, this was a carefully executed plan that Rachel had no idea about. I was to meet up with them at the lighthouse and just…..well…find them! Andrew and I told each other what we were wearing so that we could keep an eye out for each other. And when we finally spotted one another, it was go time!

While I waited for them to arrive, I milled about the area for a bit, snapping shots of the chilly, coastal day. There is something very mysterious about the coast in the winter that I just love.

And I’ve found them….and we’re off! Walking…….

…..and we’re walking…..

Ooops! Look away! Pretend you’re a tourist and take pictures of…..touristy things. ;-)

Oh my gosh, it’s happening! Quick, get ready! I think she said YES!

She said YES! This shot was probably a combo of sheer giddiness and Rachel freezing her bum off. I think she was pretty happy.

So happy.

Then it was off to the Old Port to warm up with a hot beverage!

Congratulations, Rachel and Andrew! It was such an honor to be able to capture this moment for you both.

This last one was so cute and I just wanted to share it. Andrew took it in the plane on their way back and then sent it to me when they got home. What was so funny about this was that he told me they were on such a time schedule to get off the ground and back to Massachusetts that Rachel didn’t have any time to start calling people and tell them what had just happened. Once they were in pre-flight mode, it was a no-go on cell phone use! So she had to sit tight and be patient the whole flight back, not being able to tell anyone. For what little time I got to know her, I’m sure this must have been torture. However, I can only imagine what an amazing and peaceful flight back that must have been for the two of them. It’s certainly not a flight I’m sure she’ll ever forget.

So……meet Meghan and Jonathan. I am thrilled to be photographing their Maine wedding this July at a gorgeous location in Sullivan not too far from where Meghan spent many childhood summers. The couple currently lives in Cambridge, MA, but Meghan’s ties to Maine, and the dream of getting married here someday, compelled them to choose our lovely state. I love them for that! They are an insanely fun couple who I clicked with right away when we had our first consultation.

So when we were brainstorming ideas for their engagement shoot, and I told them that I would really love to come to Boston and do the shoot there, Meghan suggested a popular bowling alley in Davis Square. They didn’t even need to go any further and tell me that this bowling alley also had a full bar, pizza and drink service to your lane. I was just so excited about the bowling!! But those other things were pretty awesome too. Seriously. They are a couple after my own heart: beer and pizza AND I get to take your photos?! SWEET!

I met them at their apartment and they took me to Flatbread (yes, the same establishment like the one we have in Portland on Commercial Street for those of you that have been). Only this restaurant is inside a vintage, candle pin bowling alley!! We had some amazing pizza at the bar right under this ridiculous skylight that was just pouring in perfect light…perfect for photographs, of course. Then we got our lane and bowled for about an hour. After a few drinks and being beat by the kids in the lane next to us, we were off to our next location for some final shots of the afternoon. We stopped at the campus of Tufts University for some photos on top of the rooftop garden (not in season yet, of course), but it boasted great views of Boston even on the overcast day. I cannot wait to see what these two creative people have cooked up for their wedding. So far I’m hearing smatterings of dahlias and driftwood. It’s already making me wish for summer!

Hurray for wedding number one of 2012!! My first wedding of the new was a very tiny affair and it was the perfect way to kick off the new year. Meet Natasha & Frank, professors and cat lovers. I’m not kidding when I say their wedding was tiny. It was just them, their two witnesses (also fellow university professors) and our notary….and it was perfect. They exchanged the most adorable, personal to their relationship vows in the Lecture Hall of the Bangor Public Library at the end of January. Not only did they vow to love each other unconditionally, but they also promised to lend their respective carpentry and plumbing skills to projects around their new house. After the ceremony at the Library was over, I had the pleasure of spending a little time with the newly married at their Bangor home where we had some tea, took more photos and had the most amazing chocolate cake…that Natasha made just for the occasion. These two were a joy to meet and I had the best of fun photographing their wedding. Congrats you two!!

Every week that goes by there seems to be something new and exciting that she’s doing. I just wanted to share two fun things that we did this week. First, for those of you that know my Olivia, you know ALL about her hair. It is quite something to behold. But as lovely as those curls are, she was having a little issue with her hair always being in her eyes. So, my wee one got her first hair cut this past week from my stylist, Gina. And yes….I saved the trimmings. Second, today was really our first chance to get outside and actually play in the snow. We haven’t had a lot of it this season and we certainly haven’t had any since she’s been able to sit up totally on her own and be pulled around in a sleigh!

Love you, little bean! You sure are growing up fast.

Hello happy readers! I hope you’re all having a fantastic start to 2012. I don’t know why people call this the “off season,” because I certainly haven’t shut off or slowed down since my last wedding of 2011. It’s been so busy that it’s taken me forever to actually blog about this wedding! But finally it’s here and I’m happy to share it with you. 

Laura and Nolan were Real Maine Weddings Wedding of the Year contest winners for 2011 and their was wedding was featured in the 2012 issue of that magazine. I blogged about being published in that issue a few weeks ago. There were four photographers covering this wedding and all of us had a different vantage point for the day. My pre-ceremony time was spent with Laura and her bridesmaids getting ready at the salon and in their hotel room where I was able to get some lovely portraits of the group. For the ceremony, I was staked out facing the audience capturing the faces of the guests. Then there were the beautiful details and things caught in between.

It was a lovely event and I was very happy to be a part of the very first wedding contest sponsored by Real Maine Weddings magazine.

As many of you know, I had the honor of being selected as one of the four photographers that shot the wedding of Laura & Nolan, RMW’s free wedding contest winners. Myself, Audra Welton, Nadra Edgerley and Michelle Turner all worked together to shoot thousands of photos for our lovely couple. Those photos were featured in a huge spread in the new issue. The below shots are examples of my work (excluding the first photo) I just wanted to show the cover page! This wedding was in October and I had to wait till it went to print to share all the goodies with you. Pheeww…that was a long wait!! To read the entire wonderful article and to see the work of all these amazing photogs, pick up a copy on newsstands now. You can also read the digital version on the RMW website.

In addition to the featured wedding, I also had a couple other images in the magazine that made me jump for joy when I was told they were being published. Ashley’s bouquet made by Sweetest Thing is featured in the Flowers section and my lovely Lanie and her cowboy boots kicked off the Trends page.

Thanks Real Maine Weddings for featuring me in this issue. It makes my heart very happy.

images on this page: top, middle and bottom

images on left page: bottom left & bottom right

images on right page: bottom left, center (gelato)

image on right page: bottom left

image on left page: bride in boots

I am so grateful to the wonderful couples who chose me as their wedding photographer this past year. I had a fabulous time capturing the moments of their big day and traveling to some lovely locations (including my first Canadian wedding!!). Thanks to all these brides and grooms for letting me into their life for the day. I had a blast. All my best to you in 2012.