Would you look at that - I'm rated on Wedding Wire

Wedding Wire is a rather useful site and part of the Martha Stewart Wedding Network. You can check out vendor reviews and they have lovely inspiration boards too. I just got a note that I can put this little badge on my site so you can click and read reviews about me (which thanks to my awesome clients are all very lovely)

And....if I get more reviews then I get a badge that sparkles....so if I've photographed your wedding, I'd love it if you'd pop over to the Wedding Wire website using this link and add your feedback:

Review Leah Haydock Photography at WeddingWire

The nice folks at Wedding Wire would also like as many reviews as possible so if you review 5 wedding vendors (easy! photographer, florist, venue, dress, stationary, hair and make up) you get a choice of a free gift including a nice canvas print...

How to choose a location for engagement pictures :: Lunda + Jonathan at Winnekenni Castle

When I shoot engagement pictures (and please don't think it has to be cheesy jeans and matching white shirts with your left hand on his chest to show off your diamond like **these pictures** ) my focus is always on the two of you. The location is definitely secondary. Sometimes there is a location with meaning, such as:
- Lauren & Aladin met at BU
- Kristine & Marc regularly ran together at Salisbury Beach
- Corey & Isaiah live and work in New York

I also enjoy finding an unexpected place to shoot and doing something new. The first time I did a mini-shoot for Lunda & Jonathan was for their save the date cards, you can check it out **here** - it was an awesome j.crew inspired winter engagement session. You probably wouldn't guess but most of the pictures were actually taken in our backyard and at the local village green.

We've been trying to schedule a time/date/location for their second shoot and it's been tough with Jonathan's travel schedule. We settled on Haverhill as that's where Jonathan was living when they got together and I happened to know of a cute little castle (thanks Tracey & Kyle!) so the following engagement pictures are mostly at Winnekenni castle in Haverhill, MA

Can't beat a castle as a backdrop right?


Sometimes I'm just unintentionally hilarious. They're laughing with me not at me right?


You know when the weather is doing that sort of not really raining, drizzly, spitting thing? Well I don't like it. It makes my hair frizz. Although on the plus side it means you can have some umbrella fun. In case you didn't already realize, Lunda is so much fun to photograph. I just say "Rock it out Lunda" and get stuff like this:


Jonathan finds it all pretty amusing too:


Sometimes I have these little visions in my head. Sometimes they're of photographs. Sometimes they work:


Lunda came up with this one all on her own:


Bling bling!


Leah: "Lunda - give me fierce!"


Last few pictures at the castle before we lost the light. Jonathan thought we were finished:


But no! Although I'm very prepared for each shoot I don't go so far as to bring along a set of twinkly lights. But what do we have here...we pulled over to a little area in the middle of the road (sort of like a rotary but not round) and I got these shots. Traffic lights for the win!


And then I spotted these vintage lamposts - like a moth to the flame....


How excited are you for the wedding? As excited as I am? Probably not as excited as Lunda & Jonathan. I think they're off at their respective bachelor and bachelorette parties at the moment. As long as we don't have a repeat of Las Vegas - kidding!!!

Sunday Reading :: Week 11

A simple poem that I enjoyed reading:

HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS
~ By Emily Dickenson~

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chilliest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.

Every post is better with a picture, and when I thought of feathers I remembered Linda's stunning feather hairpiece at her beautiful wedding to Tom at Willowdale Estate last November.


Happy Sunday

NH Wedding Photographer :: Reception at The Essex Room, Essex, NH :: Kristin + Zach (Part V)

Part five??!? Yup! So many phenomenal moments at this wedding that I couldn't fit them into one post, so now I'm sitting here with a head full of hair dye (pesky grey roots) and through the miracle of wifi at my hairdressing salon posting the final pictures of Kristin & Zach's wedding.

Missed part of the wedding? Start **here** for getting ready fun, attend the ceremony in the Rose Garden at Lynch Park **here**, meet the family and wedding party **here** and head over to the Essex Room at Woodmans, Essex, NH **here** for the first dance and toasts.

Without further ado it's straight back to the party:


Time for the parent dances, Kristin danced with her dad:


And then Zach walked his Mom out to the dancefloor:

Autumn wasn't left out as she danced with Uncle Colin:

A quiet moment outside for Kristin and Zach as the sun started to set:


And inside the dancing continued, I guess you could describe the picture on the bottom right as a sort of Colin/Bridesmaid sandwich ;)


Super funny bouquet toss to the almost obligatory "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. Kristin did a good job of faking out the girls and then threw her bouquet. Zach's sister Marissa caught it and did a little happy dance:


The wedding reception drew to a close and Kristin & Zach danced together for one last time keeping a close eye on Autumn who was busting out her best dance moves still:

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it. 26 more pictures for you to look at and it's time to get my hair shampooed. Kristin & Zach - congratulations! I had so much fun working with you both and of course Autumn. It's going to be hard to choose the pictures for your wedding album!

Essex, MA Wedding Photographer :: Reception at the Essex Room :: Kristin + Zach (Part IV)

Quick recap: Wedding preparation gaiety can be caught up **here**, the wedding ceremony pictures at the Rose Garden at Lynch park **here**, relaxed family pictures and introductions to the wedding party **here** and now it's time to head over to the Essex Room at Woodmans, Essex, NH for the wedding reception photographs.

As the guests arrived to the elegant chamber music played by the Intermezzo chamber players, the wedding party relaxed with a glass of champagne and toasted their friends:


I stole Kristin & Zach away for some newlywed pictures:


We headed inside to the ballroom of the Essex Room.. I had the FABULOUS Julia Snider second shooting with me for the day and Julia was holding my lights for this shot. I can't say enough about how brilliant she was - from parking my car when I wasn't allowed to leave it with the limo at the Rose Garden, to getting some excellent images of the day herself. Julia will be in NYC for the whole month of July doing headshots so if you're a New Yorker looking for family pictures, updated headshots, heck - maybe a new profile pic for facebook or e-harmony - check out her site **here** :


Time for the first dance "At Last" by Etta James. I know I can be somewhat repetitive about my love of twinkly lights - this is why you should get them! They turn a regular wall into something a little more interesting:


Happy congratulations to the new Mr & Mrs Foley:


As the guests sat down to delicious looking salads, last minute preparations were underway for the toasts, Eric studied his notes, Kirby was feeling a little nervous and Colin seemed pretty calm. The custom engraved silver champagne flutes were filled:




Fantastic toasts! Kirby had a perfect balance of embarrassing tales of Kristin when they were younger. Eric had everyone laughing with his stories and then smiling as he talked about how great Kristin & Zach are as parents to Autumn. Colin shared stories of his older brother the "SupahStaaaaaah" and then spoke movingly of how Zach is so lucky to have Kristin who is "the complete package" and how appropriate their choice of "At Last" was for their first dance:


Kristin & Zach during the toasts; Zach's reaction on the bottom left may have had something to do with Colin's disclosure involving a bandanna and a certain hairstyle :


Let them eat cake:


And then Autumn woke up from her nap and headed straight over to Zach for a cuddle:


I found Kristin getting a drink at the bar and loved the green leather seating:


I think it's safe to say that people were having fun ;)


Don't fret! It's not over yet, we haven't even got to the parent dances, the bouquet toss and much more. You'll just have to come back tomorrow I guess.

And before I forget, here's the Vendor list:

Photography: Leah Haydock
Ceremony venue: The Rose Garden at Lynch Park
Officiant: The Honorable Lisa L. Mead
Chamber music (beautiful music, A+++ recommendation from me!!!): Intermezzo Chamber Players (carol@intermezzoplayers.com or 781 861 7149)
Reception venue: The Essex Room at Woodmans of Essex, NH (super-organized Faye Broderick faye@woodmans.com)
Hair & Makeup : Rebecca Stankiewicz of Sapphire Hair Studio, Danvers, MA (rebeccat84@yahoo.com or 978 646 0047)
Flowers :gorgeous but they're not accepting any more wedding commissions so I won't tease you with their information
Antique Rolls Royce car and limo: http://www.antiquerolls.com/ by Sterling Swift Limousine
DJ: Zach's friend, Tim Sutton as DJ Tonzo (781-244-8752)
Cake: Zach's friend. Jerry at the Eastern Yacht Club who was unfortunately working and didn't even get to enjoy his cake!

Can you hold the date for me?

I had an excellent client meeting on Sunday at the Tea Noir Champagne Bar in the Garrison Inn in Newburyport, MA. I'd just had my eyelashes extended (you have no idea how ridiculous that feels to write but the ability to skip wearing make up outweighs the embarrassment) and I had a lovely hour of chatting with the bride about her fabulous June 2011 wedding over peach champagne cocktails. This particular client had meetings with other photographers planned for this week (always a good plan) and towards the end of our meeting, she asked "Would you be able to hold the date for me?"

I thought this was a great question deserving of a mini blog post.

To hold a date I need a signed contract and retainer check.

In seasonal New England I accept a limited number of wedding commisions - usually 15-20 each year - so I can give each one my full attention. Each wedding may include 80 or more hours of work including engagement shoots, processing, travel time, album design etc. That's how I like to work. So generally, holding the date is difficult for me and also awkward for clients. Here's why:

- Out of town clients will want to talk and book over the phone, it's hard to tell them that I have to hang up and try to track down the other clients to see if they've made a decision yet.

- If I get another inquiry, then I'm obliged to call back the original clients to tell them someone else is interested in their date but this always feels like shady car salesman pressure tactics.

- There has to be a time limit on the hold and this may force a premature decision

- I may hold the date, turn down a wedding and then not be booked (rare ;) but it occasionally happens)

So it's simple, all dates are open until I get a "yes, we want to book you" and then I put the contract together.

If you're looking for a wedding photographer I would suggest:
1.Narrow down your choice of photographers - referrals from friends, websites you love, try googling "{venue name} wedding photographs" to see images at your venue
2. Ask yourself if you LOVE the pictures you see online, also check out their blog to get a feel for more recent work
3. Schedule meetings with your shortlist to see a complete wedding and some albums.
4. Consider having all your meetings in one week so everything is fresh in your heads. I provide clients with a checklist they can use to compare photographers - myself included.
5. Remember that you're looking for three key things:
a) Do you LOVE the pictures? Can you imagine yourself in them?
b) Could you get along with them for 8 hours or longer on your wedding day?
c) Do they fit with your budget?

Then magically, just like you knew he was "the one", and your dress was "the one" - you'll know who should photograph your wedding. And if you're not 110% sure, don't settle! Keep looking. There's a photographer out there for everyone.....

...and if you're just here for the pictures - here's a preview of delicious Kate Spade shoes that will be featured in Lunda & Jonathan's engagement shoot at a castle next week after I finish blogging the brilliance that was Kristin & Zach's wedding this week.

And feel free to comment; discussion is always good. Click on "view comments for this post" and choose name/url (you can leave url/website blank) and type away...

Essex, MA Wedding Photographer :: Reception at The Essex Room :: Kristin + Zach (Part III)

Did you miss the wedding ceremony at the Rose Garden at Lynch Park in Beverly, MA? If so, catch up **here**

If you didn't see the getting ready fun and the lovely details, you can find them **here**

As promised, here are relaxed family and group portraits. First of all, meet the parents:

I could photograph Kristin for hours; she has the most amazing sparkling eyes:


All the ladies together:


And of course, the guys. We had some discussion about whether we were going for a GQ or a J.Crew feel, I'll let you decide:


This was one of the most crazy fun wedding party groups I've ever met. You don't want to miss the dancing tomorrow is all I'm saying:


And whilst all of this was going on, Autumn slept peacefully:

Come back tomorrow for the reception at the beautiful New England wedding venue, The Essex Room in Essex, MA - toasts, dancing, cake!

Beverly, MA Wedding Photographer :: Rose Garden at Lynch Park :: Kristin + Zach (The Ceremony)

And now it's time for the wedding ceremony officiated by the Honorable Lisa L. Mead at the Rose Garden at Lynch Park in Beverly, MA. If you missed the getting ready fun, you can find it **here**

Kristin and her Dad traveled to the ceremony in style in this amazing antique rolls royce:




After the guests were seated, the groomsmen and then the bridesmaids took their places to Pachelbel's Canon in D beautifully played by the Intermezzo Chamber Players:


Autumn was charged with scattering the rose petals on the ground and she took her job incredibly seriously, individually placing and rearranging the petals until they were just-so:


As the violins played, Zach couldn't help but smile as he watched Kristin walk toward him on the arm of her father:


The Rose Garden at Lynch Park is just so beautiful with all of the greenery, flowers and the ocean view. Of course you need a back up plan in case of rain as there is no cover!




By the power vested in me by the State of My Blog, I now pronounce you husband and wife and you may kiss the bride:




Love Kristin's look of "Yay! We did it" in this picture:


Kristin's and Zach's parents looking rather proud and happy:


And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is it for now, click **here** to meet the parents and the wedding party in some relaxed family portraits and then it should be time for the toasts, cake and dancing. It doesn't get any better than this...