Fall Engagement Pictures at the Wayside Inn, Sudbury, MA :: Jane + Wendy

Some things are just meant to be. I will expound on this throughout today's blog post. But first, meet Jane and Wendy:


Jane and Wendy are getting married in February at the Seaport Winter Garden (which is the most beautiful venue for a winter wedding in Boston). Jane was researching venues for their winter wedding when she stumbled across this blog post. Not only did this give Jane and Wendy their wedding venue but it also made Jane decide to see if I would be available to be their wedding photographer. I WAS available! And I WILL be their wedding photographer! See - meant to be :)

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself, on the day if their engagement picture shoot I met with Jane and Wendy at their home so that we could incorporate their beloved rescue doggies into the pictures:


Jane and Wendy met a while back and for the longest time they were just really good friends. They would email back and forth a lot and Wendy told me the funniest story about how she used to drink an awful lot of coffee at that time and write these crazy long epic emails to Jane:


And then there was this one night involving a lot of friends, a lot of martinis and Jane and Wendy became more than friends. See! Meant to be - again!


After some doggy playtime we decided to hop on over to the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA (where coincidentally I photographed a wedding there last year too!). We found one lone tree with some bright foliage so hung out here for a little while.

I posted the above picture on my facebook photography page (what do you mean you didn't know I had a photography page on facebook? Where have you BEEN? That's where all the previews and sneak peeks get posted. Quick!!! Click **here** and hit LIKE and then come on back for more) and Jane sent me the best email ever "Words cannot describe how much I LOVE THIS PICTURE! It is one of the most beautiful images of Wendy I've ever seen - I think I just fell in love with her all over again!"

Anyway, so I can't tell you how much fun I had on my afternoon with Jane and Wendy. They had the best stories to tell me about their relationship. There was a lot of laughing. Like a real lot. Here is Wendy barely able to stand for laughing:


Some sweet moments too:


And then more laughing. I think this might be my favorite:


Although I have a very strict no-drinking rule at weddings, engagement shoots are a little more relaxed. After we finished we went into the Wayside Inn to have a glass of wine in the cozy bar by the fireplace. Wendy went to the car to get something and Jane just talked and talked about all of the things she loves most about Wendy. Jane went to the restroom and it was so cute because Wendy then started telling me all of the things she loves most about Jane. These two are totally meant to be.


The Wayside Inn has all sorts of interesting little trails and bridges:




I can't tell you how excited I am for Jane & Wendy's wedding in February. When I first met with them, they told me all about their amazing circle of friends who have supported them over the years and how they want their wedding to be a fabulous celebration with friends and family. Somehow I don't think that will be hard with these two involved! It's going to be my first same-sex wedding and I can't wait! One last picture......


Jane & Wendy - TOO MUCH FUN - can't wait for February! Do you know Jane & Wendy? Why not say hello in the comments (click "view comments for this post", type your comment, choose name/url from the dropdown box - you can leave the URL part blank).

Black Friday:: Small Business Saturday :: Cyber Monday :: PRINT SALE!!!!

The Leah Haydock Photography office is closed over the Thanksgiving weekend so I can eat lots of turkey but I had a quick check of email to see if there were any urgent ones and I noticed a couple of inquiries about Black Friday sales. What a good idea! In order to help you decorate your desks and walls and the desks and walls of those you love I'm announcing the first ever print sale! Every gallery has been reopened (if you can't remember the link to your gallery just email me and I'll shoot it over)!!!

Here's the important information:

• Print sale ends in 1 week on Sunday 4th November at midnight
• Prints will arrive in time for the holidays (5-7 days with ground shipping or you can choose faster overnight options)
• It's not just prints! Did you know you can get customized postage stamps with a favorite picture? Perfect for your holiday cards or thank you notes.
• There are also spectacular fine art wall options - metal prints, acrylic prints, canvas gallery wraps (click on "buy" and then "showcase"). Email me for more information or help picking out a favorite image to blow up.

And the pricing information (these are seriously insane prices, I've hastily rustled up this sale price list and Mr H is having a heart attack at what this is doing to my profit line!):

• Small desk prints 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 8x12 all all just $6
• Wall prints 11x14 $14, 16x20 $24, 16x24 $28, 20x24 $32
• Canvas gallery wraps start at just $70 and acrylic/metal prints just $120.
• Postage stamps start at $22
• There are even 4x8 holiday prints starting at $1

Of course you can make your own prints from your discs so why bother printing through me?

Professional prints are made on professional calibrated printers on archival professional print paper (see below for more information) AND remember that any print larger than an 8x12 (i.e. 11x14 and above) will be perfectly retouched, sized and sharpened for your order so it looks amazing on your wall!

For the technically minded here's the information about the papers used for your prints:

E-Surface Color Paper
Kodak Professional Supra Endura VC Digital Paper is the most popular paper used by professional photographers. This paper boasts accurate color, realistic saturation, excellent neutral flesh reproduction, and great intensity and offers brighter blues, cyans, purples, and reds. Standard Archival Value of 100 years in home display; 200 years in dark storage.

Metallic Paper (pearlescent finish)
Kodak Endura Metallic Paper features a unique pearlescent surface with ultra-bright backgrounds. This paper uses a patented combination of film and laminate layers resulting in striking three-dimensional images. It offers sharp details, and beautifully-saturated colors. Resistant to tearing and curling without any additional lamination. Standard Archival Value of 100 years in home display; 200 years in dark storage.
Leah's comment: I LOVE metallic paper for large prints, I don't recommend it for close up shots (i.e. a picture mostly of your faces as it makes the skin look a little shiny) but it's AMAZING for a large panoramic print or a night time picture.

True B&W Paper (matte finish)
Ilford True B&W paper is designed to make rich black, continuous-tone prints, while avoiding color tints. Panchromatic, resin-coated paper provides excellent tone reproduction. This paper uses a silver-based emulsion rather than dye-based, offering the same imaging performance and characteristics as traditional B&W continuous-tone prints. Specially coated on the back, it accepts ink for crop lines or writing notes. Display and 100-year archival quality.

Remember - this sale is over 1 week from today! And for my (two) couples patiently awaiting their full wedding galleries and (three) couples looking out for their engagement galleries - not to worry! I will send you a special code to enable you to get these prices too! Just a week or so to go now :)

Why not order 8x10 prints for all your friends and family? Christmas shopping - check! Have you moved house and have blank walls? A 20x24 print or metal print would look spectacular! Are your images sitting on the disc years after your wedding? Print your favorite 4x6 and 5x7 images!

And as every post is better with a picture, here's a metal wall art print I did for Neeta and Rich of one of their engagement pictures. You can see how it comes ready to hang. The colors just pop!

Engagement Pictures at Bentley University, Waltham, MA :: Lauren + James

I am crazy multi-tasking at the moment, uploading, downloading, editing and making 3 different appetizers for Thanksgiving tomorrow but I couldn't make Lauren and James wait any longer for their engagement pictures at Bentley University in Waltham, MA which is where they got together.

I've been doing lots of mini engagement sessions at the moment - perfect for a quick save the date image if you want to save your full session until the spring - so it was a pleasure to be able to hang out with Lauren and James for so long. It seemed only appropriate to start on the Bentley football field:



Do you adore Lauren's shoes? Maybe that's because she bought them in Paris. As in Paris, France. Where James proposed...


This was my first time on the Bentley campus and it's beautiful. It reminded me of many UK universities. Old and new buildings together:


But we're not here for a discussion on university architecture are we? We're here to see James and Lauren's engagement pictures! The building in the background was where Lauren lived whilst they were dating:


As we hung out on the steps Lauren shared her favorite joke, "What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh." I'm not so sure it translates when you write it down. I got so excited as this is exactly the kind of joke that Paul and I find hilarious. It went rapidly downhill as I tortured Lauren and James with classics such as "What do you call a fly with no wings? A walk." Luckily Lauren and James are very nice people and so they smiled kindly (this was the first and last time I will ever tell jokes at an engagement session. Promise.


Bentley University made for a pretty spectacular backdrop:


Enough of my ramblings. Let's get to the story of how Lauren and James met whilst they were both studying at Bentley. It all started with a stick of gum that Lauren offered to James. In these very seats. In this very classroom. And from the blackboard can you figure out the date that Lauren and James will get married next year?


The Bentley mascot is "Flex the falcon":


I'm sure you can imagine how hard my work is sometimes.... ;)


I'm not sure it's possible to take a bad picture of either Lauren or James. I can't tell you how excited I am for their wedding at the Taj, Boston in 2012.




I think this is my very favorite image of the afternoon.


Although these are cute too:


Oh you two. You're killing me with your happiness at being together:


Although it was a fairly balmy fall day it started to get a little chilly as we finished. James took off his jacket and slipped it around Lauren's shoulders. No prompting. Love me some gentlemanly behavior....

So that's it for today! May you enjoy much turkey and pie tomorrow :) Back on Monday with part II of Liz & Tim's wedding! Then it's Jane & Wendy's engagement pictures, Amanda & Mike's engagement pictures, Catherine & Rob's wedding, Cathy & Brian's wedding and Kathleen & Joel's wedding......and then maybe time for Christmas?

Tower Hill Botanic Garden :: Wedding Photographer :: Liz + Tim (Part I)

2011 wedding season is coming to a close - what a crazy and wonderful year it's been - more on that in a few weeks. I have just 4 weddings left to blog (and lots of engagement shoots) and my first wedding of 2012 is on New Years Day so tons of good stuff coming up...

Today we're at Liz & Tim's wedding at Tower Hill Botanical Gardens in Boylston, MA. I photographed a wedding at Tower Hill last year which you can see **here** so it was very nice to be back. But before we get to Tower Hill it was time for getting ready and detail pictures. Just a little peek at Liz's wedding dress:


I love the anticipation when I arrive at a wedding - there's always so much going on - hair, make up, dresses:


Ties & Boutonnieres. Usually the biggest cause of stress for the guys ;)


What? You thought the first picture of the dress was all I'd give you?


On the right is one of Liz & Tim's favors. A most delicious cookie. I can attest to the deliciousness as I ate one on my drive home. Fun fact - the picture of the cookie was taken at 11:39am according to the time stamp on my camera. I took my last picture at the wedding reception at 11:38pm. So I was eating this cookie EXACTLY 12 hours later. I am easily amused ;)


Bling bling!


How adorable is Liz?


A quiet little moment as the veil goes on:


Something that not all brides realize is that once you're in your gown, you're kind of helpless. Simple tasks like putting on your shoes become nigh on impossible. Hence it's a good idea to choose your wedding party carefully :) The very best friends will happily put their hands up inside your dress to tie in and get down on their knees to help you with your shoes:


Liz & Tim wisely chose to have a private first look. I'm sure you get tired of me talking about what a great thing this is but you know I can't help myself:

1. It's often the only time you'll get together, alone on the day when you can really talk.

2. You can't have this kind of moment at the top of the aisle because there are hundreds of people looking at you and the ceremony is about to start.

3. You spend so much time and effort and money on this one day, why limit the time together to just 5 hours after the ceremony?

4. We can take all of the wedding party and family pictures (with fresh hair and make up!) so you can all enjoy cocktail hour (and when you see the appetizers that Liz & Tim had you will understand why!) together.

I love how Liz starts out walking towards Tim a little nervous, apprehensive even. And then this smile just spread on her face:

And Tim looked up to see his almost-wife:


Happy Liz:


I had the ridiculously talented Ben of Avenna Studios along with me for the day. He got these two:


It's so fun to see a bride who adores her dress and veil. Liz went for a little twirl and this is Tim watching:


Kissing is OK because they're just an hour or so away from being married ;)


We then went for a little walk and even found some fall foliage - a rare sight in 2011:


This one is Ben's too:


Lots of relaxed yet mantel-worthy family pictures. I think Liz was impressed/shocked/bewildered all at once at my process for family pictures. Believe me, when you have maybe 20 minutes to take LOTS of formal pictures your photographer has to be fairly speedy at moving people in and out of the groupings otherwise it turns into a 2 hour event and you miss the ceremony :) Liz - I hope you weren't too traumatized!




Liz and her bridesmaids:


Tim and the groomsmen:


Fun wedding party:



Time to go and get married!

Are you excited for part II? Say hello in the comments on hop on over to my official facebook page **here** and hit LIKE to find out when part II is ready (and hitting the like button below is awesome but only likes this specific post, which is still good!)