Newburyport + Plum Island Engagement Pictures :: Aly + Keven

Good morning! A quick disclaimer is needed here. I'll usually share 4 or 5 pictures from an engagement session but not only did we squeeze in three locations for this extended engagement session but Aly and Keven also brought along the Gunner the dog so I'm going all out with more images that usual. Plus it's Tuesday and who want to work when you can look at lots of lovely pictures of these two (three)?

Just in case you're wondering what a guilty chocolate lab looks like when you tell him to stop eating all the grass:


So let's start at the beginning....once upon a time there was a girl named Aly going to a wedding in New Jersey. Aly knew she'd be one of the few single ladies at the wedding so she'd subtly inquired if there would be any cute guys there. The outlook wasn't great...

There was a guy named Keven who was also going to the same New Jersey wedding. He didn't have a date so decided to bring his good friend Adam as his wingman/plus one.


Aly says she noticed Keven but seeing him with Adam as his plus one made some incorrect assumptions ;)

Later on, Aly noticed a good girlfriend chatting with Keven and started to think maybe she'd been wrong. Although her friend was on crutches Aly couldn't help herself and she marched over to introduce herself all but body-checking her friend out the way [don't worry - the friend is all mended and getting married herself very soon!]. Keven reports that he'd noticed Aly too and was super happy when she came over to talk as she was just his type! 

For the rest of the wedding Aly and Keven were inseparable. They talked and danced and talked some more late into the evening. They then sat up all night talking until they realized the sun was coming up and time for Aly to drive the loooong way home.

It sounds almost Cinderella-ish right? Except instead of a glass slipper there was a pair of sunglasses! Once she was home, Aly realized she had Keven's sunglasses and wondered (hoped?) if he might get in touch to arrange to get them back. 

A quick time out from the story of Aly & Keven to say look at this sky! We totally lucked out with the weather!

Back to the story, Keven did one better than calling or texting, driving all the way up to Aly's home on the North Shore from his home in Connecticut. Somehow I suspect it was about more than getting his sunglasses back ;) 

From then on Aly and Keven were pretty much inseparable:

Fast forward and Keven was figuring out his plans to propose to Aly. He planned a weekend away at a beautiful old house on the beach in Maine but didn't want Aly to get too nervous or excited so he told her not to have any expectations, it was just a weekend away...

Keven suggested a walk on the beach with Gunner, Aly was all "I'm in my comfy sweats but sure!", they walked down to the beach and Keven decided the moment was right. Gunner didn't quite agree and decided to jump all over the two of them causing all sorts of delays and interruptions but it couldn't stop Keven. And Aly said yes! 

They'll be married next winter in the beautiful state of Vermont and I can't wait to be their wedding photographer! Aly & Keven - thanks for the awesome afternoon, January can't come soon enough!

Newburyport Engagement Pictures :: Laura + Jay

Laura and Jay both grew up in the same town in New Hampshire where they attended different high schools. Over the years their paths crossed once or twice, at the gym and another time at a Christmas party…

After graduation, Laura went to school in Washington, DC and Jay in Maine. They crossed paths again during their first summer home from school and somehow got to talking about the kind of movies they liked.

Jay challenged Laura to sit through one of his favorite scary horror movies and Laura agreed as long as Jay sat though Stomp the Room :) They made it through their film marathon and this led to dating and then a long distance relationship. 

Fast forward to Jay deciding he wanted to propose to Laura. Jay was named after his grandfather who proposed to Jay's grandmother with an engagement ring that belonged to his grandmother (Jay's great, great, grandmother!). When Laura saw Jay's grandmother handing over a ring to Jay at a family gathering she had an inkling of what might happen next!


It seems that Jay isn't a big planner and so his sudden interest in making dinner plans only made Laura even more suspicious! Jay confirmed these suspicions when he not only proposed over dinner with his grandmother's ring but wowed Laura with a surprise party of their closest friends and family! 

I met up with Laura and Jay in Newburyport and it was one of those weird days where the weather forecast was perfect all week and then suddenly there were storm and rain alerts popping up. We crossed our finger and got lucky as the rain didn't come until just before sunset. So we stopped for a glass of wine and oysters :)

It seemed rude not to take advantage of the twinkle lights of the harbor

Laura and Jay - that was a lot of fun! I hope you like these few favorites of mine! Lots more uploading in your gallery as I write this blog post!!! I can't wait for your July 2015 wedding at the Boston Harbor Hotel! 

Newburyport + Salisbury Beach Engagement Pictures :: Marianne + Matt

Meet Marianne & Matt:

Marianne had been on Match.com for about 6 months and was about to give up as she'd had one terrible date after another. Matt has just joined Match.com.


Marianne saw Matt and winked at him. Matt winked back

Marianne messaged Matt and the message came through as he was about to tee off on the golf course. He stopped mid-swing to read it much to the ire of his golf buddies.

A first date followed soon after that. Matt arrived first so Marianne approached him with the classic "Is this seat taken?" line

New to Match, Matt had a couple of other dates scheduled that week but after their date Marianne jokingly told him that his other dates couldn't possibly be as good as theirs.

Matt agreed and the other dates went nowhere!

I met up with Marianne and Matt in Newburyport and Salisbury beach and had a blast hanging out with them. They're one of those couples that are just great to be around - there's a lot of laughter, affection and they're so obviously happy together.

Marianne and Matt will be married at the State Room in Boston later this year - actually my last wedding of 2014 - saving the best 'til last! I can't wait! Marianne & Matt - hope you like this handful of favorites from your shoot - SO many more to follow!

Newburyport Engagement Pictures :: Lea + Aidan

Hello! I took a little vacation for a few days to recharge my batteries before the second half of my 2013 wedding season starts on Saturday and it's been all sorts of fun - camping in Acadia, visiting Bar Harbor, eating too much lobster, hanging with new friends at the lake. And now I'm back!

Lea and Aidan are getting married at the Boston Harbor Hotel in October and we met up in Newburyport for part II of their engagement pictures. You can see part I *here*.

Newburyport is one of my favorite places to photograph in. Within 15 minutes you have a State Park, a beautiful beach, the harbor area, the traditional New England downtown area and all sorts of interesting places in between

We headed out to the beach as the sun got lower in the sky. How cute are these two?

Aidan drew a big "A ♥ L" in the sand

Lea and Aidan are super fun to hang out with, we saw the lifeguard station and I was all "Hmmm, might be kind of cool to..." and before I finished my sentence they were climbing up:

We then returned to Newburyport for a few late night pictures once the old fashioned gas lamps had come on:

Lea & Aidan - I hope you like this handful of favorites. The full gallery is uploading right now! I can't wait for your wedding! It'll be here before you know it :)

Next up on the bloggity blog will be Sarah & Kevin's wedding at Church of the Covenant and the Ritz Carlton Boston Common...

Newburyport Engagement Pictures :: Mini shoot :: Sarah + Kevin

Sarah and Kevin are both chefs. When we met up a few weeks ago for a mini engagement shoot in Newburyport Kevin asked me about the concept of a mini-shoot. I started explaining that at this time of year many of my couples want to wait for warmer weather before taking pictures but they need just a handful of pictures for save the date cards so we shoot for just 15-30 minutes.

Then I figured a better description might be that the wedding day is kind of the entree of wedding photography. The engagement session is the appetizer. And a mini engagement session is a little amuse-bouche :)

Sarah and Kevin first met in Las Vegas when Sarah was doing her externship at David Burke's steakhouse (mmm mmm mmm) and where Kevin worked. After the externship Sarah returned to Florida where her family lives. A while later Kevin was offered a chef position at a restaurant in Florida (do you see where we're going here?!)

Our original plan was to shoot at the beach but when the weather took a turn for the worse we decided to move to Newburyport. It was REALLY cold, Kevin is a joker and kept asking Sarah if she wouldn't be happier in bare feet in the sand :) Check out the stormy sky!

As Kevin was planning his move to Florida, Sarah kindly offered to show Kevin around and help him find somewhere to live etc. When Sarah's sister saw the perfectly tabbed and organized binders about the area that Sarah had put together for Kevin she was all "You LIKE him!!!". I haven't met her but Sarah's sister sounds like a smart woman to me :)

Kevin and Sarah started seeing a lot more of each other in Florida. Once he'd settled in, Kevin asked Sarah if she'd like to go to dinner at his new restaurant. He explained he was bringing a friend in and when they arrived everything was set up super romantically :) and wouldn't you know it? They started dating!

Nope, Sarah didn't just grow taller for this picture, she's standing on a ledge ;)

It was around this time that my fingers started to get REALLY cold but that sunset!!!

Sarah & Kevin - I hope you enjoyed the mini shoot! I'm excited for our next one once we get through the winter and I'm even more excited for your July 2013 wedding at the Ritz-Carlton!

Newburyport Engagement Pictures :: Alicia + Bill

It's entirely normal to be a little nervous before an engagement session.
What should we wear?
What are we going to do?
Is it going to be awkward?
How am I going to look in the pictures?
Well, little Bam Bam was so nervous about the camera that he may have gotten a little sick on the drive over to Newburyport. Poor Bam Bam. Luckily he has a good constitution and recovered quickly.  For the record, turquoise is an excellent color for all skin/hair/fur tones.

For the rest of the shoot, Bam's excitement that his Mommy and Daddy are getting married was just obvious to see.

He even kept look-out while they had a little smooch

OK, one last Bam Bam picture because he's just so teeny tiny and adorable:

I get it, I get it. We're not all dog people. You're probably here to read about Bam Bam's parents. Meet Alicia and Bill:

Alicia and Bill used to work together. Alicia explained it as "Well, I'm fairly outgoing and Bill was kind of quiet so we didn't talk too much at work." But then there was this work night out, a sort of teambuilding event if you will. Alicia and Bill found themselves walking together to the bar in the rain. Alicia thrust her umbrella at Bill and requested that he hold it for her. Bill not only held the umbrella but he carefully held it so that Alicia remained completely dry and he was drenched on one side.

Quick detour from Alicia & Bills story: I once had an ex-boyfriend who would always gallantly offer to hold my umbrella but would hold it directly over himself! I'd have to huddle closer to him and one side of me would always get soaking wet. One time Paul and I went to the Grand National (kind of like the Kentucky Derby in the UK) and the rain poured down all day. Paul held my umbrella and I stayed dry all day. It was an umbrella revelation. I think that was when I started to have suspicions that he would make an excellent future husband.... 

Back to Alicia and Bill, here they are up in the sky. I later found out that Bill is not the biggest fan of heights. Sorry Bill!

So Bill and Alicia arrive at the bar with all of their work colleagues and they spend the whole evening drinking and talking and laughing. At some point Alicia started to think that that maybe Bill was trying to be more than friends. Their co-workers noticed it too and started putting bets on whether anything would happen between these two.

Playing around with a tilt-shift lens here, I feel a new lens purchase in my future...

Bill walked Alicia to the train and he *may* have kissed her :) As Alicia headed into work the next day, she wondered what it would be like sitting across from Bill. Was it just a random kiss? Would it be awkward? Would they never speak of it again? Alicia arrived in the office and Bill walked straight over to say good morning and chat.

And that was it. They've been together ever since. Alicia and Bill. And Bam Bam of course. Who loves Alicia more than anyone else but has also grown very fond of Bill :) 

Alicia and Bill - if I'd have been there in that bar I would have happily bet money that you two would end up together! It was so much fun photographing you for these pictures and I am now even MORE excited for your December wedding at Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill, MA!!!