Portsmouth NH Engagement Pictures :: Heather + Justin

Remember Heather & Justin? I photographed them back in February when it was frrrrrrrrrrrrreezing up in NH. You can see those pictures **here**

Well, a few weeks ago it was time for part II of their engagement session and they picked Portsmouth, NH as their location.

We totally lucked out on the weather, in fact we started the session with a frosty beverage overlooking the ocean. I have a strict "no drinking" rule when I'm working at your wedding but I break the rules for a relaxed engagement shoot. Heather and Justin were super snuggly :)

It was Shark Week on TV so when I saw this wall it seemed rude not to:

Ladies - it's always a good idea to have a manicure before an engagement session - all the better to show off your ring!

Last time I shared how Heather and Justin met at school when Justin would "forget" to take notes and then borrow Heather's :) So how about a little proposal story?  Justin said that the ring was burning a hole in his pocket once it arrived so he arranged to surprise Heather at work. He said that he was fairly confident she'd say yes but when he dropped down on one knee to ask her it was the most exciting and nervous time ever!

Time for a quick wardrobe change. This was one of my favorite images:

We walked down to the harbor, the sun was fading fast so we got a little creative with the light. Look at   Heather and Justin rocking it :) 

Many of my couples friend me on facebook and I love getting a little insight into their lives before the wedding. My heart warms when I see the little messages Heather and Justin leave on each other's walls - all sorts of notes about missing each other when they're away, messages of support when one is having a rough day and general excitement about the wedding. These two are really made for each other :)

And with that, my work was done. I can't WAIT for Heather and Justin's New Years Eve wedding!!!

Portsmouth Engagement Pictures :: Portsmouth Wedding Photographer :: Helen + Matt (Part II)

I first photographed Helen and Matt on a cold and drizzly day in Portsmouth but when the rain started really coming down we decided to take a rain check - ha ha ha - and reconvene the following week. If you missed the first blog post then you should click **here** to read about their first date that nearly wasn't and meet Suki the dog.

When I left my house it was a hot sunny day. When I arrived in Portsmouth grey clouds started to come in overhead so I decided to carry my rain jacket figuring if I didn't it would rain for sure. And hoorah, the rain stayed away and I took these pictures which I shall now let you enjoy in peace:

I was about to write that I think this might be my favorite of the day but then I looked at the one below and that might be my favorite :)

Something a little different, I'm still not 100% sure it works...

I am loving the color here. How thoughtful of Helen to coordinate with the flowers in the park! 

You know what I have to write here right? I just can't help myself. I'm sorry.
Helen and Matt sitting in a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G How adorable are these two? It makes my job super easy! I don't think it's possible to take a bad picture of Helen and Matt! Which makes me quadruple-excited for their July wedding at Glen Magna farms - just weeks to go!!!

Engagement Pictures in Portsmouth, NH :: Can you take engagement pictures in the rain? :: Helen + Matt

As I write this blog post the rain is streaming down the windows and outside the puddles are getting deeper and deeper.

Yes, it's raining again and my engagement shoot for this evening just got postponed :( I'll often get panicked emails from couples saying "The weather forecast is predicting rain!!! What are we going to do?" and my advice is usually that if it's heavy rain, precipitation likehood higher than 50% then we can reschedule. If it's just a chance of showers then it can be fun to think of a couple of indoor options/sheltered areas/bring umbrellas.

 Last week I was meeting Helen and Matt to photograph their engagement pictures in Portsmouth, NH. The weather forecast kept updating with 10% then 20% then 30% then 70% chance of rain and usually we would have rescheduled. However Helen had a make up trial planned and as luck would have it I had a photographers-meet-up in Portsmouth anyway so we figured as long as it wasn't torrential rain (my camera is weather-sealed but not completely waterproof) we'd take some engagement pictures in the rain!

We met in Brazo which is not only an excellent Portsmouth restaurant but also the scene of Helen and Matt's first date. Although it nearly didn't happen.

Matt arrived first, he spotted two seats at the bar and so decided to grab them and hope that Helen was along soon. It was a really busy Friday night and people kept asking Matt if the other seat was free and he kept insisting that someone was joining him.

Remember a couple of years ago when smartphones weren't that smart? And email/internet on your phone all weird and text-y? So after almost an hour of waiting for his date Matt attempted to send an email checking if she was OK.

Just across from the bar in the lobby of the restaurant Helen was sitting on a bench, she'd been sitting there for an hour waiting for her date. Here's the thing - there's a sort of little partition and from the bar you can't see if anyone is sitting/waiting and vice versa. So after almost an hour Helen figured Matt wasn't coming and went home. On a whim she decided to check her email and saw the message from Matt "I'm here, I'm at the bar." Helen went back to the restaurant where Matt was valiantly saving her seat at the bar and drinks led to dinner which led to more drinks which led to more dates and now Helen and Matt are getting married at Glen Magna Farms in July and I'm their wedding photographer. The End. Don't you love a good first date story?

What? You're just hear to see some engagement pictures in the rain? Fine. Here you go. Here's Helen and Matt at the bar where it all started:

Suki the dog joined us for part of the shoot, she was initially a little suspicious of me but she warmed up ;)

Unless you're the wicked witch of the west a little rain won't hurt...

Living dangerously without umbrellas:

Helen, I hope you don't mind me posting this one, I love it :)

If the rain stays away I'll be reconvening with Helen and Matt later this week for some non-rainy pictures and I'm really looking forward to it as they're such good company.

That's it for today, come back tomorrow for part I of a beautiful wedding involving a Chinese tea ceremony, Filipino wedding customs, a Catholic church ceremony, an 8 course dinner and much more...!

Portsmouth, NH Engagement Pictures :: Catherine + Rob

Waaaaaaay back in April I photographed an awesome wedding (why, yes - you can see it **here** if you missed it) in York, Maine and over the course of the day found out that the sister of the groom, Catherine, would be getting married to Rob later this year.

When I checked my email the day after the wedding I was super happy to find this little note "This past weekend you photographed my brother's wedding. I saw a few the photos you posted. My fiance and I were very impressed with your work (and you were fun!). Our wedding is October 29th and I would love to talk with you"

I was officially at the limit for 2011 weddings but did you see the email!? They thought I was fun. Sometimes I am ;) So what the heck, I added one more. Plus having seen Catherine & Rob's entrance onto the dancefloor I know it's going to be a good one....

Weddings - they bring people together. In fact, it was the wedding of a mutual friend that brought Catherine and Rob together (do you see what I did there? a nice little segue, fun AND clever). So here we are in Portsmouth:




Cannot wait to photograph Catherine as a bride!!!




Night time ice cream :)



Catherine and Rob - SO excited for October!!! I don't even have to memorize a bunch of new family names as I remember all the Vachon's well!!!


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