i asked them how they met and was told, “at a house party.” but it wasn’t quite as simple as, “hey, carolyn…meet jonah. jonah, carolyn.” he showed up in a wig…with a bandana…she wanted nothing to do with him…but somehow the conversation turned to fishing, and a seed was planted…you see, carolyn is the dream of half the men in new england…totally gorgeous…but she can hang with the guys in an ice fishing shack…that’s when jonah knew she’d passed the test. (and he passed the test when he informed her it was a wig…and he turned out to be cuter than his first impression. )

i’m pretty sure she looked amazing in every. single. shot. i. took. can you imagine how incredible she’s going to be as a bride?!

they actually ASKED if they could climb this tree…seriously. ASKED! i pretty much rushed to give her a boost…jonah said this tree is the first thing he noticed upon their arrival to the park…i was more than happy to acquiesce to his desires for photos with it.

thanks so much for meeting up with me in rye today, you two…i had so much fun, and you are unbelievably adorable together…i’m glad you’ve found your permanent ice-fishing partners.

so brainstorming with the two of them, i suggested…give me a list of ten words that describe you and your relationship…so they did, and we used it as a springboard for awesomeness at their session.  and then…well, check out their super adorable guestbook…i don’t know if i’ve been prouder of a guestbook since i started photographing weddings.  i think it’s cute, quirky, unique, fun…and best of all…really captures sarah + zach.

(i traveled with them when they were living in canada…i can totally attest to the hungry!  :-D)

the book was a big hit at their wedding…which you’ll see here fairly soon!  it was AMAZING.

we started off at portland velocipede…i met josh & gillian…its charming owners…a few months back in my european-style-bicycle obsessed haze.  i knew they’d be up for helping me do something fantastical for sarah & zach’s session…they didn’t disappoint!  they are always SO helpful and do their utmost to make sure your riding experience is nothing short of amazing.  even knowing we were just borrowing the bikes for a jaunt around the block, josh filled tires and adjusted seat heights for zach & sarah.  (i took one out, too…that was a frame size too big and the seat was probably too high, but i didn’t really give him a chance to do any adjustments!  and even on the wrong size bike…they just ride better in europe.)

dunno if you can see it, but sarah’s cream and purple pashley sonnet bliss perfectly matches her outfit.  couldn’t have planned it better if we’d tried!

they also tried out some of the cargo bikes portland velocipede just got in…i believe this one’s a bakfiets.  when i was in copenhagen in may…i saw entire families in/on one of these babies!

while we were riding, josh even hopped on a pashley guv’nor and came to check how we were faring.

sarah hadn’t been on a bicycle in years…and was wearing a skirt and platform heels…and it took her all of 10 minutes before she was proclaiming that she wanted to take the sonnet bliss home with her!  (another brief plug for portland velocipede before i move on…go visit them.  ride a bike.  connect with them on facebook or twitter.  they’re awesome.  also, they have their first tweed ride coming up on nov. 7!  my new pashley britannia hasn’t been shipped from england (sad face), or i’d be there with tweed on!)

after a fun ride around old port…we set off on foot for another of my crazy ideas.  (some of this crazy will make a LOT more sense in part 2.  some will probably still just be crazy!)

sarah likes kissing zach better than kissing a silver stripe…

after a brief staring contest…zach proved to be more open-minded.

i think i’ll leave the others for part 2…

jessica insists she’s not photogenic, but…ladies and gentlemen of the jury, i will present sufficient evidence that you will see that claim is patently absurd.

aren’t they so cute?

there are so many apple images…well, yes…because we were in an orchard…but they also requested that we get a variety of images featuring apples so that they could be used for table numbers.  i know it’s a little dorky…but we had an isaac newton inspired moment.  :-D

seth & jessica, i had SO much fun hanging out with you two…it’s obvious how much you love each other and and how much fun you have together…i’m looking forward to your wedding in LESS THAN A MONTH!

i am an enormous sucker for cobblestone streets…if they were an option for home decor…i’d probably have really uneven and uncomfortable floors.

being able to see stuff like this is one of the reasons i adore living in new england so muc…just walkin’ around and, oh! there’s an old tall ship. sweet.

hello fierceness! (sorry, america’s next top model just started up again…)

finding this spot to shoot made me want to jump up and down and squeal and…all KINDS of other embarrassing things!

i’ll get their wedding blogged yet! by hook or by crook! (no? well…it was in salem…i guess i was feelin’ the piratey, witchy jargon. please forgive me.)

a couple weeks ago i went and hung out with alanna + bobby in newburyport.  they. are. so. FUN!  they’re getting married exactly ONE MONTH from today!  in key west!  yeah…it’s going to be sheer TORTURE going down to florida to photograph their fabulousness with their families.  please…wear black and pray for me and all those other things you do in solidarity and mourning.

we met at maudslay state park…i’ve photographed there before…it’s a big, sprawling nature reserve (word to the wise:  if you’ve gotta pee…do it at the facilities near the parking lot…rather than, y’know, setting off walking for miles without heeding nature’s call.) with LOTS of options…beautiful stone walls, waterfalls, views of the merrimac river, gardens, and there’s even archeological ruins!

this session, though, was all about the light.  you’ll see what i mean.  without further ado…

this may very well be my absolute favorite image from the entire session.  i love seeing alanna be herself…and bobby unable to get enough of it.

in case you haven’t seen from all the other photos…alanna’s eyes are UH-MAZE-ING.  amazing.  totally gorgeous.

a + b…see you in paradise in ONE MONTH!  can’t wait!

doesn’t debbie have a beautiful smile?  (i also really LOVE the colors they chose to wear.  so crisp and summery and refreshing.  can colors be refreshing?)

they’re getting married this saturday!!  up in maine…can’t wait to see you guys…and ben…thanks for suffering through the SHEER TORTURE of having your photo taken.  :-D  you made it look easy, man.

look at the birds!!!

this is leo’s THERE’S THE SUN! exultation. we went off in search of a sunkissed sea of golden wheat grass. and we found a field which SHOULD have matched that description, but the shy little sun was hiding behind a cloud.

this may be my favorite session this summer. i’m sorry to everyone who isn’t meghan and leo, but…! harpswell! walking to the beach! they’re SOOOO in love and happy and adorable. they made me DINNER! AND…when meghan said that they cooked, i was a bit trepidatious. see…confession: i am a picky eater. i’m not proud of it, not at all, but i am. and i get a sinking feeling when someone says they’ve cooked for me, because i know how much care *i* put into it when i cook for someone! i want them to feel loved and taken care of…and to think it’s DELICIOUS! WELL. i needn’t have feared. when meghan and i met to discuss their plans, we met for lunch. and she remembered that i’m picky. and she remembered that i ordered grilled chicken and sweet potato fries. so do you know what these lovely, lovely people made for dinner? grilled chicken (WITH A ROSEMARY SPRIG GARNISH…are you kidding?) and sweet potato fries. this is love.

that tree has been there since the moffatt-ladd house was built…in 1763!

(this is one of my favorites.)

this is another of my favorites…it’s so…them! they’re silly and just have lots of FUN together. cindy laughs easily and often…and bert knows just what to do or say to make that happen.

these are also favorites…i really love that it shows the moffatt-ladd house in the background and some of the riotous color from the gardens that are on the harbor side of the street in front of the house. and yay for portsmouth and old-timey lampposts!

another shout out to portsmouth! yay tugboats!

this is the last one, i promise. i love portsmouth…it’s magical in the summer, and this view is so…portsmouth. that drawbridge in the background makes me happy (and not just because it leads to kittery, where my dear, blessed loco coco’s is located.)

c + b, thanks for making the LENGTHY trek down from york beach…on your VACATION…to hang out with me. it was lots of fun, and i hope you got those mojitos you were after!

our first stop was plum island. we found a gross stingray…thing… i told grego as a man it was his job to turn it over so we could see it.

(this one might be my favorite from the entire session.)

this is one of gail’s that i quite like.

after we left the beach, it was time for a flatbread refueling visit before doing some more shooting around amesbury.

grego’s pizza was a little bit sad and decrepit…but it still tasted good (well, i am gathering it tasted good based on how quickly he downed it. being fabulous for the camera is hard work!)

aren’t they the cutest ever? and isn’t amesbury beautiful?

last but not least…i told dani i wanted to trade legs with her, but she didn’t seem open to the idea. i tried to talk to her about being flexible and willing to experience new things, but she just looked at me like i’d grown a 3rd head.

my very FAVORITE moment from our time together doesn’t have a picture, though…when i met dani, greg was deployed to iraq w/ the national guard…with my soft spot for the military and having some first hand experience with the sacrifices those serving and those at home make…i offered to team up with her and make an EXTRA SPECIAL surprise for greg…so, when he asked me at dinner if i do other types of photography other than weddings, i looked at him and said, “YOU should know. ”

dani & greg…can’t WAIT for the party next month!

they were very patient with me as i was totally late.  most new yorkers know and love (and rely on) hopstop.com…which totally and completely let me down.  to the tune of walking 10+ minutes in the wrong direction to the WEST version of the street they live on…not EAST.  (which, incidentally, was a not-even-two minute walk from the subway.)  hop stop fail.  but, after crossing over all those famous streets…park avenue, madison avenue, the streets that seem like they don’t REALLY exist…they’re just for movies and books…yeah, i crossed over them TWICE…and finally made it to their place.

we set off to explore their little neighborhood (a friend who lives in NYC tried to tell me NY is just a bunch of small towns.  i did NOT believe her.  dover…dover, nh is a small town.  it is a delightful and small town.  there is nothing small about NYC.  but i digress.)  jess is one of those people who pays attention, and i love that.  she remembered a certain fence that had hearts in it, so of course we made that one of our stops.

we also checked out madison square park, which is just RIDICULOUSLY beautiful this time of year. (also, the line at the shake shack was pretty ridiculous.)

aren’t they smokin?! i basically want all of jess’s clothes. she works in the fashion industry, and the coat she changed into for the 2nd part of our session…well, i won’t tell you how many hours i’ve spent googling, hoping i can find a rift in the space-time continuum and buy it before it’s sold out.

matt made me PROMISE i would tell you guys that it was HIS idea that they stand in the middle of the road and get the view behind them. i would have given him his props anyway, but let me tell you something else…we grabbed dinner in the middle of our session, and i had an ordering FAIL, and was kind of pushing my food around on my plate, and that SAINT OF A MAN volunteered to give me his tasty food and eat what i didn’t want. for picky-eater-gwyn, that is like…i don’t even have words. he’s in my good book for FOREVER. also…duly noted, i don’t like pesto.

jess & matt, i had a great time hanging out with you…thanks for trespassing on the park lawn for me and my harebrained schemes…i can’t wait for your wedding in just a couple months!

yesterday’s wedding was uh-mazing. no…that’s not extreme enough. it was AMAZING.

here’s one of my favorite shots from the day…but there are LOTS of other incredible photos.

today i met up with jess & matt who’re getting married in a couple months in maryland. we wandered around and enjoyed spring in NYC.

i’ve gotta give props to both these fantastic couples…jen hiked over some rather sizable boulders…in her wedding dress! (she agrees the photos are SO worth it, though) and jess & matt didn’t blink when i suggested we ignore fences…and hop up on a vintage truck that was waiting around to be on a movie set. YOU ALL ROCK.

and now. i think i will go to sleep.

they’re getting married in (less than 2 weeks! jen–3 more days till your wedding day is on the 10 day forecast!) in DUMBO, and i could not be more excited and inspired to capture their wedding day… the original plan was to do their engagement session the day before the wedding…revisiting the tulip garden in central park-where alex proposed! but they got to thinking and realized, “oh, hey, the day before our wedding might be just a LITTLE insane.”

so i made a whirlwind trip to the city that never sleeps and spent some time getting to know these two…and their delightful mountaineering cats, penny and portia.

i love both of these next two…the first one was shot with a long lens (100mm @ 2.8) and the second was shot closer with a wider angle, faster aperture lens (35 1.8). i love how different they are…when all i did was switch lenses and take a couple steps forward. i think the 2nd one is my favorite from the whole session…and that’s saying something! it is just MAGICAL to me.

it felt great to get out there and be shooting people in love…and to be blessed with such adorableness in such an inspiring city…it was well worth the whirlwind trip! see you again soon, guys!

(this one might be my favorite from our time at the museum…)
houston used to volunteer at the lone star flight museum, so the location was extra meaningful to him. unfortunately, “his” plane…WHICH HE HAS ACTUALLY FLOWN! was in an area which was off-limits to us, so we were unable to utilize it for any photos.

after the museum, we headed toward downtown galveston for a few more images. christy was SUCH a trouper…she was in intense pain and was scheduled for a root canal the next day, but she persisted and smiled through her agony!

aaaannnndd….roll credits.

they started day 1 of their “happily ever after” last saturday, so their wedding will be up here before too long! it was a glorious day full of love and joy and community.

naomi and paul are getting married down near boston, but they came up my way for their engagement session. we hit fort mcclary, which has become one of my favorite places to shoot…there is SO much variety.

you’ll see more of these two after their wedding in may! looking forward to seeing you guys, again!

jess & peter live in sunny-ish LA these days, but peter is from durham…so they are planning from afar for a fall nh wedding. they were in town for christmas, so i twisted their arms to come play in the snow with me.

doesn’t this make you want to PLAY?

ok, so…there are a few things to note about this picture.
1) they are adorable.
2) when i said, “um, will you maybe lay in the snow?” there was NO hesitation. love.
3) her ring is still on her finger.
4) snow makes fingers shrink.
5) her ring did not STAY on her finger.
6) i found it, though! in the snow! and it is a darn good thing, too…because otherwise i probably would have lived with eternal guilt.
7) did i already mention the cuteness?

jess and peter were champs on a really, really, really freaking COLD day…i’m looking forward to getting them in front of my camera again when it’s not a single digit temperature! can’t wait, guys! also…if i weren’t headed somewhere sunny and warm in less than a week, i’d be way more jealous of you guys living in sunny california right now.

*guilt, guilt, guilt*

a lot has happened this month.  i had tomme hilton and january newbanks fly in to shoot weddings with me…and oh, monday was my birthday.  my best friend came up (with her baby and almost-3-year-old-who-likes-to-sleep-in-boxes-when-she-visits)

she gave me the most beautiful fascinator for my birthday.  (please excuse the mobile upload picture.)

(brides looking for something special for your wedding day hair-do…check out that link.  lo boheme’s etsy store has some GORGEOUS bridal fascinators.  i covet…most of them.)

today i had a shoot on a garlic farm!  the wonderful allison and jon gave me some of their (very own, handmade) garlic powder and some of the largest non-elephant garlic you’ll ever see.  (pictured behind the garlic are some of the apples i picked for my day-after-my-birthday traditional apple-picking outing.  if you live in the northeast and have never tried macouns…hurry up and rectify that!  best apples EVAR.)

and, for allison, my loyal blog-reader and guilt-inducer…here are a couple teasers from today!

look at the legs on that one!  whoooooohee!  she promised me she could do anything in those shoes that i could possibly ask her to do…(i tested her on that a little later in the evening.)

and now…my favourite from the session…

ashlee & jesse…you two are wonderful, and i can’t wait to laugh laugh laugh some more with you in just a couple months.  aah!  this year is flying by!

she wanted to do either a bowling alley or a diner for their engagement session…fast eddie’s in hampton was the PERFECT place, and the staff was so accomodating to my crazy ideas (like…letting me go behind the counter.  and not yelling at me when i stood up on one of the booth benches.)

their wedding is in the beginning of september, and…there will be swing dresses and a vintage caddy!  i can’t wait!

doesn’t jennie have pretty much the most beautiful eyes ever?