they chose an amazingly breathtakingly gorgeous venue for their party.  they got married at the point lookout resort in northport, maine…and let me tell you…it was AWESOME.  the food was GREAT, and all of the resort staff could NOT have been more helpful.  there are lots of rustic and charming cabins on site for guests to stay in…if you’re looking for a mid-coast maine venue…this place kicks ass.

the views yesterday were obscured by some CRAZY fog…which meant we couldn’t see the spectacular ocean views, but the fog added mystery and whimsy to the day.

waiting to see greg for the first time in her wedding finery.

anticipation!

after they saw each other and took a few minutes to breathe and say, “this is really happening!” it was time to take a few portraits.

isn’t she gorgeous? and isn’t their love lovely?

good lookin’ bridal party, huh?!

dani had her heart set on peonies for her bouquet…problem is…peonies aren’t a july flower. but her mother-in-law discovered that if you pick peony buds and leave them in the fridge (for up to 3 months!) they’ll keep…you just take them out of the fridge 3 days or so before you want to use them so they’ll open up. her bouquet turned out SOOO pretty! (and, i’m sorry, but i have to brag a little…i went up early on thursday and my awesome 2nd shooter and i (thanks allison!) stripped the flowers and made all those pretty bridesmaid bouquets during the rehearsal dinner. seriously proud of them. )

what’s that? you want a closer-up view? ok. i can accommodate that.

sometimes…brides want to take their veils off after the ceremony. and sometimes…i go ahead and hang onto them for them. and sometimes…this is what i look like.

(i’m not sure if i’m proud or chagrined that this is NOT the only picture of me that i have like this.)

when there are guests at a wedding that i know from previous weddings i’ve shot…i always try to make it a point to take an updated picture for them. amanda & matt were previous clients, and kristen now has herself a rob…and she was one of amanda’s bridesmaids.

dani’s mom made all the table runners (and the ring bearer’s pillow. and the FOUR flower girl dresses. and the ribbon cuffs for all of the bouquets), her bridesmaids (and a groomsman) helped with boutonnieres and table arrangements, and a bunch of us worked on the centerpieces for the guest tables. i told you dani’s SPECIAL…the way everyone came together to help her achieve her vision is proof ten times over of how loved she is.

there’s a lot more that i could show you, but i feel a bit like a runaway train already.
dani & greg…you two are marvelous, and i love you bunches! thanks SO much for inviting me to be a part of your day, and thanks for INSISTING we join the party. have an AMAZING time on your cruise & make sure i see you before you leave for PA!
(and thanks again to the awesome allison who flew up from savannah to help rock this wedding.)

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!

i love all my clients, but houston + christy are special. i was introduced to them by one of my besties…and they welcomed me into their little community down in montrose. i joined them for their new year’s eve celebration…i saw houston practice his mad bar tending skillz…(let’s be honest…i drank the fruits of said practice.) i’ve met their kitty…slept in their spare bedroom…i did christy’s hair for their engagement session…was there the morning she had to go see the seamstress about getting her dress altered. when i say they invited me to join in their celebration, i mean, i really became a part of it…i become friends with most of my clients, but some become friends for life. houston + christy fall into that category.

they chose to see one another before the ceremony, and it was beautiful. tensions run high on a wedding day, and these two’s cares visibly melted away when they saw each other. “oh, it’s you.”

we then had time to do portraits of the smokin’ hot (hobbit) couple…as all their friends call them. (hey! i can say it b/c christy and i are the same height!)

anyone who knows houston will laugh, because this is just SO HIM. and christy is just…stunning.

christy and her best friends watching all the guests arrive.

christy’s father was ill and unable to be there, so houston went and met her halfway, and they continued to the altar together.

they took communion as part of their ceremony, and christy forgot that she was doing this in front of a hundred plus people and pulled a nice healthy bite of bread from the loaf. the assembled guests then waited very patiently while she chewed. and chewed. and chewed. (and giggled quite a lot in between.) moments like this…the unscripted “mistakes” are often the parts of the wedding day that people hold most dear in their memories.

i like to remind grooms…”when you kiss her, make it count! a quick little peck doesn’t work for photos!” houston’s response? “don’t worry; i’ve done this before. kissing! that is.”

this couple got married just a couple weeks after christy + houston, and they said this is their favorite picture of them ever. i’m hoping that’s not true anymore, now that they’ve got wedding pictures! capturing moments of connection between friends and family at the party contributes to telling the story of the entire day.

houston’s grandpa. don’t you kind of want him to be your grandpa, too?

(thanks to the guys who decorated their car for setting me up for this one!)

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.

but that switch has been flipped, and after this trip, europe seems like the most wonderful and intoxicating place on the planet. (well, maybe not MOST…but it’s my current geographical craving.) i fully intend to return to europe for longer than 5 days and let the history and cobblestones seep through my shoes and into my soul.

day 5 started off on top of the alp with that crystal clear view i’d been hoping for.

from inside the room.

then had to grab one last pain au chocolat for breakfast before descending the alp.

i won’t tell you how many shots i took or how long i stood there waiting for the flag to unfurl JUST RIGHT.

i went to 3 h&m’s looking for a particular jacket…which, i could have gotten for less in the US, but i bought in switzerland on principle. i needed to have SOMETHING from my whirlwind trip to europe. i did find it, though! (mine’s red.)

after my shopping was completed…i set about exploring geneva. i only had about 4 hours until i needed to catch the train back to the airport for my flight out, but i managed to cover quite a bit of ground.

(this one MIGHT be my favorite from the day…and the water really is crazy blue.)

i love this one and the next one a whole lot as well.

these two totally don’t go together. the first one is all, “yay, pretty europe,” and the second…well, it is wrong on about 100 different levels.

JP suggested swinging by strassbourg on my way back to switzerland…in theory, this was good advice…which i intended to take. however, google maps decided that i should go through strassbourg on the way to germany…and enjoy their rush hour traffic…but it sent me back south through germany. so, on a whim, i got off at an exit. and followed signs i couldn’t read, hoping i’d find something delightful to see. i was most definitely successful…and not having ANY IDEA where i was or the name of the town added a bit of spice to my adventure.

the church on the left is in the town i came to first on my detour…it had a map just next to it…there was a castle icon, so i decided to see if i could meander my way there…i’m still not sure if i wound up there or somewhere else. ? the one on the right is in neuleiningen, the town where i finally wound up. (i figured this out by taking a picture of every sign i saw and googling when i got home.)

picture perfect german town.

wouldn’t you eat germany countryside flavored ice cream if ben and jerry’s invented that variety?

i was very happy to be standing in front of a german castle.

if these two images don’t make you want to explore, i don’t know if we could be friends.

godzilla’s practice run before he took on tokyo.

i like to think this was a prison pit. i mean, any self-respecting german castle would need one, right? on the right is the view through the bars looking up.

i am a giant dork of a wedding photographer, and i can’t help looking at this and thinking that it would be a super cool spot for a ceremony.

postcard! (seriously, fall colors…tile roofs…there is even a freaking river wending its way through the valley.)

i think this is the first hint of blue sky i saw the entire trip!

got a LITTLE too into driving european style and failed to notice that i was very nearly out of gas. don’t worry…this was taken at the gas station when i turned the car back on to show the dangerously empty tank.

every day i was there, i prayed that i’d get to see a clear view from the balcony. the night before i was due to leave…God said, “ok.” and it was still clear in the morning when i woke up! stay tuned for those images. they’re pretty freaking spectacular.

(and i bought an underwater point and shoot to play with while i’m there…i’m sure i’ll have a few vacation snapshots to share!)