Central Park on a Cool Spring Day

A soft, misty rain set the stage as he led her into the park. She had never been here before, and he smiled excitedly as she took in her surroundings-completely unaware of what was about to occur.

They arrived at their mark, though she had no idea. He gazed into her eyes as they listened to "Come Alive" by the Foo Fighters on his iPod. He removed her headphones and then his own, as the soundtrack for their journey came to an end; A journey which had landed them just a few hundred feet from myself.


I could sense his excitement as he began to fidget, and readied myself. This was going to be it. He spoke to her and she began to grin. After he brushed the hair from her eyes, he reached his right hand into his pocket.

As he knelt down to the wet ground, she suddenly realized just why he had brought here there. Her hands raised to her cheeks as he asked her to be his bride, and she happily accepted.




He practically leapt to his feet as her jaw dropped upon closer inspection of her new ring.


He threw his arms (still clutching his umbrella) into the air in victory, before hugging his now bride-to-be.


A small crowd formed as they shared their first few moments as a newly engaged couple. A few polite young girls offered to take their photo, at this I giggled a bit.

He turned to give me a quick grin, she still blissfully unaware of my presence.


A few kisses before finally, they joined hands and walked off into the evening...ready to start a new chapter in their lives.


Another photographer walked by and grinned at me, "Did ya catch that?" he asked. "Yep!" I replied happily, "he hired me to."

Paul contacted me a few days before his big trip to NYC. He had decided it would be an awesome idea to document the proposal. I, being a fan of all things stealth and sneaky, happily agreed. I don't think I realized at the time just how much fun being so sneaky could be! I had been a bit worried about the rain, but I think it only added to the romance of the moment. Seeing their excitement and happiness literally brought tears to my eyes. This was truly one of my favorite shoots to date.

Congrats to the two of you!!!!

Barbara's Bridal Shower

If you're like most people who read my blog, you remember Barbara from her gorgeous engagement party, and incredible (if I do say so myself!) sunset on the beach engagement photos! A few months ago, Barbara's maid of honor, Raquel, contacted me about shooting Barbara's shower. I was SO excited to document yet another great moment for Barbara and Michael! It was all top secret, but I started to get nervous when Barbara started to tell me how much she wanted me there to shoot her shower! Little did she know, it had all been arranged months beforehand! The party went off without a hitch, and Barbara's Mom and bridesmaids did an AMAZING job creating a Barbie pink themed shower. Enough of me blabbing...enjoy the photos! Barbara and Michael, I can NOT wait to shoot your wedding in August!!!




This amazing dress (and matching shoes) were there waiting for Barbara to change into.



This was when Barbara first spotted me. I *think* she was happy :)


Her bridesmaids were taking photos of the guests and printing them up to paste into this adorable guest book that they made. LOVE this idea!



You may see in front of Barbara a pink suitcase. Well, what you don't see as clearly is the card her mother gave her which revealed that she would soon be using that luggage on their mother-daughter trip to Vegas!!


The favor was lip gloss. These two couldn't wait to try it out!






Raquel also made Barbara a slideshow consisting of photos of her and Michael. It resulted in a ton of laughs, a few tears, and everyone in the room realizing that Barbara has some of the most awesome friends ever!





How amazing is her ribbon hat??



That's all for tonight! More blogs to come soon!

Stephanie & Dan's Wedding

In the spirit of catching up with blogging, I present to you the wedding of Stephanie and Dan! These two were married on April 25th. It was an absolutely gorgeous day--sunny and warm--which was perfect for their intimate outdoor reception. They had a beautiful church ceremony, followed by a lovely reception at the home of a close friend. When you look through the photos, you will be able to see immediately why they close this location. It's gorgeous, and what a view! Stephanie and Dan were a ton of fun, as were their guests. And really, what better way to spend the day than at a gorgeous wedding with awesome people?

Stephanie and Dan, I wish you both much love and happiness. It was an honor to be there documenting your wedding day!

(don't forget to click the photos to enlarge!)


























As nice as group formal shots can look...

...(as stated a couple of blogs ago) I always love photographing the moment AFTER the formal shots. Everyone relaxes, laughs, and runs away!

Ana & Chris, Part 2

As I was uploading Chris and Ana's photos to their online gallery, I found a few more I wanted to share...Just some random shots!










I mentioned in my last blog that for the wedding, I had the pleasure of working with the lovely and talented Ananda Lima. This was Ananda's first wedding, and she did a GREAT job!! I chose Ananda as a second shooter because she has a really artistic eye, and her photos tend to have a dreamlike quality. Did I mention that she's also just an awesome person in general? I had SO much fun working with Ananda, and I can't wait to do it again! Make sure to check out her site at http://www.AnandaLima.com Some of my favorite shots by Ananda are below. Enjoy!!!


Pssst...Look in the mirror! A shot of me has made it onto my blog! Thanks for the cool action shot, Ananda!

It's been a while....

...since I've blogged!! I've got a ton of new photos coming up soon. More from Ana and Chris, including some from my awesome second photographer Ananda Lima, a couple more weddings and events, a bridal shower and an engagement session! Lots of uploads happening soon so stay tuned!

While going through my current batch, I've realized that one of my favorite moments to photograph is the moment the formal shots are done and I excuse the group. I always continue to snap and I always love the results--Always filled with laughter, sometimes hugging, sometimes just general silliness. I'll have to post a couple in some of my upcoming blogs.....

I don't like to blog without a pic, so here's a teaser from one of my recent weddings. How awesome are her shoes? They reminded me of Cinderella's glass slippers. So pretty!

Chris & Ana's Wedding

You may remember Chris and Ana from their Hoboken engagement session last year. These two were last year's free wedding contest winners. They got married on April 3rd at Crystal Plaza in Livingston, NJ. The venue was stunning! Jeanine La Macchia was the hairstylist, and Jeanine Mangan did the makeup--they both did an awesome job! Kelvin Gerald kept the music going all night long (and even gave the guests an encore when they started cheering for more!)

It was really difficult narrowing down my favorites...Despite a little rain in the morning, these two had the perfect day! The ceremony was gorgeous, and Ana's pink color scheme looked incredible. The ceremony was quite emotional, especially when Ana read Chris a poem by E.E. Cummings-I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. They left the ceremony to an instrumental version of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" which even got me crying! The party kicked off with some great entrances by the bridal party, and the dance floor was packed all night. We ended the evening with an impromptu photo shoot in the cocktail hour room. Now I'll stop telling you how amazing their big day was, and let you see for yourself!

Congrats Chris and Ana, I wish you two all the very best!!

Don't forget to click the images to see them larger. Enjoy!!

Family Portraits at the Cherry Blossom Festival

I was so excited when Janet asked me to take her family portraits at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park. I had never been there, but I'm so glad we went! These four were SO much fun, and we had a great time at the festival! The park was packed, but we worked around it as best as we could, and even got to sneak in some shots of JUST Mom and Dad!

Enjoy!