I will be out of the country from September 10-28, traveling through Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium. I’m sure that I will have sporadic connection to the internet, so please be patient if I don’t respond to your emails right away! I’ll also try to post some photos along the way so you can see what I’m up to overseas :)

In the meantime, I’m excited to announce that there’s a new addition to my lens lineup: the Canon 45mm f.2.8 tilt shift! For the non-camera geeks, the best way I can explain it is that it’ll allow me to provide more creative images for my clients. I’m gonna give it a test run on my trip and hopefully end up with some creative travel shots!

Here’s a photo I took with the tilt shift lens of the Manhattan Appellate Courthouse on 25th street (by Flatiron). Notice how the head of the statue is in focus, while the rest of it (and most of the courthouse itself) is blurred – this isn’t possible with a normal lens!

And if you’d like to book a New York senior portrait session, you can read more about it and contact me for more information! :)

I’m not sure why, but there was a big boat sitting on shore right between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. I’d definitely be wary of leaving something like that unattended in such a high traffic area, but I guess I can’t complain too much because we used it in a few shots :) I actually went kayaking in this cove last weekend, so I can understand the allure of boating by the bridges. It’s so beautiful!

Check out Rute and Peter by the Brooklyn Bridge – and stay tuned for their St. Patrick’s Cathedral wedding next month! (I can’t wait!)

We started the day bright and early with portraits at the Anderson House in Washington D.C. Jill and Esrael decided to have a ‘first look’ and got to see each other before the ceremony. I could write a whole blog post dedicated to why couples should always try to do this on their wedding day – it’s an excellent, excellent idea. Getting portraits taken at the start of the day meant that they were free to enjoy the rest of their wedding day without having to leave any part of it to go get pictures taken. A couple should not have to miss any part of their own party!

But oh, what a gorgeous venue the Anderson House is. We could have spent the entire day exploring it and taking pictures!

One of the many reasons why this wedding was so awesome was that they had TWO receptions! Two VERY different receptions, at that. Jill has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I have ever known. It’s not unheard of her to replace entire meals with some sort of dessert, or incorporate a bakery trip into every city visit. So, not surprisingly, Jill had a dessert reception at her wedding. I have never seen so many different sweets in one room! Cookies, cupcakes, babka, fondue, chocolate, candy, and pretty much any other dessert you can think of… you name it, she had it. And at the end, all the guests got to fill up a bag with treats to take home.

 
Kelsey took the shot below of Jill and I on stage. We thought it’d be funny if I took Jill’s “throne” and she had to stand next to me :)
 

Reception #2 was the Eritrean reception, with hundreds of Esrael’s friends & family members in attendance. Lots of music, dancing, and most importantly – FOOD. Eritrean food is so flavorful and veggie-friendly, and meant to be eaten with your hands rather than with utensils. More specifically, you typically cover a thin, spongey bread with servings of food, and then rip off pieces of the bread to pick up the food with and then eat. It’s pretty fantastic.

Look at the gorgeous jewelry adorning her hand!

Congrats again, you guys! :)

But oh man, I can’t even tell you how excited I was for Jill and Esrael’s wedding. I even had two engagement shoots with them in the months leading up to their big day (which you can see here). I wanted nothing more than to spend their wedding day doing what I love, for people I love, who are so very in love (how’s that for an overdose of love?).

And that’s precisely what I did :)

Here is the first part of their wedding photos, from getting ready through the ceremony (which took place at Mosaic Church in Washington D.C.). Part 2: portraits & receptions (coming soon!).

There was a red carpet!! Had to incorporate that into some shots, obviously:

What I really loved about their wedding day was how it was a celebration of two cultures coming together. Esrael’s family is from Eritrea, so they had Eritrean prayers and songs incorporated into the ceremony.

Congrats, Jill & Esrael! I am so, so happy for you guys and hope you come up to visit me again soon!

Also – special thanks to my friend and second shooter, Kelsey Fain, for roadtripping with me from NYC to DC and shooting their wedding with me :D

Their shoot took place at the National Mall, the site of their first date. We went from the Lincoln Memorial, past the Reflecting Pool, to the WWII Memorial, and ending up at the Jefferson Memorial. I had a blast on our whirlwind tour of the Mall, and Sarah and Ali were so much fun to photograph! I’m SO excited for their wedding this fall – and this time we’ll be closer to my home turf, as they’re getting married in North Jersey :)

Whoops – what’s wrong with this picture?

Where’s the Washington Monument?! I swear it was there, haha… :D

 
 
In case you were wondering, I’m based in the NYC area but I LOVE to travel! Love love love it. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are – if you want me to photograph your wedding, I’m there! :) So please do contact me!

Here’s a sneak peek of their wedding day – and trust me, many many more photos to come! :D

Afterwards I headed back to Queens with the wedding party on a party bus, which ended up breaking down on the highway back – whoops! Thankfully a replacement bus was sent right away to pick us all up, so we didn’t miss much of the reception. Talk about luck!

Congrats to Tiffany and NiiOkai!

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