Pleasant Valley Country Club Wedding | Megan & Gabe

Megan and Gabe were married at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, MA on October 19, 2018. They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the garden in front of the country club at sunset and were surrounded by the nicest family and friends.

Megan and Gabe met while working together at a hospital and I met Gabe when we worked together at a different hospital! I was so happy to document their special day and meet their families, Megan’s mom spent most of the night on the dance floor and even Grandma Bertherman danced a few songs!

I loved all of the special details, from the personalized flasks & handkerchief to the freshly landscaped garden (the impatiens didn’t make it through the storm so the club replanted the ceremony area with mums that day!)

Thank you Megan & Gabe for allowing me to capture your wonderful day!

About these photos… at the last minute Megan and her sister Amy decided to prank Gabe during the first look by sending Amy instead! I love couples that aren’t afraid to have fun on their wedding day!

Gabe was just as happy to see the real bride :)

Vendors

Venue: Pleasant Valley Country Club Florals: Holmes-Shusas Hair & Makeup: Kim Hagen from Affinity Salon Dress: David’s Bridal DJ: Shawn Sanga Cake: The Bean Counter

Wellesley Fall Family Photos | Colleen

The Souza family met me at Wellesley College for their fall family photo session last week. The leaves are really starting to turn and the sun provided beautiful back-light through the trees. I loved mom and C’s matching boots! The kids were sweet and snugly and Chloe the dog was a great sport for photos!

Wellesley Fall Family Photos | Heather

I had a blast with this little family at Wellesley College. Miss G was so sweet and looked adorable in her maroon dress. She was so snugly with her parents and has the cutest little curls!

Wellesley Fall Family Photos | Leah

The Santo family was impeccably dressed for their family photo session at Wellesley College! All 3 kids did so well and I loved the girls’ matching headbands. Leah’s yellow scarf added the perfect pop of fall color! I found a new spot to shoot where the light shines just right through the trees. There’s nothing I love more than a beautiful back lit image!

Wellesley Fall Family Photos | Jyllian

I’ve photographed the Schwartz family many times over the past few years and seeing them is always a highlight of the season! It’s been so much fun watching Miss Zoey grow and become a little person. She was the happiest little baby and now she’s a sweet and smiley 2 year old.

Most recently I took photos of them at Wellesley College and tried a new spot. I think I have a new favorite location, the light shined through the trees just right and cast a beautiful glow.

Sudbury Grist Mill Fall Family Photos | Ashley

I met this fun family of 5 kids (yes 5) at the Grist Mill in Sudbury, MA to take their fall family photos and their enthusiasm was contagious! They range in age from 2-15 so you can imagine the mix of personalities! The older girls were so helpful wrangling the little ones and I loved seeing how they all interact together. It’s not easy getting kids coordinated and dressed for photos but it’s always worth the work <3

Fall Family Photo Outfit Ideas

If you caught my previous blog post about Style and Select you know how excited I am about family photo outfit creation. I put together a few style boards with inspiration for your next session! In order to use the service you do need an access code and your photographer has to be a paying member of the service.

Some more outfit tips:

1. Start with mom’s outfit. Make sure you feel comfortable and beautiful in whatever outfit you choose.

2. Stick to 2-3 colors and avoid heavy patterns

3. No sneakers! There are lots of stylish shoes for boys, stay away from the Nike’s!

4. Plan well in advance and try on everything before your session. There’s nothing worse than realizing your 2 year old’s pants don’t fit the day of your session!

How to Use Style & Select to Plan Family Photo Outfits

I recently discovered the wonderful service that is Style & Select. It’s a website that allows you to coordinate outfits for family photos. You simply fill out the questionnaire about your family and it suggests clothing for you. You can mix and match and see how everything looks together. Best of all you can email your selections to yourself (your photographer also gets a copy) and purchase items right through the site.

The website is free to use for clients with an access code and photographers pay a monthly or yearly fee to use the service.

Photo clients can click on start styling to create outfits

Enter the access code your photographer gave you

Select ages and sizes for each family member

Choose your style and colors. The color squares are really bright but the suggested clothing is muted with lots of neutrals mixed in

The final sections! It took me less than 5 minutes to create this and I love that you can see all the items together. I always recommend choosing clothing that coordinates but doesn’t match. Style and Select makes it so easy!

Lynch Park Beverly Family Photos | Amy

Lynch Park Beverly, MA Family Photo Session 

My cousin, Amy, always picks out the best locations so I was excited when she suggested Lynch Park in Beverly, MA for their family photo session. The north shore park is right on the water with two beaches and a beautiful flower garden! The boys got to run all over the park and I loved spending some time with them.

Public Safety Photos 2018 | Goddard State Park RI

The 3rd annual free photos for public safety families at Goddard Park in East Greenwich, RI was a great success! Kate Taylor of Polar Square Designs organizes the event and it remains my favorite event of the year. It's so wonderful to give these families photos of their officer in uniform and the kids are so fun fun to work with.

Here are some favorites from the day, thank you to everyone who came out!

Let's take a moment and appreciate all the work this momma did in selecting outfits! It's not easy to get everyone coordinating and she nailed it!

This little cutie had so much personality and loved playing with her daddy's hat.

I loved this girl's tiara and navy blue looks amazing with her beautiful hair!

I had two families with 4 kids this year! The kids all did great and I love getting individual shots of them with their dad.

We had a lot of patriotic outfits, this sweet girl rocked her red, white, and blue dress and had the best personality!

This sweet little baby girl was so good for her photos! 

Thank you again to all the families that came out and to Kate Taylor for organizing the event! If you're intersted in participating next year, follow Kate on facebook at Polar Square Designs. 

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Public Safety Photos 2018 | Framingham, MA

The first annual Free Photos for Public Safety Families in Framingham was a success! We had so many wonderful families participate (some with tiny little babies!) 

I also wanted to give Kayla Herrick of Bright Lights Imagery a big thanks for shooting with me all day and we even had The Metrowest Daily news hang out with us! (There's a video of me making weird faces if you're interested ;)

This sweet family came to the photos event in Rhode Island last year with some big news to share! The came to the Framingham event this year with the cutest little baby girl!

My favorite part of photography is seeing families grow and creating treasures for the kids to look back on. 

I went to high school with Kate and I see her husband at the hospital all the time! It was so nice to catch up with her and meet her adorable little boy! <3

There's nothing cuter than a kid wearing dad's hat!!

Thank you again to all the families that came out this year. And for everyone that couldn't make it we'll be doing them again in 2019! 

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Wellesley Family Photos | The Keating Family

Wellesley College Family Photo Session 

Here are some favorites from Finn's one year photo session at Wellesley College! They were referred to me by my cousin and we had so much fun wandering the Wellesley campus. Finn was such a sweetie and I love his light red hair and bright blue eyes! 

Arnold Arboretum Family Photo Session | Michal

Arnold Arboretum Family Photo Session 

It's always an honor when another photographer asks me to take photos for them! Michal is also a family photographer and we had so much fun at Arnold Arboretum. She knew exactly where to find good light and her kids were naturals in front of the camera! 

Cushing Park Framingham Maternity Session

Framingham Maternity Photo Session

Spring was in full force at Cushing Park in Framingham for H's maternity session! She makes pregnancy look effortless and I love the floral pattern dress she chose for her session.

Wellesley Family Photos | The Giampa's

Wellesley Family Photo Session

I finally got to take photos at Wellesley College for my friend Andrea! She and her husband, Frank, are so in love with their little boy. He was awesome for his photos and let me carry him back to the car! 

Boston Public Garden Elopement | Sean & Lynsey

Sean & Lynsey had an intimate wedding at the Boston Public Garden. Their closest family watched as they read their handwritten vows to each other in front of the bridge. Lynsey's aunt officiated and it was clear how much she loves them both. After a few portraits in the park we went to Acorn Street in Beacon Hill. Even though it was still cold the flower boxes were full of beautiful blooms. Their families were so sweet and happy, they made for a perfect day!  

Pregnancy Announcement Photos at UCONN | Steph & Nick

My all time favorite roommate from college is have a baby! Naturally we had to return to UCONN to shoot their pregnancy announcement photos. It had just snowed the night before and Jonathan the school mascot looked especially handsome. We had to get a few shots in front of Gampel Pavilion, home of the incredible women & men's basketball team. 

It was so much fun walking around our old home and reliving our favorite memories. I can't wait to see Steph & Nick enter this next adventure in their lives with even better memories to come. 

Riley's Christmas Photos

I was updating my blog today and realized I never blogged Riley's session from last Christmas! Here she is with her best friend Lexi. 

How to Propose: 7 tips for a Successful Marriage Proposal

Happy proposal season! If it seems like everyone on Facebook is getting engaged that's because we are currently in prime proposal season. The joy & festivities of the holidays puts guys in the mood to get down on one knee. If you're thinking the time is right to ask the question, here are my top 7 tips for getting a yes. 

1. Talk about marriage before hand. It may sound romantic to propose out of the blue but it's not much fun once you get married and you discover only one of you wants kids. Talk about children, jobs, where you want to live, your roles in a marriage. Talk about it a lot, this is the biggest commitment you will ever make (besides kids). Make sure you're on the same page before you even consider proposing.  

2. Know her personality. Is she an extrovert who would love a public proposal? Is it important to have family and friends in attendance? Is she a private person who would prefer just the two of you? Set up a proposal where she'll be comfortable and happy. A shy introvert probably won't appreciate a jumbo-tron proposal and a city girl might not like a mountain hike proposal. Make it personal. Show her that you listen and care about the things that are important to her. 

3. Ask her parents for their blessing. If she has a good relationship with her parents tell them you intend to propose to their daughter and would love their blessing. You're not asking for permission, she's her own person, but rather showing respect to her family. 

4. Select a location that has meaning to you. Think of where you had your first date, her favorite place, or somewhere with happy family memories.  The proposal should match your relationship, chose a place you would normally go. 

5. Outfit check. Make sure she’s wearing something location appropriate and wouldn't mind having her photo taken. If she's happy in a T shirt and jeans that's fine but if she gets dolled up to go to Target take that into consideration. Tell her you’re going out to dinner at a nice restaurant or that you want to plan a day trip to her favorite location. 

6. Hire a photographer/videographer. She won’t remember exactly what happened or what you said. Having someone hiding in the bushes to document the moment will help bring back the memory. And she'll have something amazing to post on Facebook!

7. Prepare what you're going to say. You don't have to write out a speech but tell her why you love her and what saying yes would mean to you. Make sure you get down on one knee and the ring goes on the left hand ;) 

Bonus tip: Just ask! If she's the one for you she'll just be happy you asked, no matter how you do it. 

So there you have it! There's nothing left to do but pick out a ring and work up the courage. Best of luck and I hope she says yes!

Couples Session on Acorn Street in Beacon Hill | Katie

I cannot believe I've never shot in Beacon Hill before, Acorn Street is the perfect place for Christmas photos! I love the old historic parts of Boston, and it's close to the Boston Public Garden too. 

Marcus & Katie nailed their Christmas mini session! This newlywed military couple was so much fun and Katie balanced perfectly on the cobblestone street in heels.  I hope you have a wonderful first Christmas as husband and wife and treasure these photos always!