Coffee Table Book

When the UPS man pulled into my drive way I was almost as excited as Coby was.  Granted his excitement is a lot of barking while mine is more grinning.  As I tore through the tape and pushed a million Styrofoam peanuts aside all I could think was this book is going to be PERFECT! Rebecca and Owen's book arrived the other day and before re-packing it and dropping it off at the post office this morning I grabbed a few shots of the finished product to share with you all.  Their wedding album is a 10X10 Asuka Coffee Table book.  I love the satin feel of the paper and the custom designed cover and dust jacket.

Rebecca and I chatted about what to put on the inside cover of their book and she had the perfect ideas.  An excerpt from "A Farewell to Arms" which they had included in their ceremony.

Their book is now back in it's slipcase, buried in a box of Styrofoam peanuts and on its way to Boston.  I hope you two love it as much as I do- I really wanted to keep it for myself, if it ever goes missing you know where to look!

XOXO Spring

Coby's Hair Cut

Mud season is on it's way and although it may have snowed this week we also had a few very warm days and some rain to top  it off.  Our dirt driveway has a lake in the middle of it and walking Coby has added a few challenges.  A few days ago on one of these warm days Coby and I took a nice long walk around the neighborhood.  Though we stayed mostly on the side of the road there were plenty of mud puddles and snow banks to keep Coby dirty. When we got back to the house there was no question it was time for a bath.  The problem was his fir is so long this time of year (trying to keep him warm) that the dirt and mud created a lot of matts and knots.

My solution?  Hair cut.

Coby usually goes to a groomer- I'm not one for spending a ton of money spoiling my dog, oh wait who am I  kidding yes I am, but honestly if I had a dog with normal dog fur I probubly wouldn't spend the extra cash but seeing as Coby has hair not fur trust me cutting it and brushing it is a task.  Well with a muddy, messy, matted dog I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I figured it can't be that hard to just trim him up a little.

Whoops-  OK, OK, really it isn't that bad.  Did I miss a few spots so he has a few tufts of longer hair, yes.  Is his butt shorter then the rest of him, yes.  Does he look totally ridiculous, no.  I do plan to take him to our wonderful groomer and not make this a regular occurrence but I think to get through mud season my scissors and I will have to do.  So, if you see Coby at the dog park please don't make fun of his hair cut, I think he is a little self conscious about it.

He is so cute isn't he?  Even if he does have a funky, slightly messy hair cut!!!

XOXO Spring

Boston for a weekend

When I see the city skyline come into view I can't help but be totally overcome with excitement. There is just something about this city that will always feel like home. I may have grown up in a small town in Maine, and don't get me wrong that will always be my home, but after spending many summer days at Fenway Park and four years at Northeastern University- Boston will always feels like a second home.  I spent this past weekend  in the city with my best friend .  We hit up some amazing restaurants for restaurant week. Who doesn't love three courses of fantastic food for $33?

I didn't bring my camera with me this weekend- my plan was to really make this a mini vacation.  I should have known better because even though I've lived in Boston everywhere I went I was wishing I had my camera.  Luckily I do have an iphone!!!  So these are two shots form my iphone while walking from my friends apartment to Sel de la Terre for our restaurant week lunch.  I love the colors in The Fenway this time of year.  I couldn't help myself and did borrow my friends camera for a few shots as well, which I'll post soon- but I'm quite impressed with what my little iphone camera can do.

I had a fantastic weekend eating delicious food and enjoying time with my best friends and my home away from home.

Xoxo Spring

One Stylish Bride Feature

There are quite a few wedding blogs that I surf daily and One Stylish Bride is one of my favorites!  Which is partly why I'm so excited to have Meredith & Colin's wedding featured in their "Real Weddings" section!!!  

XOXO Spring

Tips & Tricks: getting the best wedding photos possible

I haven't been a bride- yet.  But that doesn't mean that I don't have some pretty valuable tips and tricks on planning your wedding.  Having been a wedding photographer since 2007 I've been to my fair share of weddings and have decided to share with everyone here on my blog some of the tips and trick's I've learned.  Some posts will be about planning, some might be vendor spotlights and some will be DIY ideas. I've decided to start this series with a post based off of an item from my new client box.  In the box I include a three page guide to getting the best wedding photos.  I got a lot of my ideas for this info sheet from Melissa Jill (a very talented wedding photographer from AZ) and have edited it to fit my business.  Here is a slightly abridged version of my tips for getting the best wedding photos.

Tip #1: Plan the timing of your wedding day thoughtfully.

Consider all the time you put into this day to make it perfect.  Think about how jam packed your day is going to be, hair and make up, getting dressed, the ceremony, greeting all your guests, the reception formalities.  Often your first dance as newlyweds is the first, and sometimes the only, time you get as bride and groom to just relax and be together.

One of the best ways to find some “us” time is to do a ‘first look’.  This breaks with a lot of peoples traditional ideas of a wedding but just for a little history lesson- the tradition of not seeing one another before the ceremony dates back to arranged marriages.  The reason behind this was so that no one would back out at the last minute after seeing their bride or husband to be for the first time.  It’s worth considering a first glance if you want to have some time to connect with one another before the craziness of the day takes over.  It’s amazing how fast the day goes by and you realize that you have hardly had more then a few moments with your new wife or husband.  Giving yourself some time before the ceremony to laugh, smile and cry helps calm everyones nerves on a very busy day.

Tip #2: Wedding info sheet

I send all my clients an info sheet a month or two before the wedding.  This sheet asks for some of the basic details of the day including a time line for the day from getting ready to the reception with all addresses; the planner, florist and dj’s contact info etc.

Also on this list I also ask for a list of “Must Have” shots for the wedding day.  This is a great place for a bride to tell me that her great uncle is more like a father to her and wants a photo with just him and her.  I have a standard set of family group images I take at every wedding but for something slightly out of the norm this is a great place to give me that heads up.  This is also where I ask if there are any special details incorporated into your wedding day.  Often times little things mean the most, like your grandmothers pearls that she gave you to wear on your wedding day.  Without knowing that these pearls are anything other then your basic jewelry for the day I might not give them the specific attention they deserve.

Tip #3--Educate your family and friends about the style of photography you have chosen.

My style is a combination of fine art and photo journalistic.  I do my best to be invisible and out of the way on the wedding day but often get in close for a shot of some of those fantastic details that you’ve worked so hard on.  My hope is for people to be natural and basically ignore me throughout most of the day.  I encourage you to communicate your excitement about your photography to your family and friends.  Share my website and blog and encourage them to take a look, the better they understand my style, hopefully the more comfortable they will be with my camera being around all day.

Tip #4. Trust your photographer.

This sounds simple enough, but the actually doing it part can be tough.  You hire a photographer because you love their style, they are someone you feel comfortable spending a very large portion of your wedding day with and hopefully they become your friend.

My goal is for you to get to know me.  Follow me on my blog and keep tabs on my facebook page so that you’ll see the consistency of my work, how much I love what I do and that I’m always pushing the striving to be better. Hopefully these things will help us build a foundation of trust.  I want my couples to understand that I take my job very seriously even though I’m often laughing and smiling along with you.  I strive to provide the best possible service and I plan to earn your trust and your friendship.

XOXO

Spring